I interview Alex about his hospitality ownership journey, which he describes as challenging, freeing, and a relentless pursuit of control — words that still ring true a decade in.
He shares his path from running plates at Cobb & Co in Hamilton to six years with the Phoenix Group, then a broken elbow, a stint at the Chateau, and a sleeping dream that led to opening Wonder Horse eight weeks later.

Alex explains how he funded his first venue on holiday payout and a loan secured against his mum's house, bought out his original business partners when the dynamic stopped working, and then joined forces with Matt and John to build Over Proof Hospitality — now nine or ten venues depending on how you count. He describes the unusual logic behind their growth: opening more venues not to chase revenue, but to create career pathways for a team that had nowhere left to go.

He also gets into the emotional reality of scaling fast; the partnership structure, dividing roles loosely across beverage, kitchen and FOH, the HR growing pains, and the cold-sweat nights wondering if it's all about to fall apart.

His key advice: know why you want to open a venue, get the doors open even if you're not ready, and treat it like it's someone else's money, because the moment you start mourning bottle rings on your bar top, you've already lost the plot.