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Ryan Serhant
THE REALITY OF
Wearing a tailored suit perfectly tted to his 63 body that covers up some nota-
bly awless sun-kissed skin, and sporting the latest tech gadgets, Ryan Serhant
radiates smooth importance as soon as he greets me for his interview, which
we have to squeeze in between meetings.
Were meeting the car around the corner, he says, and as we walk, he points
out places where his hit Bravo television show, Million Dollar Listing New York,
has been lmed. We jump into the car and head south through the wonderland
of Manhattan real estate that has become his eld of dreams. But from his rst
words and calm demeanor, its quickly clear that somehow he maintains per-
The Interview _
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47 JUNE/JULY 2014 HUDSONMOD.COM JUNE/JULY 2014 HM HM
spective in his crazy, competitive world of luxury
real estate inNewYork City.
Ryan Serhant is a relaxed and down-to-earth
guyunexpected qualities for the star of a hit re-
ality show, one of the most renowned real estate
brokers inNewYorkCity, anda too-good-looking
man just 29 years old. His life is similar to your av-
erage romantic comedy. The guy comes to NYC
to chase a career he wants, he eventually gives up
anddecides topursue another career, andthenthe
original career seeks himout. Except intheSerhant
version, his career goals of being an actor and real
estate agent have converged.
After graduating from Hamilton College with
degrees in theater and English literature, Serhant
moved to Manhattan in 2006 to pursue an acting
career. Following a stint on As the World Turns
workedas a farmhandas well as withcontractors.
Withthosejobs, theclockhits5oclockandyoure
done. You can go to the gymand hang out. Theres
nothinghangingover you. The2x4s arent callingat
two in the morning that they dont want to do the
deal. Theyre going to be there tomorrow, no mat-
ter what, explained Serhant, when asked howhis
life and responsibilities have changed. So I think
that the level of responsibility just gets greater and
greater andgreater as youget older, andImthekind
of personwho does not like failure of any kind, so I
goaboveandbeyondtomakesurethat everything, as
best I can, gets done, andgets done perfectly.
Serhant also mentioned that he never knew
people, or really understood the good and the bad
sides people have, the way he does now. He went
from acting and wearing his life on his sleeve, to
living ina worldwhere, he jokes, people wouldlie
to the face of baby Jesus to do a deal. He admits
that he is not a salesman at heart. He had to teach
himself howto persuade, negotiate and communi-
cate. Serhant had to become meaner, tougher, less
trusting in order to deal with people in a business
setting and efectively outcompete other brokers.
When it comes down to people, their money
and their homes, its every man for himself, he
says about the inner worldof Manhattanreal estate.
What setsSerhant apart fromotherbrokers, partic-
ularlyhisco-starsonMillionDollarListingNewYork,
FredrikEklundandLuisD. Ortiz, ishislaid-backand
welcomingaura. Althoughhe respects bothof them
and their business approaches, he plays the role of
real estate businessman differently than they do.
Ive never been that social. I was always kind of
shy growing up. I dont have that innate ability to
schmooze and sell, so I had to learn that. Serhant
says co-star Ortiz, onthe other hand, has a natural
knack for working a room.
When it comes to co-star Eklund, Serhant says,
Hes a very good broker because hes so tough and
cold, and I dont know if Ill ever be able to be like
that withpeople, but he canbe.
Asforthefuture, inadditiontoworlddomination,
Serhant is inthe process of openinga RyanSerhant
TeamofceinLosAngeles. Whenaskedtopredict the
next up-and-coming NewYork City real estate hot
spot, Serhant says,TheHudsonYardsbecauseofthe
newtransportationextensiontotheareaaswell asthe
expansionof the HudsonYards Time
Warner Center. Also, anywhere along
secondavenueontheUpperWest Side,
because of the secondavenue subway,
[that areais] goingtoexplode, andthen
people are going to regret that they
didnt buytherewhentheystart seeing
theresalepricestwoyearsfromnow.
Serhant is currently preparing for
a trip to Greece with his girlfriend,
Emilia Bechrakis, by reading The
OdysseyandbrushinguponhisGreek
mythology. Serhant andBechrakis will be celebrat-
ing their birthdays, July 2 and July 3, respectively,
while they are inGreece. Serhant will be preparing
for what maybeoneof themost difcult roles inthe
movieof his lifeyet: meetingtheBechrakis family.
And with that information, the car stops, and
Serhant steps out to work on his next deal, gra-
ciously asking the driver to take me home. On the
drive back throughthis transcendent city, I realize
why Serhant says he never plans on leaving. From
the businessmeninsuits running tocatcha cab, to
the elaborate street art providing a deeply human
statement inresponse toits corporate counterpart,
manypeople onlyvisit the set of NewYorkCity, but
Serhant is fortunate enoughto call it his reality.
Wejumpinhiscar
andheadsouth
throughthewonder-
landofManhattan
real estatethathas
becomehiseldof
dreams. Tostayon
topofhisworld
[Ryan] movesevery
coupleofyearsto
diferentpartsofthecity.
THEMOVIEOFHIS
LIFEShot on location
at 230East 63rdStreet
in the$3.3Mthirdoor
apartment, which is
currently oneof his
personal listings, Ryan
Serhant dons a faux fur.
Whowouldnt want to
buy fromthis man?
The Interview_ RYAN SERHANT
whichendedwhenhis character was killedofand
the writers decided, against all soapopera logic, to
resurrect his character fromthe deadhe soonreal-
izedthat actinginvolvedalot of waiting, standingin
line, going to callbacks, taking newheadshots and
workingwithactingcoaches, all without receiving
muchinreturnfor his eforts.
Serhantunlike most aspiring actors who hold
ontothehopeof makingit big, connectingthedotsin
betweenwithonedrabjobafter anotherdecidedto
trysomethingnewinearly2008. Hebecameareal es-
tateagent andgot ajobwithNest SeekersInternation-
al, eventuallybecomingexecutivevicepresident and
a broker of his ownteam. Inretrospect, it was prob-
ablytheright moveforall of hiscompetitivepassions.
I havemorecontrolwhichis whyI thinkI didso
well soquickly, because everyother real estate agent
will tell youthat theonethingabout real estateis that
theyhavenocontrol. Imnot thebuyer, Imnot thesell-
er, Imnot theattorney, Imnot thebanker. Imjust that
middlemanwhoshopingthedeal isgoingtoworkout.
But comparedtoacting inNewYorkCity, I have an
unbelievableamount of control overmyowndestiny.
Ironically, acting is now pursuing him. He not
only stars on Million Dollar Listing New York,
which will be entering its fourth season, but will
also star in the 2015 lm While Were Young, with
BenStiller. And this time, Hollywood called him.
But Serhant has never reallystoppedacting. Ser-
hant is always on a newset, whether hes planning
an 80s-themed open house or traveling to a difer-
ent country to meet his girlfriends parents. Hes
always tryingtoadvance anddevelophis character
intoa better versionof his former self. Andif theres
a core qualitytoSerhant, its his innate competitive
drive to never come insecond.
Serhant hadtoworkhardtoadvance his I want
to do more than I did yesterday attitude. In his
7-days-a-week world, he only has time for himself
on Saturdays, between 7 a.mand 10 a.m., when he
regroups and reads and responds to emails.
Tostayontopof his worldandimmersedinMan-
hattan real estate trends, he moves every couple of
years todiferent parts of thecity, whichhaveinclud-
ed Midtown, Murray Hill, Chelsea, the Upper East
Side and the Financial District. But he didnt just
becomeacondent businessman, whois busy24/7,
overnight. Early in his life, he lived on a farmand