How global dance phenomenon FISHER turned a seltzer start-up into $12 million mega-biz

And not one dollar spent on traditional ads!

It would be difficult, and churlish I think, to find fault in the career trajectory of the pro surfer turned DJ Paul Fisher, a goofy kid who parlayed his extroverted personality into becoming a Grammy-nominated spinner of virtual decks.

Fisher, who turns thirty-nine later this year, has gone from small-time hustling to the chart-topping king of the world with a residency at Ibiza and a penthouse residence of his own $50 million Gold Coast skyscraper.

Six years ago-ish, just as Fisher was hitting his stride, I was the intermediary for a pal’s bar in Bali. Told him y’had to get Fish on the decks at the beach club, that it’d drive the punters wild etc.

Offered seventy-five gees for a two-hour set, first class travel there and back for him and his gal, didn’t have to stay the night, play the arvo, limo back to the airport.

Fisher’s manager was, like, yeah, nah.

Even then, kid was doin’ good.

And, now, as revealed by Forbes magazine, Fisher’s seltzer start-up Hard Fizz, which he started with surfer pals Wade Tiller and Joel Scott during Australia’s notorious COVID lock-downs, has blossomed into a $12 million brand.

And what’s real amazing is they did it without blowing cash on trad ads.

“There’s no traditional ad budget… We don’t buy media. It’s all organic, all PR and hype, all word-of-mouth. If we do sponsor something, it’s because we know we can turn it into a cultural moment,” Tiller, who is now the CEO of Hard Fizz, told Forbes.

The ol guerrilla marketing hit its apogee with the cardboard cutouts of Fisher distributed to bottle shops.

“(Paris Hilton) made this hilarious YouTube clip dragging the cutout around the festival and talking to it as if it was FISHER himself – it’s now had hundreds of thousands of views, and went viral on social media,” Joel Scott told Forbes. “We’ve perfected the art of planning the unplanned.”

Fisher said he got the idea for Hard Fizz while doin’ the college circuit.

“I kept seeing these college kids smashing seltzers. I remember thinking, ‘We need to bring that vibe to Australia.’”

Forbes also reports Hard Fizz sold half-a-million bucks worth of booze at the Out 2 Lunch music festival, promoted by Fisher.

“They say he raised a can of FIZZ to the crowd, and they (all 40,000 of them) raised one back.”