Episode 213: Interview with Don Kurz

Some people spend their lives mastering one identity. Athlete. Executive. Entertainer. Entrepreneur. Don Kurz somehow became all of them.

In Episode 213 of The Savoir Faire Audio Experience, Don Kurz shares the remarkable story behind his new book Do the Hustle: Life Lessons from the Championship Lacrosse Field, the Dance Floor, and the Boardroom, a memoir and business reflection that traces a life filled with reinvention, resilience, unexpected pivots, and extraordinary experiences.

At first glance, Don’s life almost sounds fictional. A championship lacrosse player at Johns Hopkins University. A dance instructor during the disco era and regular at New York’s legendary Studio 54. A Wall Street consultant who later took a company public on NASDAQ. A hedge fund founder. The executive board chair and principal shareholder of creative agency Omelet. Yet somehow, every chapter connects naturally into one larger story about adapting when life forces you to change direction.

Born in Bayside, Queens, and later raised in Elmont, Long Island, Don’s early years revolved around sports. He attended public schools and quickly established himself as a standout athlete, becoming captain of championship football and lacrosse teams while also competing in wrestling.

“I had a great overall experience,” Don says of his childhood and school years.

Athletics became central to his identity. That drive eventually led him to Johns Hopkins University, one of the most respected lacrosse programs in the country.

“Hopkins tends to be known for two things: doctors, which I definitely am not, as well as lacrosse players, which I am,” Don jokes during the interview.

At Johns Hopkins, Don became part of history, playing on the university’s first NCAA lacrosse championship team in 1974 after the NCAA playoff era officially began. The experience remains one of the defining moments of his life.

“That camaraderie and that brotherhood of winning a championship and all the grind that goes into it really forges bonds for life,” he says.

Even today, decades later, members of those championship teams still reunite annually, evidence of the lifelong relationships forged through competition and teamwork.

But Don’s athletic career came to an abrupt and painful end after devastating knee injuries during his junior year.

“I got hit by the injury bug,” he explains.

At the time, sports medicine was nowhere near what it is today. Arthroscopic surgery did not yet exist, and after tearing his ACL and MCL, Don was placed in a cast. Attempting to return too quickly only worsened the damage.

“My sports career was over quite abruptly,” he recalls.

For someone whose identity had revolved around athletics, the emotional impact was enormous.

“That had kind of defined who I was in my life up to that point,” he says.

But what could have become a devastating ending instead became the beginning of an entirely new chapter.

As Don recovered, disco culture exploded across America in the late 1970s. Through a chance meeting with a dance instructor from New York Hustle, Inc., he was introduced to the dance world.

“She taught me some of the moves,” Don says.

Because he had played drums as a child, rhythm came naturally. Soon, he was teaching dance classes himself while returning to Johns Hopkins, eventually becoming an instructor for the legendary Arthur Murray Dance Studios.

Then came Studio 54.

One of Don’s dance students worked for fashion giant Anne Klein alongside legendary designer Donna Karan. One night, they invited him to Studio 54 shortly after the iconic nightclub opened.

“At that time, I had never heard of it,” Don says.

Within months, however, Studio 54 became the center of celebrity culture, nightlife, and disco excess. Don quickly became a regular.

“It really is true, the stereotypical velvet rope with thousands of people outside waiting to get in,” he recalls.

Inside, he found himself surrounded by cultural icons like Andy Warhol, Mick Jagger, Jackie Onassis, and Truman Capote.

“I wasn’t friends with them, but I rubbed shoulders with them,” he says.

Though the stories from Studio 54 are entertaining, Don views that era as more than just nightlife nostalgia. For him, dancing represented another lesson in reinvention.

“I wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for these terrible knee injuries,” he reflects. “Life has a plan… when you have a setback, it might be just the path you need for your next run.”

Eventually, however, Don realized he needed to transition again.

“At some point, the coolness wears off,” he says bluntly.

Determined to build a more sustainable future, he earned his MBA from Columbia University and entered the consulting world, joining what is now PricewaterhouseCoopers.

There, Don learned the discipline and analytical thinking that would shape his business career.

“I finally started to buckle down and work hard,” he says.

Over the next decade, he rose through consulting ranks, eventually becoming partner of the New York office at a major consulting firm. Yet despite the success, Don found himself restless.

“I knew I didn’t want to be a consultant the rest of my life,” he says.

That desire led him into entrepreneurship.

In 1990, Don joined a tiny promotional marketing company called Equity Marketing, taking a significant pay cut to bet on himself. Alongside one other executive, he eventually bought out the founder and rapidly scaled the company.

The business specialized in entertainment marketing, particularly promotional partnerships involving licensed intellectual property from companies like Disney and Warner Bros.

“This was a company that did for Burger King what Happy Meals are for McDonald’s,” Don explains.

Under Don’s leadership, the company exploded in growth, eventually reaching nearly $250 million in sales and going public on NASDAQ in 1994.

“It ain’t easy,” Don says of taking a company public.

He details the massive work involved: audits, SEC filings, legal reviews, investor relations, and convincing underwriters that the company’s story was compelling enough for public markets.

“Then you’re at the mercy of the public markets,” he says.

Following that success, Don later launched a hedge fund before eventually becoming involved with Omelet, the creative marketing agency where he currently serves as executive board chair and principal shareholder.

Once again, the opportunity emerged organically rather than through a rigid master plan.

“It was serendipitous,” Don says.

That theme runs throughout his life story. The ability to pivot. To adapt. To embrace uncertainty instead of resisting it.

Those lessons ultimately became the foundation for Do the Hustle.

Ironically, Don had never planned to write a book. The idea emerged only after Forbes approached him about creating a traditional business book.

But after reviewing the outline, he realized something was missing.

“I didn’t find it to be terribly unique or compelling. Just another business book,” he says.

Instead, Don began taking notes about the unusual intersections of his life: athletics, dance culture, entrepreneurship, public companies, setbacks, relationships, and reinvention.

Eventually, a theme emerged.

“There are people excellent in athletics or dance or business, but I wasn’t aware of too many people who had that trifecta,” he explains.

What followed became far more personal than he originally expected.

Writing the book forced Don to revisit painful moments, including business struggles, the collapse of his hedge fund during the 2008 financial crisis, and his divorce.

“It was a really emotional journey,” he admits.

Still, he refused to sugarcoat those experiences.

“If you’re going to do this, you need to be fully transparent,” he says.

That honesty is what ultimately gives Do the Hustle its power. The book is not about perfection or constant success. It is about resilience, self-awareness, and learning to embrace life’s unexpected turns.

For Don Kurz, every setback became preparation for the next chapter.

And perhaps that is the greatest lesson his story offers.

No matter how carefully life is planned, reinvention is inevitable. The key is learning how to keep moving forward when the music changes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y0H0d_uc68

🎧 To hear the full conversation with Don Kurz, tune in to his episode on The Savoir Faire Audio Experience, streaming now.