Midas Touch

If Steve Gold were a twin, he likely would've exited the womb first.

That's how competitive the model-turned-luxury-real-estate-broker claims to be, which makes watching him on Bravo's "Million Dollar Listing New York" reality show all the more entertaining.

"I've been competitive since childhood," says Gold, 33. "I was the athlete who always wanted to win at sports and the kid who wanted the highest grades in school. I didn't care what it was. I just wanted to be the best at it. Even when I was modeling, getting ready backstage for a fashion show, I was the guy with clips in my hair, a highlighter and a textbook every day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m."

Fans of the show, which returns this summer for its seventh season, have noted how Gold never passes up a listing opportunity, even if it's not ideal. After all, his tagline on the show is, "My business is about performing not conforming."

Despite his competitive nature, Gold is a self-proclaimed softy. On one episode, he hops out of his chauffeured vehicle to zigzag through rush-hour traffic on a rental bike so he can make it to a last-minute property showing. But, even after an unreliable co-lister cancels the showing just as he arrives, he still offers her his jacket at their next meeting to keep her warm and keep the peace.

Gold intuitively understands how to catch more flies with honey than vinegar. And he doesn't hesitate to turn on the charm to make a sale no doubt a skill crafted during his career as a model walking the runways for Louis Vuitton, Givenchy and Giorgio Armani.

Before he built the makings of a real estate empire, selling palatial digs like Anne Hathaway's $4.25 million Manhattan apartment and Olivier Sarkozy's $6.4 million East Village row house, Gold was signed by the same modeling agency that represented Channing Tatum.

Back then, he was a teenage lifeguard with a knack for numbers and plans to attend business school. He was working at a fitness and recreation facility in his hometown of Stamford, Connecticut, when a friend casually mentioned going to a modeling casting call in New York. Gold tagged along for kicks and the rest is history. Meanwhile, the friend never got a call back.

"I was 15, 16 at the time, and he was 19 or 20 the cool older guy whom all the girls liked," Gold recalls. "More than half the agencies we visited that day wanted to sign me up on the spot. So, I went home and talked to my parents about it."

Unsurprisingly, they had their concerns in particular that he was throwing away a potential career in banking.

"Modeling wasn't something that was part of our world," he says. "The fashion designers I worked for, my mom didn't know who they were. Still, my parents were never overly vocal in their opinions of how I should live my life. They gave a guiding hand but never pushed."

The youngest of three, Gold's closeness to his family has kept him grounded years after entering the world of glamour, wealth and high-rollers. A mix of Russian, Scottish and Swedish ethnicities – "I'm a big mutt, just like my dog," he says – Gold was raised Jewish and attends synagogue services with his family from time to time.

He also makes a considerable effort to be involved in the lives of his nephews and niece.

"My middle sister lives in Virginia, and I try to see them as much as I can. It's so much fun without all the responsibility," says Gold. "I had great memories of my aunt and uncle doing things with me, and so I want her kids to think of Uncle Steve in the same way."

But it's his oldest sister, who has a disability, who has motivated him most and helped form his insatiable drive, he says.

"I grew up seeing my oldest sister come home crying from being bullied at school; my mom ended up having to quit work to homeschool her. You just become incredibly sensitive and aware of the issues we deal with in society. Knowing my parents have to take care of her for pretty much her whole life and that at some point they won't be around that's partially the reason I want to be successful, so I can provide whatever she needs in the future."

Gold has always had a keen business sense. But, although he graduated magna cum laude from the Stern School of Business at New York University with degrees in finance and marketing – a feat he juggled simultaneously with his modeling career he knew deep down that neither world was where he really belonged.

"Growing up, I always had a resistance to authority and to someone telling me I couldn't do something," he says. "I think, if I'm left to my own devices, I'd probably work harder than anyone else. My personality was never really a fit for the office life or the corporate hierarchy environment."

He started tapering off his modeling once he realized that real estate was his true passion, obtaining his license in 2007 and mining his contacts in the fashion world for his new Rolodex.

"Some of my best friends are still in fashion," he says. "I am so appreciative of those people in my life as, without that trajectory, I wouldn't be where I am today. When I first told them my plans, they all said, You are a great model, but we all knew you would use that to go somewhere else.'

"I was always drawn to architecture, design and luxury residences. Even as a kid, I was always looking at classified ads for open houses and saying, I'd like to go see that,' or I'd like to move there.' And I wanted to have a career where my success wouldn't be determined by whether I was a right fit for the job but where I could just work harder at it be more tenacious."

And tenacious is as good a word as any to describe the force behind his success. With six others currently on his team, the Gold Group at Town Residential sold more than $200 million worth of real estate in the past year alone. But he values the human interaction and friendships he's made along the way more than the check.

"A lot of clients have become close friends. Long after the transaction, I'm taking vacations with clients, sharing dinners not related to real estate. You do bond over this very important purchase, and it's not about the money at the end of the day," he says. "Finding people a home is one of the most personal things you can do. It's an incredibly gratifying experience. One of the things I love the most is when someone you look up to says, Thank you you figured out what I wanted when I didn't know it myself.'"

The only thing currently missing from his life? The right person to share it with.

"It's hard to date in this city," says Gold, who has previously been linked to Brazilian actress Julia Faria. "Everyone comes to New York with a mission. They stay here if they're a hustler, super driven and wanting to make a name for themselves. Otherwise, it's a tough existence if you just want to lay back and have a 9-5, normal suburban life."

He says it's hard to find time to date when his career is such a big priority: "I have the show I'm filming, my real estate career, my home I've been renovating how many jobs can I handle when I run out of time and need to sleep? It's hard to give ample room for a relationship to grow."

And, although he often gets recognized on the streets of New York thanks to his role on the show, Gold doesn't let it go to his head.

"I still try to do business as usual and remain humble in myself, he says. I tell myself it comes with the territory. I knew what I was signing up for." O