By: Sarah Donley
“Focus on it. follow the plan, and it will expand.”
For Darrick Rizzo, everything is an opportunity. He has turned pain into purpose and no’s into yes’s. Rizzo is an entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and author from Pennsylvania. He owns his own video production company and is the executive producer for Master P and Snoop Dogg. However, Rizzo’s success was not a result of luck. Rizzo saw a plan, he stuck to that plan, and his plan expanded.
“kobe bryant started my multi-million dollar company.”
Rizzo’s entrepreneurial journey began at a young age of 23 years old. At this age, he was experiencing depression after a downfall in life. Even after majoring in sociology with a minor in criminal justice, Rizzo just did not want to do anything. However, Kobe Bryant’s lowest scoring game ended up being Rizzo’s uplift in life.
In 2003, Rizzo watched Kobe score 36 points during a playoff game against the San Antonio Spurs. Rizzo thought, “Wait a minute. I am the only one in the world to hold Kobe Bryant to his lowest score of eight points. Why can’t I be on TV?” Rizzo was determined, and he had the plan to let everyone know that he shut Kobe down. In order to follow the plan, Rizzo had to find the video of his game against Kobe. The problem was the game occurred in the 90’s, so it was on a VHS tape. This did not stop Rizzo. In fact, this is when Rizzo learned the power of networking. He went to his old high school and coach, but they did not have the tape. He would ask others in the community if they knew of where to find it. It took Rizzo eight months to learn that a boy in high school at the time had the tape. Rizzo went to the boy’s house to retrieve the tape but then realized that it had to be converted to his laptop. It took him months to learn this new skill of converting and editing, but it was something he wanted to do, so he did it.
One day, Keystone State Games was hosting a basketball tournament, where Rizzo attended and showed off his converted and edited tape of him shutting Kobe down. Within hours, a coach approached Rizzo and asked, “Who made the video?” After Rizzo told the coach he made it himself, the coach asked Rizzo to make his team’s highlight video. Rizzo agreed, and his hobby of editing videos turned into a career. Following this interaction, Rizzo went into business mode and established an LLC. In addition to editing, Rizzo began filming athletes, which was not part of the plan. However, since Rizzo stuck to his initial plan, it expanded.
Predictable legal landscape”Networking is key – you have to have great communication skills and great personality.”
Rizzo was meeting people constantly as a result of his video business, and his great personality scored him another business. One day, a man asked Rizzo to teach his team defense since he shut Kobe down. Rizzo thought that this was another avenue, which he was going to focus on now. He started “D’em Up,” another LLC, in which he would go to schools all over the country and host basketball clinics focused strictly on defense. Rizzo’s training videos eventually ended up on Championship Productions, an internationally recognized industry leader in instructional videos featuring top coaches and athletes. However, Rizzo received a call one day from Kobe’s lawyer because Kobe’s father said that no one ever shut Kobe down, and Rizzo’s video was only an edited highlight. Rizzo was determined to prove Kobe’s father wrong. He found the box score and called Kobe’s lawyer apologizing. Rizzo didn’t hold Kobe to eight points; he held him to seven.
According to Rizzo, networking is the key to success. Rizzo made it a point to collect business cards from people he met and would place those cards in an album. At the time, he was working on his book, “Open Adoption: A Birth Father’s Journey,” detailing his story of how he was forced to give up his only son for adoption. While he was writing his book in 2009, he watched The Blindside, and thought, “Wow, I really want Michael Oher to read my book when it is done.” He then remembered that he collected a business card that had the Baltimore Ravens’ logo on it. He searched his album book and found the card, which ended up being the Chief of Security for the Baltimore Ravens. He called the man, used his personality, and told him, “I need Michael Oher.” The next night, Rizzo was at the Baltimore Ravens’ hotel, where he got Michael Oher to write the foreword of his book.
“I am a soldier.”
Rizzo embodies strength and persistence. Since he was a young boy, he turned negatives into positives; that’s just who he is. After experiencing the death of his sister and other loved ones, Rizzo started writing music and developed a CD. His cousin, a consultant and mediator in Los Angeles, told Rizzo to come out for an event to show his CD to celebrities. According to Rizzo, “When someone gives you an opportunity in life, you have to run with it.” Or, in basketball terms, “If someone throws you an alley oop, you dunk it.” Rizzo was not scared. He confidently approached Snoop Dogg at this event telling him about his CD, but Snoop Dogg said no. Rizzo was not offended; he did not care. Instead, he replied, “One day I am going to work with you Snoop.” Rizzo’s statement proved true 25 years later.
Rizzo explained, “I am a believer of speaking things into existence.” During his high school days and before games he would always say, “I am a solider. Another game. Another war. My army is coming with me, and we are taking everyone down.” When Rizzo started getting into music, he heard a song with the lyrics, “I’m a no limit soldier.” The artist ended up being Master P.
Twenty years following Snoop Dogg’s “no,” the same cousin called Rizzo into his office where Master P would be. Here, Rizzo got on Facebook Live and challenged Master P to a one-on-one competition. Master P accepted the challenge, and following their game, Rizzo offered to film Master P’s kids because they were playing basketball. Master P accepted, but it seemed like he “ghosted” Rizzo. He would not return Rizzo’s calls and would only respond to texts once in a while. However, Rizzo did not give up. Eight months later, Rizzo texted Master P, informing him that he developed a livestreaming company, and therefore could livestream his kids’ games so that he could watch them on the road. Master P immediately called Rizzo and asked him to livestream the games the next week.
“Persistence pays off,” said Rizzo. “Most people would have given up after eight months.” Rizzo was filming for Master P for three years, when Master P said to Rizzo, “Rizzo, you know in the beginning when you thought I was ghosting you? What I was just doing was building a relationship with you.” During the fourth year of filming, Master P took Rizzo to Snoop Dogg.
“You are who you surround yourself with.”
Another challenge Rizzo experienced in life was the challenge of planking. One day at the gym, him and his cousin were challenging each other in different lifts and activities. Thereafter, Rizzo was going around challenging people to who could hold the “plank” the longest. Rizzo had a record of 70-0 in these challenges, and he would say, “I am King Kong.” He even began mixing Gatorade and soda and calling it “Kong Juice.”
During this time, Rizzo was constantly around Master P, who began heavily focused on creating products. Rizzo considered Master P his mentor and coach. Thus, he was able to develop Master P’s mindset. He came up with the idea of developing an energy drink and calling it “King Kongin Energy Drink.” Now, Master P and Snoop Dogg are the Brand Ambassadors of this company.
According to Rizzo, “You are who you surround yourself with, so if you surround yourself with entrepreneurs, then you are going to come up with ideas. If you surround yourself with someone who is not doing anything, then you are going to be stuck.”
“I am grateful to be blessed.”
Rizzo would not call himself lucky. Instead, he would call himself blessed. Before his “Kobe idea,” he would volunteer at the local church, where he would wash dishes and help prepare food for the disadvantaged. Rizzo even bought the church a pickup truck to be used to transport food. He believes strongly in giving back to the community. Despite his explosive success, Rizzo continues to find the time to give back to his local church. When COVID-19 began, Rizzo would pre-record church sessions every Sunday for two years straight. He also handles all of the church’s social media. To the public, Rizzo is a blessing.
I had the opportunity of working with Rizzo when I was in high school. Rizzo filmed my basketball games and created a highlight tape that I could send to colleges. Thanks to Rizzo, I fulfilled my lifelong dream of playing basketball in college at Shenandoah University. After learning about Rizzo and his entrepreneurial journey, I knew that it was one to tell. Rizzo has proven to be a blessing to all, and I am thankful to know him. He serves as an exemplary example of what it means to find a plan and stick to it. This blog post cannot highlight all of his stories and his successes. Rizzo has a book coming out this year, explaining in detail his entrepreneurial journey called, “Focus on it. Stick to the Plan. And It will Expand.” I am excited to read his book and gain even more knowledge from such an amazing person.
Sarah Donley, at the time of this post, is a 3L at Penn State Dickinson Law. She has a BBA in Economics & Finance with minors in Entrepreneurship and Psychology from Shenandoah University. Sarah currently serves as an Articles Editor on the Dickinson Law Review. In May 2023, Sarah will be receiving her J.D. from Penn State Dickinson Law and her LL.M. in European Business Law from Radboud University.
Sources:
https://darrickrizzo.com/
Links to Rizzo’s “The Option Adoption: A Birth Father’s Journey”:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-open-adoption-darrick-c-rizzo/1120371309
www.amazon.com/Open-Adoption-Birth-Fathers-Journey/dp/0578151413