This March, like so many others, I got the chance to meet the phenomenon that is Gary Vaynerchuk via his now famous Twitter flash-parties and as Kathy Sierra’s on-stage example during her keynote. His talks on personal brands and his involvement in the technology/startup sector as a marketer—and not a developer—are what initially piqued my interest in what he had to say; the SXSW wine parties were just a bonus. ;)

I’ll admit, that my interest in wine has definitely increased since I’ve been keeping an eye at him on Wine Library TV and on his personal, more business-orineted, blog. When I heard he was going to be back in Austin for a signing of his recently released book, Gary Vaynerchuk’s 101 Wines: Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World, I knew I had to take the chance to see him speak again. True to his book title, Gary inspired, delighted and brought the thunder to Grape Vine Market on Tuesday afternoon.

After a brief introduction by Jeff Jones, local Twitterer and Vayniac, Gary went into a quick recap of his life to this point. He made sure to graciously convey his appreciation for everyone’s attendance by acknowledging the probable inconvenience of an event at one in the afternoon. The sincerity and passion that poured out of this guy was incredible as he had the entire group of 30+ people hanging on his every word. This man is truly one of the most down-to-earth, humble, appreciative and considerate people I have met, celebrity or not.

After the short introduction, he opened up the floor to questions which incited discussion (read: two-way) which hit on everything from his perspective on the future of social media/the internet, to his childhood, his relationship with his family, to his $2B goal of buying the “New Jersey” Jets (what he would call them on his way to make them “America’s team”). What would have only made the event better, in my opinion, is if we were all sitting at a huge table over dinner at someone’s house, the bottles of wine a-flowin’, of course. The intimacy of the conversations would deem that a more appropriate setting.

Looking around the room at one point, I couldn’t help but notice the seemingly random mix of people absolutely riveted by this guy. If I had to venture a guess, I would say the age range in the room was between early 20s to early 70s. It amazed me that one guy with a wine video blog can bring those people together. During the discussion, Gary mentioned one of his favorite things about wine is the way that it brings people together. From my branding perspective, I would go so far as to say that the Gary Vaynerchuk brand brings people together. So, if wine = (me + other vayniacs) = Gary, then wine = Gary Vaynerchuk. This, boys and girls, is what you want for optimal brand equity (e.g.: Volvo : safety :: Gary Vaynerchuk : wine).

Here’s a guy that gets technology, gets social media and gets marketing and branding like the best of them. I should note, that all the understanding in the world of these topics can bring success, but really, to me, happiness is the ultimate success and one that Gary definitely seems to have a grasp on. But how do you gain that? What I’ve learned from Gary is the importance of being genuine and how this leads to happiness. For Gary, authenticity is what drives happiness and optimism and I could not agree with him more. You can have all the material things in the world, but if at the end of the day, you can’t be proud of your legacy, then what’s the point, right? I think Gary is the perfect example of a brand that is (quite literally) human, engaging and is done right. His generosity, human-ness and approachability are, to me, what has brought the guy so much success. Well, working your ass off and answering every single email your fans send you doesn’t hurt either.

I’ll leave you with a quote of one of his responses at my question to him on what keeps him going and inspires him daily:

“I woke up, nobody died overnight, I’m pumped!”

Imagine the supermarket aisles if every brand you interacted with had this kind of outlook on life. Until that day comes, I’ll just watch Wine Library TV and LOST on my Apple TV. ;)

For more coverage, make sure to read Tim Walker’s awesomely extensive recap of the afternoon, as well as video perspective provided by Kristine and Dane.