Dear Family,
I like to keep my ear to the ground when it comes to the culture—the collective community that has formed around Black music, film, television, sports, social media, business, and everything in between.
Over the last couple of months, I’ve been following the story of Ryan Clark.
For those who aren’t familiar with him, Ryan is a former NFL safety who played 13 seasons in the league, won a Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and eventually became one of the most recognizable personalities in sports media. He spent more than a decade at ESPN while also building The Pivot Podcast alongside former NFL players Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder.
Then, in July, Ryan’s run at ESPN came to an abrupt end.
ESPN included his departure in a broader round of cuts at the company, but Ryan has been very clear that he believes he was fired. What made the situation especially difficult was the way he learned about it: while he was working, during a commercial break of NFL Live. You can watch Ryan talk about the experience himself in his conversation on The Pivot and, more recently, in his interview with The Breakfast Club.
Whatever you think about ESPN’s decision, I can imagine how difficult that moment must have been. Ryan had spent roughly 11 years building a career there. He had won an Emmy. He had relationships, routines, and an identity tied to that work.
Then one day, it was over.
That is where his story gets interesting to me. Once some of the initial shock wore off, Ryan suddenly had something he probably hadn’t had in years: space. Space to think about what he wanted to build next.
Less than two months later, he launched The Pivot Sports with Ryan Clark, a weekly football show alongside Fred and Channing, produced in partnership with NFL Films.
The irony is hard to miss. After losing his seat at ESPN, Ryan and his team built their own show with NFL Films—the same legendary production company that has spent decades documenting professional football.
But the story didn’t stop there.
The Pivot has also entered into a multiyear agreement with Netflix. And this week, Pivot25 Productions, the company Ryan co-founded with producer Alicia Zubikowski, announced that former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz had joined the company as an investor and strategic partner.
I find all of this incredibly inspiring, particularly as an entrepreneur.
We all have to make pivots in life. But pivots around our work can feel especially painful because so many of us find meaning in what we do. Our careers become intertwined with our identities. Our businesses become extensions of ourselves.
I’ve known business owners who struggled deeply after selling companies they spent decades building.
On paper, they won. They received the check. But money doesn’t automatically replace purpose. After spending ten, twenty, or thirty years building something through sacrifice, stress, missed dinners, sleepless nights, and countless setbacks, waking up the next morning without it can leave an enormous hole.
That is why losing something can sometimes create the space required to discover what comes next.
Ryan could have spent the next several months talking about ESPN. Instead, he started building.
I don’t know where The Pivot Sports or Pivot25 ultimately goes. None of us do. There are no guarantees in business or in life.
But I love what the story represents.
Sometimes the thing that feels like the end of the road is simply the moment when the road changes direction. So, Family, if you’re going through a difficult season right now, don’t be afraid to pivot. Give yourself permission to mourn what you lost, but don’t become so attached to what was that you miss what could be.
There may be a new opportunity waiting around the corner. You just have to be willing to pivot
From LUX, With Love
Matt
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