way to identify a Brian Daniel client is by applying for a job through his agency and getting through to the client interview.
Why won’t you name your VIP clients? I have to sign confidentiality agreements. It would shake the confidence of the client if I dropped their name. I have seen other agencies do this, and suddenly lawyers are demanding payment for using their clients’ name “to endorse your company”. One day I was sitting in the famous LA deli Nate ’n Al,
where all the movie stars go, with the owner, the grandson of the original owner. I say, “You have all these huge stars come in here, so why you don’t put their pictures up on the walls?”, and he says, “My grandpa told me: If you want to keep them in the booths, respect their privacy and keep them off the walls”. I have formed alliances with people who run high-end
outfits giving super-exclusive services to the stars, and they all have the same philosophy – don’t use your clients to promote yourself.
How did you first become a personal assistant? I moved to Los Angeles from the midwest when I was 19. I had stars in my eyes and a strong work ethic. I started as a personal trainer in a Beverly Hills gym, working with people from the entertainment industry, lawyers, publicists, some actors, but mainly behind-the-scenes people. After a few years I decided to go into hospitality and was
working in the front office of a five-star hotel in Beverly Hills. You are literally dealing with presidents, kings and queens, dignitaries, Hollywood celebrities and ultra-high- net-worth individuals, and that’s when I was introduced to a member of the Johnson & Johnson family and started my
first PA job. Later I became PA and estate manager to Bob Corff, a voice coach to the stars.
There must have been defining moments with the VIPs and celebrities. Is there one incident that stands out? When I was working the front desk at the hotel in Beverly
Hills in 1998, I saw Celine Dion standing in the lobby before leaving for the Oscars to sing the Titanic theme song (My Heart Will Go On). This guy comes up to the front desk and asks to go into
the vault. So I take him back there and he pulls out a box and is about to leave when he says, “You wanna see something?”. He opens the box and in it is the Titanic necklace, the real one. He says, “I am about to go into the lobby and put this on Celine Dion. We just sold it for $4 million, and as soon as she is done singing and comes off stage, I’m going to take it off her and hand it to the new owner.” And that’s how I got to hold the Titanic necklace.
What was it like working for the Saudi royal family? To be chief of staff for a royal family with the private jets and managing all the estates... it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I did that for about two years, working 18 hours a day. I could easily go three months without a day off, so the pressure was overwhelming. I could be with my boss in Miami, say, and he is with all
his family members. These people travel in entourages and there are like 20 cars, and he says: “We’re going to Paris” – so something you would normally spend two months planning has to be done in days. It’s a logistical nightmare, organising all the cars, the
armed bodyguards, securing the hotel rooms, and you have to rent the whole floor. Then you have 200 pieces of t
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