Why There Will Never be Another Dave Portnoy (No, I’m Not a Stoolie)

Dave Portnoy. To some, an arrogant, self-indulgent, egotistical MASSHOLE. To others, a GENIUS. To me, BOTH.

If you’re not familiar with Barstool Sports to some degree, well, you’re probably over the age of 50, or not on social media whatsoever. The mastermind behind the success of the enormous online media company, is Dave Portnoy. A decent high school baseball player with bad shoulders and classic Boston accent from the North Shore. A guy most people either love or hate. A guy who unlike no other, adapted to culture, entertainment, and most importantly, the internet. A guy who will never come around again. At least not in my lifetime.

There is no other company on Earth like Barstool and that is what amazes me as my introduction to it was very gradual. Nowhere in the world is there another company that broadcasts all internal arguments and movements entirely online, spearheaded by the founder of the company. Nowhere in the world is there another company that started as a gambling NEWSPAPER with a clip art logo, and then completely transpired, with the likes and developments of the internet and social media, into an online brand that is at the forefront of all media and pop culture.

Nowhere else in the world is there another company whose creator doesn’t give one single f**k about anything but the integrity and loyalty of himself and his brand. Nowhere in the world is there another company whose owner has multiple public sex tapes, arrests, and accusations, having almost 0 effect on the success of his business. If anything, it has probably helped elevated it.

Portnoy is an old man now, but he started this company in 2003 as a NEWSPAPER. A f***ing NEWSPAPER! I guess newspapers were still relevant at that time, but still, a newspaper. Obviously, this is well before social media and really before the internet even took off. The paper, along with Portnoy’s hustle, handing them out at every single train station in the Metro Boston area, somehow managed to grasp the likes of a few thousand Boston idiots who loved sports. This would almost be unheard of in today’s world.

But the state of technology was rapidly changing… and Portnoy was broke. So, a gambling newspaper wasn’t going to work for the long run. So, what did he do? He moved along with the times by creating a pop culture “blog.” But that’s not all. He also curated live events, concerts, merch, beefs, and Barstool’s notoriety sky rocketed, granted primarily in the northeast, but still. By the time social media was in full swing, 2009, 2010, 2011, Portnoy himself was right there at the front, “inventing the internet.”

Now while consistently creating entertaining content to go along with hype surrounding beefs with Barstool party performers and Roger Goodell, impeccably hilarious merch, pizza reviews, and smoke shows, just to name a few, Barstool took reign of the internet, at the exact perfect time. But the internet is constantly changing and progressing, so Portnoy had to keep looking for opportunities. And he found one.

Now does that mean he sold out by giving up a 51% stake in the business that he built from scratch, with his own blood, sweat and tears? Perhaps. But again, that is what is so genius. On his own terms, at his own value (only $10–15 million), with no other factors playing a part in his decision, other than the approval of the talent who helped bring his brand to another level. But that was only the first step. MORE reason for Portnoy’s genius. Fast forward 4 years and the BIG deal that comes back full circle to the seed of Barstool sports and a bunch of degenerate Boston gamblers — — a 36% stake sale for $163 million to PENN National, a casino and racetrack operator. The FULL value of the company ($450 million).

Now with the IMMENSE progress of the internet, YouTube, and online culture, many brands have surpassed the likes of Barstool Sports, at least in YouTube subscribers. Full Send, DJ Akademiks, and No Jumper, just to name a few. But Barstool was the FIRST, the tablesetter, the groundbreaker, the pioneer, the trailblazer, due to Portnoy’s genius (trust me, I hate calling him a genius this much) to see into the future of blogging, tweeting, podcasting and so much more.

The guy is 45 years old and has a podcast with one of the biggest TikTokers in the world for god’s sake, just for that untapped audience. The guy is a marketing wizard, a straight up, tell it like it is, in your face, douche, who runs a damn good business. But most importantly, a GENIUS.

Imagine going into work one day and you walk into a conference room and realize you’re live on camera with thousands of people tuned in, watching your boss get ready to publicly rip into you for the last mistake you made. No other company does that. It doesn’t exist anywhere else. There will never be another Dave Portnoy.