JB Celebrity Hot Tub - History

In September, 1998, my life would be changed forever in a hot summer night in Aiken, SC. I had just met James Brown, after auditioning for him to be a back-up saxophone player to begin a tour in December. I was a naïve teenager of 16, but JB thought that I was a youthful prodigy, and that I had “it” the “vibe”. JB offered to give me a ride back to my hotel, but we had to make a stop. This stop turned out to be the beginning of our fateful two state car chase with the police across the Georgia and South Carolina border. JB stopped at the Regency Hyatt, and grabbed a shotgun from the back of his sedan. Soul Brother #1 then entered an insurance seminar in Augusta, Georgia, and threatened people because someone had used the bathroom in his trailer. Brown then jumped into our car and led police on a high-speed chase through two states. I do not know why I stayed in the car; I guess it was due to being absolutely enraptured in the moment with my hero, the Godfather of Soul! As we were evading from the police, we began talking about the future which appeared to me was rapidly coming to a close.

We had just crossed the South Carolina border for the final time, when JB looked over to me and stated; “I should have a celebrity talk show.” I agreed wholeheartedly, and he asked if I wanted to be a producer for the show. I could not believe my ears, JB wanted me! Suddenly, the “man” began shooting at us, believing that JB should pullover and concede to their whim. Maybe they did not know they were in the presence of greatness. Regardless, the police shot out the tires of our sedan and JB continued driving on the rims and we were a fireball of sparks. JB then became reticent and allowed the car to slow. He looked over at me with the passion only he possesses, and in a whirlwind of emotion, divulged the last thing he would say to me that night. “In a hot tub”, he whimpered as the police stormed the car as it rolled to a stop.

I knew I would not see JB for at least 2-6 years with good behavior, but his dream never died with me.  Unfortunately, his idea would not come to fruition until May, 2001. JB had to kick his drug addiction and prescription pain killers. After incorporating James Brown’s Celebrity Hot Tub in Delaware. The first episode aired on May 5th and was an instant success. The “Hot Tub” was particularly successful in Germany, and we decided to create a subsidiary in Munich, after just nine months of being on the air. As everyone knows, the German people love three things: Beer, David Hasselhoff, and “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business”. Our Munich subsidiary was also a strategic decision as it allowed us easy access to the European Union. We began selling the syndication rights and selling videotapes and DVDs of past episodes.

Our success made another turn, as we were surprised by the success of the talk show in Japan in 2002. In a brilliant move, JB decided we could acquire a Japanese subsidiary as a part of a vertical integration. In Japan, we could manufacture and sell our merchandise in the domestic market, as well as providing the videotapes and DVDs for Germany to distribute in seven major languages for the market worldwide.

Despite the show’s popularity, after our third year, JB and I decided that we needed a new management team, and I would be the sole survivor of the corporate shake up. We were concerned over our international currency exposures and we felt that taxation and financing were being mismanaged. After two years with the new management team we have returned to profitability and the show is even more successful than ever! Fortunately, JB has a new lease on life, and indeed, “Pappa’s Got a Brand New Bag”.