Adam Gilchrist: “Have I Been A Hoax?” — The Truth Behind His Cricket Career

Straight Talk with Mark Bouris

Adam Gilchrist joins Mark Bouris to discuss his transition from legendary cricket career to tequila entrepreneurship with his brand, El Arqu

Key takeaways

El Arquero tequila is produced in Mexico using only agave juice, yeast, and water to ensure an additive-free product.
Gilly emphasizes that a celebrity-led brand must rely on liquid quality rather than just name recognition to achieve repeat sales.

Main topics

El Arquero Tequila production
Entrepreneurial mindset and celebrity brands

Notable quotes

Wherever you are, be there.

Conclusion

A profound look at how the mental frameworks used in world-class athle

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:00) Adam Gilchrist, welcome to Straight Talk, mate. Thanks, mate. It's about time. Yeah. Speaker 2 (0:02) I mean, Speaker 3 (0:03) I know, actually, it's about time you brought me some booze. Speaker 2 (0:05) Well, Speaker 3 (0:06) I think you'll like the Repo, I think. Well, let's just talk about this quickly, because I'm maybe not even quickly, but Tequila Blanco and Tequila Reposado. Yeah, Speaker 2 (0:17) which means rested. Rested. Yeah, it's Speaker 3 (0:19) been Speaker 2 (0:20) rested in oak barrels. Right. American oak ex-bourbon barrels. That's been for five months. That's why it's got the colour? That's the tinge of colour. changes its colour, its flavour notes and tastes a little bit. A little sweeter is a bit sweeter. Yeah, a little bit, yeah. And it's just like ageing a whiskey or a wine. Yeah, yeah. And we've still got stock in barrel over there, which we'll bring out probably about 18 months, and that's called an ajo, which means aged. Right. So it all starts as that, as a base spirit. So it starts off with white Speaker 3 (0:47) or clear. Yeah, yep. And what are we talking about tequila? Why tequila? Why did Adam Gilchrist, why did Gilly go on to get a tequila? Start up a tequila. I mean, is it because you're like some of the movie stars in America who've done the same thing and made a bloody fortune? No, I was Speaker 2 (1:02) actually liking tequila. I love it. I just love it and wanted to give it a crack. And the love and passion and interest in it was long before George Clooney sold his for a billion dollars. So I haven't sort of seen that and gone, oh, there's a chance. No, I've always played around with it in my mind and eventually just went, no, let's do it. My wife one day said either put up or shut up. Speaker 1 (1:22) It does talk about Speaker 2 (1:23) a lot. And I took that as a green light. So off we went. And I only wanted to do something authentically produced in Mexico. There are people you're probably aware of growing agave up in North Queensland. But you can't call it tequila unless you bottle it in a tequila region. Right. And I wanted to do it with all the heritage and tradition of the tequila that I've enjoyed. So went over there, spent time, met with about eight distilleries, learnt about them, told them what we were aspiring to achieve. And then we've partnered up with a third generation distiller and they make great juice and they're absolutely beautiful to deal with and be in partnership with. It's Speaker 3 (2:04) a Speaker 2 (2:04) pretty cool place, Mexico. Speaker 3 (2:05) And I love the lifestyle there. And the tequila you get over there alongside the Mexican food, it's just a real experience. Yeah. It's pretty cool. Yeah. This stuff though. Sends me nuts. I'm going to try it. But this stuff, I don't know what it is about tequila. What is it? What is the deal about a couple of shots of tequila? Is there something special in it? Speaker 2 (2:23) There's a theory that tequila, and it's been long held and a lot of people pass it around, that it's the only alcoholic upper where every other alcohol is basically a depressant. Yeah, yeah. It's Speaker 3 (2:34) a Speaker 2 (2:34) downer. Speaker 3 (2:34) Starts off stimulating a bit, then it drops. But Speaker 2 (2:36) then Speaker 3 (2:36) it Speaker 2 (2:36) actually, yeah. But unfortunately, that's not true about tequila. It's alcohol. It's exactly the same as every other form of alcohol. Speaker 3 (2:44) I get a bit elusive Speaker 2 (2:45) on that, but I... I hear people say that a lot. As I said, I wanted something authentically made, but it had to be additive free. Oh, okay. That's where people get caught. It's the cleanest form of alcohol you get. That is agave juice, yeast, and water. That's all it is. No added sugars, Speaker 3 (3:02) nothing else. So they get the agave plant, which is a succulent. Yep. And what do they crush Speaker 2 (3:07) it or something? Do they get the juice out? Speaker 3 (3:08) Yeah, they Speaker 2 (3:09) carve all the big fronds off. Yeah. They look like a... You know, they've got the big spikes come out. They carve them off and you get left with what's called the pina. It's the heart of it. Oven roasted for anywhere 24 to 36 hours and then crush it. The juice comes out, capture that, yeast, water, let it ferment and then double distill it. And so that process takes a couple of weeks and then, yeah. It's clean because, I mean, it can give you a hangover. I remember people saying tequila won't give you hangover because it's a clean alcohol. I think if you drink too much of anything, you Speaker 3 (3:40) don't have a hangover. Speaker 2 (3:40) If you drink too much, Speaker 3 (3:40) that's my point. You'll get the alcohol hangover or the acetyl aldehyde hangover. It's not really the alcohol that's the problem. It's the metabolic version of that once you metabolize it. But because it's got no additives, you don't get the other shit in your system. That's it. Exactly. There's no preservatives Speaker 2 (3:57) or anything like that. Yeah. And that's, I mean, I've said this often. I've had the bad tequila experience on Bad Tequila when I was far too young and reckless and where everyone goes, oh, no, I've sworn off that forever. But this is part of what I'm loving doing. And as I say, I mean, everyone laughingly says, oh, drink responsibly. But the point about the hangover, it's to be enjoyed. It's a premium product. I mean, people have forever sipped on whiskey, fine whiskeys. Yeah. These, they're more versatile than just a late night shot at Speaker 3 (4:28) a party. Speaker 2 (4:28) So they're not just shots. Sipping. Tequila, either the Blanco, whatever you prefer, the Reposado in particular, but can be mixed for margaritas. In a health-conscious world, we've been saying, if you're going to have a drink and you're sort of in that mindset, mix it with low-sugar soda water and fresh juices, fresh pineapple juice, fresh lime juice. Pineapple juice sounds good. The pineapple one is tall glass, a lot of ice. It's almost like a spritzer more than a cocktail or a straight. spirit drink. So yeah, it's versatile and fun. I just love it. I reckon if someone turns up with a bottle of tequila, you go, oh, we're in for a bit of fun here. I'm glad you're here Speaker 3 (5:04) because, and we're talking about this, because yesterday I sat down with, and I actually went down to his new gym to give a bit of a push, Alex Volkanovsky. Oh yeah. And I was talking to Volk about the different businesses he's in running off the back of the audience that he's built as a great fighter. Yep. Not dissimilar to yourself. I mean, without sort of blowing smoke up the proverbial, you're probably in all aspects the greatest wicket-keeper we've ever had in Australia. I mean, some say that. Many say that. He'll kill me for saying it, but he wasn't as good a Speaker 2 (5:37) batsman as you. Yeah, I was going to say wicket-keeper. Heels was. But Speaker 3 (5:41) I'm talking about all-round cricketer, which includes wicket-keeping as one of the variables. Yep. Okay? Yep. Heels. His batting average wasn't like up there with yours, okay? But using your… call it fame or call it your success relative to what I recognize in an image, the vision of yourself. And also you have, you know, you're able to leverage media right now. You're still in the media. Speaker 3 (6:10) How does one go about building successful other leveraged products? I mean, how do you feel about that? Speaker 2 (6:18) Yeah, it's a great point. And I reckon maybe even Ricky might have spoken to you about it around his wine business, Ricky Punting. And I know there's skepticism out there and we've all done, and as you go through the journey, product endorsement. Well, mate, I'm doing my own whiskey and Speaker 3 (6:36) it's hard. Speaker 2 (6:37) I find it hard. Yeah. Yeah, so, and there's skepticism around celebrity-led brands too. Yeah, Speaker 3 (6:42) yeah. Speaker 2 (6:42) Whereas in America, we've been talking to people over there and they go, oh, who's your celebrity? Well, I mean, obviously in America, I'm not a celebrity, but, you know, distributors or people in the industry over there, oh, who are you going to get, lead your push? And it's like, well, no, we're probably trying to work overtime the other way to say. Adam Gilchrist is major shareholder and founder of this business. He's not a brand ambassador getting paid to do it. It's my dream and my business. And I do have some other shareholders, but this is all conceived from my love and passion for it and desire and motivation to give it a crack. So therefore your Speaker 3 (7:18) product's got to be as good as everybody else's. It can't be just celebrity Speaker 2 (7:21) based. Totally. And we'll back, we're... proudly backing the liquid quality to stand up. So it's called El Acuero, which one of the translations from Spanish to English is the keeper. So yeah, so that's a subtle nod to my past. And I've got the napkin, one of those good old stories in the restaurant one night with mates, a few drinks, Google Translate, let's find a name. This would be five years ago. And I thought El Acuero, that sounds like a tequila, Spanish. Sure Speaker 3 (7:51) does. Speaker 2 (7:52) but it's got meaning and significance to me and my past. And I always, I mentioned punter. Well, it's Speaker 3 (7:58) a Speaker 2 (7:58) lot more subtle and ponting wines, isn't it? He just threw his name on the bloody label. At least I'm making people work for it. You listen to this, mate? Hey, Rick, love you. But that's the only reference, as subtle as it is, to anything on that bottle to my past. There's a little, you know, we debated, do we put my name on the label, on the branding? There's a little thing on the back label that's got my autograph on there where I explain what I was hoping to achieve with this tequila. Because Speaker 3 (8:29) people want to know the story behind it. Yeah. Speaker 2 (8:30) And underneath it says founder. It doesn't say ex-crigator or it just says founder of the business. So, yeah, where it pains to make sure. Look, you know the commercial space better than me. If my profile can help get in a door. Totally. And I've been doing this all my life in product endorsement. Or going to India with government, you know, in various roles, you'll get in the door. India's a good example. You'll get in the door with a cricketer in India. No brainer. But if you haven't got a quality product or partnership opportunity or something that is going to have value both ways. And the ability to deliver. Yep. Constantly. All you're going to have there is a photograph and an autograph and walk out the door. Yeah, thanks very much. So I was very aware of that coming into this from that experience and the learnings of my life to that point. So yeah, we knew we had to get, and this goes back to meeting eight distilleries and tasting the liquid that they make for their own family label and learning how we can then work from that to get our own liquid profile. We just knew we had to nail the liquid and it had to stand up. So, and the best endorsement for us and for me is coming to play, say a place like Sydney and going into. Some of these industry leaders in the agave space, there's the Mucho Group who have Cantina OK, Centro 86. They are almost the doyens of agave in Australia. Jeremy there tastes it and puts it on his back bar. It's got on the Speaker 3 (9:58) shelf. Speaker 2 (9:58) And we work together. And that's the greatest endorsement that we could have to know that he's not going to put something on his back bar or do cocktails with it just because it's Gilly's tequila. He needs to know its quality. And yeah, we feel like we're... we've got that right. Now we've got to just make sure people understand who we are and how we've gone about it. You're right. For Speaker 3 (10:20) people who are listening to this, most people just think that, oh, you're famous, in your case, and you're well-known across the country and probably in India and other places where cricket is played as well, that you can immediately just put your sort of... brand feeling behind something and it kicks off. It's actually got a lot of hard work involved. You've got to keep knocking on doors. You've Speaker 2 (10:40) got Speaker 3 (10:40) to keep talking to the people like the people you were just talking about, people who've got Mexican restaurants, Mexican bars, or have anything along those lines. Will you put my product? They're not going to put your product unless the product's any good. And that's not just in terms of taste. It's got to be priced properly. You've got to be able to deliver it consistently. Like if everybody wants it. They don't want to run out, so you've got to be able to continually run out. It's funny. I was listening to Sean Garlick this morning, Garlow's Pies. I don't know if you know that product. Sean Garlick played for Roosters, played for Souths, good footballer. But he had a vision one day of just setting up one pie shop. And your point is very valid. His pies are very bloody good. He's across the board. Speaker 2 (11:22) He's Speaker 3 (11:22) got people marketing his stuff everywhere. You can buy them in servos and stuff like that, and everybody's sort of buying them, and he's killing it. But the product is good. It's just not another shitty meat pie. His meat pie is bloody good. It has a certain amount of meat in it for a start, and it has a good taste profile, and it's got a good pastry. He's done a great job, and it's pretty unusual that – let's call them celebrities, whether sports people or business people, whatever they are, it's pretty unusual that they are successful with their product. And mainly because a lot of the times they think, I'll just produce whiskey. It doesn't matter how good it is or I'll just produce. I'll just put my name behind Speaker 2 (12:04) it. It'll kill it. Yeah. It doesn't work that way. And so spot on. And I'm so early in its infancy, this business. We're only nine months in the market. Speaker 2 (12:15) And even the profile or the celebrity part of it might get you one bottle on a shelf. As you know, mate, from the whiskey, the hardest thing is getting someone to come back and buy a second or third bottle. The first one, they might attract a bit of interest, a bit of intrigue. I wonder what that, trying to get repeat sales, simple as that. So it's Speaker 3 (12:35) got Speaker 2 (12:35) to be high quality. Yeah. Well, let's just, you Speaker 3 (12:38) know, Speaker 2 (12:38) everyone knows who Adam Gilchrist is, but let's just go back to where you Speaker 3 (12:42) started, mate. Where were you born? Born in Bellingen, Speaker 2 (12:45) northern tablelands of New South Wales, up inland from Grafton. Yep. We weren't there long. I'll tell you the abbreviated, very funny story there, that the Bradman Foundation afforded the birthplace of every Australian men's test captain. The foundation went to the local council, wherever any captain was born, and said, we'll go 50-50, do a bronze head and shoulders bust, put it. Of the captain. Of the captain, of the player. So Tugger, Steve Ward, Bankstown and, you know, in the Civic Park there and Bradman obviously down in Barrow. Speaker 3 (13:19) And Speaker 2 (13:20) Bellinger went, yeah, yeah, yeah, we'll do it, we'll do it. So I was there at the unveiling of this, and Bellinger's a small place, beautiful, but very small place. The Lord Mayor's up there spruiking about the prodigal son coming home, you know, great to have him back and set him on his path. And I went over to Mum. I had to respond to get up and say thanks and everything. I said, Mum, how long did we live here again after I was born? Six weeks. So it was great to go home. But to your point about your question, You're only born in one spot. So others might claim you. We moved around regional New South Wales. Why is that? Mum and dad were teachers. Right. And then dad went into the administrative side. So he ended up director of education on the north coast of New South Wales. But we went from Bellingen to Junee down in the Riverina. Then we went further south down to Deniliquin, southern Riverina. So just north of Victoria. Yep. Then up to Lismore. So my primary, the two places where I really lived, primary school years in Danny. High school years up in Lismore, up on the far north coast. Both Speaker 3 (14:21) completely different. That's like a massive food bowl down there at St. Iloquen. Especially these days. Speaker 2 (14:29) Particularly. Speaker 3 (14:30) Lismore's a totally different sort of environment. What did you play? Were you playing cricket? Every sport possible. And that's the thing. Regional Speaker 2 (14:40) New South Wales. Danny was perfect for primary school. That was Australian rules heartland. So I was playing footy, Aussie rules, soccer, tennis on a Saturday morning, then cricket Saturday afternoon, just whatever was on. And all the usual things of that age and that era, you know, on the bike, out the door first thing in the morning, come home when you're hungry. Yeah, Speaker 3 (15:02) there Speaker 2 (15:03) would have been someone yelling out to you to come home. Yeah.