We recently connected with Abby Alonzo and have shared our conversation below.

Abby, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

As a sports reporter who doubles as a business owner with a passion for fitness, health and wellness and personal growth, I want to be remembered for making the people around me better. I believe our perspectives of ourselves and our circumstances indicate who we become and the life we build. My mission is to connect with others on a deeper level to believe they’re capable of becoming the best version of themselves. I strive to use my platforms to inspire others to bet on themselves, to relentlessly chase their dreams and to find a way to get 1% better every day. No one can say I don’t work hard and that I’m not ambitious. I think there is so much power in standing in who you are, going after what you want and letting nothing stop you.

Abby, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I broke into the sports media world when I was sixteen, taking it upon myself to reach out to collegiate and professional athletes for interviews and starting my own website. From there, I said “yes” to every opportunity I was offered — traveling with Laura Okmin’s GALvanize organization to interview players from the Atlanta Falcons and the San Francisco 49ers, sideline reporting and color commentating for CST, VSN-Louisiana and TCL TV, on-field emceeing for the Acadiana Cane Cutters and the Baton Rouge Rougarou, working as an MMJ for Tiger TV and even passing out stat sheets in the New Orleans Saints Press Box for a few seasons.

I’m not only an on-air host for Valley Vision, an LSU Sports and Culture show, but I will soon become the majority owner of Culture Media, a media company innovating the industry by creating unique and unconventional content by delving deeper into personalities of our guests, providing the space and services for those looking to share their journeys and connecting with the community on a more personable level.

Our team is spear-headed by Anthony Ranaudo, a former professional athlete turned successful entrepreneur and Robbie Olivier and Eric Mistretta, lucrative partners with extensive experience navigating the business world. We’re made up of well-connected, very experienced, highly successful and hungry individuals who wholeheartedly believe in providing opportunity for others. And with our vast network of connections and diverse perspectives and skills, we are well- positioned to open doors, forge pathways and positively impact the media industry and the lives of those whose stories we share.

Yes, I have a wealth of experience in various roles within the media industry, and I believe I bring a wide range of skills to the table, including personable storytelling, sports knowledge, and production operations. But my ambition, adaptability, and eagerness to learn have made me an invaluable asset to the teams I’ve been a part of. I’m driven, but I also believe my relatability and personality is what makes me stand out.

I believe in the power of vulnerability — being real and talking about hardships, challenges and failures. And I think THAT is what people desire. We all want to connect, to be seen and to build our platforms and write our stories with like-minded people. That’s our mission at Culture Media, and that’s the foundation I hope to build my legacy on.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

To be transparent, I’ve had to exemplify resilience many times throughout my journey, as many people have, and it’s been difficult. Most recently, I was given a huge decision to make. The company I had moved back home from Dallas to work for was not profitable. We had to shut it down. The initial shock was terrifying. What now? I changed my entire life to build this company, and we were at the end of the line.

I could have easily jumped ship and found another job in the sports world. But I believed in the company and the vision too much to move on. Instead, I doubled down– on my boss, on the vision and on myself. I was the only one standing from our previous staff, but I wasn’t leaving. I’d figure it out. For almost two months, he and I locked in, working around the clock, wearing many different hats, because we believed in the company so much. It paid off. People began to see the vision. Sponsors and investors wanted in, aspiring sports media students volunteered, clients began reaching out to use our services. And through my commitment, I was offered majority ownership of the media company.

There is still a lot of work to be done. But the ground we’ve covered in five months is impressive. To be very honest, I surprised myself. I had no previous experience in some of the roles I was taking on, much less running an entire business. But I did it. It was hard, to say the least, but I leaned on the people in my corner and mustered up the inner power I knew I had to keep moving forward. I found a way.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

Anthony Ranaudo and I met a few years ago when I was a broadcast student at LSU. I was working on a story about then LSU pitcher Jaden Hill and Anthony was mentoring him, so I reached out for an interview. He agreed, and the interview went incredibly well. After that, we began to follow each other’s journeys.

Last year, I moved to Dallas and took a job as an On-Air Host for a digital media network, covering the Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints and Cincinnati Bengals. I was unfulfilled in that role and decided to part ways with the company; the day after my last day of work, Anthony called me, asking if I was available to do some freelance. When I told him I was actually looking for work, we began to build a vision.

I moved back to Baton Rouge, LA to join the Culture Media team and launch Valley Vision.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://alonzosports.com
• Instagram: abbigailalonzo
• Facebook: Abbigail Alonzo
• Linkedin: Abby Alonzo
• Twitter: abbigail_alonzo
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ValleyVision/featured

Image Credits

Trevor Dunne
Kylie Kissinger
Jack Ballard