The Truth About Chris 'Drama' Pfaff And Rob Dyrdek's Relationship
Chris "Drama" Pfaff knows a thing or two about entrepreneurship. The skateboarder-turned-CEO is the founder of Young & Reckless, a streetwear line that boasts a myriad celebrity endorsements and rakes in some major cash. According to Forbes, in 2015 the company brought in $31 million in revenue and was sported by the likes of Puff Daddy (or whatever name he's going by these days) and Justin Bieber. Aside from his line, Pfaff boasts more than 1 million followers on Instagram and has appeared on multiple MTV reality shows.
Despite this obvious clout, Pfaff doesn't have a typical backstory for a successful business mogul. The CEO was born in Akron, Ohio and never even went to college, per Forbes. Originally, he had dreams of becoming a professional skateboarder. However, one day, he fell off his skateboard and fractured his skull. Pfaff wound up in a four-day coma and came out of the injury certain that skateboarding was not his calling.
With such an atypical story, Pfaff had one vital connection that helped to facilitate his success — his cousin, former professional skateboarder and entrepreneur, Rob Dyrdek.
Rob Dyrdek inspires Chris "Drama" Pfaff
Chris "Drama" Pfaff moved to Los Angeles in 2007 shortly after he graduated high school in Ohio, according to HuffPost. The move happened after Pfaff's skateboarding incident. At the time, his only dream was to work in a skate shop in California, according to Forbes. He didn't have many connections in Los Angeles and said, "[t]he only person I knew out here was my second cousin Rob Dyrdek." Little did Pfaff know at the time, this one connection was enough to launch his company.
Instead of working at a skate shop, Pfaff became Dyrdek's assistant as Dyrdek was beginning his first MTV reality show, Rob & Big, with Christopher "Big Black" Boykin, per HuffPost. Pfaff watched Dyrdek negotiate sponsorship deals with DC Shoes and Monster energy drinks, according to Forbes, and that inspired Pfaff. He said, "I realized I liked the idea of putting together a business and a brand and a plan and executing it."
By the time Dyrdek's second reality show, Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory came out, Pfaff was ready to launch his business.
Rob Dyrdek and Chris "Drama" Pfaff weren't always close
The strong connection between Rob Dyrdek and Chris "Drama" Pfaff was something that began as adults for the two men as they didn't have much of a connection from childhood. In an interview with HuffPost in 2011, Pfaff spoke about the substantial age gap between the two men (Dyrdek is more than a decade older than Pfaff). Before Pfaff moved out to LA, he and Dyrdek "barely knew each other," per HuffPost.
Pfaff said that when Dyrdek would return to Ohio once a year when Pfaff was just a kid, he was always "asking him to do tricks on his skateboard and asking why he didn't bring me more T-shirts." Pfaff said he later told Dyrdek: "I can't believe you're still my friend after all those years of me being the annoying cousin." According to HuffPost, Pfaff said that his own mom reminds him regularly of how cool Dyrdek was, saying to Pfaff: "Remember how nice Rob was to you!"
Dyrdek seems to be nothing but supportive of his younger cousin. According to HuffPost, he said of Pfaff: "I'm very proud that my cousin has gone on to be a successful entrepreneur. What any mentor could hope for, more than anything, is that he understands the true value of hard work and dedication. And this has definitely been shown this through the growth of his brand." Aww!