We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ashley Durham. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ashley below.

Ashley, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you have any thoughts about how to create a more inclusive workplace?

In the entertainment and media world there is a lot to overcome. From diversity and racial equality to mental health and physical well-being. We have come some ways since the days of drugging Judy Garland to be the right ‘fit’ for the non-human acting roll in The Wizard of Oz. Britany Spears being a real life slave, Harvey Weinstein and his sex crimes. There is still major room for improvement as we can all agree that we want ourselves and our kids getting into the film industry to be safe.

Also, a major anthem that is in the industry is that so many are tired of a few gate keepers naming their price for others to sacrifice themselves on the alter of entertainment.

Many misconceptions are out there that have been perpetuated by the industry for years. Example: “Women do not sell films” “As long as you have a token racial interest in a film it’s ok” “Sex sells”. Avatar and Avengers Endgame are the largest grossing films in the industry and there is no sex, there is major racial diversity and women lead characters.

As a CEO of my own talent and film brokering company with the future film funding platform, I am working really hard to make change for diversity and wellbeing in the industry, giving the power back to the individual artist.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I was a model and got into post production at the same time. Covid hit and the world shut down. So I decided to create my own media company for talent and connections. Adding in the brokering side as it just came along with everything else.

I grew up on a farm in PA and worked for various corporate jobs till I became a post producer.

I Started my company Malibash in 2021. Malibash comes from my daughters middle name and her and my first name. She is the reason I am building my company. I wanted my company to make a difference for diversity and equality in the industry. We connect films with money, cast locations and more. We also help people find media professionals to work with for various projects. We are there as much as we can for the media professionals. We try to personal relationships with them, spotlighting them on our show if they want and connect them with opportunities. We are launch this spring our new film funding platform that combines muli-billion dollar industries to fund films.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Getting into the field of film and entertainment I never thought that conn artists were so good or abundant. People that you actually think trustworthy over time become some of the biggest traps and dangers. I also never thought that I would ever have a gun pulled on me multiple times.

I am one of those people that does all the research and back story before doing anything and even despite that I have had near death experiences and been duped by some of the best conn artists in the biz. Conn artists that others make fun of me for getting involved with, but then later get involved by people just like them because they are so real, genuine, and ‘normal’.

Having a gun pulled on me multiple times was new and having it done by a producer that was supposedly cool I think really opened my eyes up to the entertainment industry. It helped me realize that some of the worst things hid in this industry. People said that this producer was great (but I later learned that he was great to the people who hardly knew him or who where deeply intrenched in the business) and that he was the coolest person they had worked with until I dug deeper and then found out most people hated his guts due to non-payment, bad work practices, hard temper and would threaten people all the time and that he would try to bed any sexy girl that walked.

Because he was in the industry he somehow got away with it no matter what because he could always say that ‘well that person is a bitch because they where trying to use me for this’ or ‘I have been in the industry for years and they have no idea what they are doing’. He also knew how to play well to the big people so that he went undetected for years.
I later learned that there was a string of “suicides” related to this person and that he could conn the brightest mind and play good for years. It was by far the wildest thing I have ever seen and after talking to many people in the industry they felt the same.

Despite all of that I came out alive, started my own company that in less than a year was creating a profit. Not only that, but we have plans to launch a new mulit-billion dollar platform, and media expo. I have been nominated for Forbes, written two books, was nominated to be written-up in this awesome publication (thank you! N.D.). I have been honored to meet and work with some amazing people in the industry as well. Just a reminder that the dark times do not define you, get out and show them who’s boss.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

BE YOUR-SELF. Realize that the bullies/haters have their own issues and that you will have natural things in your life that seem to hold you back, but you can move on despite it all. Get to that place where you realize we are all different and no one has the monopoly on being better than anyone else.

The other biggest thing is do what you say you are going to do. I am not a fan of not following through and if I don’t on something there is usually a major reason as to why.

Networking. This is the life blood of a business but who I do it is different than most. I offer help to people and through helping them I help the next person that gets me to the next person and the next…It’s like a first person player in a game where you have a main mission and end up helping everyone along the way that eventually has a piece of the puzzle that gets you to the end. Don’t get me wrong I do my best to stay in my niche while doing this otherwise it would just take me no where. The people I have met along the way are surprising it’s always the ones I underestimate that end up being the most influential.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.malibash.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missymay45/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/malibashllc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-durham-83580a7b/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Malibashllc
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2q7_JqBqvppeTST4oQOa3Q
• Other: you can contact me at ashleydurham@malibash.com

Image Credits
MISSILE STUDIO – professional photos