Handsome, suave, smart – and there’s two of them.
But Drew and Jonathan Scott, stars of HGTV and W Network’s Property Brothers, don’t stop there. Armed with the tools it takes to make it in both real estate and show business, the Scott brothers have grown their empire to include two more television programs, a full featured production company and various digital ventures. Add in big brother J.D., and this dynamic duo morphs into a talented trio who’s equity just keeps going up.
And if that isn’t enough to impress you, then just ask them about their various real estate investments and design ideas – not to mention their work with charities and more. It’s a plan I got a chance to chat to Drew Scott about recently as he revealed the secrets of the brothers’ success and their family plans to take it all the way to the top.
– – –
You are identical twins but someone must be a few minutes older? Who is it?
Jonathan is four minutes older and he rubs it in my face every day. 🙂 I was actually a surprise. My mom thought there was only one baby. Our heartbeats were in sync. The doctor was ready to leave – then I came along.
You have an older brother JD? Any other siblings?
Just us three. He’s the big brother who works with our company as well. He’s doing more and more hosting so you’ll see more of him as well. And he’s a writer who writes some of our digital content. It’s nice that the three brothers can work togeher so well.
Are you Canadian? Born in Vancouver?
All three of us were born in Vancouver. And all three of us live in Las Vegas now. We still invest in Vancouver and in fact, have just bought a house in North Vancouver where we take possession next week. I find I like the properties in North and West Vancouver and can get a good return on them for investment.
What do your family and friends think of all this success?
The funny thng is a lot of friends knew it was going to happen. We’ve always had this crazy crazy drive. We would find ways as kids to do things. For example, in high school, I ran a kids sports camp and got the Grizzlies to sponsor it and give us a box for underprivileged kids. Things were meant to happen.
You were both actors at one time. What made you transition to the business/real estate world and what made you come back to television?
As kids, we were actors. Jonathan’s an illustonsist too. Coming out of high school we didn’t wan to be starving artists. We heard the real estate market was a great way to make money and a great way to port our artistic endeaveors. Our of high school we bought our first property and got into real estate investments.
We continue to invest. Jonathan went back to school for construction and design. Then we started in Calgary and came back to Vancouver, then expanded to Vegas.
We found that when we went to go back into TV and film we were being approached for hosting gigs. Our two passions are now combined. We also do a lot through our digital content. I would love to do more acting but right now I still get to direct and do our producing.
How is the real estate market different in Canada vs the U.S.?
It really depends. Las Vegas was hardest hit, but they were further ahead in recession than Canada. No matter where you are you can see a lot more strength and steady growth in the market.
Vancouver is known for being overpriced, but there is still a lot of international opportunity. You can make a lot of money if you’re smart, it’s just a matter of knowing where to invest it.
Whether it’s an up market or down market, you just have to work with the professionals and invest wisely in it. I know where to look. No one wants to buy a home that has safety issues. You have to know what’s worth the money you’re about to put in. You have to know where to spend the money. This definitely comes from experience. Most neighbourhoods have a cap on what you can spend.
What are home buyers looking for these days vs a few years ago. What is the new trend?
One of the biggest things are people wanting outdoor living spaces – an extension of the indoors space. Now it’s literally like a living room but outside. Furniture that is more all weather. Area rugs, TVs outside, built-in outdoor kitchens. More game rooms and entertainment spaces for the whole family. Home theatres are also big. Nowadays there are more ways to use our spaces.
Who has the harder job? The real estate agent (you) or the contractor (Jonathan)?
Honestly, Jonathan always bugs me that he does all the work. But the way we blend our time, it balances it out. Physcally he has the harder job. The longer hours mentally belong to the real estate. On the set you see more Jonathan, but you don’t see all the real estate paperwork and stuff behind the scenes.
What do you do for fun away from the cameras? Hobbies? Music?
We listen to a whole lot of music. Mika is Jonathan’s favourite. I like everyone – including Miley Cyrus. Michael Buble is what I love because when I relax I listen to him. I also like U2. I really listen to everything but am not really a fan of heavy metal or hardcore rap.
We love to travel. This past summer Jonathan went through Europe. We met up in Greece. My girlfriend and I have also travelled Asian. We always travel. That’s where we get our design ideas.
We are both big health nuts and play everything from basketball to volleyball. Also golf and rock climbing. Very into health.
What kind of charity work are you involved in?
All three of us brothers are ambassadors with World Vision. World Vision is a great match for us because we’ve alway been passionate about the cause. They help so many children worldwide. When we were in Delhi, we saw heartbreaking divisions. It’s great to see what World Vision is doing to help them.
It’s not just going in and dumping money and leaving. It’s about helping them live and giving them education. We also wanted to bring awareness to child slavery. The parents in these slums – and the slumlords – make the kids beg. They don’t get education. World Vision comes in and helps educate the family on better practices and opens education centres with food, clothing and education and from there that gets them into the mainstream system. To see what’s going on there is really heartwarming.
Where do you see yourselves in five years?
I would like to see ourselves (our careers) and our entertainement company growing exponentially. I’d like to still be hosting and maybe have one of the top shows in Canada and internationally. We won’t be going away anytime soon, I hope. I think we will definitely be involved in more philanthropy, and will up the ante.
Any new project or scoops you can give me?
We have a new show being announced in January where we renovate our own home in Las Vegas. Everyone in the family is in the show. We are also continuing with our investments and our tech involvement plus our first book. We also have a new product line coming out featuring furniture and decor.
For more information or to follow the brothers online go to TheScottBrothers.com – Twitter: @mrdrewscott @mrsilverscott @mrjdscott
– – –
By Catherine Barr
CatherineBarr.com – Twitter: @catherinebarr
