11 Rock + Metal Musicians Who Became Actual Real Estate Agents

Here are 11 rock and metal musicians who became actual real estate agents.

Even if you’re in a successful band, having a side hustle or another full-time effort to occupy time between tour and diversify revenue streams is an attractive option. Real estate offers a lot of flexibility and, for anyone leaving music, it’s great gig as a new career pursuit.

We checked in with some notable rock and metal musicians who are also in real estate, learning more about their stories.

Hatebreed bassist Chris Beattie has been buying rental properties and flipping houses since as far back as the early 2000s.

As with most bands in 2020, Hatebreed had to wind down their touring due to the pandemic. That is when Beattie decided to dive deeper into the world of real estate.

“With extensive time off during Covid, I decided to actually take the test and get my license when touring stopped,” Beattie said.

The bass player is one of rock musicians who have either given up music completely to sell real estate or are using it as a side gig between stints with their band.

For the last three years, Beattie has continued to tour with Hatebreed while also working as a real estate agent with Maverick Realty in Windsor, Connecticut. His photo stands out on the staff page on the agency’s website.

While you might not see many real estate agents using posed shots of them wearing a retro WrestleMania T-shirt just below their throat tattoo, it seems to work for Beattie. Just don’t expect him to namedrop Hatebreed in order to make a sale.

“Some people have no idea about the music scene,” he said. “I don’t put it out there unless they bring it up.”

Former Senses Fail bassist Greg Styliades rarely has clients bring up music when looking for a new home.

“There’s more agents that put the connection together than clients,” he said.

Styliades, who now works as a full-time agent, started pursuing a career in real estate while he was still on the road with Senses Fail. He was inspired by the experience of purchasing his first house in 2017.

“I enjoyed seeing different houses and thought to myself, ‘I could do this,'” Styliades said. “I was working at a collection agency between tours and that was miserable. So I figured what other career could I do, not involving music, that can make some money and give me the flexibility of getting up and going on tour.”

Once the Warped Tour wrapped in 2018, Styliades started taking classes to get his real estate license. He started selling homes in January 2019 after coming home from a Fall/Winter run with Senses Fail.

Today, Styliades is able to turn what he learned as a performer into a successful real estate career in the Buffalo, New York area. It’s not uncommon dad jokes or even a Freddy Krueger mask to be used in videos to promote his listings.

Styliades attributes this unique approach to his time as a touring musician where he learned “being creative, doing a little extra to stand apart from others and marketing.”

“When I started, agents were still taking photos of houses on their cellphones. I got a whole camera setup and taught myself how to do ‘professional’ photos.”

Styliades was one of the first people For The Fallen Dreams guitarist Jim Hocking reached out to when he was planning to make a similar leap from music to real estate in 2020.

“Real estate offered an entrepreneurial  model that game me control over my schedule, allowed me to work directly with people and give me the opportunity to solve real world challenges creatively – much like music did, but in a new way,” Hocking said.

Early in his music career, Hocking found himself managing many of the business aspects of his band including coordinating with agents, mangers and record labels. Today, he feels both those experiences and being on tour set him up for a successful pivot to real estate in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area.

READ MORE: 13 Rock + Metal Artists Who Had Other Careers Before Music

“Whether it was navigating the dynamics of a tour bus, handling disagreements, or keeping a team focused on a bigger picture, I learned how to work under pressure and manager challenging scenarios,” Hocking said. “These experiences shaped my ability to keep clients aligned with their goals, even during stressful real estate transactions.”

Unlike Beattie and Styliades, Hocking says he regularly has clients ask him about his music endeavors while searching for a home.

“Some bring it up right away, while others wait until we’re at the closing table,” Hocking said. “A lot of people do their research before working with someone, and when they Google me, my music career inevitably comes up.”

Four years into selling homes, the guitarist has learned to lean into his experience in a metalcore band when speaking with clients. This is especially helpful in the early stages when agents and potential home buyers are working to become more comfortable with each other.

“I’ve had clients ask about my travels, my favorite venues, or how I transitioned from music to real estate,” Hocking said. “It’s been a fantastic conversation starter and a way to build rapport. I think my unique store makes me more relatable and memorable.”

Here is a look at 10 musicians who have become real estate agents.