Brand Building: Executive Producer states longevity comes from reinvention The Harlem Globetrotters predate the NBA and helped globalize basketball.

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Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Ri‑Karlo Handy.

Interview Overview

Guest: Ri‑Karlo Handy
Host: Rushion McDonald
Podcast: Money Making Conversations Masterclass
Primary Focus:

• Handy’s role as showrunner/executive producer of Harlem Globetrotters: Secrets of the City
• His media career spanning 25+ years
• Representation, legacy, trust, and mentorship in the entertainment industry
• The mission and impact of the Handy Foundation

Purpose of the Interview

The interview serves multiple purposes:

1. Promote Harlem Globetrotters: Secrets of the City on aspireTV+ by explaining what makes the series unique within the travel and lifestyle genre.
2. Reposition the Harlem Globetrotters as a cultural, historical, and global brand beyond basketball—especially significant during their 100‑year legacy.
3. Highlight pathways into the entertainment industry, particularly for Black creatives, through mentorship, trust-building, and skills-based training.
4. Showcase Handy’s philosophy on leadership and opportunity, emphasizing responsibility, legacy, and access.

Key Themes & Takeaways 1. Redefining the Travel Show Format

• Secrets of the City goes beyond sightseeing.
• The show explores how Black people live, connect, and thrive globally, especially through expat communities and diaspora culture.
• Episodes emphasize how to move through a city, not just visit it—using insider access, cultural context, and lived experience.

Takeaway: Travel content is more powerful when rooted in identity, history, and authenticity.

2. Harlem Globetrotters as Cultural Ambassadors

• Handy frames the Globetrotters as “ambassadors of goodwill”, not just entertainers.
• They represent joy, diplomacy, and cultural exchange—appearing everywhere from the Vatican to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
• The show captures their off‑court personalities, maturity, and global influence.

Takeaway: The Harlem Globetrotters are a living Black institution with worldwide reach, relevance, and responsibility.

3. Sustaining a 100‑Year Black Brand

• The Globetrotters predate the NBA and helped globalize basketball.
• After fading from TV prominence in the 1990s–2000s, a post‑pandemic strategy brought them back into media.
• Handy sees longevity itself as a lesson—few businesses, especially Black‑owned legacies, endure a century.

Takeaway: Longevity comes from reinvention, relevance, and honoring history while adapting to the present.

4. Mastery, Discipline, and Authentic Skill

• Globetrotter performances are not “fake” or staged.
• Players must actually make the shots and execute at elite athletic levels.
• Handy compares their mindset to elite athletes like Steph Curry—hours of practice for moments of excellence.

Takeaway: Entertainment still demands real mastery; excellence behind the scenes creates effortless magic on screen.

5. Trust as the Real Currency of Business

• Handy repeatedly emphasizes trust over talent as the foundation of his career.
• His progression—from editor to producer to network executive—came from delivering consistently on promises.
• Relationships, reliability, and integrity enabled him to control projects and earn leadership roles.

Takeaway: Skills open doors, but trust keeps them open.

6. Mentorship and the Handy Foundation

• Handy formalized his long-standing mentorship work into the Handy Foundation (founded 2020).
• The foundation focuses on post‑production training, an area with limited Black representation.
• Started with 8 trainees; now has 400+ alumni working on major films and TV shows.
• The program is now a nationally recognized registered apprenticeship with the California Film Commission.

Takeaway: Access—not just ambition—is the missing link for many aspiring creatives.

Notable Quotes

“Our business is less about skills and creativity and more about trust.”

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