Scooter Braun: When Everything Broke, It Fixed Me

Scooter Braun traces his rise from selling fake IDs and throwing Atlanta parties to building a billion-dollar entertainment empire, driven by a 'mask' (his persona Scooter) and a deep fear that he wasn't enough. He opens up about the hardest stretch of his life: the Taylor Swift catalog controversy, a public backlash, his divorce, and a night in 2020 when he had a suicidal thought at the peak of his success. He describes the inner work that turned things around, including the Hoffman Process therapy retreat and intense self-examination. The conversation becomes unusually two-way, with Braun coaching host Steven Bartlett on prioritizing relationships over endless achievement. He closes by reflecting on legacy, reincarnation, philanthropy, AI, and admitting his real fear-blocked goal is to write a book.

• Admits that at the top of his game he wanted to kill himself and went to a very dark place.
  00:01:03
• Says losing his kids 50% of the time through divorce is what finally rocked him and woke him up.
  01:02:26
• Recounts a 20-minute suicidal thought in October 2020 that pushed him to do the Hoffman Process.
  01:02:52
• Confirms he sold his company for a reported $1.1 billion at around 39.
  00:54:36
• States it has now come out factually that he did offer the catalog to Taylor Swift's side multiple times and they said no.
  01:00:50
• Expresses deep guilt over young artists he managed, wishing he'd put a therapist on the road for all of them.
  00:28:32
• Reveals one of the most talented artists he signed, Spencer Lee, died of an overdose last year.
  00:39:53
• Admits the one thing fear of failure has kept him from doing is writing a book.
  01:51:16

• His real name is Scott; he created the 'Scooter' persona as a mask because he didn't think Scott could achieve great things.
  00:03:08
• His first business in college was selling fake IDs before he moved into party promotion.
  00:09:48
• He tracked down a 13-year-old Justin Bieber by calling Canadian school boards after seeing his church videos on YouTube.
  00:22:21
• He grew Bieber's YouTube views from about 60,000 to 60 million when people insisted YouTubers couldn't become musicians.
  00:23:23
• He became an early Spotify investor after cold-calling everyone on the Billboard 30 Under 30 list at age 27 and meeting Daniel Ek.
  01:28:30
• He has not sold a single Spotify share in roughly 18 years.
  01:29:34
• He has an 'amor fati' tattoo from Marcus Aurelius, meaning love of one's fate.
  00:16:08
• After studying Kabbalah he came to believe in reincarnation and the idea of being a custodian who should give 10-20% to charity.
  01:20:40
• On selling his company he gave tens of millions to employees and former artists, reportedly across 264 people.
  01:49:45

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