Chad Penry
President & Co-founder - Money XLive

Interview by Jennifer Kalban

Your name & title?

Chad Penry, Co-Founder & President of Money XLive

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

This is always a tough question. My name is Chad Penry, I live in Newport and I’m a pretty laid back person. I like to work on a lot of different yet interesting projects. And I’m fortunate to have the best family and friends anyone could ever ask for.

What drew you into the action sports industry?

I’ve always liked action sports before it had a label on it. As a kid I loved skateboarding, pretending I was a ninja, riding my dirt bike and snowboarding.

I first tried surfing in late junior high but I never got into it until high school. From then on I knew I found something I loved. After I graduated I moved from inland to the beach. Since I had such a late start at surfing, it wasn’t anything I ever thought I would be good at. When I was in college I got my first sponsor and started competing at the age of 21. Ha…can you imagine being 21 and being hyped over putting stickers on your board? Eventually, I got better, more sponsors and was able to travel for a few years having fun, doing contests and meeting cool people along the way.

What sports or activities are you actively involved in?

I live at the River Jetties in Newport and surf all the time. I’m trying to skate more lately and I ride dirt bikes and snowboard in the winter.

I’m also heavily into charity work. I serve on a few boards and recently had the privilege of being asked to produce and promote all the events in Orange County for UNICEF. It’s a huge honor for me and something I take pride in.

What type of music do you listen to?

Nothing beats my favorite old school music…Guns & Roses, The Cult, Sublime, and the legendary hip hop artists like Tupac and Biggie. Recently I’m either into Jay Z, Lil Wayne or I’m listening to Indie Rock with the likes of Phoenix, The Strokes, Passion Pit, Menomena, Thao With the Get Down Stay Down and The Virgins.

Before Money XLive what other companies and projects were you involved in?

Sales and marketing always interested me. I worked at a number of different jobs outside of the industry for start-up companies looking for the next big thing. Unfortunately, none of those companies were Google, Microsoft or Apple. I always dreamed of being an entrepreneur and I found a huge need in helping families with the financial aid system. I founded College Solution Providers, a company where I show families how to pay for college on a tax favored basis and make college affordable. I also helped with a few fashion shows, pool parties and events so I learned how to produce things and see them through.

How did you get started with Money XLive?

I was pretty responsible with my money, meaning I never spent what I didn’t have, but I had some health problems and injuries that set me back financially. I made a lot of financial mistakes when I was younger. It wasn’t until I started my own business that I realized how important credit was. I knew it was something I desperately needed to learn. I met my business partner Vince Shorb, through a client and he shared with me his vision for educating young adults. We started bouncing ideas off one another and formed Money XLive. We produce high profile MTV style video award show events featuring celebrities, action sports and pro athletes, DJ’s, bands and dance crews teaching young adults about money.

We chose this format because in order to keep our audience’s attention, you need to relate money and life skills to their lifestyle. You also need to incorporate people they look up to that teach and inspire them through real life experiences. It’s pretty easy to educate youth while they’re focused and being entertained.

MXL teaches very practical money and life skills motivating young adults to follow their dreams and focus on who they want to be, and what they want to do in life. We all have a certain lifestyle we want to live; we show people how they can afford it.

Tell us about your role at Money XLive:

My role with MXL is Co founder and President. I handle our talent, marketing and coordinate everything we need for our events.

What does your daily routine look like … take us through it:

Hopefully I get to wake up and surf. Now that it’s getting warmer I’ll try and throw a little work out in. My daily routine is making connections with people in person, on the phone or through email; attracting sponsors and now trying to market our online course. And we’re constantly reaching out to new markets to bring our show to different areas.

With your current position, do you travel much? If so where?

We’ve been in business for a little over a year and a half and have hosted 3 Money XLive events in Anaheim, Ca, Seattle, Wa, and Grand Junction, Co. Next events will probably be one here in LA, Hawaii and Miami.

How many people are on the staff and what are their roles?

Our staff consists of my business partner and me. Vince is the keynote speaker and handles most of the educational portion. I create our lineups to make the event as cool and relevant as possible. We both work on strategic partnerships, sales and business development. Since there are only two of us we do anything and everything. But we couldn’t do it without the help of some key people that have a huge role in our success. Special thanks to Wilmer Valderrama, Malcolm McCassy and Devin Christopher.

What are some of the brands, companies and athletes/ personalities you work with?

We are honored to work with incredible people who share our passion and support our cause. We have worked with a host of celebrities and athletes including Wilmer Valderrama, Christian Hosoi, John Salley, Jesse Billauer, Seth Joyner, Cris Judd, Brian Sumner, Greg Lutzka, Roy Lewis, Brian Deegan etc…the list goes on and hopefully continues to grow.

Malcolm is one of my best friends and definitely one of a kind personality. We love working with him and his brand Ethika. Thanks to Brent at Active, we were proud to have JJ Thomas and his band MileHi along with Josh Sherman and their clothing brand Yea.Nice at our last event. Jeremy McCassy from Oakley has helped out along with Kelley James who always puts on a great show. We also work with a lot of sponsors outside of the action sports industry including Wells Fargo, State Farm, Clear Channel, US Bank and Verity Credit Union etc.

What are some of the perks of your job?

The main perks are the thank you letters and follow up stories we get from the youth and their families. To make a difference in someone’s future and to have a purpose behind what you do adds so much happiness to my life and career. I also get to work with all my friends I’ve made over the years in Hollywood and the action sports industry. We have a lot of fun at our events and everyone participating or attending gets a lot out of it…good times!!

Where do you see Money XLive in the next 2-5 years?

We really want to get financial literacy taught in schools. I hope to be touring more states with our event and keeping people out of debt, improving their lives and eliminating the mindset our school system puts them in. They don’t promote individualism and creativity. We need to break free from the thought of just going to school to get a job. You should be going to school to find out how to get paid doing what you love. It’s almost impossible to get ahead if you don’t know how to save, budget, invest and evolve as a person. The two things you deal with almost every day in life are people and money. We need to teach people how to work with both to be successful.
What projects do you have coming up in the near future?

Putting together more Money XLive events throughout the US and building quality partnerships. I’m also a managing partner in The Sun Grp and we’re throwing a huge music festival and benefit in Orange County. It’ll be a mix between Coachella and The Taste of Newport but will be more music driven. Orange County really needs a quality music festival of its own. Details will be out soon…Come party for a purpose!

My friends and I also just sold our first feature film. Ari Davis (pro surfer from La Jolla) wrote and directed a film I co-produced called “The Outside” It’s a fictional story based on a professional surfer’s journey through life. We have a slight chance of getting a limited release in theaters and will have a July release date!

I have a lot of creative and talented friends. I may take on more films now that we have that one wrapped.

How has Money XLive been using social media? How has it impacted your company?

That’s something we need to be more involved with being a new company. We have Facebook and Twitter, but it’s just Vince and I so our time has been limited and we’ve had more important things to focus on. Now that we have a strong following it’ll be one of our priorities.

How has the economy affected your part of the industry?

The economy has pretty much affected every industry/person somehow. Now more than ever companies are looking for new ways to market their brands while doing something positive and investing social equity into their consumers. I see marketing being more sales focused than just building a brand. With the amount of press and media coverage we get surrounding our events; I feel we’re in a great position to deliver a true ROI for companies.

What do you like and not like about working within the action sports industry?

It all goes back to living the lifestyle I love, working and having fun with my friends. There are so many funny and creative people in this industry. I have a lot of respect for companies like Volcom and RVCA that have created subcultures through their brands.

The thing I don’t like is sometimes people think they’re too cool for school and don’t embrace anything they feel isn’t core. I feel as a whole the actions sports brands can do a lot more for their athlete’s, employees and society in general. We have so much influence over pop culture, fashion and music. We should take advantage of the opportunities we have to raise awareness. I like the direction Malcolm and Ryan Sheckler are going with their foundations.

What’s the best advice you have been given?

A good reputation is worth more than gold. And seek wisdom over wealth.

What do you think about group Y and it’s events?

group Y does a great job connecting minds, sharing ideas and creating unity in a competitive market. We all have similar passions and it’s great to bring everyone together. I like how informative the groups are and their choice in speakers.

Any parting words?

I thank God for everything he has given me in life. My family and friends are some of the most creative, giving and influential people I have ever met. Life is great when you can share it with others.

Treat others well, choose your friends wisely and do what makes you happy. And most importantly, get involved with something that’s bigger and more meaningful than yourself.

And please keep in touch with us at www.MoneyXLive.com, www.SophisticatesUnited.com and www.TheOutsideMovie.com