Back in 1992, when I was living on the Upper East Side, I discovered an incredible deal. There was a high-end establishment called the Town Club with an average member age of 72. They wanted younger blood, so they ran a special for anyone under 25 – you could sign up for $99.
I was all in!
The Town Club was located in a massive neo-Georgian townhouse at 9 East 86th Street. This 51-foot-wide, six-story limestone marvel boasted over 28,000 square feet of space with a sauna, swimming pool, and rooftop solarium. But their most attractive feature: ACCESS!
Walking into the Town Club every day, it felt like the world's most exclusive networking event – if networking events were held in steam rooms and came with complimentary towels.
The clientele was Manhattan's business elite. Sam LeFrak, who had an entire city named after him, rubbed elbows with CEOs of major Wall Street firms. And let me tell you, nothing levels the playing field quite like seeing a Fortune 500 CEO in nothing but a towel and a shower cap.
My roommate, Spit, and I figured if we sat in the sauna all day, every day, and struck up conversations, we could make connections. We went there every day until Spit finally got a job offer. Our plan worked like a charm.
The lesson? Don't wait for permission or the perfect credentials. Sometimes your seat at the table is disguised as a sweaty bench in a steam room. Access is everything, and sometimes it costs less than you think.
Now at 56, I think about all the things I wish I could tell that young guy sweating it out at the Town Club. There were so many lessons I learned the hard way that could have saved me time, money, and mistakes. That's why I recently created a video about the 40 things I wish I had known in my twenties – for anyone looking to get ahead faster than I did.
