John L. Wade
Founder & CEO
Investor & Developer
Attorney & Entrepreneur
Profile Highlights
Childhood and Education
Starting at the age of 7 and continuing until I was16 and old enough to get a “real job” at a local Safeway grocery store, I did many different jobs that involved selling products and providing services door-to-door. I sold my used toys, as well as used toys I would purchase from others, polliwogs I caught in a nearby pond, custom-imprinted Christmas cards, and imported pantyhose. I collected neighbors’ empty soda pop bottles and returned them to stores to get the deposits back, painted neighbors’ house numbers on their curbs, mowed their lawns, and shined their shoes.
I also had the typical early-morning paper route which I expanded by merging adjacent distribution areas and did many other atypical jobs that merely turned some of my playtime into work time so I could make money to buy things and invest in more childhood endeavors.
When it was time to get a higher education, it was very important to me that I put myself through college (UCSC) and law school (UC Hastings College of the Law) which I did with the assistance of Full Academic UC Regents’ Scholarships for both colleges and by working at Safeway grocery stores.
Overall, childhood was a great period of my life. It was not a time of hardship; it was a time of learning and applying myself. And, I admit, much of my abilities were outside my control. For example, although I may have been cursed having a brain that won’t turn off, I was fortunate enough to be blessed with a high IQ, so I absorb new information quickly which allows my brain to come up with new ideas. I also only sleep about 4 hours a day, which provides me with more time to get things done.
The Greatest Influence In My Life
The greatest influence in shaping my life was my mother who, until she passed away, was also my mentor and best friend. She taught me to be independent and self-reliant by her own example.
When my mother got divorced from her second husband, I was in 5th Grade and our home was in foreclosure. My mother instantly became a woman raising two kids on her own during the 1960s. Without any previous college education, she got a full-time job and decided to go to law school at night. I can still remember seeing her in bed in the middle of the night drinking her tea and highlighting her law books.
After she became an attorney, she started her own law practice and began buying fixer-upper houses to use as rentals and accumulated 22 houses in just 2 years. She also became a General Contractor to save money overseeing her own rental repairs. And, to “give back,” she became a college professor and taught others the value of real estate – especially owning your own home.
Then, after doing all this in only 5 years from start to finish, she supposedly “retired” but, in reality, she just sold everything in the oversaturated Santa Clara, California, market then did it all over again in the rapidly growing Atlanta, Georgia, area.
Throughout my life, I have always thought, if my mother could overcome all those obstacles and do all that on her own in just 5 years, then I have no excuse to not do the same or better. And some of what she taught me I have attempted to instill on my kids: we are not poor, we are frugal; use toilet paper instead of more expensive Kleenex; reuse your school lunch bag until it wears out; wash your own clothes, don’t just throw them on the floor or put them in the hamper; and, my favorite, take as much as you want to eat, just make sure to eat what you take.
For those fortunate enough to also have had their lives influenced by my mother, you know what I mean. For those who did not, check out this great song about love, life, and death by Train, You Can Finally Meet My Mom.
Real Estate Investments, Development, and Management
In 1973, when I was 16 years old, I bought my first rental property by purchasing a $30,000 house for $1,500 down and assuming the loan. I certainly wouldn’t have qualified for a loan – I wasn’t even old enough to legally sign the purchase-sale agreement. Fortunately, no one asked my age. When I was 21, I sold that house for $60,000, realized a $30,000 net profit (2,000% return on investment), and used that profit to purchase a $99,000 triplex apartment building.
Over the years, I continued buying apartment buildings in Santa Clara, California, then I started buying apartment buildings in Reno, Nevada.
In 2021, I sold all my California residential property and used 1031 exchanges to start investing in Downtown Reno commercial properties. I also started Gung-Ho Real Estate to oversee the buying, selling, leasing, property management, development, and construction of my commercial and multi-family residential properties.
In 2024, I started Gung-Ho Investments so third parties could invest with me as I expanded my real estate investments and development in the rapidly growing Downtown Reno market.
Most importantly, I am a Benevolent Investor and Developer that is rebuilding and improving the Downtown Reno community for everyone’s benefit by repurposing underutilized properties to create something new where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts or, simply stated, 1 + 1 = 3.
Public Self-Storage
After I purchased my townhouse in Downtown Reno, I discovered the closest public self-storage facilities are at least a mile outside of the Downtown Reno area. So, in 2022, I created Gung-Ho Storage to build self-storage facilities that are within walking distance for people who live and work in the rapidly growing Downtown Reno area.
Gung-Ho Storage is the first and only public self-storage in Downtown Reno. All the storage facilities are climate-controlled and feature new state-of-the-art construction, inside and outside video surveillance, and secure 24/7 access.
Some storage locations include humidity and temperature-controlled wine and cigar storage with wine tasting and cigar smoking lounges for socializing, networking, relaxing, drinking, dining, and enjoying entertainment.
Co-Working Space
In 2023, after the Covid epidemic, more people than ever were working from home and they needed a larger or quieter place for work, as well as a place for meetings with clients, customers, and co-workers. However, there were no quality co-working spaces available in Downtown Reno. So, I created Gung-Ho Workspace, in the heart of Downtown Reno, to provide modern Class A+ private offices, conference rooms, meeting rooms, massage rooms, podcast recording rooms, areas to relax, socialize, enjoy food and drinks, and have events with entertainment.
Additional features and amenities include cafés, juice bars, restaurants, bars, dog-friendly environments, inside and outside video surveillance, and secure 24/7 access.
Some locations will also include wine storage with wine tasting and dining areas, cigar storage with smoking rooms, and nearby dog parks.
Gung-Ho Workspace will provide the only Class A+ co-working space in the Downtown Reno area.