Selling Sunset's Jason Oppenheim doesn't just play a high-end realtor on TV. Between running one of Los Angeles' top-rated real estate brokerages and producing and starring in one of Netflix’s top-rated reality series—while also filming a spinoff—alongside his twin brother, life is pretty busy. That means some things have fallen by the wayside, like cooking. But hitting the gym and hitting the town? Those are non-negotiable.
With Season 5 of Selling Sunset now streaming on Netflix (and the show officially renewed for seasons 6 and 7), GQ spoke with the self-proclaimed strongest Oppenheim twin to discuss how he manages to squeeze in a workouts, the quality of his Postmates game, and why there's always room for ice cream.
For Real-Life Diet, GQ talks to athletes, celebrities, and other high performers about their diet, exercise routines, and pursuit of wellness. Keep in mind that what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.
GQ: How does a typical day begin?
Jason Oppenheim: The first thing is I feed my dogs and then I get myself a coffee. I don’t do much before my coffee. Then I catch up on phone calls and emails. I try and get out of the house and into the office by 10. I’m in the office usually most of the day—running the meetings or listing appointments. I take about an hour for lunch with my staff. Every day is different but it’s a mix of meeting with clients, listing appointments, showings, and then I’m on my computer a lot working out of the office.
I try and hit the gym around five. Equinox is about 100 feet from my office, so every day I just walk right over and get a quick workout in and come back to the office. I try to wrap up around 6, go home and I’ll usually work from home on and off throughout the night. I’ll watch some TV and I’ll order Postmates pretty much every night. I’ll say five nights out of the week, I’ll order from Postmates. The other two nights, I’ll go out. Unfortunately, I don’t cook.
What are some of your go-tos on Postmates?
I love Din Tai Fung, which is a Chinese dumpling restaurant—it’s one of my favorites. There’s another restaurant here called Pace and they have great pastas and pizzas and I order from them a lot. I order Sugarfish a lot when I want sushi—and I order Magnum ice cream all the time.
You don’t worry about the ice cream melting by the time it arrives to you?
It usually comes perfectly because by the time it gets to my house, you can just stick the spoon in it and it’s not too hard. I like it better when it softens up a little bit. I get ice cream about three to four nights a week. I only eat twice a day, so it allows me to eat ice cream like that.
And you’re able to sustain your energy throughout the day?
I don’t do breakfast. I’ll just have a coffee in the morning and then lunch and dinner. I’m not really hungry in the morning. I’ll usually eat around noon for my first meal and then I’ll have dinner around seven maybe, and then I’ll have ice cream after that.
It sounds like you can eat whatever you want.
I’m not super conscious, to be honest. I kind of eat whatever I want because I’m only eating twice a day. Today, I had a chicken panini sandwich, but I’ll have burgers, pasta, and pizza. I can’t say that I’m super healthy. For me, it’s more about eating an appropriate amount of calories. I don’t stuff myself, but I pretty much eat whatever I want.
So on those nights when you are going out, what are your favorite restaurants?
I have a few spots. On Saturday, I went to Olivetta and I love them. I love Catch. I love Delilah. I also love Lavo—that’s a new restaurant that just opened up. Those are probably my top four.
Was this your routine before Selling Sunset? How would you say life has changed?
The business has increased. It’s hard to be able to ascribe a percentage to the increase related to the show, just because we were increasing every year prior to the show. But it’s certainly helped the business and it’s also encouraged me to expand into my new office in Newport Beach.
The real estate market has also been very healthy in the last few years. Actually, the last 18 months have been insane and it’s extremely competitive if you’re representing a buyer because there’s a very limited supply. In fact, it’s probably the lowest supply—certainly since I’ve started in real estate, and arguably the lowest supply we’ve seen in decades. So it’s very difficult for buyers. I don’t see supply increasing anytime soon either, so I think it will continue to be difficult for buyers. When you have a listing and you’re representing a seller, things are easier because everything is selling right now as long as it's reasonably priced. I represent a mix of half buyers and half sellers, but volume has also been great. I think 2022 is lining up to be an excellent year in Los Angeles.
I imagine your days can run long. Has shooting the series and now another series added to that?
The filming isn’t super demanding on me. I just work around it. It doesn’t really have an effect on my daily schedule. I’m still able to figure things out. It’s not every day for me. But when I’m not filming, things are a lot easier. Between both shows, I’m pretty much filming all year now. It’s become normalized and I’m figuring a way around it.
Did you foresee having that be part of your routine when you begin filming season one.
No. Of course not. I don’t think anyone could’ve imagined it—the success, or multiple shows. But because it happened so slowly, like over the last few years, it just seems normalized. It’s not like it went from not having a show to having a successful show very quickly. It’s kind of been a smooth transition. It just seems normal, to be honest.
People ask if things have changed. I don’t feel like anything has changed except people want to take photos now, but other than that, I had a pretty fun and awesome life before the show, and I feel like I have an awesome life now. I’ve always been someone who has gone out, had fun, and enjoyed myself and I’m still doing that. I still have the same friends and doing the same things. Some things have changed but in a lot of ways, it feels like nothing has changed.
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With a schedule as packed as yours, how important is that time at the gym for you?
If I’m not taking care of my body, then I don’t feel like I’m being productive, and I don’t feel as good. If I feel good physically then I feel good emotionally. It gives me a good physiological response. I only work out for about 30 minutes, but I try and go to the gym five to six times a week. I’ll just do about 12 sets of whatever muscle group I’m on. It just makes me feel productive and balanced. I’ve been working out now for about 25 years, so it’s a part of my life. I don’t even know what life would be like without working out.
I moved into my dad’s house when I was about 16. He would wake me up every morning at around 5:30 in the morning, and make me work out with him in the garage. We had cleared out the garage and set up a bench and he would have me work out for about 30-45 minutes every morning. Ever since then, I’ve been working out.
Is there a particular muscle group you enjoy working on the most?
No, I hit everything. I've been pretty consistent over the last 25 years. When I was younger, I used to love chest and I used to do bench press competitions. Now, I’m not doing as heavy of weights anymore because I’m not trying to be as bulky as I was. I’m probably 10 pounds lighter than I was when I was 20 and I was really lifting heavy. Now, it’s about lifting lighter and it’s about being in shape, fitness, and maintenance. I’m not doing max days anymore, where I’ll see how much I can put up one time. I’m not trying to get injured.
With having a twin brother and even at this stage of life, is there still a sibling rivalry when it comes to working out?
All the time. We’re very competitive about everything including working out. But I’ve always been stronger than him. We’re always flexing on each other and wrestling with each other. It’s not necessarily who puts up more weight but we’re just always very physical with each other—pushing each other around, wrestling and we definitely have that dynamic between us. If one of us wasn’t working out, I think that would cause a problem: You wouldn’t want the other twin to get ahead of you.
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