Today we’d like to introduce you to Darren Paltrowitz.
Hi Darren, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
Growing up on Long Island — Bellmore, New York, to be more specific — in the 1980s and 1990s, you are less than 40 miles from New York City. You have this existence where you are close to the pulse of everything cool and happening, yet you are in the suburbs. I didn’t like “Lawn Guyland” much when I grew up there, but eventually chose to move back years of living in Midtown Manhattan, Harlem, and Hoboken.
I started interning in the music business and writing for local publications as a teenager. My new book, “DLR Book: How David Lee Roth Changed the World,” actually uses content and research related to one of those first publications I contributed to back then, John Blenn’s newspaper Long Island Entertainment. So, there have been a lot of full-circle moments for me over the years.
These days, I am a Private Investigator by trade, host the “Paltrocast with Darren Paltrowitz” — airing regularly via 150+ TV stations and OTT carriers, beyond podcast outlets and the Paltrocast.com website — and take on various freelance and consulting assignments. I like to talk to people, create things, and experience entertainment as much as possible.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not a smooth road. Tech and corporate mergers have changed everything when it comes to budgets, timelines, how art is consumed, and what everyday people expect from entertainment. But like David Lee Roth said in the song “Jump”: “You have to roll with the punches to get to what’s real.” Expect to evolve, learn, and so forth. What you do for a living nowadays may not exist or be commonplace in a few years, the way things have been going as of late.
Beyond needing to adapt and keep up, be sure you network and keep up with people. When you need to find a new gig, a traditional job search is a lot more work than having peers who will recommend you based on the quality of your work and you as a human being.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
It is never easy for me to respond when someone asks, “So what do you do?” I am a licensed Private Investigator, sure, but I tape interviews 5-6 days a week on average, am starting to think of another book to write, edit “supercut” videos, consult for some artists… I don’t know “what I do.” I suppose I write, research, and investigate for a living, yet all of those factors into my hobbies and passion projects as well.
Ultimately, I am most proud of accomplishing most of the things I set out to accomplish when I was young. I wanted to write books, meet as many heroes of mine as I could, get free stuff… Not the most lofty or ambitious goals, but I was never one of those “I want to change the world” kinds of people. My parents taught me to have attainable goals and to work at things a little at a time. If it all ended tomorrow, I would be proud of what I have accomplished.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
That there is such a thing as “good enough.” I used to be more of a perfectionist, and that got in the way of finishing things. But sometimes the genius, charm, and appeal are in the flaws. Better off having something to show for than always-in-progress works. Everyone has to start somewhere.
Beyond that, you need a sounding board. My wife Melissa is that for me. She is the furthest thing from a “yes person” and can give perspective as to whether or not something I am working on is good, worthwhile, and done.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.paltrocast.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/paltrowitz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darrenpaltrowitz
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darren-paltrowitz-44a6a11/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/paltrowitz
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DarrenPaltrowitz
- Yelp: https://imdb.com/title/tt14955106/episodes?season=23
- SoundCloud: https://authory.com/Paltrowitz
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Darren-Paltrowitz/author/B07Q4QN8B8?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
Image Credits
Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz
