“I played college football, could have played college baseball … but I can’t shoot a basketball for the life of me.”
— Michael Andreacchi, CEO, Junk King
In her monthly “Grab Bag” column, Editor in Chief Laura Michaels asks the tough questions—What superhero power would you most like to have? What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?—to show a side of franchising execs you don’t normally see.
Who would play you in the biopic about your life?
I would go Mark Wahlberg. He seems like a fun guy, likes sports, he’s in shape. He seems personable and doesn’t take himself too seriously. He’s done serious movies, then stuff like ‘Ted.’ He could pull it off, playing me.
What’s your biggest pet peeve?
Entitlement or not taking responsibility for your mistakes. They go hand in hand. If you’re honest, I always give people a second chance, but if you bullshit me, that’s worse. So being responsible for your actions and owning up to your mistakes.
What are you freakishly good at (or bad at)?
I would argue I’m a pretty good athlete. But I’m also really good at numbers, remembering phone numbers like you had to back in the day. Or just looking at data, knowing the numbers. People in the office are like, that’s some ‘Rain Man’ shit. But I can’t shoot a basketball to save my life. I quit basketball in high school and did wrestling instead. I played college football, could have played college baseball … but I can’t shoot a basketball for the life of me.
What superhero power would you most like to have?
I would want to know if someone is lying to me. Or taking advantage of me … that happens a lot in business.
What fictional character do you think would be most interesting to meet in real life?
Maybe Spiderman, that would be cool. To have a day in the life of Spiderman. Or Ted Lasso, he’d be cool to be around. But I’d rather be around real people.
What’s something you would seriously stockpile if you found out it wasn’t going to be sold anymore?
I would stockpile whatever I found out wasn’t going to be made, you know? Like people stockpiling toilet paper during the pandemic. But maybe scotch. Yeah, for sure, scotch or some other liquor.
Who or what did you have posters of on your bedroom wall as a teenager?
Always athletes. I’m a big Bay Area sports fan, Jerry Rice, Will Clark, Barry Bonds. Although my idol is Allen Iverson, so I probably had him. And at one point I had a bunch of black lights in my room and a bunch of black light posters.
If you could be a member of any TV show family, which would it be?
‘Yellowstone’ would be kind of cool. Or, I would say ‘Peaky Blinders.’ Thomas Shelby would be super fun to hang out with. Or Ted Lasso’s family.
What chore do you absolutely hate doing?
Garbage and recycling—how funny is that because I’m in the garbage industry. I hate breaking down boxes on Tuesday night before the garbage comes on Wednesday morning, all those Amazon boxes. It’s like, what did I even order? And this makes me think of my other pet peeve because I hate folding laundry. And so my other pet peeve is when people put things in the laundry inside out. Then you have to go and pull out all the sleeves … so annoying.