Fredrik Eklund has made a name for himself in the real estate world, breaking records for selling over $1 billion in property and doing it all in front of the camera for the Bravo's "Million Dollar Listing" series.
But while Eklund's known in the U.S. as New York's top-selling real estate agent, back in his native land of Sweden, the reality star came to prominence for quite a different craft: porn.
"I've always been open about it. I wrote a book about it in Sweden, and it's part of who I am," he told HuffPost Live On Friday. "I never try to hide it. I've always been very neutral to it. I can laugh at myself for doing that."
And though Eklund says his sordid background has been used in attempts to hurt him "on a very personal level" as well as in his career, his personal experience has been different.
"Has it hurt my business? Never," he affirmed. "Going back 13 years ago when I came to New York ... [there's] 32,000 real estate agents. Did it make me more memorable? [People were saying], 'Oh, that guy is so good and he's so crazy and used to do porn.'"
The juxtaposition of a porn background and a booming real estate career caught the eye of the media, giving Eklund's career an even larger boost.
"I got the cover of The New York Times -- this was like 2008 or something -- because of that," he recalled. "I'm not saying for people to go out and do what I did. I'm just saying it's part of who I am."
Watch more from Frederik Eklund's conversation with HuffPost Live here.
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