Dylan Eckardt is something of a rare bird. Locals have strong feelings about this former pro surfer turned real estate mogul, and that’s because Eckardt is a Montauk local. But, he doesn’t fit into any sort of category. Seriously. Looking more like bad boy partier, he has real estate cred. He’s responsible for putting together some of the biggest deals in Montauk that have definitely upset the applecart. And, he’s well aware that all eyes are on him. He told Vanity Fair, "I dress like a fashion kid from the city, I talk like an asshole, and I surf like a local. I’m the fucking rock star of real estate. I’m the fucking prince of Montauk." Well, at least we know he doesn’t mince words.
Montauk has long been suffering from an identity crisis of locals who strongly resent the summer crowds who come for three months a year and plunder away everything the natives cherish. Well, unending noise complaints from places like the Surf Lodge only increased the tension in an already dicey situation.
Eckhardt has taken a different approach, though. He has seen opportunity where others have only seen chaos. Dylan said, "I know the vibe and I’m keeping it. I’m a local and all the locals know me because I’ve either slept with their daughters or played football with their sons, and they know I’d never put in shit that wouldn’t work." Currently, he is buying up small cottages with the help of a developer, and he says the goal is to make Montauk ‘authentic’ again. We like the concept, but will it work?
No matter what your take is on this unconventional man of Montauk might be, he says his goal is to leave his town in better shape than he found it. "I saw you don’t have to be a fisherman or a construction worker or a waitress. People never told us that we could be something like a real-estate agent or a banker or a lawyer when we were kids. No one I knew did that." Villain or hero? Please tell us your take on the self-proclaimed ‘prince of Montauk’.
- The Man Who Ate Montauk... [Vanity Fair]
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