“They used to ask champions like Kobe [Bryant] and Tom Brady, ‘which championship is your favourite?’ - and they would say ‘the next one’. The next one, that's what they wanted. Life is a journey, and they say it's better than the destination… but I don't believe that there is a destination. Your destination is a hundred years from now when we're not here, so just keep going - you just keep pushing, keep challenging.”
Hannah Mullane speaks to American entrepreneur Mike Repole.
The 57-year-old New Yorker’s journey to the top of the US beverage industry had a very humble beginning at a supermarket in Queens, where he’d stack shelves as a teenager.
In 1999, he co-founded Glaceau, the manufacturer behind Vitaminwater. The business grew rapidly, and just 8 years later, he made headlines when it was sold to Coca Cola in a deal worth over 4 billion US dollars.
But despite the huge windfall, Repole opted against retiring. Instead he went on to launch new business ventures, partnering with some of the biggest names in sport, including Kobe Bryant and Tom Brady.
As of 2026, Forbes has estimated his wealth at 2.5 billion US dollars.
Thank you to the Business Daily team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with fellow entrepreneur Emma Grede, McKinsey China’s Joe Ngai, and Hinge CEO Jackie Jantos. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.
Presenter: Hannah Mullane Producers: Niamh McDermott, Amber Mehmood and Ben Cooper Editor: Farhana Haider
Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.
(Image: Mike Repole. Credit: Getty)
