9×90 Episode #32

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All opinions expressed by the guests are their own. 9×90™ and its affiliates do not endorse or guarantee any specific outcomes discussed in this episode. This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Listeners should conduct their own due diligence and consult with professional advisors before making any investment or business decisions. Nothing discussed in this episode constitutes an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities. Any such offer or solicitation will be made only through official offering documents and to qualified, accredited investors, in accordance with applicable securities laws. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or 9×90™.

About this episode

In this captivating episode of 9×90™, Adi Soozin sits down with the one and only Eric Brody—some of you might know him as Professor E. He’s earned a serious reputation in real estate, but what really sets him apart is his comeback story. Adi Soozin first met Eric at a crowded tech conference and instantly knew: “Everyone needs to hear this guy’s comeback story—it is legendary.” In this raw, no-fluff conversation, Eric shares how he went from unpaid office grunt at his dad’s architecture firm to becoming a deal-maker, construction expert, and founder of ANAX™ (an enabled capital advisor) is reshaping real estate capital markets. From late nights in construction school to hustling weekends as a broker, Eric reveals how obsession, iteration, and a warrior’s mindset built his path back from rock bottom. This episode is a must-listen for anyone rebuilding, reinvesting, or just trying to find their footing again.

Transcript

Generated by AI & edited by ChatGPT

Adi Soozin:
Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of 9×90! Today, I have a very special guest with me—Eric Brody. Some of you might know him as Professor E online. He’s accomplished some incredible things in the real estate world.

Coming from a family that’s been in real estate for over 100 years, I’ve developed a pretty sharp radar for who’s the real deal and who’s not. And the first time I met Eric, I immediately thought, “Everyone needs to hear this comeback story—because it’s insane.”

So, after a bit of back-and-forth, he’s finally here. You’re welcome. 😄
Eric, do you want to introduce yourself and share what you’re working on now? Then we’ll go back and fill in the story.

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Eric Brody:
Yeah, sure. First off, I really appreciate the introduction.

I think it’s important to say up front: ideally, you don’t need a comeback story. You just keep winning. But when life hands you setbacks, your scars end up telling the most powerful stories. The real question is—are you capable of bouncing back?

My story starts as the son of an architect and a public school teacher. When I told my parents I wanted to develop real estate, they were like, “How?!” So, I went to construction school. I dove deep into New York City’s zoning resolution and building codes—because as a Brooklyn kid, it was “New York or nowhere.”

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Adi Soozin:
Yes, totally!

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Eric Brody:
Now here’s where it gets funny. My dad told me I should work at his architectural firm—but he wouldn’t pay me. He said, “You’re not a designer. You’re not creative. But you should work here like an indentured servant.”

So, from 9 to 5, I worked for him. And since I wasn’t doing design work, I’d run errands: go to Landmark Preservation, the Department of Buildings, file plans, visit job sites. This was before everything was digital.

At the same time, I went to construction school four nights a week—6 to 9 PM. I’d learn about building materials and methods like underpinning, and then go see it in person the next day. My dad would say, “Go to 133rd Street, ask for Jim, check out the underpinning work, and drop off this drawing while you’re there.”

That overlap—learning and doing—was the greatest gift.

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Adi Soozin:
So, you were studying and seeing everything in real-time. That’s amazing.

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Eric Brody:
Exactly. And beyond that, I was meeting all the players: structural engineers, MEP engineers, HVAC, plumbing, sprinkler subs—every trade came through the office. I was learning development through the lens of design coordination.

But since I wasn’t getting paid, I also started brokering deals on the weekends. Brokerage gave me the front-end view—understanding value-add, returns, what people look for when analyzing deals.

So, I was brokering weekends, working 9 to 5 during the week, and going to school 6 to 9 PM. It was a lot—but that’s what it took.

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Adi Soozin:
Oh my gosh. How old were you?

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Eric Brody:
I was 23. I had already graduated from university and worked for two years. Initially, I wanted to own a chain of gyms—but I realized it was smarter to own the real estate and lease it to gym operators.

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Adi Soozin:
What did you study in college?

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Eric Brody:
Well… women, alcohol—kidding. 😆 I built small businesses—like a water delivery service.

But officially? I earned a Bachelor of Science in Communications.

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Adi Soozin:
Okay, that’s fair. My mom said, “Get a communications degree so you can have fun in college.” I didn’t listen—I got a degree in medicinal and biological chemistry and had zero fun. 😅

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Eric Brody:
Yeah, college taught me something valuable though—how to manage time. When I realized in junior year that most of what I was learning wasn’t practical, I started thinking like an entrepreneur.

I went to the Small Business Administration and learned how to write business plans. Because here’s the truth: the most successful people weren’t just obsessive—they were prolific. They launched tons of things until they found their masterpiece.

Entrepreneurship is about iteration. You say, “I want to open a flower shop.” Then you kill that idea. “I want to open gyms.” Kill that too. You keep going until one idea sticks. Then you go all in.

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Adi Soozin:
That mindset of rapid iteration is so common among athletes. In sports, when you get knocked down, you don’t just get up—you sprint because the play’s still going. That same instinct—getting hit and immediately charging forward—is what makes someone unstoppable in business.

Your comeback story makes more sense now. You got pummeled—and you came back swinging.

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Eric Brody:
Exactly. And sports also teach you to be comfortable with discomfort. Most people don’t like being uncomfortable—they freeze. But athletes, weightlifters, fighters—they train to perform in discomfort.

You become the observer of the discomfort. You learn how to push 3 feet into your enemy’s space and then attack—like in the movie 300. That’s where the opportunity is.

In business, it’s no different. You must be okay being uncomfortable.

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Adi Soozin:
Yes. Absolutely.

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Eric Brody:
So for me, it was all about iterating—throwing away idea after idea until I found the one that made sense. When I realized that construction and development was my thing, I poured everything into it.

Because when you have nothing, diversification makes no sense. You need to go all in on the idea with real potential.

The challenge was—capital didn’t like construction. Investors don’t want to get their hands dirty. So, I made it my mission to become the most credible person in the space. It came down to expertise and trust.

That was my Achilles heel—and I attacked through it.

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Eric Brody: Sometimes in business, you just have to do exactly what you say you’re going to do. So we built this building—and I ended up building about 15 buildings at the time. The one thing I asked of my partners was simple: I get all the press. I understood the power of PR and how essential credibility is in real estate and construction. Reputation is everything in this business. That credibility is how you get access to capital and lenders.

So fast forward—I’m building, I’m developing, I’m full of ego, thinking I must be the man, right? Then 2008 hits.

Adi Soozin: Yeah.

Eric Brody: Luckily, I didn’t have any inventory on the market at the time. I didn’t even realize how fortunate I was—no projects mid-construction, nothing I had to pay back. Everything had already been sold. I was just out looking for new deals. That wasn’t the case for everyone else.

Around then, I met a guy—a contractor-developer. I was a developer who understood construction, but I didn’t own a construction company. Construction is a whole different business. So, this guy says, “Hey, I’m building this 28-unit project and could use help on the development side.” I jumped in, worked with his construction team, and after the project, he says, “You’re really good at this. What are you doing next?”

And remember—in 2008, development was dead. You need deal flow to make money as a developer. So I told him, “I’m thinking of starting a construction company… I need a job. Construction brings in cash flow.” He says, “Don’t start from scratch. Partner with me.”

Lo and behold, we ended up becoming one of the largest open-shop, non-union construction companies in New York. We built a 218-unit building in Williamsburg called The Houston. We even did a 21-story tower.

We really became a force in New York. But here’s the thing I’ve learned about construction and development: eventually, you get hit. And when COVID hit, this time I didn’t dodge the bullet—it hit me square in the head.

At the time, I was finishing that 21-story building. We were planning to refinance it as a rental. But suddenly, there was no capital in the market.

And the original lender? Let’s just say they weren’t exactly forgiving. They had a Goodfellas mentality: “F*** you, pay me.” They didn’t care that it was a global crisis. Courts weren’t giving breaks. They basically said, “You’re a commercial player—deal with it.”

On December 8, 2020, I was foreclosed on. My world collapsed. That building had $68 million in debt, we’d raised about $15 million in equity—and all of it was wiped out.

But that was just the beginning of the pain.

Because I had signed personal guarantees. The lender came after us for those—and won. My partner and I were hit with a $15 million personal judgment.

In development, if you don’t have a balance sheet or capital, you’re out.

So now, I’m in what I call the MMA fight of life. I went from being a big shot to waking up in 2021 negative $15 million.

And if you’ve ever had a judgment creditor, you know—that’s a whole different life.

Adi Soozin: What is a judgment creditor?

Eric Brody: That’s when the court says, “Yes, you owe this money.” Now your personal assets are in play. They can seize and sell what you own to recoup their losses. And you’re seeing this happen all over New York—and the country.

So there I am, thinking, What now?

I was even featured in an article in The Real Deal. Four developers were profiled—two of them, tragically, committed suicide. They couldn’t handle starting over.

This is serious stuff. But it’s also where the real story begins.

Listen—I didn’t go to war. I’m not a soldier. I didn’t lose my life. But this was a business death. It was devastating.

Adi Soozin: I know. But in the startup space, in the family office space, you see a lot of suicides too. And I really hate when people try to compare a death in war to a death in business—as if one is more valid than the other.

I’ve lost two friends to suicide—one in November and one in December. And the pain? It’s the same. Death is death. It’s all tragic.

Eric Brody: Thank you. You’re right. I tend to downplay it. But we should talk about it.

So there I was, in serious distress. Now the question was—what do you do next?

There are two parts: the personal and the business.

First, you’ve got to work on yourself. If you’ve been living off external validation, now’s the time to look inward and find your strength. That’s not just me saying it—that’s Carl Jung.

The journey of rebuilding starts with the soul. You’ve got to shed the ego, the need to be something to everyone else, and just be.

But let’s talk business.

What do you do when you’re negative $15 million? Sit and cry? Let the universe keep knocking you down? No.

First, we dealt with the litigation. After two and a half years, we settled the $15 million judgment. I was still in the red—because I had to borrow money to settle—but at least the judgment was gone.

Then my partner, Mark—who was a rock throughout all this—said we needed to do an after-action report. That’s what the military does. We looked at everything: what went wrong, what went right, what we missed.

We discovered a data analytics platform that showed us there was way too much inventory in that submarket. Too much shadow inventory relative to absorption rate.

People might say, “But you could’ve still been the best in that market.” Sure. But that’s a terrible bet.

You don’t go all in on a poker hand with a 2% chance of winning. You wait for the 80% hand and then push your chips in.

And the truth is—had I seen that data earlier, I never would’ve done the deal.

That experience made us ask: What else don’t we know?

So we researched 9,000 tech companies and wrote a 250-page report. We weren’t sure why we were doing it—but we were driven.

Meanwhile, I had a few projects still in progress—an 80-unit and a 71-unit—so we weren’t dead.

Then we thought: “Maybe we should invest in publicly traded tech stocks.”

A friend of mine who runs a hedge fund in Charlotte said, “Why would you do that? You don’t know that world. Start a venture fund.”

So we did.

We created a fund to invest in real estate tech—companies that are clearly changing the game. Obvious wins.

Adi Soozin: So it’s about asymmetrical upside.

Eric Brody: Exactly. We raised money—even when I had nothing. But people believed in me. Because, as you said—I am a warrior. I keep going.

And we’re always learning.

I read Tim Ferriss’s Tools of Titans and in it, he said, “Start a podcast. Build an ecosystem.”

So I did.

Always be curious. Always be building.

Adi Soozin: I love that book. I actually cut it into thirds and rotate through it…

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Eric Brody: Things aren’t immediate. You might as well read about it, research it, implement it, and then decide. Chill. Take your time and make the right decision.

Eric Brody: So, we started a podcast. It did really well because, at that time, people were just starting to realize that content was becoming a currency—especially in real estate. We saw it with Sir Hampton and others in the resi space. Then The Real Deal reaches out to me and says, “Hey Eric, we love you on camera. Let’s start creating some TV shows.” Because they, too, realized they needed to create content. This was around the time COVID hit—The New York Times launched The Daily, Rogan was blowing up—and everyone suddenly understood that content is the future. They just needed the people to execute on it.

Adi Soozin: But it’s not just any content.

Adi Soozin: It’s about being transparent and real in the content you create. After I went through some horrible, traumatic experiences, it was talking about those scars—and surviving them—that drew people to me. It was the authenticity that came from surviving the fire. So I’d argue that in your case, what drew them to you was the fact that you went through hell and came out the other side changed. You bring a presence with you that people can feel.

Adi Soozin: That’s what they want—authentic content from people who are okay not being perfect, but are committed to being honest. Especially now, with AI creating so much polished, fake content—people are tired of it. I did a live Q&A frazzled, rushed in from the gym, still had my workout ring on before switching to my real one. But people loved that episode. It was messy, it was real—and that’s the kind of content that’s king right now.

Eric Brody: You’re 100% right. Just “creating content” is irrelevant if the storytelling isn’t there.

Adi Soozin: Exactly.

Eric Brody: I only brushed over that point earlier, but it’s everything. I was lucky—blessed—to be able to communicate with clear storytelling, and that only came from being authentic. I don’t know how to act; I can only speak the truth as I see it. And that’s what’s worked for me.

People would ask, “Are you a venture capitalist?” I’d say, “No, I just raised a couple million bucks. That’s not enough to live off—unless I hit a unicorn someday.” Then they’d ask, “Are you a podcaster?” I’d laugh—“Real estate might be a wealthy industry, but it doesn’t pull the kind of YouTube views to make podcasting profitable.” And The Real Deal? “Do you work for them?” No—I just know content is currency, I believe in their platform and values, so I’m down to collaborate.

Eric Brody: But then my partner and I started asking ourselves—how do we monetize this? What now?

There’s this line from the movie Blow with Johnny Depp—have you seen it?

Adi Soozin: You told me to watch it! Haven’t gotten to it yet.

Eric Brody: (laughs) The line is: “I went to jail with a bachelor’s in marijuana… and left with a PhD in cocaine.”

That’s how we felt. We went into this business without understanding what could happen in distress—and came out with a PhD in distressed real estate. We lived it. We knew what it meant to be in distress, to have to restructure, to fight legal battles. So we thought: Why not use that experience to help others?

Adi Soozin: Yes. Exactly.

Eric Brody: Why not save other developers from having to go through what I went through? So we got into rescue capital—preferred equity or mezzanine debt into existing assets.

Eric Brody: And look—it’s not like that’s a groundbreaking idea. Everyone and their mother right now is trying to do just that. So we said: this is our focus.

Adi Soozin: There’s definitely a need for it. At Heritage, when we were looking to deploy capital, we saw how many groups were seeking that kind of support. The existing players may have a 20-year track record, sure—but even they are looking for dry powder.

Eric Brody: Absolutely. And what you’re saying is spot on. There are three roles here:

1. The Asset Manager – the operator who executes the strategy.
2. The Fund Manager – the one who has the capital but can’t get bogged down in the weeds.
3. The Capital Fund Manager – raising cash to put into funds that need asset managers to execute.

We didn’t realize it at the time, but we were asset managers trying to act like fund managers. So when we went to capital allocators and asked for money, they were like, “Have you ever worked in credit distress?” I said, “I know distress.” They said, “But not in credit.” So they weren’t willing to give us money. I was like, “I’ve built 40 buildings!” They said, “Yeah, but you don’t have deal flow.”

Adi Soozin: What?! That’s wild.

Eric Brody: Right? But then it clicked: Deal flow is everything. If you control the deal flow, everyone has to work with you.

So we started asking, “How can we control the deal flow?” And that’s when the lightbulb went off: This is a tech problem. Can we build a system that identifies every deal since 2018, find the parties involved, and market to them in ways that make sense?

It’s not just a tech problem—it’s a funnel problem. But you can use tech to scale it. And that’s what we did.

Eric Brody: People asked, “Why do you have a tech ecosystem?” This is why. Because we needed radical transparency. We needed to look at every angle of the business and be open to critique.

Eric Brody: You do this really well, by the way. You bring people in to pressure test ideas, and it’s never personal. It’s why you think a certain way. That mindset is what real estate often lacks—it’s too linear. Tech, on the other hand, is creative, fast-moving, and dynamic.

Eric Brody: So we started building internal engines—fueled by marketing, expertise in development and finance, and scalable through technology. And here we are today.

Adi Soozin: It’s an incredible comeback story.

Eric Brody: Yeah. So where are we now?

We entered a space called capital advisory, which is basically equity brokerage. If I bring capital to your deal, I earn a fee. That’s income. And then there’s opportunity—what can you do with that income?

Our first deal? A $5M distressed project. A credit fund had foreclosed on a developer. They were planning to sell the asset and only recover 50% of their money. I stepped in and said, “Let me be your capital advisor and asset manager—I’ll get you your money back.”

Adi Soozin: Wow.

Eric Brody: They didn’t even know that was an option. But we did it. We got the financing. We finished the asset. That was proof of product-market fit. We had something that worked.

Then the next question was, “How did you get that deal?”

And the answer is: marketing.

Eric Brody: LinkedIn. Instagram. Email. Follow-up. Automation. Newsletters. Everyone always asks, “Where does the deal flow come from?”

Adi Soozin: The whole book.

Eric Brody: Exactly. The entire book.

Eric Brody: Because at the end of the day, we’re all marketing companies—who just happen to do real estate.

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Eric Brody:
When you get under the hood of capital—how capital providers think, what they’re really looking for—and start having those conversations, more and more opportunities begin to emerge. You ask:
Can I invest in notes?
Can I co-develop buildings with those who need my expertise?

All of this creates an investment vehicle. Maybe it evolves into a fund eventually—I don’t know yet. But right now, my focus is singular: I want to be the best capital advisor in the space.

To do that, we’ve identified and onboarded capital providers across the entire capital stack into a structured, usable database. So when someone brings me a deal—whether it’s here or there—I already know:
Who’s investing in that kind of asset
Who’s interested
And how we can structure it in a way that’s most accretive to you—the borrower, developer, or sponsor.

At the same time, we’re giving capital providers access to the right opportunities. Right now, we’re seeing more deal flow than is humanly possible to handle.

That’s the essence of ANAX™ —and the comeback story you mentioned earlier. It’s a scalable business in and of itself.

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Adi Soozin:
Let’s talk about ANAX™. I review between 20 and 100 pitches every month. Then I curate a shortlist and tell people, “This one looks solid. Let’s explore it.”

How are you handling the same volume of deal flow? What criteria are you using to filter deals and decide which ones go on ANAX™?

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Eric Brody:
That’s a great question—and it touches on a broader issue: the identity crisis that technology is having in real estate.

Let’s back up. Around 2018–2020, there was a lot of hype. Real estate tech companies were raising $20B, $22B. Everyone said, “Tech is changing real estate!” Then some of those companies went public, and the market got confused:
“Wait, is this a tech company or a real estate company?”

The result? Valuations plummeted. Investors couldn’t categorize the product. Tech wants to iterate and scale; real estate wants proof, now.

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Adi Soozin:
Exactly. The real estate ecosystem looks massive from the outside, but internally, it’s incredibly siloed. You might have 50 people relying on one specialist in a specific asset class to evaluate whether a new tech tool is even relevant.

Each player only moves one chess piece, then steps back to let the next person move. Young marketers or investors may see a “huge market” from a bird’s eye view, but they don’t realize how fragmented the industry really is.

I often tell people—it’s like a soccer team. The reason I get flown to NYC is usually that someone’s trying to cut someone else out of the deal. I tell them,
“Let’s build a massive pie and split it, instead of one person trying to keep the whole pie—only for it to end up small and burnt because they didn’t know what they were doing.”

That’s part of the friction with real estate tech: It serves a huge industry, but it’s only valuable to a few key people inside that ecosystem.

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Eric Brody:
Absolutely. Two things matter here:

1. Domain expertise.
   Tech tools often don’t meet the user where they are. They lack the deep understanding needed to solve real pain points—what’s slowing someone down, what could make them more efficient. Are you saving them time? Money? Helping them scale?

If you don’t intimately understand what they actually need, you’re just offering a shiny widget.

2. Real estate is Machiavellian.
   People in this space are already making money. They won’t change unless your solution works now and makes them more money immediately. Tech thrives on iteration. Real estate wants results—yesterday. They’re not speaking the same language.

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Adi Soozin:
Exactly. And when someone new to real estate sends me a “great deal,” I do the back-of-the-envelope math and say,
“This isn’t a deal—it’s a nightmare.”
They’re shocked. But I show them the first multiple I check. If that puts the valuation at $3–$4M and it’s listed at $51M… and it’s been sitting on the market for seven months… there’s a reason.

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Eric Brody:
Exactly. Real estate is high-stakes and high-touch. So, when you ask about ANAX™, here’s what we’ve done: We built our own proprietary technology.

We don’t see ourselves as a “real estate tech company” or a “tech-enabled brokerage.” We’re a hybrid real estate company. We generate revenue as a real estate operator and quietly layer in tech behind the scenes to make ourselves 10x more efficient than our peers.

We’re not aware of a true category name for what we are—maybe others have similar tech under the hood, but for us, this is the model:
Win in real estate. Prove efficiency. Then reveal the tech that made it possible.

We’ve started retaining engineers to build systems that support this strategy. It’s enabling us to operate with a lean team and outperform competitors.

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Adi Soozin:
Let’s go a level deeper—into the data. You mentioned a platform that helped you evaluate shadow inventory. Can you explain that?

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Eric Brody:
Yes. There’s a book by John Gaddis called On Strategy, which argues:
The more variables you consider when making a decision, the better your outcome.

But humans love simplicity. In politics, for example, we cling to one-liner solutions. Technically, though, better answers come from thousands of data points.

So I found a company called MarketProof. They compiled data on every condo in NYC—including “shadow inventory,” which is legal in New York.

Let’s say you own a 50-unit building. You can legally release only 5 units to the market while keeping the other 45 as shadow inventory. That data wasn’t tracked anywhere. But MarketProof aggregated it.

They pulled from:

• NYC Department of Buildings
• New York State records
• Broker data
  And they created a real-time marketplace view.

That’s the level of granularity we’re talking about. Another firm we know tracks 86% of all loans that closed in 2024 using 36 unique data inputs—plug-ins to municipalities, deals with title companies, etc.

This is where the shift is happening. We’re finally hoovering up all that disparate data, and it’s beginning to unlock smarter decision-making for the entire middle market.

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Adi Soozin: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Eric Brody: We found that in this micro market, there was way too much product and not enough absorption—demand just wasn’t there. If I had known that earlier, would I have moved forward? Well, I’m going back in time now, but it definitely would’ve given me pause. I would’ve double-checked my sensitivity analysis to make sure that, if the market tanked, I’d still be okay.

And then, something unexpected hit us—the market didn’t see me as a failure, but something called coronavirus came at the absolute worst time. If there had been access to capital, I would’ve been fine. My basis was strong. But there wasn’t any capital—everyone thought they were dying. People forget how bad it really was. No one was lending because they didn’t know if they were even going to survive.

Eric Brody: We weren’t even in our right minds at the time. If that same scenario happened today, there would be tons of rescue capital, tons of opportunity. Our basis was so low. The universe didn’t look at me like a total failure—but I did. And I had to work through that. No self-pity, though. That was just one data point, and I could’ve found more.

We could’ve also asked, “What product should we be building?” A lot of people went high-end and did really well. The key is staying power.

Adi Soozin: Yeah. Yeah.

Adi Soozin: A few people have asked me, “Why are you focusing on office right now?” But the returns we’re able to get in office today are incredible—because so few people are looking there. I was speaking with a fund manager yesterday—he has 33 years of experience and only does multifamily. I told him about the deals we’re closing on and the returns we’re getting, and he said, “I can’t even get close to that.”

And I said, “Exactly. You have to go outside of multifamily. That space is saturated right now.”

I believe there are going to be some white knight opportunities—where people are defaulting and you can step in. But those plays are for people who know how to structure a deal to be the white knight.

Eric Brody: That’s a really great point.

Eric Brody: So what changed your aperture? Because for me, it used to be New York or nothing. I was either going to build here or nowhere.

Adi Soozin: Everyone is like that.

Eric Brody: It’s such an ego trip. At the end of the day, if you just looked at domestic migration data, you’d be down in Texas or Arizona. You could take everything about who you are and what you do and apply it elsewhere. Why beat yourself up in one market?

Adi Soozin: Okay, but even now—like with Edward—I’ll say, “I found this really great opportunity,” and he’ll respond, “You can do that in New York.” Every time. It’s this mindset—if you’re in NYC, nothing else exists.

I grew up there. I didn’t think anything existed outside of it either. It was New York City… and then “the rest of the world.” But once you leave that bubble, you realize there are so many incredible things happening in real estate.

There’s always a niche market if you’re willing to find the right asset managers, partner with different teams, and know how to assess them. You can find amazing opportunities and returns. But you have to go outside the New York bubble. (Sorry, Edward.)

Eric Brody: And you know what? It’s not just geography—it’s also about structure. Structured capital. Where are you playing? How are you structuring the deal?

When you open your aperture and look at how capital really makes money, you realize it’s asset, it’s geography, and it’s also strategy. What’s the risk-adjusted return?

Adi Soozin: Yeah.

Eric Brody: Once you start talking to capital sources, you realize they view the universe totally differently. The question becomes: Where is the opportunity based on their lens?

There’s a guy I’m talking to right now—he believes the next crash is going to be in small commercial real estate. Just like 2008 was about residential mortgage-backed securities, this one might be about small commercial-backed securities.

But you and I? We’ll never hear about it. It’s not going to make headlines when someone defaults on an $8 million loan. That’s not newsworthy. But guess what? If you can buy that debt for $4.5 million, restructure the building, and sell it for $6 million in 12 months… you’re winning.

Without the tech ecosystem attacking the way I used to think, without me broadening my perspective on how capital views opportunity, I would’ve missed all of this.

Adi Soozin: Yeah.

Eric Brody: Humans don’t change until their daily life becomes so painful that they’re forced to step into the abyss.

When people said, “I’m so sorry” after I got foreclosed on, I’d think of the old Zen master who says: “We’ll see.” Maybe that was the best thing that ever happened to me. Because of the comeback.

You just have to be uncomfortable long enough.

Now we’re seeing tons of opportunities—not just around the country, but in New York too, in new forms.

Adi Soozin: So, let’s shift gears for a minute.

We usually leave time to talk about soft skills—philosophy, psychology, things like that. I’d say, out of everyone I work with in commercial real estate, you’re one of the most emotionally aware and emotionally intelligent. You actually acknowledge people’s emotions when they speak to you—which is rare in this space.

Can we talk about when that shift happened? Was there a moment you decided to develop emotional awareness? Or do you attribute it to becoming a father to daughters? What’s the evolution there?

Eric Brody: The other side of my story is this: when you lose everything, it includes a lot of personal things too. I won’t go into specifics out of respect, but emotionally and spiritually, I was broken.

I spent most of my life chasing external validation. If someone told me I was great, then I believed I was. Why was I like that? Because I grew up in Brooklyn, and I used to get robbed—five kids would jump me, sometimes with knives or guns. I felt helpless.

So I got into martial arts. I trained hard—obsessively—because I was trying to protect that little boy inside of me who felt powerless. But I never really addressed that little boy.

And here’s the thing: when five kids pull guns on you, you’re supposed to feel helpless. Forgive yourself. That’s normal. But I carried that sense of shame and fear for years. I was never comfortable being simple, or quiet, or still. I wasn’t self-aware.

Eric Brody: It took a spiritual advisor—a shrink, whatever you want to call it—to help me even see the patterns. But then the real question became: How do I become aware of these patterns myself?

Do I recognize that there’s a little boy inside of me? Is he my friend? Or is he just there to tell me I’m not enough?

If you don’t love yourself, you’ll project that lack onto everyone around you. You’ll attract what’s already emanating within you.

Adi Soozin: Yeah.

Eric Brody: And yeah, this might sound corny. I used to hate this stuff. But we’re talking about thousands of years of wisdom—Buddhism, Christ, Judaism—all saying the same thing: Know thyself.

So how do you do that?

Yes, my daughters helped. Having children teaches you unconditional love. I’ve apologized to them many times—because when they were born, I wasn’t self-aware.

“Please forgive me for anything I did when I didn’t even know how to look at my own shadow.”

If you don’t know yourself, you’ll put your unresolved pain onto your kids—and they’ll feel it, even if they can’t explain it.

So I became a realist. The first question I asked myself was: Can you meditate? Not to become a monk—but just to slow your brain down. Can you find three feet of space to think clearly, to breathe?

If you’re tilting like an old arcade pinball machine, you’re making bad decisions. You need emotional control. Do you get angry when people disagree with you? What are your triggers?

Until you can see yourself, you won’t know if you’re calm, triggered, happy, or sad. You won’t be able to identify an emotion.

So I started meditating.

Then, I started journaling. Everyone says journaling is “cathartic.” I thought it was nonsense. I hated it.

Adi Soozin: I hate journaling.

Eric Brody: Right? But I did it anyway. Just for a month.

And then I read what I wrote—as if I was studying myself. Every day I’d say “I’m stressed.” Then one day I realized: “I’ve been writing ‘I’m stressed’ for a month.” At some point, you have to ask: Why?

That’s when the real work starts.

You start asking: What am I making this mean? Where is that coming from? But the first step is simply noticing it. That’s all I did—write it down, and read it back.

Then, everything changed.

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Adi Soozin: Yeah.
Eric Brody: You only live today. So you start to learn how to live in the moment. Then it snowballs—suddenly you’re aware of your triggers. Now, if someone triggers me, I think, “Thank you. That’s a great teacher.” It has nothing to do with them. They don’t even know me. It’s my trigger. It’s coming from within me.

You get cut off in traffic, right? Classic road rage moment. Someone cuts you off, flips you the finger, and suddenly you’re furious. But think about it—you’re letting someone in another car, who knows nothing about you, ruin your whole day.

Adi Soozin: Yeah. That’s—yeah.
Eric Brody: All because they cut you off?

Eric Brody: The only one who can ruin my day now… is me. That’s my power. Only I can f*** my day up. You don’t have control over s***. But if you do trigger me? I write it down. I ask myself: “What was I making that mean?” That’s my issue.

And people will ask, “What do you mean by that?” And I say, “Just shut your mouth and say happy birthday.”

Adi Soozin: [laughs]
Eric Brody: I’m still a dude—I like to do “guy” stuff. But I also like to acknowledge when I’m being a jerk because of my own insecurities.

Like yesterday, I’m on the phone with a buddy who plays golf. I go, “You waste so much time playing golf. What a joke.” And he’s like, “What do you mean? I do some of my best business on the golf course!” I told him, “It’s not about you, man. I’m joking. It’s my insecurity—I don’t play golf.” What I really mean is… I wish I did.

Adi Soozin: Do you want to learn? Because I played varsity…
Eric Brody: Not really. I think I’m just insecure that maybe I’m missing out on deals that happen on the course. But I don’t want to play.

Adi Soozin: My dad used to say 85% of his business deals were either closed or fixed on a golf course. He actually made me start playing in high school because of that.
Eric Brody: I know. I hear you. But I’m in this “efficiency phase” right now.

Adi Soozin: So you’re not going to play, huh?
Eric Brody: I don’t have five hours to spare. I want to have the time—but right now I just don’t.

I think being self-aware is powerful. Some Special Forces guys I know taught me that. A good friend of mine said, “Self-awareness doesn’t make you less masculine or less feminine.” I do martial arts. I lift weights. I’m not any less masculine because I tell you I feel insecure. You’re not threatening me by hearing that.

If I have to protect my family, I’ll be a savage. But otherwise, why not be vulnerable? These two things aren’t mutually exclusive.

Seeing both sides of that made life way healthier, more interesting, and filled with more gratitude.

When we met—that was karma. It wasn’t some cosmic “we met for a reason” cliché. It just was. And that’s what makes life more interesting. Otherwise, we’re just on a rock, flying through space at thousands of miles an hour into infinity.

Adi Soozin: Yeah, and what’s wild is… I wasn’t even supposed to go to that event. I was doing something else. But I went to a friend’s birthday and she said, “I got you a ticket. You have to come.” So I go.

At the event, the book had just come out—it hit #1 new release in five categories—and I was being bombarded. So I ducked into this side room for a breather. And there’s a guy sitting on a computer in a pink shirt. He glances up at me—and I can tell he doesn’t recognize me.

And I think, “Thank God. He’s just going to assume I’m some dumb blonde.” I just needed 4 seconds of quiet.

Eric Brody: That’s awesome.
Adi Soozin: Then we started talking… and it turns out he knows one of my friends who wrote in the book! But it was such a nice little reprieve. I literally ran into the room to hide—and that’s how we met.

Eric Brody: First off, congrats on the book. Also, to clarify—your friend Ed and I are both New Yorkers. We don’t judge by hair color. We judge by… whether or not we like you. Doesn’t matter how you came in—I probably thought, “I don’t like her anyway.”

Eric Brody: But when we started talking, the energy felt right. And that’s all that mattered. Not your name, not your story—just connection. Which, by the way, is so rare in today’s world. With politics and everything else, people judge so fast. How do you know if you even like someone if you won’t talk to them?

Eric Brody: Anyway—it’s been a pleasure. Congratulations again. I’m excited for all the things coming your way. And I’m grateful you gave me this forum to share. Everyone should keep an eye out for what we do next.

Adi Soozin: Yeah, I think a lot of people listening are really going to enjoy this episode. Your story—it’s wild. You’ve literally played every position on the field. You’re like Messi in soccer. And since I’m in Miami, we love Messi, so I’m sticking with that analogy.

Adi Soozin: But yeah, this was awesome. You have a deck for people who want to invest in ANAX™, right?

Eric Brody: Yes. We’re currently raising capital for ANAX™ to finish the tech we discussed. That said, if the deals we have close soon, we won’t need more capital—it’s just how it works.

But yes, raising now lets us expand faster. And whether you’re a borrower or a capital provider—if I don’t know you and you’re not onboarded on the platform, I can’t send you deals. So anyone who’s a principal, a borrower, or a capital provider should definitely reach out.

Adi Soozin: Perfect. And we’ll embed your deck on the page hosting this interview.

Eric Brody: Cool. I’ll send it to you.

Adi Soozin: Is that okay?

Eric Brody: Yeah, sure.

Adi Soozin: And we won’t list your personal contact info—we’ll just link to one of your assistants. So if anyone wants to learn more about ANAX™, just go to 9×90.co/ericbrody. You’ll find his page there—easy. Click his name, and you’ll see:

• The ANAX™ deck
• Details on how to join the platform
• A way to contact his team

Adi Soozin: Thank you so much for tuning in today.
Eric Brody: You got it.
Adi Soozin: And thank you, Eric, for joining us.
Eric Brody: Talk soon. Bye-bye.
Adi Soozin: Bye.

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