Q&A
On Top of His Game
Maxx Sports & Entertainment Group owner Mark Lepselter manages fabled sports figures
WRITTEN BY CINDY SCHWEICH HANDLER
M
YOU’RE ORIGINALLY FROM PARAMUS,
CORRECT? Paramus was and remains
a great town; my brother and his
daughter, Rachel, live there. I left in
’85; it’s another lifetime ago. Some of
my favorite spots were the Fireplace,
T&W Ice Cream, The Suburban
Diner and Paramus Park Mall.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE SPORT
GROWING UP? Me and my brothers
were backyard, in-the-street kids. We
played hockey, football, whiffle ball,
you name it. It was a different time.
We lived on a dead end on Clauss
Avenue; it was a fantastic neighbor-
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BACK TO SCHOOL 2019 WAYNE MAGAZINE
FAMOUS FACES (Left) Lepselter with former NFL wider receiver and current commentator with CBS
and the NFL Network Nate Burleson; (right) with former NFL all-star and Super Bowl winner-turned-
NBC-analyst Rodney Harrison.
hood. I played some football and
baseball in high school, but had far
more fun in the backyard and street.
DO YOU RECALL EXPERIENCES OR
INFLUENCES GROWING UP THAT
ATTRACTED YOU TO THE FIELDS
OF SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT?
We were enormous sports fans.
Back then, a lot of teams were on
Channels 9 and 11. My father took
us to Madison Square Garden, Shea
(which should have been condemned
the day it opened), Yankee
Stadium, Brendan Byrne Arena
(which should have been condemned
the day it opened) — you name it,
we were there. Some of my oldest
memories are of being around big
sporting events with my father, Irwin,
and my brothers, Eddie and Jeffrey.
IF THERE’S ANYTHING YOUR CLIENTS
HAVE IN COMMON, WHAT WOULD IT
BE? Not many people have things in
common with Lawrence Taylor. But
that said, I respect grit, I like being
around interesting people, I respect
mental toughness and intestinal
fortitude. So, if that’s something
many of my clients have in common,
maybe there is a reason.
WHO WAS YOUR FIRST MAJOR CLIENT,
AND WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST MAJOR
DEAL FOR THAT PERSON? I had lost
touch with L.T. after ’91, and we
reconnected in the fall of ‘97. In
October, ’98, I got him an audition
with Oliver Stone for the movie Any
Given Sunday. I walked into the
Tribeca Film Center with Lawrence,
Oliver Stone walked out to greet us,
L.T. auditioned, and Luther “Shark”
Lavay was born.
Around the same time I reconnected
with L.T., Tiki Barber and David
Patten were both rookies with the
Giants. I was introduced to Tiki by
a teammate of his, Jerry Reynolds;
Dave and I met via Tiki and some of
the other guys. Tiki and I have been
ark Lepselter,
51, might have
stayed in the fam-
ily food business
— his father was
a caterer — if he
had not, at age 22, found himself
managing LT’s, former New York
Giant Lawrence Taylor’s restaurant
on Route 17 in East Rutherford (LT’s
closed in 1992). “That was a life
lesson you cannot pay for,” he says.
“Let’s just say they were interesting
times. I met a multitude of different
athletes and celebrities, and started
my own business four years later.”
That business, boutique career
management agency Maxx Sports
& Entertainment Group, is now
in its 25th year, and Lepselter has
steered the careers of high-profile
players and broadcasters including
Tiki Barber, Nate Burleson, Rodney
Harrison, Chris Canty, Bart Scott,
Joe Benigno, Amy Trask, Donovan
McNabb, CC Sabathia and Taylor
himself. We spoke with Lepselter
about personal and professional
highlights.