Tarek El Moussa recalls his career's most 'toxic' advice

Tarek El Moussa recently reminisced about one piece of “toxic” advice he received about maintaining a professional aura in real estate.

Moussa posted a video on his Instagram on Friday, August 28, in which he opened up about his journey in real estate and why his boss asked him to change his name to Derek.

He began, “Seventeen years ago, my boss told me to change my name from Tarek to Derek to sound more professional. It was 2008; I just lost everything in the recession, and I needed a job. So, I finally got a job at a commercial real estate company.”

El Moussa recalled, “The very first day, the office manager came up to me and actually said, ‘Hey Tarek, we’re going to call you Derek. It sounds more professional.’”

The 45-year-old American investor and TV personality went on to share that he left the company as soon as he heard the suggestion, as he had sensed the organization’s “toxic” environment.

“I was broke. I had no plan, but I would never give up my self-respect. The entire situation taught me no matter how desperate you are, if your environment is slowing you down, you’ve got to change it,” he stated.

Despite trying his luck in the entertainment world, the Flip Flop star did not leave real estate, as he revealed in his caption that he “flipped over 1,000 homes” and “built multiple real estate businesses.”

It is pertinent to mention that Tarek El Moussa is currently working on NESTLA, which is “a system that gives homeowners smarter, more transparent ways to sell their homes, and keep more of their equity without overpaying fees.”