Company Blog

There goes my hero

by Adam Zack — August 2, 2023

My heroes are people that make me laugh, people who care deeply, and naturally make the room they are in a better place simply because they are there.

There goes my hero
Watch him as he goes
There goes my hero
He’s ordinary

– Foo Fighters

When I was a kid my first hero was Batman. I was a Halloween batman a few times. I made models of the Batmobile and watched the show religiously. It was especially cool that the actor who played him was Adam West. Not too many other Adams were around in the 60’s and early 70’s. As I got a little older my heroes became sports icons. Franco Harris and Terry Bradshaw from the Steelers. Roman Gabriel of the Rams. Steve Garvey of the Dodgers. Those were guys I aspired to be like. I didn’t know much about them personally, but I loved watching them play. When I got into my 20’s I got some more practical heroes. Michel Richard was a French chef with a restaurant in L.A. that was incredible. I went to one of his cooking classes at Bristol Farms and was awed by the simplicity of techniques he used to create deliciousness. Hero. Paul Westerberg was a wild rock and roll game changer for me. A mess most of the time with the excesses of rock and roll, he wrote songs that changed my whole musical outlook on life. Hero. Norman Mayne built Dorothy Lane Markets into the country’s leading example of foodie culture, employee relations and community involvement. I got to have a burger and wine for dinner with him a few years ago. Hero. Randy Dunn pioneered a style of winemaking in Napa that made him a cult wine figure. Muscular, heavy duty Cabernets made to last decades. Every year I wrote him a letter asking for an allocation of his super limited wines. I’ll never forget the day he called me and said “Sure, why not?” Hero.

In my 50’s now, my heroes are people that make me laugh, people who care deeply, and naturally make the room they are in a better place simply because they are there. My heroes are my friends that I rely on and my family that I know has my back – always, no matter what. Linda, Holly, Alyssa, Lila, Mark, Scott, Jeff, Kim, Frank, Chris, Lorraine, Gabe, DW, John, Sandra, Trever. They don’t wear capes or masks or helmets, play guitar or make wine, but they make me want to be a better person, a better leader, a better family man. That’s what real heroes should inspire you to be.