Winning in Sports and Entertainment with Blake Griffin and Ryan Kalil, Co-Founders of Mortal Media

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At the end of the day, if we're doing everything we can and we're using our talents and we're growing our talents and we're learning from our mistakes and we're enjoying the process, that's a win for us. And so there's nothing for us to really kind of plant our flag into and say that's it, that's the one, it's the next project, it's the next day. Because it's hard but forcing yourself to enjoy the process of it.

To thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape, brands must move at an ever increasing pace. I'm Matt Britton, Founder and CEO of Suzy. Join me and key industry leaders as we dive deep into the shifting consumer trends within their industry. Why it matters now and how you can keep up. Welcome to the Speed of Culture Up. Today we're going to be speaking with a truly dynamic duo of six time NBA all star Blake Griffin and former NFL center and three time all probably Ryan Kalu. They've transitioned from sports into the realm of entertainment with their Los Angeles based production company Mortal Media. The powerhouse duo is making waves, securing a multi year deal with Sony Pictures and even investing in the innovative animation studio. Blake and Ryan, so great to see you guys. How you doing today?

Great, thanks for having us.

Doing good. Thanks for having us.

Absolutely. So before we kind of dive into what you're working on, would love to hear about the transition from sports into business. I've worked with several athletes who kind of got into the business world. Kevin Durant is an Investor and our company, Suzy. And, you know, I know that sometimes it can be a little bit of a treacherous transition just for all the stigmas and things involved from being in professional sports, the business would love to hear from both of you individually about that journey if it overlapped with your professional careers and kind of how it led you to where you're all. So why don't we start with you, Ryan, and then we'll. We'll jump in the blink.

Yeah.

You know, I think like anything, we all start out as rookies, and Blake and I have had long careers to really reflect on and. And even while we were playing, Blake and I, as long as we've been friends, have shared a lot of what we've learned through our journeys and applied that to our own respective sports and really have tried to do that off the court and off the field as well. And so this endeavor is something that we're very passionate about. And so the first thing we sort of did was sit down and say, well, what made us successful in sports and how can we apply that to this? And really, from day one, we've done that. We've removed all egos. We've both, Blake and I have great work ethics and know that just like anything, it's going to take a lot of work. And really, in the early days, we were just sponges, running around town trying to meet as many people as we could. You know, successful people, people we looked up to, trying to find mentors and really just learn. And we did that for a long time. So it's funny, you know, we've had some success now, and we've been able to get some projects up and running, and we'll have a lot of people come to us and sort of ask us for help themselves and what the shortcut is. But it really. There's no secret sauce. It's putting your head down. It's going to work, and doing it to the best of your ability.

Yeah. And, Blake, at what point during your NBA career did you start thinking about, I guess, what was next? And more specifically, the world of entertainment.

Oh, man, I started thinking about what was next. My rookie year, we do this thing called transition program, and they had, at the time, you know, a lot of those documentaries were coming out about broke athletes and everything, and they had older basketball players come speak to us about average career is three and a half years. You gotta do this, you gotta do that. And it scared me in a good way to start looking at stuff like that. That's not to say I immediately Applied that, but it was sort of a thought. Ryan and I started talking about this in summer of 2015, I think it was. And like you said, like zero shortcuts. I think one of the best things for us that right away was the one thing we knew was what we didn't know. And we. It just kind of allowed us like on the flip side of also being sort of a rookie in this new space. Like, it allowed us to ask those questions that some people might not ask.

Right. You didn't have the curse of knowledge, so to speak.

And honestly, to that point, it allowed us to sort of innovate a little bit in our methodology and how we went about things because we sort of kind of came into it a little bit naive and we get away with more traditional or seasoned producers saying, well, that's not how you do it. And us sort of asking, well, why? And then going about it and how.

Do you guys know each other?

Just I think it's. Or twirl mutual friends.

Oh, wow, okay.

I think we met along 2010. I think it was when we first met. Yeah.

So I guess, walk me through how Mortal Media came to be in 2015. What was the first step you took to launch the business and why entertainment and what was the vision behind the business?

The short of it is, even though Blake and I had been friends for some time, neither of us really knew that the other were pursuing this in our respective off seasons. And it really, the two of us coming together didn't happen until Thomas Toll of Legendary, who knew us both, was sort of really enamored with how we were going about it. And I think, you know, there's a lot of athletes who like the idea of playing in the movie business. And I think for many of them it's more of a vanity thing. And they like the idea of putting their name on a poster. Rick and I were really spending a lot of time running around trying to understand the business and really figure out how we could best be effective. And so Thomas was the one that sort of suggested, I really like the way you guys talk about it. I really like the way you guys approach it. I think it'd be different than maybe other athletes trying to transition. I think it'd be interesting if you guys did it here at Legendary. And so he sort of gave us our first look deal. Blake and I met with him, we had dinner that night, and we just sort of ping pong back and forth, you know, what a company might look like, how we might do it differently. We sort of really Laid out a lot of the challenges that were going to be ahead. And one of the biggest ones was, was knowing that we were going to be fighting a stigma of being athletes and being outsiders. And so we really kind of put a plan in place and just hit the ground running. And, yeah, that's sort of how it came to be.

What was it about? I guess the original pitch or vision that was and is different? What are some of the ways that both you guys see the world different when it comes to the entertainment landscape?

Well, I think just for one, like, our biggest thing that we talked about early on was establishing that this was like, something that we. I think the way that we got into it was like, hey, for the first couple of years, we're just going to be meeting people, we're going to try to get into rooms, we're going to try to impress people with our knowledge. And not just like Ryan said earlier, trying to slap our name on something and put media release out there and say, oh, we have a production company. I don't think people really knew we had this publicly until maybe like, a couple of years ago or maybe when we started releasing that. We had some. Sold some projects here and there, but even then, we didn't do much around it. And for us, it was very important to make sure that people knew that this was something we were passionate about first, first and foremost. And for us, like, a lot of times when we're looking at projects and we have, we come up with ideas. It's. When we watch this, I know it's so elementary. It sounds somewhat corny, but, like, it has to start with that because to this day, we haven't accepted anything that we didn't feel very, very strongly about. And the beautiful thing of it is, if something didn't go early on, we've now been able to come back to some other stuff now that we've had a very small amount of success and got a couple things off the ground. So forever evolving. Just because, you know, after we got these first two things made, we, Ryan and I sort of talked and we're like, man, like, I wish we had trusted our instincts on this, or I wish we had done this. And it's all just important learning lessons for us. Just because, you know, when you're making something that you're passionate about, you don't want to cut corners. So I think, like, at the base of our company's values, it's really like having a lot of passion for what we're doing. And as we gain more and More experience as we gain more and more credibility. It's about putting our foot down when we see something creatively. We all have instincts. If we don't feel like something's working, then like this, be more bullish about it. Let's make sure we voice our opinion. Because for the sake of art, for the sake of making something great, you don't ever want to have to sit back and be like, man, I wish I'd said that.

Yeah, you need conviction in what you're doing, right. Yeah.

And then on the business side, I would say we talk about knowing our challenges of the athlete stigma. And so with the sports background, we knew early on we were going to be pigeonholed into only be able to play in the sandbox of sports related content. And true to that, everything we were sort of being sent was the next Rudy, the next Hoosiers, the next whatever. With the exception of White Men can't Jump. We've really tried to explore genres and things that Blake and I both love and all the touchstones and things that really inspired us to get into this. In the sports background, we did sort of lean into our experiences and our strengths and what we've been able to accomplish in that career. And so when you really look at the entertainment business, there is a lot of crossover. And ultimately the job of a producer is to sort of be gm. And Blake and I always joke with our respective sports and teams how we would do things differently if we were gm. And this is the perfect opportunity to do that. And so we are putting the team together, so to speak, and we're managing a long, long season that nobody gets to see. And we're having to deal with a lot of different kinds of personalities, which we've done for many years.

In the.

In the sport world, it's a grind. Every single day, it's a grind. And it's a long, long road. And there's that. And then also too, you know, Blake and I failed time, and this town isn't short of rejection, and there's a resiliency we've built up over the years that we're able to apply to this. And so we don't get discouraged easily and we're able to fail and quickly learn from it and push on. And so that's something that I think has been different, at least I see that has sort of been our strength that maybe the next company might not have.

Absolutely. I mean, the parallels to sports and business are just everywhere. I wasn't a professional athlete. I wasn't even a Good little league athlete. But I always talk about the importance of teamwork and bringing the right people into the team and leadership and conviction and resiliency and all the things that you guys are talking about. So I can definitely see the connectivity for sure. So you mentioned a couple of the projects, so let's get deeper into the business. Talk to me about what those projects were, what you learned from them, and how they're helping drive your vision for the future of mortal media.

The first few years we really spent sort of being students again, there wasn't a lot of projects that got off the ground. Blake and I really tried to come up with concepts in house that we could then go out and find those with real skill sets in writing and storytelling to help us build out. And then we also met with a lot of writers and creatives who had ideas of their own that we got really excited about and sort of said, we'll do anything to help shepherd this idea and be a part of it. So again, there's a lot of projects that we sold around town off of pitches, proof of concepts that we built out. We didn't hire a PR firm early on. We just sort of said, we're going to keep our head down and really try to figure this out. And so we thought that was sort of the pinnacle once you sold something, which is a feat in and of itself. But then there's the whole development process. There's the, what else can you bring to this to make it sort of a whole package that we could then greenlight. So that was a whole nother phase that we had to try to learn that we realized pretty quickly, oh, you don't just sell a pitch. And now you're on a golden paved road to production. So, yeah, there's a. There's a ton of projects nobody knows about that we set up stuff in comedy, stuff in sci fi, TV shows, features, with some really talented, seasoned veterans. So hopefully one day we can go back to some of those. Those projects that no one saw in the trades or that nobody's ever heard of. The Town has. And so that allowed us to have more credibility in the next meetings that we got going. And so, you know, our first big TV show was hello Tomorrow for Apple tv starring Billy Crudup. And then obviously with Kenny Barris and Calmatic and Jack Harlow, we did White Men Can't Jump. But those were long, long tedious roads that projects that preceded that were able to help us get it closer to the next phase of that, which is green lighting.

Right? They talk about an overnight success, years in the making. And it sounds like it's very much a story here.

It's.

People don't see all the losses that happen that don't make the headlines that lead to a project like White Man Can't Jump getting live. So I'm a huge fan of both the original movie and the remake. Talk to me about White Men Can't Jump and what it was like to be part of that project. Why you had such passion for that project and how that project has fared.

It was interesting for us. We had a meeting with Kenya Barris, just a general meeting with Kenya Barris in 2017 and talked about a lot of stuff. But we mentioned the idea of like how much sports has changed. The original came out in 1992. That was before the Dream Team sort of put basketball on the map globally. And we've obviously seen like how fashion has changed, but you know, somehow we're still having the same conversations around race and going on in the world today. That being one of my favorite movies growing up and obviously getting the basketball ties. It was also very interesting for me as somebody who comes from a mixed race family, you know, those conversations back and forth and sort of like always kind of wondering, like, is it really? Like, does it really have to be like that? So that was the original attraction for us. We went through hoop after hoop after hoop, pitching to Kenya and getting a call and him saying, I'm doing a deal with Fox and we want this to be our first thing. And then the Fox Disney merger and Disney acquiring Fox and it was like such a up and down roller coaster ride. And I remember when we, the day we started filming, just kind of like looking at each other being like, wow, I can't believe this actually year. And for us, we wanted to put a movie together that addressed all those things, like I said. And the great thing about it, whether you're a fan of the original or you're a fan of the remake or not, I think the thing that we're most proud of is like the numbers, you know, the streaming kind of gives you a real idea of how something's doing, how many people are interested in watching it. And the streaming numbers have been great. Hulu Disney have been very pumped about it. So all those things, like I said, were big learning lessons for us. And you know, even when something happens, like Ryan says, I don't know that we necessarily consider it a loss. It's just kind of like, all right, we gotta figure this out. You know, as athletes, we've been so used to very direct criticism. You know, you go into a film room after a game, you just get absolutely chewed out. I think that's something that we always do.

Yeah. Or you read the media the next day after a game. Right. It's conscious.

You try to avoid that a little bit more generally avoid the coach.

Yeah.

You know, it's just we always tell people like hey, like if something's not working just you're not going to hurt our feelings. We've heard worse from a 10 year old kid in the stands than you can ever say to us. So I think that's sort of been a positive for us too is having that shell that you know, you're not really going to ascend us but it's just about. It's not about being right, it's about getting it right. And I think that's what we attached ourselves when it comes to.

Yeah, well, listen, I mean that was definitely a huge success from I think a pop culture standpoint is something that the remake I'd heard of over and over and over again. So obviously you broke through and you touched on a nerve of the like Iist with that remake. And I think it definitely set you up to what you announced earlier this year which was a multi year first look development deal with with Sony Pictures Entertainment which must have been I guess a step back while we've accomplished something moment. I know it's always hard to look at it that way when you're in in the grind, but from the outside standpoint it's a huge success and 001% of any production company ever really gets to that type of partnership with such a major partner. Ryan, how did that come about and what do you hope to build on with the Sony Pictures partnership moving forward?

I think the kinds of projects we've been developing aligned with some of the brass here. And honestly I would say White Man Can Jump's a big driver for that. That's such a touchstone, the culture. But it also, it's the White Man Can Jump was torn because it was built for a younger audience. It was an audience that we I think did a good job tapping into. And so younger audiences absolutely love the movie. Older audiences were torn and mixed which we knew going in. Anytime you're going to touch a classic it was going to happen. And so I think for someone like Sony, the success of that at Hulu, I think for them was exciting for us to sort of try to replicate that kind of success and do that in other projects here. So maybe it's the sports in us. Blake and I been so brainwashed by Team first. So as exciting as it's been to have that announcement and to sign, we're we're also like back in it, back in the grind, trying to do by the and really come up with a big win. And so that's what all our energy and focus has been on. So it's been tough to sort of celebrate that next jump for us. But yeah, we're, we're just, we're here to get going and replicate some of that.

Yep. And of course, Hollywood right now is in a kind of shaky spot with the writer's strike and all the other complications that come along with it. I imagine that is definitely impacting the way that you're approaching projects right now. Have you thought about going into documentaries or other things that allow you to, I guess, get around some of those restrictions that come with the writing?

Yeah, I mean, and even prior to the work stoppage, we were already way delved into all of that landscape and so obviously our focus shifts to that where we're putting all our attention on that. But there's still opportunity, ability for us to keep setting things up in terms of getting ready for once a deal gets reached, we can hit the ground running and get back to some of those other things that have kind of stole. But yeah, we've been dabbling in it all and it's been fun. And again, similar, but two different landscapes. Sony has an incredible team here that we've been really getting to spend a lot of time with. So as much as it's been tough to feel like things have been stalled, it's been nice to kind of have a break from the kind of hustle of running around trying to sell projects and get projects set up to really sit down with a lot of the folks and learn a ton. We've already done that in a short period of time, so it's sort of been a blessing in disguise, at least for us in some aspects.

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Earlier this month, talking about Keeping things moving forward. You all announced a. An investment in Swaybox, which is an animation studio out of Louisiana. Like, how did that come about? And what is it about animation that you thought made sense to add to your overall portfolio at Mortal Media?

Well, animation's been something that we've been. Been super interested in. Ryan and I both have kids, like, younger kids, and there's always a need for things that families can watch together. And Ryan brought this idea, developed this relationship, and brought this idea to me about a year and a half ago. And the first time I saw their capabilities and how everything works, I was, like, blown away. This is just a newer, fresher take on animation, cheaper, faster, which is never a bad thing for studios or for people putting in money. We've developed a relationship with them and thought it was a good idea to sort of put our money where our mouth is a little bit and show people that this is something we're all in on. So we're really excited about some projects we have. Along with them, they have the ability to do something special, and we're excited about that.

Absolutely. So, as we wrap up here, one thing that strikes me about both of you is you guys have had so much success in your professional careers, your professional sports careers, yet you both come off as so humble. Even the wins you've had to date, you're like, ah, that's not a big deal. We're focused on what's next. And that is in a world where so many young people who really haven't accomplished anything are flexing on Instagram like they've made it. And I just think it's such a lesson for younger people. It's. If you have the drive to create something, you never really feel like you've conquered the world and you can kind of kick your feet up. And I imagine that's also a great lesson that you're teaching your kids as well. What gives you, both of you that. That drive that continue to want to build something? Because this doesn't seem like it's a vanity project. This is something. I feel like I'm talking to two entrepreneurs who haven't created anything in their lives yet. I think that's really admirable. I just want to say that. But what gives you, each of you, that drive to continue to push for.

Me, and I'll let Ryan speak for himself, but I think that's just kind of comes from our sports background. You know, you can have a good game, but professional sports is so, like, what have you done for me lately? Like, how was your last game. Your last game is what you're. You're sort of known for, even season to season. I remember finishing my rookie season and be like, oh, wow, I got that done. And then immediately, like, the moment you have time to think, you're like, oh, no, there's next year. I got to top last year. I got to keep going. And if you don't put in the work, you don't have a good work ethic, you don't continue to keep your humility in line with your actual talent. Like, you're. You're not going to truly accomplish what you want. So I think it's just sort of that background of, like, there's going to be other people that are hustling. There's going to be other people that have great ideas. There's going to be other people, have relationships. So just because you've gotten one thing done or two things done just because you had one good game, no one's gonna just automatically hand you something. And I think that's kind of how we feel about the company is like, sure, you can have a win here, but that doesn't guarantee you anything, anything else for the future. So even if you tell us, like, this can't be made, we're not just gonna throw that away and forget about it. We're gonna keep going. That's just sort of in our mindset.

Ryan, anything to add on your conviction and your motivation?

Yeah, and Blake and I share the sentiment, but I think the biggest thing is just defining pretty early what success is to you, because, you know, life's called the peaks of valleys, and in sort of the arbitrary finish line changes. It changes culturally, it changes personally, again, sports has been a great teacher for us. We both learned early on that riding the highs and lows like a roller coaster, it's just not sustainable. It's just too hard on you emotionally and physically. And so it really is something that it took a long time. We're both guilty of it, but you sort of fall in love with the journey. You fall in love with the process, not the results. And for Blake and I, we get excited about challenges. We get excited about coming to work and meeting new people and finding new collaborators and coming up with new ideas and working through serious and not so serious problems and doing it to the best of our ability. And so for us, that's what we try to do in the sports world. And obviously, it's different, but it's also the same. At the end of the day, if we're doing everything we can, and we're using our talents and we're growing our talents, and we're learning from our mistakes, and we're enjoying the process. That's a win for us. And so there's nothing for us to really kind of plant our flag into and say, that's it. That's the one. It's the next project. It's the next day. Because it's hard. But forcing yourself to enjoy the process of it.

Absolutely. So the wrap up here, I mean, is there one piece of advice that maybe each of you could share? Was our younger listeners here at the Speed of Culture podcast, that maybe you're getting started at the beginning of their career and professional journey, that they can one day end up in the seats that you guys are today, even given the fact that you feel like that your journey is still being written, which I agree. What one piece of advice would you give? Let's start with you, Blake.

For me, whenever I talk to young kids, you know, youth programs and all that, I talk to young kids about, like, discipline, I just feel like that's, like, goes such a long way. Respect and discipline are two things that my dad, like, early on just drilled into my head. I always tell kids, like, it's a very stupid thing, but I always say, like, to young athletes, like, make your bed. Like, making your bed is the very first thing you can do every day. It's a task that you can accomplish that, like, sets you on track to being disciplined throughout the day. With anything like sports, the more detail and the more attention you put into, like, the smallest details, and sometimes that stuff is very minute, very mundane. The more attention you can put into that, the better off you'll be. And I think it's the same thing when you're creating a project. If no detail is unimportant and you've sort of thought of everything, you can sort of check that list off. So I think that's kind of like a mantra that I use professionally, personally, in every different field, is just be disciplined about it. And at the very beginning of that, you have to be passionate about something, or discipline comes very, very hard. So make sure you're doing something you're passionate about. And if you are, like, you don't want to look back and say, oh, man, if I just, like, worked a little bit harder here or there, like, don't let that be the excuse. Let every. Everything else externally be the excuse. So I think just having the plan and the drive for whatever you're doing.

Absolutely. Ryan?

Yeah, I think I agree with all that. And I would add two things. I would say listen to criticism, listen to advice, listen to opinions. But at the end of the day, nobody knows anything. You know, if you really love something, if you're really passionate about something, you'll figure out a way to go about it. And yeah, it's a long, tough road, but if you really, really, really, truly love it, you'll figure it out and it won't ever feel like it. It's a challenge. It won't ever feel like work because it's something that you're very passionate about. And. And you'll find a way to get it done.

Absolutely. I love that. Well, special thanks to both of you for joining today. It was great speaking to both of you. I have no doubt that you're going to continue to achieve tremendous success in your professional lives and I'm really excited to see where you take Mortal Media next. So thanks for joining. On behalf of Susie and the Andrew team, thanks again to Blake Griffin and Ryan Coyle of Mortal Media for joining us today. Be sure to subscribe, rate and review the Speed of Culture podcast on your favorite podcast platform. Till next time. See you soon, everyone. Take care. The Speed of Culture is brought to you by Susie as part of the Adweek podcast network and a s creator network. You can listen subscribe to all Adweek's podcasts by visiting Adweek.com podcast to find out more about Suzy, head to Suzy.com and make sure to search for the Speed of Culture in Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts or anywhere else podcasts are found. Click follow so you don't miss out on any future episodes. On behalf of the team here at Suzy, thanks for listening.

Finding the right audience shouldn't feel like doom scrolling with Experian. It doesn't. Experian syndicated audiences help you reach holiday shoppers, car buyers and more across over 200 top platforms with over 2,400 pre built audiences. There's no more doomscrolling. It's audience targeting you can trust. Made simple. Learn more@experian.com Adweek that's experian.com Adweek.