Published on June 26th, 2020 | by Dr. Jerry Doby

Who Is Elie Maroun?

One of the fun parts of this job is meeting behind the scenes superstars like Elie Maroun. It’s personalities like Elie who help make mega-celebrities household names and keep their brand machines running at high-speed. Normally we concentrate on the person in front of the brand, however, with the current state of affairs, it’s become easier to see behind the veil and discover the people who make a huge difference in the day to day operations of massive celebrity brands.

Among his other accomplishments, most recently Maroun has created some unique opportunities for names such as Justin Combs and G-Eazy. How? well, we are going to tell you!

Maroun facilitated Justin Combs with the launch of the very first-ever monetized virtual strip club DEMON TIME through a partnership with adult modeling website OnlyFans, breaking all records of viewing attendance (10K live viewers), full story here.
Maroun also supported the idea to premiere for the first time ever, G-Eazy’s latest music video “Still Be Friends” ft. Tory Lanez and Tyga, on adult platform PornHub creating a buzz around the music industry. More info from Complex.

The above is just a taste of what this mastermind has done during the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping the money moving for his clients in new and exciting ways. It’s true that if the pandemic didn’t showcase your hustle then it wasn’t in you in the first place! Below is another short list of career accomplishments for Maroun who has played an integral part in campaigns ranging from Snoop Dogg and Postmantes to the NFL and Justin Combs

Founder of Music Beats Hearts which has given out music listening devices to people battling physical/mental illness. The company was started in honor of one of his cousins who passed from colon cancer. www.musicbeatshearts.org
Former day to day manager for Sean “Diddy’ Combs and oversaw the launches of Ciroc, Revolt TV, Deleon Tequila, Aquahydrate & Bad Boy Reunion Tour
Founder & CEO of Grey Space Group which is a management/brand consultation/tech incubator. www.greyspacegroup.com

Celebrity Partnerships:

Snoop x Postmates – Partnership
Pink Sweats & Addidas – Partnership
NFL X Justin Combs – Partnership
Juice Wrld X Foot Locker – Partnership
Murda Beatz X Jump Bikes – Partnership
Kehlani x Fashion Nova – Partnership

I could keep writing but since we got Maroun to weigh in on a few things, let’s get to it!

From the outside looking in, who is Elie Maroun.

From a small town in New Jersey who chased a dream.

What brought you to the entertainment industry?

Started as a club promoter in NJ. Met Sean “Diddy” Combs & James Cruz backstage at a Lil Wayne x Nicki Minaj concert in 2010 and pitched him on marketing for Nicki Minaj (as she was signed to Bad Boy Management). The idea was to sell Pink Flowers with her album titled Pink Friday which was released on Valentine’s Day. I ended up getting in contact with the Founder & CMO of 1800 Flowers and put together an incredible campaign. Puff asked me to come work at Bad Boy months later and moved me to LA to become his Day to Day manager.

Give us the rundown on your company Grey Space Group

Founded Grey Space Group to help connect different sectors with entertainment. With Puff, I would meet so many billionaires & successful entrepreneurs and they would always attribute wealth to finding something that works and doing it slightly different. I call that the “Grey Space”. We work with brands and artists and help create disruptive and timeless campaigns and partnerships.

How have you kept your client’s busy during the lockdown?

The lockdown has forced clients to get creative.
Missguided – Put on a digital fashion show on IG Live
Demon Time – Facilitated a partnership with OnlyFans that was the first-ever monetized digital nightclub experience
G-Eazy – Released a partnership music video with Vixen Media Group and Pornhub
Ignite (Dan Bilzerian) – white-labeled hand sanitizer for the brand
Music Beats Hearts – my non-profit I founded which we gifted nurses and doctors who are working on the front line
Our Generation Music – focused on empowering artists on platform and conducted live interviews to support all artist releases and announcements
Brought many artists brand deals (Kehlani, Bia, etc)
Helped onboard talent to Onlyfans Platform

What made you partner several of your clients with the adult industry?

Sex has never been in the narrative of music and pop culture. It is now become empowering to women. Some of our biggest pop stars use sexuality as strength (Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj, Card B, Megan Thee Stallion, etc). I saw this massive shift and tried to get ahead of it. I work with Pornhub, Vixen, Onlyfans, and even Doc Johnson. We have some big announcements coming in the near future with all brands.

Do you see the adult industry as the new wave marketing tool?

100%! Some really big announcements on the way with the aforementioned brands.

What’s the most interesting challenge for you in keeping things moving for your clientele, especially in the current state of affairs?

Just staying motivated. Obviously, everyone wants to find a way to support causes! You must find the balance of helping and also focusing on building. These times were made for the hustlers and it is important to focus efforts accordingly.

What about your work and passions outside of the industry, what has your interest?

Oh so much!!! These are some of my side hustles:

Real Estate – I have purchased 10+ homes in the last 6 months or so.
Philanthropy – Will always be my number one passion. Helping and giving back. I am the founder of a non-profit called Music Beats Hearts
You Vs You – I have my own clothing brand which has the purpose of inspiring people to be confident in their own skin

Best business advice you’ve been given?

“Stay next to the money” – Sean “Diddy” Combs

Basically, it means that you become who you surround yourself with. If you keep yourself around opportunity, then you can one day seize it.

What’s next for you as 2020 heads to a close?

Have some big announcements coming up and continuing to help push the culture forward while helping as many people reach dreams.

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Tags: 1800 Flowers, demon time, Doc Johnson, Elie Maroun, G-Eazy, Grey Space Group, Justin Combs, Lil Wayne, Music Beats Hearts, NFL, Nicki Minaj, OnlyFans, philanthropy, Pornhub, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Tech, vixen

About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.