# Small Business Advice: The conversation explores the significance of HBCU athletics, storytelling, and independent filmmaking.

An episode of [Money Making Conversations Master Class](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1264705641), 31 Oct 2026, 28 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/b1db7263-d1a3-4d00-8976-af62012aab44/f430331e-4353-4d8e-abdc-b4f101304ede/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 Brian Egeston. Creator of Unveiling History: The Tuskegee Soccer Docuseries, joined Rushion McDonald to discuss his groundbreaking documentary project chronicling the inaugural men's and women's soccer programs at Tuskegee University. The conversation explored the significance of HBCU athletics, storytelling, independent filmmaking, and the transformative impact sports can have on students' lives. Purpose of the Interview • Introduce the documentary series Unveiling History, which follows the first NCAA men's and women's soccer teams in Tuskegee University's history. • Highlight the importance of expanding athletic opportunities at HBCUs, particularly in the sport of soccer. • Share the personal journeys and experiences of student-athletes building a program from the ground up. • Discuss the challenges and rewards of independent documentary filmmaking. • Inspire other HBCUs to consider launching soccer programs and creating additional opportunities for students. Key Takeaways Tuskegee University's Legacy Continues to Grow The conversation connected Tuskegee University's rich history and mission of educational empowerment to modern opportunities in athletics and personal development. Soccer Opens Doors for Student-Athletes Egeston recognized that many talented Black soccer players have limited opportunities to continue playing at the collegiate level due to the shortage of soccer programs at HBCUs. Tuskegee's decision to launch both men's and women's teams represents an important step forward. A Father's Interest Became a Historic Documentary Initially motivated by his son's participation on the inaugural team, Egeston transformed the experience into a major documentary project after realizing the historical significance of the program. The Players' Stories Matter Most The series focuses on the lives, challenges, sacrifices, and aspirations of student-athletes, showing that the story is about much more than wins and losses. Perseverance Defines Success One of the documentary's most inspiring stories highlights a player who demonstrates extraordinary commitment and dedication despite facing obstacles and limited playing opportunities. Women's Soccer Is Making History The documentary also captures milestone moments for Tuskegee's women's soccer program, including historic achievements that will be remembered for years to come. Mental Health Is an Important Part of Student Success The series explores conversations around confidence, isolation, personal growth, and emotional well-being, emphasizing the importance of supporting student-athletes beyond the field. Independent Filmmaking Requires Commitment Egeston discussed the financial and logistical challenges of producing the documentary while maintaining the trust of the university, coaches, and student-athletes. Creating a Blueprint for Other HBCUs The long-term vision extends beyond Tuskegee. Egeston hopes the documentary can encourage additional HBCUs to establish soccer programs and help grow the sport throughout the HBCU community. Memorable Quotes "This is historic. Somebody should document it." "What you need is a show that looks like Hard Knocks and looks like Friday Night Lights." "Everybody loves the idea until it's time to cut a check." "We got plenty of soccer. Now let's get into the people." "Now we have the formula. Now we got the…

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: Welcome to the show.
[0:02] Speaker 2: I'm Rashawn McDonald, the host of Money Making Conversations Masterclass,
[0:05] Speaker 2: where we encourage people to stop reading other people's success
[0:08] Speaker 2: stories and start planning their own. Now, you don't want
[0:11] Speaker 2: to miss an episode of Money Making Conversations Masterclass. So
[0:14] Speaker 2: right now, follow or subscribe to Money Making Conversations. It's
[0:19] Speaker 2: free and you can find it on the iHeartRadio app, Spotify,
[0:23] Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Now, Sit
[0:27] Speaker 2: back and listen as we unlock the secrets to their
[0:30] Speaker 2: success on Money Making Conversations Masterclass. My guest is the
[0:34] Speaker 2: creator of Unveiling History, the Tuskegee Soccer Doctor Series, an
[0:40] Speaker 2: independent documentary project following the creation and inaugural season of
[0:45] Speaker 2: Tuskegee University's first men's and women's soccer program. Please welcome
[0:51] Speaker 2: to Money Making Conversations Masterclass, Brian Edgiston.
[0:55] Speaker 1: How you doing, Brian?
[0:56] Speaker 3: I'm doing wonderful. I'm speaking to you. So thanks for
[0:58] Speaker 3: having me. Good.
[0:59] Speaker 2: Tuskegee, Alabama. Just to let everybody know, where is Tuskegee?
[1:04] Speaker 2: I know Alabama, but where exactly in Alabama is located?
[1:07] Speaker 2: Because everybody knows where the University of Alabama is at.
[1:09] Speaker 1: Okay. But where is, and Auburn University is at, where
[1:13] Speaker 1: is Tuskegee?
[1:14] Speaker 3: That's actually a great reference. Tuscaloosa is over there. Auburn
[1:18] Speaker 3: is actually just a 15-minute drive from Tuskegee. You know,
[1:23] Speaker 3: so I'm actually currently living in Tuskegee. So when I
[1:25] Speaker 3: go when I want to go to the big city,
[1:27] Speaker 3: I jump on the interstate and take one exit up
[1:30] Speaker 3: and go to Auburn. It is actually sandwiched in between Auburn,
[1:34] Speaker 3: Alabama and the capital, Montgomery, Alabama, which is about 40
[1:37] Speaker 3: minutes away.
[1:38] Speaker 2: Give us a little background about Tuskegee. I know it's
[1:40] Speaker 2: an HBCU founded by, I believe, Booker T.
[1:42] Speaker 1: Washington. Want to make sure that's accurate. Why did he
[1:45] Speaker 1: find this school and give.
[1:46] Speaker 2: Us some history on the school before we get into
[1:48] Speaker 2: some of the famous alumni of Tuskegee?
[1:52] Speaker 3: Yeah, so Tuskegee is full of amazing history and lore.
[1:56] Speaker 3: And Booker T. Washington started that institution because he wanted
[2:01] Speaker 3: to educate people so that they could sustain themselves. The
[2:05] Speaker 3: famous thing that comes out of Tuskegee, aside from the
[2:08] Speaker 3: airmen and the alums, is that Tuskegee is a place
[2:11] Speaker 3: where they taught students how to build bricks. And the
[2:14] Speaker 3: students built those bricks, and they used those bricks to
[2:17] Speaker 3: build the campus. And if you come to this beautiful
[2:19] Speaker 3: campus now, you'll see that the architectural format And the
[2:24] Speaker 3: philosophy is all brick. It's all brick buildings to remind
[2:28] Speaker 3: you that, you know, they got it off the bricks.
[2:30] Speaker 3: You know, the rappers now, they say, you know, we've
[2:33] Speaker 3: built it off the bricks. Tuskegee literally built it off
[2:35] Speaker 3: the bricks. And then you go to the lore and
[2:37] Speaker 3: the history of the Tuskegee Airmen who accomplished, you know,
[2:40] Speaker 3: goals in the military that people have never have done.
[2:42] Speaker 3: And that's the foundation of what this institution is. Yeah.
[2:45] Speaker 1: Now, to my understanding, a little history about Booker T. Washington.
[2:48] Speaker 1: He was.
[2:50] Speaker 2: Definitely about creating jobs that use your hands. He's a
[2:58] Speaker 2: manual laborer. And I know that W.E.B. Du Bois, they
[3:03] Speaker 2: had that little- Great debate. That great debate. But his
[3:07] Speaker 2: thing was, when you have value, people will pay you
[3:10] Speaker 2: for value. I'm talking about Booker T.
[3:12] Speaker 1: Washington. And that was his.
[3:14] Speaker 2: Structure in building out and creating Tuskegee Alabama University. Is
[3:21] Speaker 2: that correct, what I'm saying?
[3:22] Speaker 3: Yes. Yes, sir. That's very accurate. You know, the philosophy,
[3:28] Speaker 3: to paraphrase, is that everybody's not going to be in
[3:31] Speaker 3: the top 10 percent. Right. So how are we going
[3:33] Speaker 3: to take care of the 90? If we don't take
[3:37] Speaker 3: care of the 90, we have to teach the 90
[3:38] Speaker 3: how to take care of themselves. And that's through trade
[3:40] Speaker 3: and that's through vocation. And that's what's the foundation. That's
[3:44] Speaker 3: the building of Tuskegee University.
[3:45] Speaker 2: Which is really interesting, which was really the foundation of
[3:49] Speaker 2: how we work today.
[3:50] Speaker 1: We have certificates. We have trades.
[3:52] Speaker 2: It's been converted to AI. It's been converted to graphic designs.
[3:56] Speaker 2: But those are still the philosophies that a visionary like
[4:00] Speaker 2: Booker T. Washington was implementing when he launched Tuskegee. And
[4:04] Speaker 2: what was the year the school was launched?
[4:07] Speaker 3: If I'm not mistaken, it's 1881, I believe. Yeah. Okay.
[4:12] Speaker 2: Now your son attends an HBCU and that HBCU is Tuskegee.
[4:16] Speaker 2: Did you go to a HBCU or a predominantly white institution?
[4:21] Speaker 3: I went to an HBCU. I am a second generation
[4:24] Speaker 3: HBCU graduate. HBCUs are all I know. You know, I
[4:29] Speaker 3: tell the joke that I didn't know that white people
[4:32] Speaker 3: went to college until I was eight years old. All
[4:35] Speaker 3: I saw was black people going to HBCUs. All I
[4:38] Speaker 3: knew was HBCUs. My paternal grandparents didn't. literally lived across
[4:44] Speaker 3: the street from Arkansas Baptist College. You could throw a
[4:47] Speaker 3: rock from my grandmother's front porch to Arkansas Baptist College.
[4:51] Speaker 3: My maternal grandparents lived down the street from Philander Smith College,
[4:55] Speaker 3: which is where my mother and my auntie went to college.
[4:59] Speaker 3: And my auntie later became the president of Shorter College
[5:02] Speaker 3: in North Little York, Arkansas. HBCU is running my blood.
[5:05] Speaker 3: So when my son was choosing college, you can go
[5:08] Speaker 3: anywhere you want to. But let me tell you where
[5:09] Speaker 3: I'm paying for you.
[5:11] Speaker 1: You ain't do it like that. Come on, Fred. You
[5:13] Speaker 1: ain't do it like that. Come on, Brian.
[5:15] Speaker 3: You can go wherever you want in the world. My money,
[5:17] Speaker 3: I'm telling you where it's going.
[5:19] Speaker 2: Well, you know, it's great that you have the passion,
[5:21] Speaker 2: but also great that he's chosen the college that he chose.
[5:25] Speaker 2: wants to go to, but it just happens to be
[5:27] Speaker 2: in your blood, in your history, and that's HBCU. Okay,
[5:30] Speaker 2: now did you say what HBCU you graduated from? I
[5:32] Speaker 2: want to make sure that you... Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee. Okay,
[5:36] Speaker 2: make sure I got that out.
[5:38] Speaker 1: Okay, cool. Now let's move to as to why I'm
[5:40] Speaker 1: interviewing you, my friend.
[5:42] Speaker 3: Soccer.
[5:42] Speaker 1: What do you know about soccer, sir?
[5:44] Speaker 2: Because that's what this documentary is about, first, but it's
[5:48] Speaker 2: about the women's and men's team, the inaugural season of
[5:53] Speaker 2: soccer in at Tuskegee University.
[5:55] Speaker 1: What do you know about soccer?
[5:57] Speaker 3: So I am a soccer dad. My son came up
[6:01] Speaker 3: playing soccer since he was four years old. I started
[6:03] Speaker 3: playing soccer. My mother would not let me play football
[6:06] Speaker 3: because she was scared I was getting hurt. So my
[6:09] Speaker 3: fall sport was soccer. So way back when, when black
[6:12] Speaker 3: kids weren't playing soccer back in 19- That's when I
[6:17] Speaker 3: was playing soccer. When my son got into it, Our
[6:21] Speaker 3: whole family got into it. I became a soccer referee.
[6:24] Speaker 3: I'm still a certified soccer referee now by the United
[6:27] Speaker 3: States Soccer Federation. I referee everything from eight-year-olds to semi-professionals.
[6:33] Speaker 3: And when I referee high school in Atlanta, every single
[6:38] Speaker 3: game after the match is over, I see wonderful players
[6:42] Speaker 3: and I have a conversation with them. For five years,
[6:44] Speaker 3: I've said, hey, so what are you doing next year?
[6:46] Speaker 3: You're a great player. And for five years, so many
[6:49] Speaker 3: kids have said, My soccer career is over because I'm
[6:52] Speaker 3: going to an HBCU and there are not a lot
[6:54] Speaker 3: of HBCUs that offer soccer programs. Wow. Right. So so then,
[6:59] Speaker 3: you know, when it's cut to my son is going
[7:03] Speaker 3: out around the college fairs and Tuskegee is there and
[7:05] Speaker 3: the gentleman from Tuskegee tells him. you know, we're getting
[7:08] Speaker 3: a soccer team next year. I said, there's no way,
[7:10] Speaker 3: there's no, there's no way, there's no way that can
[7:12] Speaker 3: be accurate. Like I'm like, I look, I am on
[7:15] Speaker 3: the forefront of HBCUs and soccer. I haven't heard this.
[7:19] Speaker 3: And sure enough, it was like almost overnight, you know,
[7:22] Speaker 3: they got a soccer program and my son sent the
[7:25] Speaker 3: coaches highlights and he, he invited him to the team.
[7:27] Speaker 3: And now I am here to document them from day one.
[7:31] Speaker 1: Cool. Now, great.
[7:32] Speaker 2: That's a great story. Um, Why did your son, outside
[7:37] Speaker 2: of the HBCU, why did he choose Tuskegee? Was there
[7:40] Speaker 2: no other HBCUs out there offering soccer? When you say inaugural,
[7:45] Speaker 2: is this inaugural to HBCU's period that you started a
[7:49] Speaker 2: soccer team? Or is this at Tuskegee that you started?
[7:53] Speaker 3: It's inaugural to Tuskegee. Okay, cool. The school has been
[7:57] Speaker 3: existing for 145 years, and this is their first time
[8:00] Speaker 3: having an NCAA soccer team. There are roughly... 19 HBCUs
[8:06] Speaker 3: with soccer programs. Many of them are women's because the
[8:10] Speaker 3: Title IX sort of offsets the scholarship for the women's side.
[8:13] Speaker 3: So that's why you see more women's collegiate teams than
[8:16] Speaker 3: you do offerings for men's team. But my son, he
[8:20] Speaker 3: was thinking about going to Alabama A & M, Alabama State.
[8:24] Speaker 3: He thought about other schools as well, but none of
[8:26] Speaker 3: those had a soccer program. So when Tuskegee got their program,
[8:30] Speaker 3: they got bumped right to the top of his list.
[8:32] Speaker 1: Okay, cool. Now let's talk about, you have an idea.
[8:35] Speaker 2: Your son was just going there, but you have a
[8:40] Speaker 2: entertainment producers background.
[8:42] Speaker 1: Tell us a little bit about your background.
[8:43] Speaker 2: Cause I don't want to think this is just a
[8:45] Speaker 2: soccer dad who just popped up.
[8:47] Speaker 1: On campus with a, with his iPhone and say, I'll
[8:50] Speaker 1: record this.
[8:51] Speaker 2: You have an extensive history and you have the pedigree
[8:54] Speaker 2: to be able to pull this off.
[8:56] Speaker 1: Talk about you for a little bit, Brian.
[8:58] Speaker 3: Yes, sir. So my, my journey here has, has, has,
[9:01] Speaker 3: has been, you know, sort of all over the place.
[9:03] Speaker 3: When I graduated from Tennessee state university with a mechanical
[9:05] Speaker 3: engineering degree, I worked as an engineer for seven years.
[9:08] Speaker 3: Then I got an offer to be a writer at
[9:13] Speaker 3: Tyler Perry Studios, became the head writer at Tyler Perry
[9:15] Speaker 3: Studios for a while and went on to L.A. to
[9:18] Speaker 3: work on some shows, worked on the quad on BET,
[9:20] Speaker 3: which was actually a one hour drama about an HBCU
[9:24] Speaker 3: because the HBCU experience. I have a movie on Amazon
[9:27] Speaker 3: Prime starring Dennis Quaid, which premiered as the number one movie.
[9:31] Speaker 3: So I took all of those and I did what
[9:35] Speaker 3: I believe is the project that I was put on
[9:37] Speaker 3: earth to do, combining HBCU and soccer and TV and film.
[9:41] Speaker 3: I had a conversation with the coach and the coach said,
[9:43] Speaker 3: this is historic. Somebody should document it. And instead of
[9:46] Speaker 3: me saying, you know, you're absolutely right. Go find somebody.
[9:50] Speaker 3: I said, well, coach, you know, what you need is
[9:53] Speaker 3: you need to show it looks like heart knocks and
[9:55] Speaker 3: it looks like a Friday night lights. He loved the idea.
[9:58] Speaker 3: I sent him what we call a one sheet, which
[10:01] Speaker 3: is a sort of synopsis. He sent it to the
[10:03] Speaker 3: athletic director, Reginald Ruffin. He sent it to Dr. Brown,
[10:06] Speaker 3: the president. They loved it. And they gave me exclusive
[10:09] Speaker 3: rights and access to go out and try and develop
[10:11] Speaker 3: this show. And July 29th, we turn on the cameras
[10:14] Speaker 3: when the players showed up for campus and we've been
[10:17] Speaker 3: here with him ever since embedded in Tuskegee, Alabama.
[10:21] Speaker 1: Please don't go anywhere.
[10:22] Speaker 2: We'll be right back with more Money Making Conversations Masterclass.
[10:25] Speaker 1: Now I need for you to do me a favor.
[10:28] Speaker 2: Right now, to follow or subscribe to Money Making Conversations,
[10:32] Speaker 2: it's free. And you can find it on the iHeartRadio app, Spotify,
[10:36] Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Please do
[10:40] Speaker 2: me a favor. Follow or subscribe Money Making Conversations. Welcome
[10:48] Speaker 2: back to Money Making Conversation Masterclass with me, Rashawn McDonald.
[10:52] Speaker 1: Now, what does that look?
[10:53] Speaker 2: Because, you know, you put some bold production names out
[10:56] Speaker 2: there because Friday Night Lights, that comes with a budget.
[10:59] Speaker 2: You know, the hard knocks on HBO, that comes with
[11:02] Speaker 2: a budget. I'm at an HBCU. Now, how are you
[11:06] Speaker 2: shooting this, Brian?
[11:07] Speaker 3: That's great. That's a really good question.
[11:10] Speaker 1: Plus, you shoot men and women, okay? Two different stories.
[11:15] Speaker 3: That's right. That's right. I actually consulted with someone from
[11:19] Speaker 3: the HBO Hard Knocks budget and HBO team, and he
[11:23] Speaker 3: was telling me how they shoot theirs. They literally record
[11:27] Speaker 3: the footage and they pipeline that footage all the way
[11:30] Speaker 3: back to New Jersey so that they're going very, very,
[11:32] Speaker 3: very fast. And yes, Friday Night Lights is a very,
[11:34] Speaker 3: very great budget. This is Tuskegee, Alabama.
[11:40] Speaker 2: I don't want you to give me the numbers to
[11:42] Speaker 2: your budget, but I want you to be Were you
[11:45] Speaker 2: humbled by the numbers in order to pull this off?
[11:50] Speaker 3: Oh, I was very humbled because, you know, in the
[11:53] Speaker 3: industry that I'm working in, everybody loves the idea until
[11:57] Speaker 3: it's time to cut a check. Everybody loves it. And
[12:01] Speaker 3: we were on a very, very tight deadline because I
[12:04] Speaker 3: had to be there on July 29th when the players
[12:07] Speaker 3: showed up because I want to document the entire journey.
[12:10] Speaker 3: We're going from July 29th all the way to November 29th,
[12:14] Speaker 3: which is the end of the season, which was absolutely crazy.
[12:16] Speaker 3: That's longer than they than they shoot HBO hard knocks.
[12:20] Speaker 3: So I went to everybody I knew in L.A. and Hollywood.
[12:24] Speaker 3: They love the idea. And, you know, in Hollywood, it
[12:28] Speaker 3: takes it takes two weeks just to read a contract.
[12:31] Speaker 3: So to find money and find budget. That timeline was crazy.
[12:35] Speaker 3: So I ended up, you know, money-making situations here. I
[12:38] Speaker 3: ended up cutting a check and getting this thing going,
[12:42] Speaker 3: funding it myself because it was absolutely that important to me.
[12:46] Speaker 3: And so then I have a documentary crew They're called
[12:49] Speaker 3: the Horn Brothers Films, and they're out of Atlanta, and
[12:52] Speaker 3: they just swept the documentary category at the Bronze Lens
[12:56] Speaker 3: Film Festival. They believed in the idea. Ironically, one of
[13:00] Speaker 3: the producers has a son who is a soccer player
[13:03] Speaker 3: who is being recruited by Tuskegee. So everything is sort
[13:06] Speaker 3: of coming all together. The right people are in place.
[13:10] Speaker 3: It's the right timing. It's me passionate about the project.
[13:13] Speaker 3: So I had to tell my wife, like, hey, listen,
[13:16] Speaker 3: We're about to cut a big check to get this
[13:19] Speaker 3: documentary on. And here we are in the throes of it.
[13:22] Speaker 3: And it's way too late to turn back now.
[13:26] Speaker 2: I respect the process, you know, because of the story
[13:28] Speaker 2: you're trying to tell. Tell us a story you are
[13:30] Speaker 2: trying to tell, starting with the men.
[13:33] Speaker 3: Yeah. So, you know, the wonderful thing about this, the
[13:36] Speaker 3: great opportunity I have is that is combined. There are
[13:39] Speaker 3: over 50 players. The way I as a storyteller look
[13:42] Speaker 3: at to look at that. That's 50 stories. Like I
[13:45] Speaker 3: can just go and pick and choose and follow these
[13:47] Speaker 3: kids and what they're going through and tell their stories.
[13:51] Speaker 3: One great story that we have is that there's this
[13:53] Speaker 3: kid named Zachary Farley. And with 33 players, Rashawn, you're
[13:58] Speaker 3: talking about 33 great soccer players who for most of
[14:01] Speaker 3: their soccer careers have started on their teams for the
[14:06] Speaker 3: last five to six years. So you come to Tuskegee
[14:09] Speaker 3: with 33 other dogs on this soccer team. Right. And
[14:12] Speaker 3: they've all started. So now you're going from not starting
[14:16] Speaker 3: to sitting on the bench to not even being on
[14:19] Speaker 3: the roster because you can only roster a certain amount.
[14:22] Speaker 3: And the coach has so many players. Everybody can't get
[14:25] Speaker 3: a jersey for the whole game. So there's this kid
[14:28] Speaker 3: named Zachary Farley who gets up at 515 in the
[14:32] Speaker 3: morning and he goes to practice with the women. Because
[14:36] Speaker 3: the women are working so hard, they practice at 5.15
[14:40] Speaker 3: in the morning before they go to class. And they
[14:42] Speaker 3: ask some of the men to come and work out
[14:44] Speaker 3: with them. Zachary Farley walks a mile from his dorm
[14:48] Speaker 3: to the practice facility and practices with the women. He
[14:51] Speaker 3: goes to class afterwards, and then he practices with the
[14:55] Speaker 3: men in the afternoon.
[14:56] Speaker 1: Mm-hmm.
[14:57] Speaker 3: He sets up every single game. He's out there setting
[15:00] Speaker 3: up the equipment. He's helping during the match. And then
[15:03] Speaker 3: after the match, he takes down the equipment. And then
[15:06] Speaker 3: he trains by himself. Rashawn, this kid still has not
[15:09] Speaker 3: put on a jersey. He's working so hard to fulfill
[15:14] Speaker 3: his dreams. And a story like that, you won't see
[15:18] Speaker 3: that anywhere. So those are the stories we're following. But
[15:20] Speaker 3: the overarching story we're talking about, telling about the men,
[15:23] Speaker 3: is that they're in the SIAC conference, which is a
[15:26] Speaker 3: conference for HBCUs. There are no other men's teams that
[15:29] Speaker 3: have soccer teams in that conference, so they can't get
[15:32] Speaker 3: to the NCAA tournament by winning their conference. So they
[15:36] Speaker 3: have to be at Notre Dame, so to speak. They
[15:38] Speaker 3: have to have a very strong schedule. They have to
[15:40] Speaker 3: win most of their games, and then the NCAA has
[15:43] Speaker 3: to know that they exist, and then they have to say,
[15:45] Speaker 3: we're going to invite you to the tournament. So far,
[15:47] Speaker 3: Tuskegee's men are 3-1, which is crazy for a first-year team.
[15:53] Speaker 3: They only have five transfers. Everybody else is freshmen. They
[15:59] Speaker 3: have eight starting freshmen on a soccer team. They are 3-1.
[16:03] Speaker 3: They should have been 6-1, but they are losing to
[16:07] Speaker 3: Mother Nature. The past three games have been canceled because
[16:11] Speaker 3: of rain, because of storms, and for a pipe burst.
[16:15] Speaker 3: So now this team that had a very promising run,
[16:18] Speaker 3: now they're fighting against all these other odds. So it's
[16:22] Speaker 3: a great underdog story that we're telling for the men.
[16:25] Speaker 1: Cool. That's awesome. Now let's go to the women, which
[16:28] Speaker 1: is a totally different dynamic.
[16:29] Speaker 2: You are a guy, so there are limited areas you
[16:32] Speaker 2: can go because you are a guy. Do you have
[16:34] Speaker 2: any female producers on your team? Yeah, so the film
[16:39] Speaker 2: crew we have, actually, we have two women. One is
[16:42] Speaker 2: the camera operator and one is the audio. So those
[16:45] Speaker 2: moments where we need to go into the locker room,
[16:48] Speaker 2: the men on the crew, we all step back and
[16:50] Speaker 2: that is their space and that is their time. Also,
[16:53] Speaker 2: we have an incredible publicist and social media expert by
[16:57] Speaker 2: Andrea Jackson-Williams, who is very much in tune with the women.
[17:01] Speaker 3: She helps take care of them. But the story we're
[17:03] Speaker 3: telling there, They have a coach, a great coach by
[17:06] Speaker 3: the name of Emanuel Stevens, who is a journeyman in
[17:09] Speaker 3: HBCU soccer. He's coached at Alabama A & M. He's
[17:12] Speaker 3: coached at UAPB from my home state. And now he's
[17:15] Speaker 3: at Tuskegee. So Tuskegee is going to be his proving ground.
[17:19] Speaker 3: He's not inheriting a program. He's building from the ground up.
[17:22] Speaker 3: So this is his chance to show to the world
[17:24] Speaker 3: that he can make a dent. He can make an
[17:26] Speaker 3: impact in HBCU women's soccer.
[17:28] Speaker 2: Talking to Brian Edgerson, unveiling history. The Tuskegee soccer doctor
[17:37] Speaker 2: series that he's working on right now started this summer.
[17:41] Speaker 2: It's like I said, a work in progress, as we
[17:43] Speaker 2: say right now. Tuskegee decided to. Why do they say
[17:48] Speaker 2: they want to do soccer?
[17:49] Speaker 3: Why?
[17:49] Speaker 1: What was the driving force behind that?
[17:53] Speaker 3: Well, Dr. Mark Brown is a soccer fan. And he
[17:57] Speaker 3: told he told the athletic director, you know, I would
[18:00] Speaker 3: like to have a soccer program. And I think the
[18:02] Speaker 3: way the story was told to me is it's okay.
[18:04] Speaker 3: So are we looking like, you know, two, three years
[18:07] Speaker 3: from now? And then Dr. Brown said, no, I want
[18:09] Speaker 3: it as soon as possible. So the visionary that the
[18:12] Speaker 3: athletic director Ruffin is at Tuskegee, they were replacing the grass.
[18:17] Speaker 3: And again, we talk about Tuskegee and where it is.
[18:19] Speaker 3: You got to understand Tuskegee just recently got lights on their,
[18:24] Speaker 3: on their football field. So they're at a point now
[18:27] Speaker 3: where they just got the new turf and the athletic
[18:30] Speaker 3: director said, OK, for the turf, I need you to
[18:33] Speaker 3: paint these kind of lines. And the football coach went, wait,
[18:36] Speaker 3: what did you do to our football field? He said,
[18:38] Speaker 3: just wait. I need the lines. And those were the
[18:41] Speaker 3: lines for a soccer field. And that's what they needed.
[18:44] Speaker 3: They needed a place to play. So with that in place,
[18:49] Speaker 3: they were off and running. And, you know, we talk
[18:52] Speaker 3: about HBCU and resources and making a way out of
[18:54] Speaker 3: no way. Both soccer teams share the same playing facility
[18:59] Speaker 3: and practice facility as the band and the football team.
[19:02] Speaker 3: But if you go to Clemson, you go to Duke,
[19:05] Speaker 3: they've got their own facility. Tuskegee is making a way
[19:07] Speaker 3: out of no way, and they're doing it very, very
[19:09] Speaker 3: well with winning.
[19:10] Speaker 1: Cool. So you started taping.
[19:13] Speaker 2: You mentioned a great character on the male side of
[19:16] Speaker 2: the taping. Do you have a great character on the
[19:19] Speaker 2: female side of the taping that has stood out so far?
[19:23] Speaker 3: Oh, yeah. We have, you know, just a wonderful player
[19:26] Speaker 3: by the name of Sarai Bryant. And this is just a,
[19:31] Speaker 3: I mean, just a brilliant, brilliant young woman. And, you know,
[19:35] Speaker 3: we have footage of her scoring her first goal when
[19:39] Speaker 3: she was, I think the video was when she was
[19:41] Speaker 3: four years old. She takes a penalty kick. And the
[19:45] Speaker 3: crazy thing, the way the universe worked out is that
[19:47] Speaker 3: she is the first female goal scorer in the history
[19:51] Speaker 3: of Tuskegee University. And the crew was there to capture that.
[19:57] Speaker 3: And she scored the first goal for the women in
[20:00] Speaker 3: the history of Tuskegee soccer program, the same exact way,
[20:04] Speaker 3: the same exact play, the same exact position. The ball
[20:07] Speaker 3: went to the goal as she did when she was
[20:08] Speaker 3: four years old. Like it was her dad sent me
[20:11] Speaker 3: the video and it was bone chilling. I was like,
[20:13] Speaker 3: there's no way this has happened. So it's just, I mean,
[20:16] Speaker 3: amazing stories on both sides.
[20:18] Speaker 1: Stay with us.
[20:19] Speaker 2: More money-making conversation masterclass coming up next. Welcome back to
[20:27] Speaker 2: Money Making Conversations Masterclass, hosted by me, Rashawn McDonald.
[20:31] Speaker 1: Let's get back into it. So as we go through
[20:35] Speaker 1: the process.
[20:36] Speaker 2: You know, you got to, you know, as you know,
[20:39] Speaker 2: there's football teams and everybody doesn't make it on camera.
[20:42] Speaker 2: Like you just pointed, identify the male and the female
[20:45] Speaker 2: that leads the way. How do you go through the
[20:48] Speaker 2: process of telling your stories for us to be engaged
[20:53] Speaker 2: and want to keep coming back? And I.
[20:56] Speaker 1: Because that's the key, the storytelling. That's right.
[20:58] Speaker 3: Yeah, very much so. You know, we were talking to
[21:01] Speaker 3: the production crew and they said, hey, look, we got
[21:04] Speaker 3: plenty of soccer. We have, like, we were the only
[21:07] Speaker 3: cameras there to record the first NCAA soccer game in
[21:10] Speaker 3: the history of Tuskegee. We got plenty of soccer. Now
[21:12] Speaker 3: let's get it to the people. And I spoke about
[21:15] Speaker 3: Andrew Jackson Williams earlier earlier. She has just done a
[21:19] Speaker 3: phenomenal job of just combing through all the information that
[21:22] Speaker 3: the players have submitted. Even before we turned the cameras on,
[21:26] Speaker 3: we had questionnaires. We talked about the history. We talked
[21:29] Speaker 3: about their journey. We talked about a player from California
[21:32] Speaker 3: who lost their home in the California fires. All these
[21:37] Speaker 3: adversities that these kids are going through. So now... All
[21:41] Speaker 3: we're doing is just talking to them and just following
[21:43] Speaker 3: their lives. Now we're just standing back being a fly
[21:45] Speaker 3: on the wall, just observing. As an example, we talked
[21:48] Speaker 3: about Zachary Farley. We went to cover the women's practice
[21:52] Speaker 3: at 515. If we had not been there for the
[21:54] Speaker 3: crack of dawn, we would not have seen this kid
[21:57] Speaker 3: walking on campus by himself to go to practice. So
[22:00] Speaker 3: we're just here and we are absolutely embedded in watching
[22:04] Speaker 3: them and live out their lives. It's emotional, too, because
[22:10] Speaker 3: there was a sports psychologist named B.J. Armstrong. He's a
[22:12] Speaker 3: Morehouse graduate. He came and spoke to the team. He
[22:16] Speaker 3: talked about mental health and he got he got very
[22:19] Speaker 3: real with these guys. He said, hey, you got to
[22:21] Speaker 3: talk to people because suppression leads to depression. And afterwards,
[22:26] Speaker 3: he opened up for question and answer. And Rashawn, these
[22:30] Speaker 3: kids got so vulnerable and honest about what they were
[22:33] Speaker 3: going through. They talked about being secluded. They talked about self-confidence.
[22:38] Speaker 3: This kid talked about, I come from a place where
[22:40] Speaker 3: nobody talks to me. When I have things on my mind,
[22:43] Speaker 3: on my chest, I can't even talk to people. So
[22:46] Speaker 3: how do I do that? And those are the emotional
[22:49] Speaker 3: stories that we're following, Rashawn, so people can get invested
[22:51] Speaker 3: in these kids.
[22:52] Speaker 2: It's about, you went to Tuskegee, and now it's about ownership,
[22:56] Speaker 2: IPs and you know, trademarking, copywriting, registering at the Writer's Guild.
[23:03] Speaker 1: You're an independent filmmaker.
[23:05] Speaker 2: How do you protect yourself or if anybody's listening, advice
[23:09] Speaker 2: on how they can protect their content, especially when you're
[23:12] Speaker 2: introducing it and following, you know, individuals who are tied
[23:16] Speaker 2: to a HBCU university, also talent releases?
[23:22] Speaker 3: Great question. Nobody in the business will touch you or
[23:26] Speaker 3: talk to you until you've got the rights. And that
[23:31] Speaker 3: was one of the things that took us so long
[23:34] Speaker 3: to get going because Tuskegee was dotting every single I.
[23:38] Speaker 3: They were crossing every single T. They asked me and
[23:41] Speaker 3: my family to come in and sit down with the
[23:43] Speaker 3: president so they could vet me, see who I was,
[23:46] Speaker 3: see what the vision was. So before they signed off
[23:49] Speaker 3: on it, I had to go through a very extensive process.
[23:52] Speaker 3: So people who are interested in doing this, I would
[23:55] Speaker 3: advise you to spend a lot of time and a
[23:58] Speaker 3: lot of research into getting the rights. So Tuskegee was
[24:02] Speaker 3: kind enough to give me the exclusive rights to shop it,
[24:05] Speaker 3: the exclusive rights to produce it. And also the right
[24:08] Speaker 3: that they've just given me unprecedented access. But that comes
[24:12] Speaker 3: with the respect for Tuskegee, because when I came and
[24:14] Speaker 3: talked to the president, I did tell him exactly what
[24:16] Speaker 3: I told you. Like I am an HBCU alum. I
[24:19] Speaker 3: am very much invested in HBCUs. So I am not
[24:22] Speaker 3: here to make the Real Housewives of Tuskegee. That is
[24:27] Speaker 3: not the show they were making. And once they understood that,
[24:30] Speaker 3: then they sort of they sort of opened up the
[24:32] Speaker 3: vault for me.
[24:32] Speaker 1: Absolutely. Finding your audience. You're in the process.
[24:36] Speaker 2: Are we trying to air simultaneously or are we trying
[24:39] Speaker 2: to just record for future airing?
[24:44] Speaker 3: Both. So I think the groundbreaking thing about this is
[24:48] Speaker 3: that we're doing a vertical series, but also there's going
[24:51] Speaker 3: to be a docuseries. Because I'm a massive fan of
[24:54] Speaker 3: HBO Hard Knocks, how those things come out during the season. Right, right, right.
[24:59] Speaker 3: And our social media account, Soccer DocuSeries, that's where we
[25:04] Speaker 3: have the actual vertical series. We show day in the
[25:08] Speaker 3: life of what the kids are doing. And the docuseries
[25:11] Speaker 3: will be more soccer-focused, and more the overarching story that
[25:15] Speaker 3: we're telling. So the things you see on the docuseries
[25:17] Speaker 3: will get you excited about the program, about the kids,
[25:21] Speaker 3: but the things you see on the docuseries will see,
[25:23] Speaker 3: is this first program going to be successful? Is it
[25:27] Speaker 3: going to fail? Are the coaches going to have problems?
[25:30] Speaker 3: Are the kids going to make it? So those are
[25:31] Speaker 3: the two different formats that we're going through.
[25:34] Speaker 2: Now, roughly my final question is about what does success
[25:38] Speaker 2: ultimately look like for unveiling history? which is the documented
[25:43] Speaker 2: docu-series of the first inaugural team, soccer team, men's and
[25:47] Speaker 2: women for Tuskegee University. What does the ultimate look like?
[25:51] Speaker 2: What does the ultimate success story look like for the documentary,
[25:55] Speaker 2: for the athletes whose stories are being preserved, and for
[25:57] Speaker 2: the larger franchise that you're trying to build here, Brian?
[26:01] Speaker 3: It looks like HBO hard knocks because they go from
[26:05] Speaker 3: teen to teen every single season. So my hope and
[26:09] Speaker 3: prayer is is that other HBCUs will see this soccer
[26:13] Speaker 3: docuseries and say, oh, we can do that. Now we
[26:18] Speaker 3: have the formula. Now we got the blueprint. Tuskegee set
[26:21] Speaker 3: the standard for how to start an HBCU soccer program.
[26:25] Speaker 3: Now we're going to do it. And then I'm just
[26:28] Speaker 3: going to take my blueprint, and then I'm going to
[26:30] Speaker 3: go to Clark Atlanta, and I'm going to go to Selma,
[26:34] Speaker 3: and then I'm going to go to Morehouse, and I'm
[26:36] Speaker 3: going to go to whatever HBCU is going to start
[26:39] Speaker 3: a soccer program. And we're just going to keep doing
[26:42] Speaker 3: this until as many HBCU soccer programs exist as possible,
[26:46] Speaker 3: ultimately culminating in what we believe. I talk to Coach
[26:50] Speaker 3: Tarpley about this all the time. We should be moving
[26:53] Speaker 3: towards an HBCU Cup. that looks like the world cup
[26:58] Speaker 3: meets an HBCU homecoming.
[27:01] Speaker 1: That's how you get your audience.
[27:04] Speaker 2: That's how you get your sponsors because that's a targeted
[27:06] Speaker 2: audience that they all want to have in there and
[27:10] Speaker 2: they're buying a realm, you know, but again, I appreciate
[27:14] Speaker 2: you taking the time for our brother. When I say
[27:16] Speaker 2: frat brother of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated, you know, again,
[27:20] Speaker 2: I'll be down there to see you. But more importantly,
[27:24] Speaker 2: because I want to walk around. I want to come
[27:26] Speaker 2: around and maybe meet some of the players and have
[27:29] Speaker 2: your story told. If you could send me a link,
[27:31] Speaker 2: because I think it's something we should let, because of
[27:34] Speaker 2: the fact that ESPN is coming to broadcast there, we
[27:38] Speaker 2: should have this type of information on the air.
[27:42] Speaker 3: That would be wonderful. That would be wonderful.
[27:44] Speaker 1: Okay, cool. Thank you, my brother. Appreciate you.
[27:46] Speaker 3: Thank you, sir.
[27:46] Speaker 1: Congratulations.
[27:47] Speaker 2: And I'm glad you sent me information to not only
[27:50] Speaker 2: tell your story, but document your story.
[27:53] Speaker 3: All right. I appreciate your time.
[27:55] Speaker 1: Thank you.
[27:56] Speaker 3: Thank you.
[27:57] Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to this episode. Now I need
[27:59] Speaker 1: for you to do me a favor right.
[28:01] Speaker 2: Now to follow or subscribe to Money Making Conversation.
[28:05] Speaker 1: It's free and you can find it on the.
[28:07] Speaker 2: iHeartRadio app, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
[28:13] Speaker 2: Please do me that favor. Follow or subscribe Money Making Conversations.
[28:18] Speaker 1: Keep winning.

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