A Meditation on Adam Neuhaus at 40
The good guys rarely get the attention they deserve. They operate with little fanfare and pyrotechnics; they’re behind the spotlight, pantomiming instructions to those on the stage. They don’t want their name on a building, or their likeness illustrated and blown up on social media, maybe just that you’ll pay their kindness forward. In your local community, these are volunteer firefighters and Little League coaches. In the creative world, it’s Adam mfn Neuhaus.
Adam and I first met in Tribeca a little over 15 years ago. He was working an event — not networking but like working-working — hauling tubs of dirty glassware across a screening space, in an entry-level role at a non-profit that connects artists with the resources they need to develop their work. Classic Neuhaus stuff. A friend thought Adam and I would hit it off and we knew enough good people in common that through transitive properties alone a friendship seemed inevitable.
The first thing you notice about Adam is that he’s got a sly, kind of mischievous smile that suggests he’s got something cooking, like a show about condiments, or an inside tip on a rare Communist bookstore. Talking to Adam in our initial conversation felt like Louie Anderson’s character in Coming To America: First I’m bussing events, then I’m working a desk for a big agent, then assistant producer and that’s when the big bucks start rolling in. He’s always had the drive of the archetypal entertainment up-and-comer from the jump, like a young Mike Ovitz in the mailroom at the William Morris Agency.
Adam and I quickly bonded over our love of activities, literally any activity, ranging from talks to screenings to parties to meals with new people. We both share an earnestness about the wideness of the world and our ability to explore what’s on offer.
A top read across a decade and a half of email correspondence brims with energy, the theme of “LFG” bristling from one exchange to the other. As the relationship evolved, we traveled together — from Wanderlust in Vermont, surfing in Nicaragua, extended stays in Miami, hanging with grandma in San Diego — not just because we’re great bosom buddies for nights on the town but because we also liked nothing more than to be alone together, reading and comfortably saying nothing to each other for hours on end.
That quality speaks to Adam’s love of inward exploration, the sense that journeys within can be just as nourishing and expansive as what’s on the other end of a long-haul flight. For a guy who’s in the business of selling narratives, he’s careful not to get too high on his own supply and can lean into uncomfortable interior spaces.
To know Adam is to know he loves tennis, an interest that also reflects his approach to conversation, which always feels like a rally, batting ideas back and forth, lobbing thought starters, throwing in spin to see how you react. He hoovers content at an ungodly pace, giving him a formidable view of the creative landscape and making sure he’s someone on whom no cultural reference is lost.
To know Adam is to know that every hang starts like a pitch meeting, premised on a reveal of a new adventure around the corner or a big idea he’s yearning to explore. “So..”, he’ll say, relishing his ability to build tension before the reveal, “I’ve been thinking of signing up for a Wim Hof course in Poland”.
“So…I’ve just signed up for an overnight survival course in the Pine Barrens”.
“So…I’ve just procured the rights to a show about Bruce Lee”.
Not surprisingly, Neuhaus Ideas became the name of his production company with which to translate these enthusiasms into commercial products. My wife reminds me that of course he has a lust for life, he’s a Pisces! But while he’s a gourmand for experiences, first hand or vicarious, he’s not obnoxious about it; he doesn’t need to perform his taste but like a great producer, cares mainly that his taste will have purchase with a broader audience.
To understand Adam is to know that he’s the product of great parenting, specifically two doctors who met as lab partners in medical school — one the son of Holocaust survivors who grew up in the Dominican Republic and the other the daughter of Brooklyn in the 1960s. They encouraged the good brotherly behavior they saw in Adam among his two sisters, whether it was working with Kate on her free throws in front of the house or taking his sister Rachel on trips to LA.
This passion for mentorship carries beyond his family, to the networking group he ran for years called Headsets and Highballs, to the Ghetto Film School or Unlock Her Potential. In fact, if you’re to crystalize what makes Adam tick it’s that he loves stories and relishes in human potential. Adam Neuhaus: champion of human potential.
Sometimes when you meet people with real charisma it feels backslappy and draining because you feel obligated to match their energy but with Adam it’s other-directed — it inspires rather than exhausts. This is not new, this is an actual report from his third grade teacher:
Adam’s level of performance and effort can only be described as high energy and intense motivation no matter what the task. Best of all is Adam’s contribution to the group dynamics in the classroom. He is always considered a valuable member of a team as he freely contributes new creative ideas and can organize people and work to task completion. Besides being a highly intelligent, creative thinker, Adam is a sensitive, kind and caring person with great leadership skills. It has been a pleasure to be in his company this year.
Adam once told me about a show business axiom in which your career can be defined in four acts: who is Adam Neuhaus? Get me Adam Neuhaus; Get me someone like Adam Neuhaus; Who was Adam Neuhaus?. At the ripe age of 40, we are squarely in Act Two. Everyone should have you a friend, colleague and brother like Adam Neuhaus.
