{"id":19264,"date":"2017-11-25T15:03:58","date_gmt":"2017-11-25T19:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=19264"},"modified":"2017-12-11T17:20:45","modified_gmt":"2017-12-11T21:20:45","slug":"how-rocky-props-saved-paul-wintners-business-in-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=19264","title":{"rendered":"How Rocky Props Saved Paul Wintner\u2019s Business in 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Paul with Sly at The Expendables Premiere (Thanks Randy!)\r\n<\/pre>\n
Paul Wintner is a long-time SZoner and one of the most die-hard Sylvester Stallone fans in the world.\u00a0 We\u2019ve shined a spotlight on Paul\u2019s Stallone Collection<\/a> several times over the years. It\u2019s always a pleasure interacting with Paul.\u00a0 Until you see his collection, you\u2019d never know the quality of his pieces or the number of props he has.\u00a0 You probably wouldn\u2019t know that he is also the CEO of Wintner Artists<\/a> where he works with voice-over talent for movies and television.<\/p>\n
\"\"<\/p>\n
When I recently visited Paul\u2019s business site<\/a>, I noticed he had a new logo (Hey, Yo! Eye of the Tiger!) and had posted on his front page the famous quote from Rocky Balboa<\/em> (\u201cLife is not about how hard you can hit\u2026).\u00a0 I knew that Paul\u2019s agency had worked on several of Sly\u2019s biggest films (Rocky<\/em> Balboa<\/em>, Rambo<\/em>, The Expendables<\/em>) but I wondered if something else was at play.<\/p>\n
So, I asked.<\/p>\n
Paul went on to tell me how Rocky<\/em> saved him again.\u00a0 Let me turn it over to Paul\u2026<\/p>\n
Last year my business partner and best friend of over 22 years decided to leave Wintner Artist Management.\u00a0 Looking back, the signs were all there, but at the time it came as a huge surprise.\u00a0 Over the years I had worked extremely hard to help talent of Wintner Artist Management build their careers.\u00a0 My company became much more successful than most thought would be possible with me as the CEO (myself included).\u00a0 And then an unfortunate thing happened.\u00a0 I became complacent.\u00a0 Like Rocky Balboa in Rocky III<\/em>, I lost the eye of the tiger.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\"\"<\/p>\n
Paul's Rocky Fedora and Glove<\/pre>\n
Things were going well.\u00a0 The company was established. I had guided some of these guys from their first jobs to being the biggest names in the business. I had taken my huge love for films and memorabilia and turned it into a career I loved.\u00a0 My partner was working closely with the talent.\u00a0 I was steering the ship and we were coasting along.\u00a0 Maybe, looking back it was me who was coasting along.\u00a0 It was like the saying, \u201cThings were going great, until they weren\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0 When my partner decided to quit Wintner Artist Management, every single voice-over artist except one decided to go with him.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Who could blame them?\u00a0 He had been working closely with the talent.\u00a0 He had their booking schedules and spent more time dealing with the daily grind.\u00a0 Lately they felt he was their manager.\u00a0 While I was still there making sure our talent were reading for the projects I wanted them to land since I had always kept a log of all the great movies coming soon. But I had lost some of the old Wintner fire. Going with my partner must have seemed like the smart move to all of them\u2026 all of them except one.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Lucky for me, it was my number one guy, Ashton Smith, who decided to stay with me.\u00a0 Ashton had done voice-over work for Rocky Balboa<\/em>, Rambo<\/em> and Creed<\/em>.\u00a0 It meant the world when Ashton told me, \u201cI\u2019m staying with you my man, you always believed in me and I will always believe in you.\u00a0I sit here in my studio in my beautiful home with my plane all because of you!\u201d\u00a0 It was almost like Burgess Meredith as Mickey, telling Rocky to get up \u2018cuz he didn\u2019t hear no bell.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\"\"<\/p>\n
As I sat in the middle of my office I realized I was CEO of a talent agency who after 20 plus years was left with no partner and one voice-over artist.\u00a0 The odds against being able to start over again at 46 were against me.\u00a0 I looked up and found myself staring at some of my most treasured Rocky<\/em> memorabilia.\u00a0 Stallone and Rocky had always resonated with me.\u00a0 Like them, I was considered a longshot for success.\u00a0 School was hard for me.\u00a0 Sly and Rocky had made it.\u00a0 So had I\u2026 once.\u00a0 Could I do it again? \u00a0Could I regain the Eye of the Tiger?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It was almost like I heard the Rocky<\/em> theme in my head.\u00a0 I knew what I had to do.\u00a0 First, I was going to give Ashton the attention he deserved for staying.\u00a0 He had been my Mickey to inspire me, but now I would be his Mickey and promote him like the champ he was.\u00a0 I immediately started looking for new voice talents \u2013 I wanted a big voice for blockbusters, a nice midrange guy and a few more to round out the roster.\u00a0 I also knew that I would re-design my logo incorporating the Eye of the Tiger.\u00a0 I went home and told my wife, my Adrian the news.\u00a0 And like Rocky\u2019s Adrian, she believed and encouraged me every step of the way.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\"\"<\/p>\n
\n
My talent search led me to Matthew Rhode<\/a>.\u00a0 In just ten months I made Matthew a top-notch competitor.\u00a0 Matthew landed Logan<\/em>, Pirates of the Caribbean<\/em>, Spider-Man: Homecoming<\/em>, Blade Runner 2049<\/em>,\u00a0Ghost in the Shell<\/em>, Kingsmen 2<\/em>, The Mountain Between Us,\u00a0<\/em>American Made<\/em>, 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri<\/em>, Jumanji<\/em>,\u00a0<\/em>and is now heard on Star Wars: Last Jedi<\/em> Verizon commercials.\u00a0 Matthew even landed Star Trek: Discovery<\/em> for the CBS network.\u00a0 Ashton Smith (my Mickey) had his best year ever with film campaigns.\u00a0 Jamie Anderson<\/a> came on board just two months ago and\u00a0out of the gates landed four films\u00a0Roman J. Israel, Esq.<\/em>; The Star<\/em>,The Greatest Showman<\/em> and I, Tonya.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a02017 was one of the best years ever for Wintner Artists.\u00a0 Talk about a comeback!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
When I think back to me sitting alone in my office, at the lowest point of my business life, I can truthfully say, that it was my Rocky props and what they represent that gave me the strength and courage to get back up and go the distance!<\/p>\n
I also want to thank my family for their love and support.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\"\"<\/p>\n
+++<\/p>\n
I asked Paul if he ever speaks to his former partner\/best friend.\u00a0 Paul\u2019s response was perfect: \u201cAbsolutely.\u00a0 Things happen for a reason.\u00a0 Rocky and Apollo stayed friends,\u201d he laughed.<\/p>\n
As my conversation with Paul came to a close, I asked, \u201cSo your Rocky props really saved you?\u201d\u00a0 Without hesitation, Paul responded, \u201cMy props, Ashton Smith and every Rocky film ever made and my family.\u00a0 Because it ain\u2019t over till it\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n
\"\"<\/p>\n
Paul\u2019s story is truly inspiring and I\u2019m grateful he was happy to share it.\u00a0 Paul wishes some how Sly, who is probably sick of hearing it, knew how much that character has inspired people like him.\u00a0 Like many Stallone fans, Paul was inspired to make fitness a part of his daily life since he was a teenager.\u00a0 It was Rocky who got Paul through his rough teenage years, gave him the inspiration that he could succeed in business when he was just starting out and it was Rocky again who inspired Paul to make a comeback in business when others thought it would be impossible.<\/p>\n
Thanks Paul for sharing your story (and Rocky props)! – Craig<\/p>\n
\n
“Life is not about how hard you hit.\u00a0 It is about how hard you can get hit<\/span> and keep moving forward<\/span>.” – Rocky Balboa<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Paul with Sly at The Expendables Premiere (Thanks Randy!) Paul Wintner is a long-time SZoner and one of the most<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":912,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,54,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-celebs","category-movies","category-tv"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/912"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19264"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19264\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19448,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19264\/revisions\/19448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}