Earn Your Leisure Podcast #348: How Dre London Discovered Post Malone & Built a Multi-Million Dollar Tequila Empire

Release Date: November 6, 2025
Hosts: Rashad Bilal, Troy Millings
Guest: Dre London – Music entrepreneur, former manager of Post Malone, founder of Don Londrés Tequila

Overview

This episode offers an inspiring, in-depth look into Dre London's remarkable journey from the streets of Brixton, South London, to discovering and managing global superstar Post Malone, and building his own multi-million dollar tequila brand, Don Londrés. Dre shares honest stories about hustle, perseverance, industry insights, the reality of being a manager, business ownership, and legacy building. The conversation also dives into music industry mechanics, the evolution of UK and US hip-hop, leveraging relationships, cultural disruptorship, and Dre’s desire to create generational wealth and opportunity.

Episode Structure

1. Introduction and Origins (02:49 – 08:17)
2. Transatlantic Hustle & Family Dynamics (08:17 – 15:11)
3. The Leap to America and Learning the Music Game (15:11 – 28:54)
4. Discovering & Breaking Post Malone (28:54 – 38:04)
5. The Role & Realities of a Music Manager (38:04 – 44:16)
6. Branding Genius: Sunflower & Movie Partnerships (44:16 – 52:40)
7. Pivot to Tequila: Founding Don Londrés (52:40 – 67:22)
8. Building Outside Music: Real Estate, Legacy, Disruption (67:22 – 81:41)
9. Final Reflections, Resources, and Contact Info (81:41 – End)

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Dre London's Beginnings, Inspiration, and Hustle

• Brixton Roots: Dre reminisces about his early life in Brixton, South London, and the hustle mentality that shaped his work ethic.
• Vision and Perseverance: Despite skepticism, Dre was determined to move to America and succeed in music.
  Quote:

  "Perseverance, man. Perseverance. You got to visualize it. You got to really believe it." (15:31)

2. Navigating Family & Social Expectations

• Challenges of managing success and family expectations after rising from humble beginnings ("When do you stop?" "No is a complete sentence.").
• Importance of boundaries; hosts discuss informing with knowledge rather than hand-outs.
  Quote:

  "No is the most powerful word in the dictionary." (14:14)

3. Coming to America & Music Hustle

• Details on moving from London to New York in 2008.
• Early hustles included helping French Montana as he built his career.
• Learning US Industry: Immersion in New York rap culture and later LA's evolving content houses primed Dre to spot new trends early.

4. Discovering Post Malone & Pioneering a New Sound

• White Iverson: Dre encouraged Post Malone to blend singing and rapping—what became "melodic rap."
• The journey from a content house in Encino to viral success.
• Early strategic focus on building social following and buzz before seeking label attention.
  Quote:

  "People looked at me like I was fucking crazy...and I'm telling them he's gonna be the biggest thing in hip hop and music. Full stop." (29:22)

• Dre’s relentless grind: from 4 booked SXSW shows to hustling and playing 14 shows in 4 days.

  "That was my hustle. I was born bouncing that ball. You couldn't tell me no." (31:45)

5. Major Records & Culture-Altering Success

• Transition from White Iverson to Congratulations to Rockstar:
  • Dre financed the "Congratulations" video himself; the record's graduation anthem status boosted Post into new levels.
  • "Rockstar" previewed on the internet, pushed relentlessly at radio—eventually debuting and peaking at #1 after debuting at #2.
    Quote:

    "I was so disappointed when the song first came out because it debuted at number two in the charts...I wanted some Michael Jackson shit." (34:37)

• Creating Diamond Singles: Post Malone, under Dre’s management, became the artist with the most diamond singles of all time.

6. The Reality and Strategy of Music Management

• The Manager Role: More than quiet support—it's shaping brand, running business, sustaining an artist’s emotional and commercial highs and lows.
• Importance of "getting your paper right," including having a "sunset clause" to ensure compensation continues after parting ways.
  Quote:

  "The manager's the label...The most thankless job in the music business because no one comes and tells you, thank you, man." (38:22)
  "Make sure that you got your sunset, man. If you don't know what the sunset is...go look up and make sure you got that sunset." (41:12)

• Dre likens collecting managerial percentages to "collecting the shavings" as a barber – you need a big story to make the shavings large.

7. Leveraging Branding with ‘Sunflower’ and Hollywood (44:16 – 52:40)

• Brand x Music Synergy: Dre recounts how he secured “Sunflower” for the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse movie, leveraging marketing spend from both the film and Post’s album.
• Shared industry secrets about aligning music release strategy with film for maximum exposure and budget leverage.

8. Building Don Londrés Tequila: Disrupting the Spirits World

The Pivot:

• Origins: While touring, Dre noted tequila’s positive social effect compared to other spirits. Inspiration struck during the COVID-19 shutdown.
• Design: Started prototyping the unique vase-shaped bottle using a 3D printer.
• Authenticity: Sourced tequila through a series of unlikely connections, ultimately partnering with Francisco Gonzalez (son of Don Julio and creator of 1942).
• Persistence: It took over a year of relationship building with the Gonzalez family and learning the craft from agave to bottling.
• Cultural Play: Dre wanted Don Londrés tequila to be especially smooth and woman-friendly—"make it for the women, because what the women like, the men love." (60:04)
• Distribution & Hands-On Approach:
  • Maintains total involvement ("I'm every single thing to do with this"), refusing to let go of majority ownership ("I will never sell more than 51%").
  • Leveraged music industry connections for distribution and tastings (with major support from Live Nation’s Michael Rapino).
  • Broke through in a market dominated by huge players (LVMH, Diageo), highlighting the importance of culture over advertising budgets.
• Success Metrics:
  • Sold over 10,000 cases and over $2 million in sales in 18 months with minimal advertising.

  "Right now I'm disrupting. I'm being disruptive...I cannot match their budget. But you can't match me on the streets with this culture." (78:10)

9. Legacy, Real Estate, and Diversification

• Vision: Create generational wealth, legacy, and opportunity reminiscent of Jack Daniels’ origin story.
• Real Estate: Quietly built a portfolio of 12-15 properties and is developing Georgia’s first gated solar community (24 acres outside Atlanta).
• Film Production: Shot a debut film, "86," during the Hollywood strike, aiming for festival premieres.
• New Artists: Still scouting and developing music talent, including a new artist from Memphis ("Lil Q").

10. Final Thoughts and Practical Wisdom

• Balancing Multiple Businesses: Dre advises aiming for diversified income—“three to five” streams minimum.
• Advises Managers and Entrepreneurs: Structure deals for long-term reward, stay hands-on, and think legacy.
• Information Is the Edge:

  "The only thing that's stopping us from being billionaires or being more and more millionaires out here is the one word: information." (71:54)

• Cultural Disruption is Key: Use your story, passion, and community roots as leverage in any industry.

11. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On family and boundaries:

  "No is the most powerful word in the dictionary." – Dre London (14:14)

• On vision and hustle:

  "You have to be able to see things before you...I had a vision for an earth that no one could take away from me." (26:11)

• On the artist-manager relationship:

  "I can't be this glorified babysitter for the rest of my life." (74:27)

• On tequila's disruption:

  "As soon as they try it, they're gonna love it. You wake up in the morning with no hangover because there's nothing in tequila...Most of these drinks are getting in trouble today...There's a lot of people getting in trouble because it's not even 100% agave." (66:24)

• On being hands-on:

  "There’s no one that looks like us in this business. I’m so hands-on that I walk in the room and I tell them: tell me the last time you guys saw George Clooney in here. I’m here on the ground looking at you all in your eyes." (67:40)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Dre’s Early Hustle: 08:17 – 15:11
• Moving to America and NYC grind: 15:11 – 28:54
• Discovering Post Malone & "White Iverson": 28:54 – 34:37
• Breakdown: Music Manager Role & Industry Advice: 38:04 – 44:16
• Securing 'Sunflower' for Spider-Man & Using Promo Budgets: 44:16 – 52:40
• Origin Story of Don Londrés Tequila: 52:40 – 60:04
• Building Distribution and Competing Against the Giants: 65:04 – 78:10
• Legacy & Multi-Stream Wealth (Real Estate, Film, Music): 67:22 – 81:41
• Contact & Don Londrés Info: 80:42 – 81:54

Resources & Connect

• Dre London on Instagram: @drelondon
• Don Londrés Tequila: donlondres.com
• Find and order Don Londrés, learn more about locations and expansion via the website.

Final Note

This episode is a blueprint for the multicultural grind: blending street wisdom, strategic risk, business acumen, resilience, and a refusal to accept limitations on what’s possible. Dre London’s story highlights the power of betting on yourself, controlling your narrative, leveraging networks, and building legacies that outlive trends.

End of summary.