I’m not much of a celebrity fan. I don’t follow them on Twitter, I don’t watch them on TV and I generally avoid seeing them speak.

Even most of the “web” celebs typically annoy me, as they mostly have become caricatures of themselves, spewing the kind of duh garbage they would have ridiculed years ago. Perhaps this is part envy, but either way, I seldom feel like I can learn something from these people.

Gary Vaynerchuk used to be that kind of guy for me. His ranting on stage, his crazy-passionate Wine Library TV and his book Crush It! all made me think of him as some Jersey-bred, fast-talking weirdo who had little to teach someone who had more than a clue how all this stuff worked.

And then I met the man. He is EXACTLY liked I hoped he’d be; full of vigor, sound bites and just enough edginess to keep me interested. Watching the man speak, interact or just walk is especially invigorating. Call it swagger, call it je ne sais quoi, call it charm, but whatever it is, Gary Vee has it in spades. Oh, and he’s a pretty smart dude.

Here’s a video Jeff Weninger and I made with Gary following his Changing Hands book signing of his latest book, The Thank You Economy. I was especially impressed with Gary’s ability to sound prepared when I knew he wasn’t, stick to his main points without wavering and filled up the room with charisma.

I may have not been a Gary Vee fan before, but I’m a convert. This guy is going to take over the world, even with his slight-handicap of a favorite football team, the New York Jets.

This video is a part of the Chandler InFocus video series, where Councilman Weninger interviews local business owners like Glynis Legrand of Urban Tea Loft and loudmouths like me. The full, 30-minute video will be posted sometime in mid-April.