From the Miami Open to Coachella, stars join David Grutman at FIU for book launch

Fresh off her win at the Miami Open, the number one tennis player in the world took the stage at FIU.

Instead of a sound check for music mega-festival Coachella in California, rapper Young Thug ditched his rehearsal to join his friend and renowned hospitality entrepreneur at FIU to share inspiring life lessons with students.

It was an evening full of surprises all around when hospitality icon and occasional professor of hospitality David Grutman returned to campus for one night to recreate a popular course that he has taught over the years at FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. This time, however, the gathering was also a celebration of the launch of his new book, “Take It Personal.” Introduced on stage by FIU President Jeanette Nuñez, Grutman gave thanks to the university for inviting him to teach in the first place - a huge move for the No. 1 hospitality school in the state of Florida as Grutman's class became the single largest enrollment in the university's history, with several hundred students taking the star-studded, three-credit hospitality business course that has featured guests such Bad Bunny, Jason Momoa, Victoria and David Beckham, among others.

“Thank you so much, FIU. I’m sure you may have heard I have a book and this book is all because of FIU,” Grutman said to an auditorium of more than 500 excited students, alumni, faculty, staff and fans at the Student Academic Success Center on its main campus. “So, after five years of teaching a course at FIU, it inspired me to put it down on paper. The classes that I taught here have inspired me so much,” he added as he continued to share how the book came about.

The 204-page, 11-chapter book chronicles Grutman’s hospitality origin story, the importance of building an ecosystem, lessons learned while building his hospitality empire, and even includes a forward by reality TV star and celebrity businesswoman Kim Kardashian, who describes her close friend as “energetic, visionary and loyal.”

“He created an ecosystem – a flywheel where a VIP experience at LIV drives traffic to Komodo, which drives buzz for his hotels, and so on,” wrote Kardashian. “That’s not just hospitality, that’s strategic scaling. He engineers a self-sustaining culture, and that’s a billion-dollar lesson in business. That balance of being ambitious without losing authenticity - is something I really admire,” she said.

The star power continued when Aryna Sabalenka, the world’s top female tennis player, joined Grutman on stage to discuss the hard work it takes to become number one.

“When I saw you coming, my whole body started shaking,” said a student on the FIU tennis team who got a chance to ask Sabalenka a question. “What’s the difference between you now and your younger self?”

The tennis player recounted the years where she struggled to reach the top and also how she came to Grutman to ask for endorsement advice.

Minutes later, students cheered in excitement when Grutman introduced and asked rapper Young Thug to join him on stage. The rapper spoke to the class for about 30 minutes in an appearance that went viral on social media.

“You gotta be smart,” Thug said. “You need talent, you need to be better than people like me, you’ve got to be very detail oriented, you’ve got to be smart,” he shared in response to a student’s question about how an artist can take back their career from labels and tough contracts.

The first 100 students who signed up for the event received a signed copy of the book and got to take a picture with Grutman, who received an honorary doctorate from FIU last year.

"We are so grateful to David Grutman for deciding to come back to FIU to launch his book and for sharing his entrepreneurial spirit and business lessons that bring to life academics in a special way," said Michael Cheng, Chaplin School dean and professor. 

For students, the key takeaways from the book included the importance of building an ecosystem and relationships that last, getting out of their comfort zone and meeting new people, and learning that there's no such thing as overnight fame - playing instead "the long game," in Grutman's words. He also advised students to check their egos and shared that he's a big fan of betting on people who work hard and could become future success stories.

The bottom line for Grutman: “'Taking it personal' is about caring so deeply.” 

"Take It Personal" is on sale now at takeitpersonalbook.com and at the FIU bookstore.