We recently connected with Darryl Reynolds and have shared our conversation below.

Darryl, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

To answer the question, yes, I am happier as a creative. I believe, like a lot of creatives these days, I had a vision for what life was going to be before I completely jumped in. But unlike most creatives, I was forced into my creative career in a way that felt just as traumatic as it was liberating. In 2018, I came back to my home in Philadelphia and immediately started working on basketball skills with the single-minded goal of making the NBA. I had a successful rookie season over in Poland and my professional career seemed poised to take off. After I got hurt, I started hosting shows, broadcasting for sports and taking public speaking gigs to past the time(and eat) until I got back on the court.

In Poland, I used my days off to practice screen writing in a local cafe and had this grand scheme of how I’m going to unleash the creative side of myself, little by little as I continued to grow as a pro. Like most athletes, my on court persona was like my superhero(or villain) alter ego. But in the cafe, I was Clark Kent and I was more at peace in those moments than I ever was on the court. Within my media career, every job I did, every new piece of content I released help validate this feeling that maybe I had things backwards when I put writing on the back burner and basketball to the forefront. So I kept praying for guidance while working and eventually it hit me that basketball was a thing, but not everything.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

While I was overseas during my first and only professional season, I watched my former teammates and coaches at Villanova march to another NCAA National Championship. I kept wondering why the interviews were so boring and why wouldn’t XY or Z ask the players more fun and personal questions. Then I realized I could do it, I just needed help to pull off the vision I had for it. So when I got back, I went to one of my professors, Hezekiah Lewis, and he helped me gather several students to create ‘Stay Tuned with D.Rey’. The idea was to make a late-night style talk show where I brought on my former teammates and coaches.

After that, it was pivot after pivot. I started coaching then eased into broadcasting and even wrote for local sports outlets while I hosted events. Anything I could get my hands on, I tried for the sake of figuring out what brought me the same joy basketball did.

In 2021, I got the opportunity to do a Ted Talk on my alma mater’s campus and later that summer, I expanded the talk into my first book “What if The World Stopped Complaining about Mondays?” and released it in the fall. That summer while writing the book, I got a chance to be on set for Netflix’s ‘Hustle’ starring Adam Sandler and Anthony Edwards. I had this surreal moment one day on set where it all came together: I’m supposed to use the best parts of both my athletic and creative mind. So, after we wrapped, I packed up my truck and drove across the country to Los Angeles to learn show business, on the job.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

The best thing people can do for artists/creatives is give grace through realizing that we’re people, and people that grow rapidly at that. So many times, you hear about people that got trapped in a creative outlet and that same tool that liberated them became a prison for one facet of their personality. I think if people realize that creativity is based in chaos, they can give grace and accept that their favorite artist will undoubtedly change. If that change is embraced, that person can continue to help themselves and their audience through their gifts…but that comes with accepting that you may not always be considered “their audience”.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Progress through Empathy. If I had to sum it up to a phrase, that would be it. This world is going to become such a better place when people stop and think ‘wait, I don’t know what that person’s going through, so let me pause before I react’.

Contact Info:

• Website: staytunednetwork.com
• Instagram: reythewriter
• Linkedin: Darryl “Rey” Reynolds

Image Credits
@photobyjamaal