# Entrepreneur: Universoul Circus founder Cedric Walker said people told him in 1994 a circus entertaining a Black audience would never work.

An episode of [Money Making Conversations Master Class](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1264705641), 16 Jun 2024, 28 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/b1db7263-d1a3-4d00-8976-af62012aab44/b55cb04a-9a41-4e12-9569-b18801880cf6/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=35a10561-3e1b-4d05-a529-af62012aab6a

Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Cedric Walker. Interview Purpose The purpose of this interview is to highlight visionary entrepreneurship, cultural ownership, and perseverance, using Cedric Walker’s founding of Universoul Circus as a case study in building a purpose‑driven business that uplifts community while achieving long‑term success. The conversation emphasizes how research, resilience, cultural authenticity, and belief in a vision can overcome skepticism and systemic barriers. It also positions Universoul Circus as more than entertainment—it is a multigenerational cultural institution rooted in Black excellence, inclusion, and family unity. Major Themes & Key Takeaways 1. Vision Comes Before Validation Cedric Walker shares that the vision for Universoul Circus came in the early 1990s, long before there was widespread belief that a Black‑owned circus centered on performers of color could succeed. Despite strong skepticism from both Black and white investors, Walker trusted the research, the cultural need, and his instinct. Key takeaway: Vision must lead—even when validation comes much later. 2. Research Turns Ideas Into Reality Walker did not rely on inspiration alone. He immersed himself in research, studying Black entertainment history, circus traditions, and global performance art. This foundation allowed him to confidently build a unique, sustainable model rather than copying existing formats. Key takeaway: Preparation and research are critical when challenging industry norms. 3. Cultural Authenticity Is a Competitive Advantage Universoul Circus was created to be authentically Black, not as a niche product, but as a universal experience rooted in joy, music, athleticism, and storytelling. Walker emphasizes that authenticity—not adaptation—is what attracts diverse audiences. Key takeaway: When you are fully yourself, your work transcends culture and geography. 4. Family‑Centered Entertainment Fills a Real Need A defining goal of Universoul Circus is to create an experience where multiple generations can sit together and all feel seen, engaged, and celebrated. Walker intentionally designed the show so grandparents, parents, and children could enjoy the same experience simultaneously. Key takeaway: Businesses that bring families together create lasting emotional value. 5. Evolution Without Losing Identity Over time, Universoul Circus evolved—from including animals to becoming a modern, high‑energy, animal‑free production—adapting to changing laws, audience preferences, and cultural shifts. However, Walker notes that the soul of the circus never changed. Key takeaway: Successful brands evolve operationally without abandoning their purpose. 6. Global Talent, Long‑Term Investment Walker details how Universoul Circus sources talent from around the world, including Ethiopia, Cuba, China, and the Caribbean. Performers often undergo years of training and development before appearing in the show, reinforcing Universoul’s commitment to excellence and safety. Key takeaway: Excellence requires patience, investment, and a long‑term mindset. 7. Representation Changes Perception Universoul Circus intentionally showcases elite Black performers in spaces where they were historically unseen or undervalued. Walker explains that representation is not symbolic—it reshapes belief and possibility for both audiences and performers. Key takeaway:…

## Transcript

[0:05] Speaker 1: Welcome to the show. I am Rashwan McDonald, the host
[0:07] Speaker 1: of Money Making Conversations Masterclass, where we encourage people to
[0:11] Speaker 1: stop reading other people's success stories and start planning their own.
[0:15] Speaker 1: Listen up as I interview entrepreneurs from around the country,
[0:19] Speaker 1: talk to celebrities and ask them how they are running
[0:22] Speaker 1: their companies, and speak with nod profits who are making
[0:25] Speaker 1: a difference in their local communities. Now, sit back and
[0:28] Speaker 1: listen as we unlock the secrets to their success on
[0:31] Speaker 1: Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Hi, I'm Rashan McDonald, our host
[0:36] Speaker 1: a weekly and money Making Conversation Master Class show. The
[0:39] Speaker 1: interviews and information is that this show provides off for everyone.
[0:43] Speaker 1: It's time to stop reading other people's success stories and start.
[0:46] Speaker 2: Living your own.
[0:47] Speaker 1: My guest is the founder of the Universe Soul Circus,
[0:51] Speaker 1: an African American man who had a vision of creating
[0:54] Speaker 1: a circus with a large percentage of people of color performing.
[0:58] Speaker 1: Is based in Atlanta, Georgia. Please he's work with the
[1:00] Speaker 1: Money Making Conversation Masterclass. Mister Cedric Walker, how you doing, Cedric? Hey, Sean,
[1:07] Speaker 1: I are you and thank you a lot this opportunity,
[1:10] Speaker 1: you know, it's great. First of all taking the time
[1:12] Speaker 1: to come to my show.
[1:13] Speaker 2: I know you're.
[1:13] Speaker 1: Traveling around the world and around the country of the
[1:16] Speaker 1: United States.
[1:17] Speaker 2: What city are you in right now?
[1:19] Speaker 1: That's in New Orleans, Louisiana.
[1:22] Speaker 2: Wow, that's a good Cajun food.
[1:24] Speaker 1: Good food down there that if everybody wants to Now
[1:28] Speaker 1: you know you're traveling man, and I traveled Like when
[1:31] Speaker 1: I was ninety four, I wanted to be a stand
[1:33] Speaker 1: up comedian.
[1:33] Speaker 2: I want to a tease said.
[1:34] Speaker 1: I thought I was gonna be the next Richard Pride.
[1:37] Speaker 2: I thought I would be next Adye Murphy.
[1:39] Speaker 1: Now in eighteen ninety four, you had an idea about
[1:45] Speaker 1: a circus.
[1:46] Speaker 2: How can that happen?
[1:48] Speaker 1: Please help explain it to my audience, because it sounds
[1:51] Speaker 1: incredible to me. A vision will come to you like that. Yes,
[1:55] Speaker 1: So we were doing gospel plays.
[1:57] Speaker 3: We actually had a play.
[1:59] Speaker 1: I was working on a play called Wicked Ways and
[2:03] Speaker 1: with Michael Matthews out of Detroit, and Wicked Ways was
[2:06] Speaker 1: about a lot of the challenges that our community faces.
[2:10] Speaker 1: It dealt with It dealt with kids growing up in
[2:15] Speaker 1: the inner city and getting into gangs. It dealt with
[2:19] Speaker 1: fathers raised and step signs as teenagers it dealt with
[2:23] Speaker 1: professional wives and mechanic husbands. It just dealt with a
[2:27] Speaker 1: lot of the challenges that our community faces. And I
[2:32] Speaker 1: saw kids in the theater. I saw whole families, and
[2:37] Speaker 1: it looked like I was in Pittsburgh at the Benadum Theater,
[2:41] Speaker 1: and it looked like I saw a father, mother, granddaughter, grandchild.
[2:46] Speaker 1: And I asked the play right, I said, man, this
[2:48] Speaker 1: is a gospel play.
[2:49] Speaker 3: I know it's clean. I asked Mike, and he said.
[2:52] Speaker 1: It's because theater is the oldest form of entertainment and
[2:58] Speaker 1: went all the way back to be or not to be.
[3:01] Speaker 1: You could look on that stage, on the Shakespearean plays
[3:05] Speaker 1: and see yourself, and our community is getting a chance
[3:09] Speaker 1: to look.
[3:09] Speaker 3: At itself do these plays.
[3:11] Speaker 1: So that triggered the idea to create something that, because
[3:16] Speaker 1: we were very out entertainment was socially. It was comedy,
[3:20] Speaker 1: It was R and B, it was jazz, it was
[3:24] Speaker 1: you know, hip hop, right, it was dance. It was
[3:29] Speaker 1: kind of a mixed bag of everything. And I said,
[3:32] Speaker 1: how do we I got my team and I said,
[3:35] Speaker 1: how do we create something that touches everybody? So I
[3:39] Speaker 1: went to the library and every day eight I worked.
[3:45] Speaker 3: I worked, made part.
[3:47] Speaker 1: Of my job reading about black entertainment from the turn
[3:50] Speaker 1: of the century. And what I found was we trained
[3:56] Speaker 1: animals in the varvevillion days black people trained horses and
[4:01] Speaker 1: dogs and and so I shared that with my team
[4:05] Speaker 1: and and the idea was from that the circus germinade.
[4:09] Speaker 1: But it was all having something for every generation of
[4:15] Speaker 1: our family, something where father, mother, daughter, granddaughter and grandson
[4:20] Speaker 1: could all sit on the same beat bent and enjoy
[4:24] Speaker 1: each other, enjoying the shop. So that's that's what started that,
[4:28] Speaker 1: you know, you know when I went because I know Michael,
[4:31] Speaker 1: Michael Matthews is a great guy and uh my many
[4:35] Speaker 1: days of being under Steve Harror morning.
[4:36] Speaker 2: So we promoted a lot of his plays.
[4:38] Speaker 1: We probably bopped here's a couple of times in a
[4:40] Speaker 1: good way. And so when I talk about the circus,
[4:43] Speaker 1: you know, you did all this research, But it was
[4:46] Speaker 1: the naysayers out.
[4:47] Speaker 3: There, right, c.
[4:50] Speaker 1: Man.
[4:51] Speaker 3: My investors all were in.
[4:54] Speaker 1: Promably, both both black and white. I had fun in
[4:57] Speaker 1: Bundy guys, and they all just said me, you are correct,
[5:01] Speaker 1: Let well not go circus. Wow, you know that was
[5:06] Speaker 1: it just nobody believed. So I I, you know, I did.
[5:12] Speaker 3: I felt it. I don't know where and what, but
[5:16] Speaker 3: thede the course.
[5:17] Speaker 1: But it was challenging because we get stereotype, you know,
[5:21] Speaker 1: we get stereotype on technology, we get stereotype on the
[5:25] Speaker 1: type of entertainment of movies that we want to see.
[5:28] Speaker 1: And also that means the world can stereotype of. So
[5:31] Speaker 1: I commend you in pushing back and say, look, I
[5:34] Speaker 1: feel that within my gut and my research.
[5:36] Speaker 2: This could work.
[5:37] Speaker 1: And then thirty years later, because you're celebrating your thirtieth
[5:40] Speaker 1: year of Universal Circus Zoul, I don't know if I'm
[5:43] Speaker 1: gonna do dog Conneia's version or we'll going with the
[5:47] Speaker 1: Resaw version, but either way it got a lot of
[5:50] Speaker 1: soul than the brother. And so the name, I'm sure
[5:53] Speaker 1: you have research when you did the name as well,
[5:55] Speaker 1: correct Universal.
[5:57] Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, the original.
[5:58] Speaker 1: Name was Universal. I was back and forth with my
[6:02] Speaker 1: team Universal. I wanted you Soul from the beginning. So
[6:07] Speaker 1: when we got to l A, Universal Studio sent us
[6:11] Speaker 1: a cease and desist on Universal big top circuits. So
[6:15] Speaker 1: we were we asked them back, well, we want to
[6:19] Speaker 1: use Universe Soul, which was my original idea to use,
[6:26] Speaker 1: and they said absolutely, yeah, Well.
[6:31] Speaker 2: And sad.
[6:32] Speaker 1: You look around at the daff going told you now
[6:35] Speaker 1: you gotta be out here looking bad because you had
[6:37] Speaker 1: to follow my original idea, we wouldn't even be it.
[6:40] Speaker 2: Now.
[6:41] Speaker 1: This is the good part of it, you know, because
[6:43] Speaker 1: we jumped a little bit. We had the idea, we
[6:45] Speaker 1: got the name. But you were traveling. How did you
[6:49] Speaker 1: you had the nay sayers about the whole concept centric
[6:53] Speaker 1: and how did you get to acts originally? How did
[6:57] Speaker 1: you start putting the circus together? Well, we we you know,
[7:01] Speaker 1: when I wanted to do circus, and part of my
[7:04] Speaker 1: research was that, you know, circus entrepreneurs traveled the world
[7:10] Speaker 1: and I couldn't wait to travel the work it would have.
[7:13] Speaker 1: It was going to be a great experience. But that's
[7:15] Speaker 1: what it took to do Circus. But I do want
[7:18] Speaker 1: to say that we started in nineteen ninety four in Atlanta,
[7:23] Speaker 1: and initially it was an effort to the initial concept
[7:27] Speaker 1: and vision for it was to uplift and celebrate the
[7:31] Speaker 1: positive achievements and cultural contributions of African Americans through a
[7:36] Speaker 1: family attraction. And so that was that was the you know,
[7:42] Speaker 1: the impetus for what people are seeing, and that still remains.
[7:46] Speaker 3: In the show what you saw.
[7:48] Speaker 1: It's that feeling that they get once they come under
[7:52] Speaker 1: that big time. It's that soul that we put in
[7:54] Speaker 1: it that that didn'tentiate us.
[7:57] Speaker 3: But yeah, I went.
[7:58] Speaker 1: Around the world, and it was challenging to look for talent.
[8:03] Speaker 3: But I saw it now.
[8:05] Speaker 1: I said, you know our audience, you know, we can't
[8:09] Speaker 1: just give them playing food. Now, gotta have that spice
[8:11] Speaker 1: that I can't I got it pretty real.
[8:17] Speaker 2: People, you know, black people.
[8:20] Speaker 3: I can't have a clothes line for a haigh wire
[8:22] Speaker 3: or magic you know. So uh So.
[8:27] Speaker 1: No, I went around the world and and just looked
[8:30] Speaker 1: for and and and it was amazing how many black
[8:35] Speaker 1: performance circus performers were doing phenomenal things that were out there.
[8:40] Speaker 1: A lot of manure, uh in right here in America.
[8:44] Speaker 1: The King Charles True playing basketball on unicycles, just stuff
[8:50] Speaker 1: that came out of the hood came out and basketball on.
[8:54] Speaker 3: Unicycles was the only thing. We were the only ones
[8:57] Speaker 3: that did. So you had so many.
[9:00] Speaker 1: Originally there was a girl named Pamela Pamela Hernandez. Pamela
[9:07] Speaker 1: was an African American from la but she was one
[9:10] Speaker 1: of the most respected air lists. She would She was
[9:14] Speaker 1: on Ranglin Brothers. But she'd be in those arenas, but
[9:19] Speaker 1: thirty forty feet in the air doing trick. No, not
[9:22] Speaker 1: under her, her and her partner. And when when when
[9:27] Speaker 1: I started listing the name the acts that I wanted
[9:31] Speaker 1: to bring the rest, and they were black, and the
[9:34] Speaker 1: rest of the industry, the whites, the Europeans, everybody in
[9:39] Speaker 1: the industry knew and respected these black artists to the
[9:43] Speaker 1: hides and oh, Pamela's gonna be there.
[9:46] Speaker 3: I'm gonna be there. King Charles is gonna be there.
[9:48] Speaker 3: I'm gonna beat it.
[9:50] Speaker 2: Wow.
[9:51] Speaker 3: So it was amazing the.
[9:54] Speaker 1: Quality of black entertainment even back then in circus art.
[10:00] Speaker 1: We know it's really important as we tell this story,
[10:02] Speaker 1: and thank you for allowing me to ask these questions,
[10:04] Speaker 1: because I think the origin story or universe soul is
[10:07] Speaker 1: as important as what's happening now. Because in my life,
[10:11] Speaker 1: I first was introduced to your circus in two thousand
[10:14] Speaker 1: and five. I was managing Steve Harvey and we was
[10:18] Speaker 1: on WBLS in New York City and that circus when
[10:21] Speaker 1: I went into the first time, I didn't know what
[10:24] Speaker 1: to think. You know, I went in there with curiosity,
[10:28] Speaker 1: but I walked away inspired because it was a circus
[10:32] Speaker 1: by us for us, that was the first thing that
[10:35] Speaker 1: really pushed me to positivity. And so I'm sure over
[10:41] Speaker 1: the years they have been different versions of the circus
[10:45] Speaker 1: as you go, because the circus I saw in two
[10:47] Speaker 1: thousand and five had an elephant, and the circus I
[10:51] Speaker 1: saw this past weekid recently didn't have an elephant or
[10:53] Speaker 1: any animals at the time. I think it was a
[10:56] Speaker 1: lion too that I saw at the time of two.
[10:58] Speaker 1: So talk about the trans position and the vision of
[11:02] Speaker 1: the circus over the years. So you know, just like
[11:05] Speaker 1: Michael Jordan's said, you have to keep your eye on
[11:08] Speaker 1: where the ball is going, not where the ball is.
[11:12] Speaker 1: We try to and entertainment is a form, is an
[11:17] Speaker 1: art form.
[11:18] Speaker 3: That we'll society forward.
[11:21] Speaker 1: So we try to inspire that new direction and wherever
[11:26] Speaker 1: it takes us.
[11:27] Speaker 3: And it's kind of more organic.
[11:29] Speaker 1: It's just a platform for young people to express new
[11:33] Speaker 1: ideas through their their their artistry. So I mean, we've
[11:39] Speaker 1: kind of it was challenging with you know, to even
[11:43] Speaker 1: think about or they to venture into the show without
[11:47] Speaker 1: the animals, but we realized how the laws were changing,
[11:53] Speaker 1: you know, the people were changing, and we no longer
[11:57] Speaker 1: could carry the animals from state to state. Some could,
[12:00] Speaker 1: some states wouldn't. But but but what we what we
[12:06] Speaker 1: found out is that our cultural artistry, our who we
[12:12] Speaker 1: are and how much fun we can have, and that
[12:14] Speaker 1: that the family unit where you're all we're all grandmother again, grandmother,
[12:21] Speaker 1: father doing that, son, all enjoying each other, h enjoying
[12:26] Speaker 1: the show. We laid into that how do we be
[12:29] Speaker 1: authentically us in a performance that is for everybody at
[12:34] Speaker 1: the same time and and shares our culture.
[12:38] Speaker 3: So a lot of the Afro Beach music, a lot.
[12:41] Speaker 1: Of the music you've heard in the show is kind
[12:42] Speaker 1: of new ending music. A lot of the new dance
[12:45] Speaker 1: styles that American hip hop has inspired around the world,
[12:50] Speaker 1: whether they inspired it in China or Africa, it came
[12:54] Speaker 1: from our streets, came from America, and it inspired the world.
[12:59] Speaker 1: And so we we've incorporated a lot of that inspiration.
[13:04] Speaker 1: But just that NonStop energy that is germane to our
[13:10] Speaker 1: culture and our celebration sort of like a family reunion
[13:15] Speaker 1: under the big time. So we just linked into our
[13:18] Speaker 1: story and we continue to do that as it involves.
[13:22] Speaker 1: Let speak of Cedric Walker, the founder of a Universal
[13:26] Speaker 1: Circus an inspirational voice in our community because he had
[13:30] Speaker 1: a vision, a vision he with a lot of other
[13:32] Speaker 1: people did deny. He did his research, he walked past,
[13:35] Speaker 1: and they there, and thirty years later he celebrating the
[13:38] Speaker 1: vision that we all can be entertained by. Because the
[13:40] Speaker 1: audience I saw was very diverse, and not by accident,
[13:45] Speaker 1: because I saw it in the area of Atlanta, Georgia,
[13:48] Speaker 1: which is the Atlanticxation, which is a mixed race, very
[13:54] Speaker 1: upproparately mobile area of Atlanta, Georgia, and the audience not
[13:59] Speaker 1: over that. I knew it was mixed race because the
[14:01] Speaker 1: friends of mine as they went to the show before
[14:02] Speaker 1: me with wow, I didn't expect it to be that diverse.
[14:08] Speaker 1: Is that the goal now or it just happens?
[14:11] Speaker 4: Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
[14:14] Speaker 4: money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
[14:22] Speaker 4: Conversations Masterclass hosted by Rashawn McDonald. Money Making Conversations Masterclass
[14:28] Speaker 4: continues online at Moneymakingconversations dot com and follow money Making
[14:32] Speaker 4: Conversations Masterclass on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
[14:36] Speaker 1: Thus all is to stay authentically black, period and how
[14:41] Speaker 1: will we do that? That is what transcends culture globally
[14:47] Speaker 1: being able to technically who you are. So you know,
[14:52] Speaker 1: we don't have a direction again except for the origin
[14:57] Speaker 1: of our show to uplift and celebrate the positive achievements
[15:02] Speaker 1: and cultural contributions of African American and student family entertainment.
[15:08] Speaker 1: So out you know, we're not going after any specific
[15:13] Speaker 1: arnory right run after the world. Awesome and thank you
[15:17] Speaker 1: for saying that. Now let's talk about these acts. The
[15:20] Speaker 1: bottom line is the acts. Now, this Chinese trap piece
[15:25] Speaker 1: act that you got the dazz with. My daughter, you know,
[15:29] Speaker 1: she's a I'm gonna be honest with you, she's one
[15:31] Speaker 1: of those people who came in there with doubts Cedric
[15:34] Speaker 1: because she's a Circus are late.
[15:36] Speaker 2: You know, she peaks circus are late. She said, Dad,
[15:39] Speaker 2: are you sure? I said, hey, hey, these are my people.
[15:42] Speaker 2: Now my boy Sedric, they go take care of it.
[15:45] Speaker 2: When she left my brother.
[15:47] Speaker 1: She is a one hundred percent universal fan. Okay, so
[15:52] Speaker 1: know that. But that trapeze act that put on it,
[15:56] Speaker 1: she says, that's better than anything she's ever saw anywhere,
[15:58] Speaker 1: and she's seen by fifteen.
[16:00] Speaker 2: Of those shows.
[16:01] Speaker 1: So talk about that trap that the Chinese trapeze act. Right,
[16:04] Speaker 1: So we had the we have to guess the grace
[16:10] Speaker 1: and blessings of driving scouts around the world, young scouts
[16:15] Speaker 1: that are always looking for what's new in different countries.
[16:19] Speaker 1: And our scout found this troop in a in their school,
[16:26] Speaker 1: performing and hadn't been out of the country yet, but
[16:29] Speaker 1: had one gold in every competition in China. And there's
[16:34] Speaker 1: no fifteen sixteen people flying through the air and no
[16:38] Speaker 1: trapeze act in the world. So I said, I have
[16:41] Speaker 1: to have that act. And so when the price tag,
[16:45] Speaker 1: uh with the price, yeah, the guy said, we buys that.
[16:50] Speaker 1: He's crazy, and we bought as we wanted because that's
[16:54] Speaker 1: what circus.
[16:55] Speaker 3: Is all about.
[16:56] Speaker 1: It's just bringing unbelievable stuff to the audience. Well, you know,
[17:01] Speaker 1: the difference that really amazed me was a distance between
[17:07] Speaker 1: them swinging it. I was stunned by that distance. I
[17:11] Speaker 1: was like, wow, I've never seen this athleticism area or
[17:16] Speaker 1: in leather sism like this. So so again this is
[17:19] Speaker 1: one thing. Another thing that dazzled me, and a lot
[17:22] Speaker 1: of things dazzled me. By the way, Cedric the the
[17:26] Speaker 1: was the I think they the couple that was on
[17:29] Speaker 1: the roller skates. Oh yeah, from Cuba as the Alcabana
[17:32] Speaker 1: Knights roller stating thing Cedria.
[17:35] Speaker 2: That right there, the g fource of them spinning.
[17:39] Speaker 1: I was I was taken aback, I was taking it
[17:42] Speaker 1: back there. What is the training like when you get
[17:44] Speaker 1: a couple like that, because it's danger involved, right, So
[17:51] Speaker 1: everything you see under the big tip, we carriated it.
[17:55] Speaker 3: It's it's been four.
[17:57] Speaker 1: Or five years before it even hits out stage and
[18:00] Speaker 1: it could have been in school, in their schools. We
[18:04] Speaker 1: work with schools all over the world. We work with
[18:07] Speaker 1: schools in Ethiopia and Cuba and South America, we work
[18:11] Speaker 1: with schools in China, and we identify what we want
[18:16] Speaker 1: and depends on what level of of of training they
[18:21] Speaker 1: have achieved and what countries they come from, we bring
[18:26] Speaker 1: we send. We send trainers to Ethiopia, we send trainers
[18:31] Speaker 1: to West Africa, we send trainers UH to South America,
[18:36] Speaker 1: or or we bring the performers here, send them to
[18:39] Speaker 1: training centers. Here's sort of uh. They get out of
[18:45] Speaker 1: what you would consider maybe high school or entry level,
[18:50] Speaker 1: and then we take them to that doctorate level in
[18:53] Speaker 1: terms of really putting the icing on the cake in
[18:57] Speaker 1: terms of performance, so.
[19:01] Speaker 3: That skating act came from two schools. There was a
[19:07] Speaker 3: dance school and.
[19:10] Speaker 1: Cuba where a sort of young lady and acrobatic school,
[19:15] Speaker 1: and they were combined and they spent a few years
[19:18] Speaker 1: training in Cuba.
[19:19] Speaker 3: Then we brought them here in Sally.
[19:21] Speaker 1: To Las Vegas to elevate their training. Then we got
[19:26] Speaker 1: them under the Big Top and created a theme, the
[19:30] Speaker 1: whole Cuban theme around them. So whatever you see, I mean,
[19:33] Speaker 1: we spent a good five years of investment at about
[19:40] Speaker 1: forty to fifty grand a year just training these extdents.
[19:44] Speaker 1: You see our idea for our artists work, and some
[19:48] Speaker 1: of them we don't have to train like the Caribbean, right,
[19:52] Speaker 1: their whole culture is you know all about To me,
[19:56] Speaker 1: that's one of the greatest acts on our show, that
[20:00] Speaker 1: their culture is designed to Uh. They you look at
[20:05] Speaker 1: their faces in this smiling and there the happiest they performed,
[20:09] Speaker 1: and they're going under fire four or five rows, and
[20:13] Speaker 1: you know, I mean, you know, the culture in terms
[20:16] Speaker 1: of the costuming, the characters, Uh, there's still well, everything
[20:22] Speaker 1: means something, nothing is by chance, nothing is just for
[20:28] Speaker 1: flamboyancy on your eyes. It all traces back to that
[20:32] Speaker 1: culture in some meaningful way. So everything is deep rooted that.
[20:38] Speaker 3: That you saw, well, you know the amazing thing.
[20:41] Speaker 1: Like I said, I just want to share everybody my thoughts,
[20:44] Speaker 1: my adventure.
[20:46] Speaker 2: Go there and see if the show is over two
[20:48] Speaker 2: hours long.
[20:49] Speaker 1: It's not a thirty minute show. An hour show hour
[20:51] Speaker 1: that it starts on time. Let me tell you all
[20:54] Speaker 1: this universul Circus starts on time. Okay, because of the
[20:59] Speaker 1: fact that a lot of people don't believe that because
[21:01] Speaker 1: they come in late. Okay, its circus is professionally run.
[21:06] Speaker 1: Not saying it wasn't, but people need understand. You can
[21:10] Speaker 1: miss out on some great entertainment if you don't arrival
[21:13] Speaker 1: time because Universal Soul Circus starts all time.
[21:16] Speaker 2: Now, let's talk about the acts.
[21:18] Speaker 1: From Ethiopia, because I noticed, you know, I'm looking at
[21:20] Speaker 1: I'm exam I'm a little producer to Centric and there
[21:23] Speaker 1: was a lot of acts from Ethiopia.
[21:25] Speaker 2: Tell us about that.
[21:26] Speaker 1: So etheo Opia is the leading world. They're leading the
[21:32] Speaker 1: world and producing and providing black circus or swampers. Wow,
[21:37] Speaker 1: all over Europe, all over we had the we have
[21:42] Speaker 1: We're very proud that we got into Ethiopia and the
[21:48] Speaker 1: maybe nineties ninety six, ninety seven ninety eight and started
[21:53] Speaker 1: working with those circus schools and we were the first
[21:55] Speaker 1: to bring an Ethiopian act out of Ethiopia to US
[22:00] Speaker 1: circus touring in America. They had I think that they
[22:04] Speaker 1: had schools that were set up in Ethiopia mainly to
[22:09] Speaker 1: train kids. It was a program that were and developed
[22:13] Speaker 1: that was developed by some European circuit well European circus entrepreneurs,
[22:24] Speaker 1: and the idea was to help the government keep the
[22:27] Speaker 1: kids off the street. So they were training them circus
[22:30] Speaker 1: arts and it was cool. It was a good idea,
[22:33] Speaker 1: but the performers showed such great enthusiasm and capacity until
[22:42] Speaker 1: when I went there, I was totally blown away at
[22:45] Speaker 1: the quality of of of some and the shows were
[22:48] Speaker 1: all about messages and they had full circus shows that
[22:53] Speaker 1: were you know, teaching kids about age or teaching kids
[22:56] Speaker 1: about you know, working.
[22:59] Speaker 3: They taught they had a lot.
[23:01] Speaker 1: Of the but we we were one of one of
[23:05] Speaker 1: the first, and we've set invested a lot of money
[23:09] Speaker 1: in training in Ethiopia because the kids show so much promise.
[23:16] Speaker 1: Uh so we're very proud of the work that they've done.
[23:20] Speaker 1: We sponsor a big festival there or one of the
[23:23] Speaker 1: sponsors of the festival they have, but there's some great
[23:27] Speaker 1: We have a duo aerial act that I've never seen
[23:33] Speaker 1: and then thirty years I've seen just about everything, but
[23:37] Speaker 1: that duo. Those two girls up in the air. You
[23:39] Speaker 1: saw them, they were They moved at a speed that
[23:43] Speaker 1: no other dual aerial act will move at. I think
[23:47] Speaker 1: even dare to move that fast, changing all those positions,
[23:52] Speaker 1: thirty feet off the ground with no no net net no,
[24:00] Speaker 1: you know, I want describe in detail, but please go.
[24:02] Speaker 1: What he's saying is are just selling the significance of
[24:06] Speaker 1: what they're doing because it's impressive and they were doing
[24:09] Speaker 1: some things our tear you said, I was going, is
[24:11] Speaker 1: she about to do that?
[24:13] Speaker 3: Really?
[24:13] Speaker 2: Okay? Now these sisters or they were their twins, No.
[24:17] Speaker 3: No, they work together.
[24:18] Speaker 1: They come out of the school. We have in the performance.
[24:23] Speaker 1: We have the hoop diving act, we have the girls
[24:25] Speaker 1: in aerial act, and we have the three acts the
[24:32] Speaker 1: Tea Board and those are the three best strongest schools
[24:37] Speaker 1: in Ethiopia.
[24:38] Speaker 3: We have their top acts.
[24:39] Speaker 1: So those are the three of the top acts from
[24:42] Speaker 1: the strongest trainers and producers and Ethopia and we were
[24:47] Speaker 1: graced with that and blessed because we were one of
[24:49] Speaker 1: the early pondeers and helping them with training and programming. Wow,
[24:55] Speaker 1: beautiful as we go. Like I said, it's nineteen eighty four.
[24:59] Speaker 1: Ye division, we're sitting here now thirty years later.
[25:04] Speaker 2: What's on the horizon?
[25:06] Speaker 1: I mean, our culture is so rich and it deserves
[25:10] Speaker 1: so much and we've got it.
[25:13] Speaker 3: There's a lot we have to do.
[25:15] Speaker 1: I think, you know, family and it just didn't formally
[25:19] Speaker 1: attraction industry. Ice shows that we have yet to challenge.
[25:25] Speaker 1: I mean there's a Bourbon street while we have the street.
[25:28] Speaker 1: I mean, there's just so much that's that's what. It
[25:32] Speaker 1: has to be authentic and it has to be created authentically.
[25:37] Speaker 1: But I have a lot of ideas. I have ideas
[25:41] Speaker 1: that should live way past me, and I have a
[25:44] Speaker 1: lot of challenges. This at the tip of the iceberg
[25:47] Speaker 1: with my friend that the fact you allowed me to
[25:50] Speaker 1: take time and your business schedule because you run in
[25:52] Speaker 1: a circus. Okay, I'm just running a little small business
[25:55] Speaker 1: with animals and chappeeside and all kinds of human beings
[25:58] Speaker 1: run around here trying to understand what life is.
[26:01] Speaker 2: You're the entertaining business.
[26:02] Speaker 1: That's where you started. You had the old run of animals,
[26:05] Speaker 1: the whole Big Top theme. You you did the gospel plays,
[26:09] Speaker 1: which are very familiar with. But the bottom line said
[26:12] Speaker 1: you just wanted to do family entertainment.
[26:15] Speaker 2: Correct.
[26:16] Speaker 1: Yeah, No, I thought it was the need for it,
[26:19] Speaker 1: you know, and I saw it and we needed this.
[26:23] Speaker 1: We need something that uplifts our families and joins us together.
[26:28] Speaker 1: It joins the generations. It ties the young when of
[26:33] Speaker 1: four year oldest watching their parents sing soul karaoke to
[26:37] Speaker 1: al Green and the grandparents watched and doing the latest
[26:42] Speaker 1: stint and the with the fresh clouds in the ring,
[26:46] Speaker 1: it just ties generations to that. They really did because
[26:50] Speaker 1: it was some little girl. There was a song that
[26:52] Speaker 1: they those rappers they started playing. It was about thirty
[26:55] Speaker 1: girl and little girls, and probably a body in the
[26:57] Speaker 1: fifth grade was singing. I went, I don't know.
[26:59] Speaker 5: What they do it, but boy, it is really in
[27:02] Speaker 5: joyble to watch the connection because they just took off
[27:06] Speaker 5: and did the little dance and hit every word and
[27:09] Speaker 5: it was just fantastic.
[27:10] Speaker 2: But thank you for fighting me down.
[27:12] Speaker 1: There to see history, my brother, because you're making history. Man.
[27:15] Speaker 1: It was diversity, the safety, the professionalism walking in that door. Man.
[27:21] Speaker 1: It was just a clean environment, safe environment. And again,
[27:25] Speaker 1: ladies and gentlemen, universe soul circus starts on time. Remember that.
[27:31] Speaker 1: Don't let nobody push no stereotype. I'm not saying this
[27:34] Speaker 1: out there, but people generally think that when you do
[27:37] Speaker 1: black things, you know cpee time, you know it gonna
[27:40] Speaker 1: start with It's gonna start not their circus, my brother,
[27:44] Speaker 1: thank you for the time, Thank you, thank you so much,
[27:48] Speaker 1: appreciate it. This has been another edition of Money Making
[27:51] Speaker 1: Conversation Masterclass hosted by me Rushaun McDonald. Thank you to
[27:55] Speaker 1: our guess on the show today and thank you I
[27:58] Speaker 1: was listening to the audience now. If you were to
[28:00] Speaker 1: listen to any episode I want to be a guest
[28:02] Speaker 1: on the show. Visit Moneymakingconversations dot com. Our social media
[28:06] Speaker 1: handle is money Making Conversation. Join us next week and
[28:09] Speaker 1: remember to always leave with your gifts.
[28:12] Speaker 2: Keep winning.

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