An Interview with Steve Haweeli

Steve Haweeli, a bartender turned PR pro, describes his agency WordHampton Public Relations, as "the largest restaurant PR firm on Long Island." Here, he waxes philosophic on testosterone, spirituality and gravedigging hijinks.

What is the secret of your success?
17 years of bartending.

How do you make a difference?
I bring testosterone - and the tension that comes with it - to an otherwise female office.

Tell us something interesting about your agency.
In the summer, I've been known to leave the office for a half hour in the middle of the day to hit the beach for a dip.

What was your proudest moment?
Doing the PR for adman Jerry Della Femina's restaurants in Manhattan and East Hampton.

What was your most embarrassing moment?
Charging $50 for my first press release, and having no idea what my hourly rate was.

How did you get into PR?
I started the company with no PR training and no agency experience, and I never took a PR class in college. Ten years ago, I was bartending in NYC and I sent out a letterto my bar patrons that described my honeymoon. That letter turned into a direct mail piece which led to me writing direct mail for downtown restaurants. When someone asked me if I had ever written a press release, my answer was, "What's a press release?"

Who do you most look like?
A cross between Babe Ruth and Marlon Brando.

What would you do an a desert island?
I'd eat vanilla almond ice cream for breakfast, coconut pie for lunch and lemon tarts for dinner. Then I'd proceed to the Viennese table . . .you said dessert island right?

Name one thing about your past that people would be surprised to learn.
That I was a gravedigger and once buried a man upside down. True story.

What would you do if you didn't do what you do?
Be a Benedictine monk.

With which historical figure do you identify?
St. Paul, the patron saint of publicists.

What are your hobbies?
Lure-making, surfcasting and breaking chops.

What will be the next big thing to hit PR and why?
Publicists will become celebrities in the same manner that chefs have.

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