Q: How are you doing today?   

A: I’m doing good today; our A/C went down so it’s a little hot in here today.  

Q: Oh ok, I know how that can be. Mr. Harvey can you introduce yourself to our readers and the world?   

A: I’m Victor Harvey President and Owner of V.Georgio Vodka, V.Georgio Spirits Company in particular. Started the company 3 years ago, we got into it to develop a line of spirits first one being vodka. We are also going into Rum, Tequilas and a couple of other things which are coming out within a few months. We are mainly focused on Vodka, we have a line of ultra premium vodka we have what we call our “Signature” which is just a straight ultra smooth vodka; we also have an Acai Vodka which includes an infusion of the Brazilian Berry. Then we have our “VIP” which is Guananan Cranberry which has caffeine which gives a lil kick to it. It has been off to a good start and has been out for about 4 months now.

Q: Ok…that’s cool. Is there any sentimental meaning behind the name of your spirits company?

A: Well yes, that’s actually my name. V is for Victor obviously and the G is for Georgio which is my middle name, so that’s where it came from.

Q: I read a little bit about and I see you received your first record deal and dropped a hit single in 1993, as well as being known for having “had an appetite for the stage.” What changed your direction from Major Recording Artist to the World’s Elite Vodka founder?

A: Well its funny cause when I got my first record deal I was signed to a major label and I think I was keeping like 8 or 9 cents a record and after the 1st record they told me I owed them like $200,000 or $300,000. So you know my 2nd advance on my next record was like $5,000, it’s obvious I couldn’t live on $5,000 so I never released that record while I was signed to them. I took 2 years to learn the business and then started my own record label, which was called Educated Records. Basically I named it that because obviously I had taken the time to learn the business and dropped a record called, “The Rise and The Fall Rising” and it became a major hit. I took that money that I made off that album and started investing in real estate and bought tons of real estate, hotels and things like that. I wanted to expand my hotel brand internationally and so I bought one in Jamaica and I have on in Costa Rica. So what I started doing was looking for opportunities, the condo-conversion thing became real big and we started looking into doing some of that stuff. Then the market dried up and I said, Hey, I own nightclubs, I own hotels and I was in the Entertainment Business and I was also a Sports Agent, so the commonality between all of those things was ALCOHOL! I was traveling around and I started seeing that was the one thing that could transcend all different barriers and all different walks of life, that type of thing. I decided to dibble and dabble in it and put that on top of my father who was what I called an “amateur wine maker” when I was a kid. It really sparked my interest so I figured I would give it a try and here we are.

Q: You are the only African-American to own a distilled Spirits Company, is an overwhelming title to posses?

A: Well you know its one of those things that is definitely something that I am proud of, however I think that it embraces that whole movement that times have changed and letting us know we can do and we can be anything we want to be! So being the 1st definitely….you knows there is some pride there but I know I’m definitely not going to be the last.

Q: How has marketing such high profile events such as Shaq’s Birthday Bash, Don Kings Valentines Boxing Match and BCS Championship VIP Party, recently taken V.Georgio Vodka to another level in comparison to your competition? 

A: You know one of the things I say is we have been very blessed to have a lot of those opportunities and 99% of those opportunities come through personal relationships, whether its myself or someone that’s on our team. I’m very big into the team concept because I played sports my whole life, so its definitely giving us a huge impact into the marketplace….but I think that showing people again that with the whole “times are changing” theme, it still holds true whether its business, whether its bad relationships, whether its politics, whether its what you drink, at some point in time you are going to change. Very few of us still consume what we did when we were in college and didn’t have any money. So it has opened many doors for us. 

Q: What was the experience like being able to work with such honored and well-known hip hop artists such as Tupac, Notorious BIG and Queen Latifah.? 

A: It was BIG man…To know those types of people!!! I remember the first show I did with Queen Latifah was actually here in Big Front Park in front of 11,000 people and it was Naughty by Nature, myself and LA, it was a bunch of people and it was pretty overwhelming at that time. I was very young but to know artists like Pac and Big, you know they are two of the most talented guys that I’ve ever met and it’s not really what we did onstage, it was the conversations you would have backstage when you took your costume off (so to speak). You really get down to knowing a person and who somebody is and what kind of struggles and things they’ve been through and what they face on a day-to-day basis. Those are some of the most memorable things. 

Q: Your business ethic is the true definition of the word Entrepreneur. Also, you have expanded your interests into other markets such as real estate and Co-Founding overseas Sports Agency V. Georgio Spirits. How do you manage to have time for your family and a social life outside your company? 

A: It is really just an understanding of finding balance and what I call the joy and peace inside yourself. I don’t allow the business or any aspect of my life to overwhelm any other part of it. I have 2 kids-a 9yr old son and an 11yr old daughter that are definitely first and foremost and we spend a lot of time together and we have a great relationship. Everything else comes secondary and it just kind of falls into place….I don’t look at what I do as work, its like if you enjoy what you do then you don’t really look at it as having a job. 

Q: It seems like every business venture you’ve touched as turned “golden”, what are your secrets to success? 

A: I’m not really sure if there are any secrets. I think that and I say it all the time to my team that the difference between the person that has and the person that doesn’t have as much doesn’t have anything to do with luck, its hard work, but I think one of the things that has helped us to achieve the success that we have, is focus. Not just myself, but as the leader of this team, I call myself the quarterback and the point guard of this team and I remain very, very focused. I just parlayed that to the rest of the team and that is what helped us to get where were at. 

Q: How would you describe your strategy to keep your premiere vodka at the fore-front of today’s alcoholic beverages? 

A: Well one the things is helping my vodka have such dominance and presence in the market is that it’s easy to mix with so many different things. What makes us unique is that we have a way of purifying our vodka that no one else in the world can do and that’s one that makes it so smooth. Two, we use all-natural ingredients, so as we’re becoming a more health-conscious society that’s what makes V.Georgio a lil bit different. Even though our signature cocktails we use all-natural fruits as oppose to a lot of juices and sugars and things like that. We look at ourselves as the leader in the market, although there are other brands that have been around that have a dominant share in the marketplace. In the short time that we’ve been out we’ve been able to secure a significant part of that market and in the next 3-5 years we are looking to become the Industry leader! 

Q: Is there a certain level of pressure behind exceeding your audience’s expectations to produce an exotic and premiere product? 

A: Well again, I don’t adhere to pressure, there is no pressure….I do what I want to do, when I want to do it and how I want to do it! Its like, if that’s what we do, we do it at our own pace and I didn’t get into this thing to put my face on billboards all over the place…we got into it to take it over! We understand that and we understand its not going to happen overnight. So again, I don’t adhere to pressure. 

Q: If your audience wants to purchase your product outside the U.S. can they do that and if so, how many different countries is V. Georgio Vodka available?  

A: Right now we are in 5 countries so the easiest way to get the product if you’re not here in Florida or you’re not in Las Vegas, I direct everybody to go to Crown Wine & Spirits, they have an awesome program, they have an awesome online program. People are actually ordering our product from all over the world, they order it directly and they ship it out to you.

Q: If someone asked you for your “5 YEAR” plan, what could they expect from you and the V. Georgio Brand? 

A: Again, like I said in 3-5 years we’re going to be the Industry leader in terms of the Ultra-Premium Vodka, behind that we are rolling out the rums, tequila and we have a line of cognac that we’re working on, scotch as well. I own the distiller, so it makes it a lil different…we can do whatever we want to do. 

Q: Well, you are a successful distilled spirits, club, restaurant, hotel and beauty salon owner, as well as having various dealing in real estate. It seems like the “SKY IS THE LIMIT” for you, what other business ventures do you have planned for yourself in the future? 

A: Right now we’re about to rollout a line of what we call, Scents by Georgio, which is an Ultra-Premium line of candles….they kind of coincide with the whole V.Georgio lifestyle. Besides that, I’m just focusing on my kids, my kids are at that age where they have their own ambition and they have their own thing they want to do and that is what I’m focusing on. Business-wise, I am also very active in the community I have the Harvey Family Foundation where we do a lot of other things with under privileged kids. I also coach a youth football team and that’s like my passion. For real…I am just enjoying life Bro. 

Q: Well, that’s good to hear! It was a pleasure doing this interview with you for 24hourhiphop.com. Do you have any last words for the readers? 

A: Again, I want to encourage everyone to pursue whatever dream you have and to do it with passion and integrity! And one of the things I tell my kids is that when you focus on doing right, you can’t be doing wrong!  

Q: Again, I appreciate the interview and it was a pleasure. 

A: Thank You!