His name is synonymous with success.
John Paul DeJoria lives a life filled with family, friends and philanthropy.But the documentary "Good Fortune" shows things didn't start out that way.
"I was asked by several people before to do a documentary on me or a film on me and I said no, I didn't want to," DeJoria said.But a meeting with directors Josh and Rebecca Tickell convinced him to say yes and hopefully promote his message:
"What you do with what you have you know, can inspire others," he said.KVUE sat down with DeJoria to talk about the documentary and how deeply it delves into his life before he became a household name.
"Good Fortune" showcases the first-generation American's childhood and how he started his first business when he was just 7-years-old."My brother and I would make a flower box and we'd go around and sell it, we'd make it out of 25 cents worth of wood and sell it for 50 cents and make a nice profit," he smiled.
But it hasn't always been easy for DeJoria. He's been homeless twice, fired from numerous jobs and lost his brother in a tragic accident.Then DeJoria teamed up with his friend, Paul Mitchell. The rest is hair care history.
They built an empire by selling their products door to door."When we started Paul Mitchell systems, Paul Mitchell hair care went salon to salon because we had no money for distribution, no money for advertising," DeJoria said. "And of course when we started Patron, I went restaurant to restaurant to let the top people know how great this tequila was, to use it promote and tout celebrity guests."
This self-made billionaire says there's more to success than money, he believes it's how you use those funds to help people and the planet that counts.
He's involved in more than 160 charitable organizations, many here in Austin, the city he's proud to call home.
"We bought a place here in 1997," DeJoria said. "Mainly because of our son, John Anthony. We looked the United States over and where we wanted to raise him. He was 3-years-old at the time, so we decided Austin would be a perfect place for family values, for raising a child."
DeJoria says the city's music scene and environmental reputation played a part as well.
While he's excited to debut this documentary to the world, he hopes the spirit behind his story will shine through and show others that giving back is the best part of success.
"While we're here it's like paying rent a little bit. We did something to give back asking nothing in return, you don't need money you give of your time as so many people do," he said.