Carl Radke Opens Up About His "Incredible" Return to Loverboy and What's Next in His Career
The Summer House cast member shares details on his new role at Loverboy, working with Kyle Cooke again, and his next career moves.
After Carl Radke confirmed he left Loverboy in February 2023, the Summer House cast member pleasantly surprised BravoCon 2023 attendees when he revealed he was back at the company in an exciting new role.
"I'm actually proud to announce I'm going to be joining the Loverboy team on a part-time basis to help with the non-alcoholic product," he shared during a panel discussion.
More recently, in a conversation with The Daily Dish, Carl opened up about his return to Loverboy, working with Kyle Cooke again, and what's next in his career.
Carl Radke gives an update on his return to Loverboy and his friendship with Kyle Cooke
During Summer House Season 7, Carl and Kyle navigated tension in their personal relationship as Carl contemplated leaving Loverboy. "It was difficult last year, and I think it was important to step away like I did," Carl explained to The Daily Dish earlier this month. "I think over the last year, Kyle and I worked on the relationship, personally, and we spent a lot of time trying to get back to a good place. Even after the [Season 7] reunion, we hugged it out and cried it out and got slowly back into kind of good old Kyle and Carl."
Now, Carl explained, "I feel like we’re on another level of understanding and friendship that feels really good."
Carl and Kyle explored the idea of working together again while living in their vacation house. "This past summer, Kyle brought to my attention that he had been working on the non-alcoholic Loverboy, and it was during filming he actually put it in my hands," Carl shared. "[Kyle] was like, ‘There’s only one way to do this and that’s if you are a part of it.’"
He added, "That was obviously a good stroke to the ego and feels really good, when someone like Kyle who I respect and admire from a business standpoint, is excited to talk to me about a business idea."
Carl Radke shares details on Loverboy's non-alcoholic drinks and his future at Loverboy
When Carl, who has been sober for three years, was working in the VP of Sales role at Loverboy, he "found it conflicting" to represent a product he was no longer consuming. Now that he's focused on growing the business with the non-alcoholic sparkling teas, he is beyond excited to represent the brand in a new way.
"It speaks to me personally, it speaks to my passion to help people who don’t drink feel more comfortable," he explained. "The fact that we’re now offering a non-alcoholic version of Loverboy is just incredible."
Loverboy, he shared, "was born out of being on Bravo and being in the Hamptons on the weekends. We wanted a lighter, refreshing beverage that didn’t give us hangovers."
Now, the vision for the brand has evolved with his personal journey.
"Here we are eight seasons into the show, and now we’ve got a non-alc[oholic] version because here I am, I’ve been sober the last three years," he said. "It’s amazing to see the organic nature of the evolution, how authentic it is."
As he looks to the future, Carl wants to continue to grow Loverboy's non-alcoholic offerings. "I’ve been in the trenches since the beginning of this brand, so I would love to continue to try and evolve," he said. "People want the espresso martini non-alc[oholic], people want the spritz non-alc[oholic], people want all the other tea flavors non-alc[oholic]. We’re trying to think what the next evolution would be."
Naturally, Carl already has some fun ideas. "I personally want a 20-oz tall can, but a Loverboy non-alc[oholic]," he said, joking that he would call it "The Carlito Tallboy."
As of now, the non-alcoholic white tea peach and non-alcoholic lemon iced tea are available on Loverboy's website and at Boisson's five New York City locations. Soon, Carl says, "That will change,"
"That’s what I’m focused on: business development and relationship building and trying to get our non-[alcoholic] into the big grocery stores of the world, the big bars, the big clubs, the Coachellas, the Electric Zoos, you name it," he shared.
Although he noted that many "big names" have entered the non-alcoholic space, he declared, "What they’re not doing is what Kyle, and I, and Amanda [Batula] have done, which is actually build the company piece by piece and bit by bit ourselves and put the work in over time."
"I’m proud of that," he said. "So it is very competitive [and] very challenging, which is stuff that I like. If it was easy, I wouldn’t want to do it."
Carl Radke shares details on his film career
Carl is also focused on his growing film career. "I’m a producer. I’m behind the scenes. I love connecting ideas, I love bringing money together," he shared. "The film I’m [currently] a part of is called A Love Like This. It’s going to be coming out in June."
"The film thing is another big part of my life," he explained. "I love [the] documentary [space], I like scripted, so I’m going to keep looking out for new projects, but I’ve got this one coming out in June that I’m pumped about."
For more updates on Carl, check out Summer House Season 8 on Thursdays at 9/8c and the next day on Peacock. Catch up on the Bravo app.
