I first met Gary Vaynerchuk over dinner in Vegas (November, 2007)...
finishing up an amazing 5 star dinner with @alexknowshtml & @garyvee
Willo Sana (@WilloLovesYou) on X
I was in town with a bunch of friends, showing my WilloToons line at the BlogWorldExpo, and my friend Alex Hillman & I went out for dinner. He invited his friend Gary along, who happened to also be in town. Fine by me! Turned out this guy Gary knew quite a bit of about wine... he's the founder of WineLibraryTV! Needless to say, we enjoyed a very nice bottle and had great conversation over an amazing 5-star meal at the Wynn.
We then proceeded to rock Vegas as one does when in Vegas!
@alexhillman (@alexhillman) on X
Recently Gary & his crew cruised through SF, holding a Vayniacs Tasting event at Crushlab. A whole crew of us went and had such a blast!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/willotoons/2082661861/in/album-72157603363873622/
I had told Gary about my t-shirt line at dinner in Vegas, so it was fun to give him one in person!
This one seemed appropriate, given his rising fame...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/willotoons/2083446226/in/pool-willotoons/
Gary Vaynerchuck with his new WilloToons "don't you know who I am?' tee.
UPDATE: It's been so awesome to see @GaryVee explode lately! I wrote this post a long time ago, but we had many more fun times. Many in in Austin for SxSW...
I'm already at a panel - mostly to support @garyvee & get online/work - but seriously? I don't think I've ever made it to a 10am panel.
Willo Sana (@WilloLovesYou) on X
And again when he cruised back through SF for more tastings and events, like this one:
at crushpad having a blast with tons of peeps in celebration of wine & @garyvee!
Willo Sana (@WilloLovesYou) on X
I've loved keeping in touch with Gary over the years, thanks to the internet!
@garyvee I taught a workshop on social media last night & one of the students raved about Crush it! :) Looking fwd to seeing you in Austin!
Willo Sana (@WilloLovesYou) on X
Being the sweetie that he is, he'd even send me sweet hello's on Twitter every once & awhile. 🙂
@garyvee aww miss you too, buddy! Drank a delicious zin the other night & thought of you: D-Cubed Howell Mountain '05 Zin - soo good! Luv ya
Willo Sana (@WilloLovesYou) on X
@garyvee aww, I miss YOU! It's been forever. Love seeing all the rad stuff you're up to tho & even manage to catch a vid once & awhile. ;)
Willo Sana (@WilloLovesYou) on X
@micah Haha, I know, right? No, she knows. Her life has changed. ;) cc @emgollie @Rdio :: @garyvee Hi, buddy! It's been TOO LONG! Miss ya.
Willo Sana (@WilloLovesYou) on X
We almost got to see each other in Oslo, Norway in 2013, but he ended up Skyping in for his keynote:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/willotoons/9958209925
Guess you can do that when you're Gary Vay-Ner-Chuk!