From living in outback Australia to being the first person in the world to auction real estate by way of cryptocurrency, James Pratt has an interesting and busy life.
In January 2022 he won Best Director at the London Film Awards and was a finalist at the 2022 So Cal Film Festival in California, while in real estate he was a finalist this month for the 2022 REB Auctioneer of the Year Award. With such a busy lifestyle we were lucky enough to get time to chat with James about his life, films and auctions.
Editor –James thank you for taking the time to talk with,
What’s been the highlight of 2022?
That’s been a tough one to answer, so many great things have happened, If I’m honest I had a run in Hollywood over January where the whole week there were highlights, I was fortunate to win the London Film Awards, had some incredible sunset hikes at Runyon Canyon but also, I was able to help some people I knew needed help which was an awesome feeling.
When you are not living in Los Angeles, Bondi Beach was your home,
How would you describe it there?
Bondi Beach is a special place for me, I first moved there when I was 21, When I’m not living in Los Angeles it’s been home for me.
I would describe it as very beautiful and with an active lifestyle similar to Los Angeles. If you visit Bondi Beach, I highly recommend the Bondi to Coogee walk or a sunset surf.
Away from acting and directing you started James Pratt Auctions Group, In April 2019 you were the first person in the world to auction cryptocurrency in real estate. How did that come about to you?
I had just won Australian Auctioneer of the Year and a close friend Lisa in Vancouver introduced me to some people who were high up in the Crypto and Blockchain field and wanting to sell luxury real estate using bitcoin, I remember from that one meeting we said let’s go for it and 5 weeks later we had the auction.
The day before the auction I think it sunk in most, I had some big hitters in USA tech, news and even a Government overseas reach out to me and say, I hope it goes well and we will be watching.
Who has taught you the most in your life?
My Mum, I wasn’t lucky enough to have her around for a long time, however I think the older I get the more I realise why I was taught what I was taught.
What advice do you have for people wanting to find business success?
You must cut out people who don’t run at your speed, it’s all about your speed, if you have big dreams then be around people with big dreams if you want to succeed in business overseas align yourself with people with the same vision.
The other part of success is having a team, you can’t do it on your own and when you build your team, go with the smartest person, the person who’s most qualified not the person who you want to hang out with because business is not personal.
In a recent interview, you said you’d prefer to work than do brunch with a girlfriend? Can you elaborate on this?
I know the interview you are talking about (laughs) it’s true in a way there is a part of me that would prefer to work but I have been to some pretty bad brunches in the past.
