Migual Olave with his client Romeo (left) and journalist Gayle King.
Welcome Back!
This week, Miguel Olave reveals how he went from being a corporate guy with “no experience” managing entertainers, to quitting his job to manage one of the hottest creators on TikTok.
It started with a hunch and a draft email he was almost too afraid to send. After negotiating deals with Dr. Pepper, Vita Coco and other top brands, Miguel has a new career and a roster of clients.
The Bodacious Tenacity mascot, Bailey
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Miguel at the the inaugural White House Creator Economy Conference hosted by President Biden, 2024
A meeting of the minds
Miguel and I connected last year on LinkedIn through our similar comments on a controversial post. That led to regular phone calls discussing our work, and the more I learned about Miguel, the more impressed I became.
Then one day he mentioned he was the new manager for Romeo, a TikTok creator whose Dr. Pepper jingle had gone viral with 3.9 million views overnight.
While People magazine and the morning shows were scrambling to interview Romeo, my focus was on Miguel. How had a 33-year-old father of four from Kansas with no business degree and little management experience become the agent of the moment? I believed Miguel's story illustrated the shift in power dynamics as the creator economy exploded. As creators chased big brand paydays, amateur managers like Miguel were emerging to claim a seat at the table.
I knew something big was in store for Miguel. I just never could have imagined how big. I pitched that story to 22 editors. No one took it.
That was part of the impetus for this podcast — there are stories of people persisting through fear that I want to tell. No one else was going to tell Miguel's. This week’s podcast tells the story of how a guy with "no experience" ended up negotiating with some of the world’s top global brands — and the surprising choice he made once he claimed his seat at the table.
“I didn’t have a fancy title, a fancy background or fancy connections”
Of all the important people in Miguel’s life, the most important are his family.
Coming up on the podcast
What happens when our worst fear comes true?
Sasha Karelsky's worst fear was that “the only person who could ever love me” would stop loving her. On our next podcast, Sasha discusses what happened when that fear became her reality — and the unexpected place it led her.
Sasha in Torres del Paine, Chile, 2025
In case you missed it…
“When I was 10, my grandmother told me if I got any darker, I'd have to use the back door.”
A very tan 10-year-old me in Florida, 1975
and on the last podcast…
Corey Young shares his incredible story of becoming a quadriplegic in a surfing accident at the age of 20 and learning to persist through the fear of his new reality while overcoming numerous traumas, including an attack where someone tried to set him on fire in his wheelchair.
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Special thanks to Kim Ledgerwood, Hannah Verdant, Laine Seaton and my kids for their support and hard work in making Bodacious Tenacity a reality.
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