“There are always new chapters in our lives that might lead to unknown opportunities,” says Sergiusz (Sergio) Zgrzebski of Keller Williams Premiere Properties in Glen Ellyn. “In my case, after a successful career in broadcast media, I became a top-performing agent in my office and then a leader in helping other agents build their careers.”

Originally from the bustling Polish city of Gdynia, Sergio immigrated to the US in 2002 after earning his degree in journalism in Warsaw to pursue a degree in TV production from Chicago’s Columbia College. Once here, Sergio began his media career as a general assignment reporter and anchor for WPVN Polvision TV, where he would serve for nearly twenty years.

“As a general assignment reporter I developed an extensive knowledge about our city, county, and state,” says Sergio. “This comes in handy in my role as a REALTOR® and allows my clients to be well-informed.” 

After purchasing his first condo in Chicago directly from the bank and without a REALTORⓇ, Sergio thought the process was straightforward and easy to grasp. Three years later, his step-cousin, having kept this fact in mind, was the first to suggest Sergio try real estate and leverage his ability to instantly connect with people. Sergio earned his license in 2012, but quickly found the job to be less straightforward than it had appeared.

“Due to a lack of support and training, I retreated to my media career,” he explains. “But I jumped in again in 2015 and haven’t looked back.”

Today, nearly a decade since he began, Sergio dedicates much of his time to providing other agents the training and support he wished he had when he was just starting. He frequently shares top systems, tools, models, and industry best practices to launch junior associates into production. He also consults associate agents on economical, organizational, budget, and lead-generation techniques, including the models found in the book Million Dollar Real Estate Agent by Gary Keller, Dave Jenks, and Jay Papasan.

“In my dual role as leader and broker, I have to show courage, best practices, and work diligently to build agents’ careers,” Sergio says. “At the same time, it requires me to score wins to motivate my fellow agents.”

What his colleagues may not know is that Sergio is a talented and experienced bass guitarist, having played since the age of twelve. One of the reasons he pursued and excelled in his first career in broadcast journalism was his performance skillset. He plays frequently with his Reggae band, The Conscious Rockers; and cover trio, Hashtag Dad Band—playing anything from Pink Floyd to Henri Mancini to Talking Heads to Daft Punk. He has even also covered, as a journalist, some musical festivals where they were playing. “I am a huge fan of NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series,” shares Sergio. “After thirty years of music performance, playing everyone from Jimmy Hendrix to King Crimson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sting, and Bob Marley, I am immersing myself in the true roots of western music: Africa. I’m listening to such musicians as Seckou Keita (Senegal), Mulatu Astatke (Ethiopia), and my latest favorite, Burna Boy (Nigeria).”

And he is sure to spend quality time with his family. His wife, Agata, also grew up in Gdynia, Poland, and attended the same high school as Sergio. However, as luck would have it, the two only met each other after moving to Chicago. The couple has two sons, Xavier-Ksawery (14) and Felix (6), and they all regularly connect with Sergio’s extended family who now also live in the Chicagoland area.

“My father, Peter, and my paternal grandmother, Barbara, came to this county in the 1980s. What we didn’t know is that both my and Agata’s great-grandparents were once living in the US and decided to go back to Poland at the turn of 19th and 20th centuries,” shares Sergio. “Our family’s migration and the struggle my generation faced is one of the great stories of the American Dream come true.”

His family’s story and his own personal journey has given Sergio an attitude of gratitude. By giving back to his community, and remaining an active participant in his local neighborhoods as an elected official and supporter of important causes both here and in Poland, he hopes to “pay it forward.” 

“Success is liking what you do and making a positive impact while doing it,” says Sergio. 

Looking forward, Sergio hopes to focus his energy more on investments and major real estate projects while continuing to mentor new generations of REALTORSⓇ. He currently owns several investment properties but hopes to add more to his portfolio over the next several years as he scales back on actively selling.

In addition to this lesson of focus and mastery, he emphasizes the importance of perseverance to the agents he mentors. He also regularly shares this and other advice on his real estate-focused, Polish-language podcast, Domator, which he started at the beginning of the pandemic with other real estate professionals.

“Don’t you ever quit,” Sergio constantly repeats, on Domator and to his agents, mentees, and students at Polish Saturday School where he teaches on the weekends. “Success sometimes happens in the final minutes of the hour, but you have to make it there.” 

“It takes time, determination, and strategy to shift people’s minds about you and earn their trust,” he adds. “It took me five years to convince my network that I was not only ‘the man on TV,’ but I could also help them buy and sell real estate. What if I’d quit in year four?”