We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Haroun-Raschid Cole a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Haroun-Raschid, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I first wanted to pursue my career in TV Hosting (specifically Game Show Hosting and producing) at the age of four years old. From the first time I ever saw “The Price is Right”, “Press Your Luck”, “Wheel of Fortune”, “High Rollers” and “Card Sharks” to name a few, I was forever enamored with the genre. I have always wanted to host, create and produce game shows. It was only being let go from my regular day-to-day job, after nearly six years, and being 6-months out from my then 30th birthday, that I decided to go after my career in Television Hosting.

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 am a born and bred Angeleno. I lived in Los Angeles my entire life. First generation US-born African whose parents are originally from Sierra Leone, West Africa. I grew up loving everything about TV hosts and always wanted to do what I saw Bob Barker, Peter Tomarken, Pat Sajak, Alex Trebek, Wink Martingdale as a child (and later as a teen) Bill Bellamy, Ananda Lewis, Carson Daly, Ryan Seacrest were doing.

I started my career in radio, hosting a weekly indie music countdown series entitled the “inDspotlight Countdown: Weekly Top 20”. After training and learning how to produce a regular series. My show 30-min premiered in the middle of the night at 2AM. After two-months, the show was then moved to Saturdays at 10AM and expanded to an hour. After 8 months, it was picked up for syndication airing on 4 stations across the country and streaming across the world. This radio was the predecessor to the weekly televised version “inDspotlight Countdown: Weekly Top 10 Music Videos”.

I will always give kudos to my mentor, Jonathan Novack (Fox 11 – Los Angeles), for not only teaching me what it takes to be a professional presence on camera, but for being willing to take the time to help a

I am proud of growing my pursuit of a dream career into a licensed television production company. Named after my original radio show, inDspotlight Productions LLC caters to the world of independent entertainment. From music to film, television to live events, inDspotlight™ has been a company that has helped local artists and businesses promote themselves in a way that was never accessible to them. We have television, live streaming, concert and commercial services available to all. inDspotlight Productions LLC has been the broadcast production team behind such events like the Oscar® Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival, The 2016 Soul Train Cruise and the inaugural Mammoth Film Festival, providing original television series programming, award broadcast and live streaming. My goal has always been to shine a light on indie entertainment.

In 2023, inDspotlight Productions LLC launched 2 new divisions: 1) our official inDtv | inDspotlight Television® Roku channel. Showcasing the world of independent music videos, film, business and more on its “ALL inD™, ALL the TIME!” on inDtv®. If you are an indie content creator, inDtv. 2) Live Streaming by inDspotlight™ providing the best in live events & digital broadcasting.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Like many in entertainment, I have received more NO’s than YES’s when auditioning and/or pitching. However, in my career journey, I have managed to work on various projects in various roles in production. I have been in front of and behind the camera and have taken every firsthand experience and adapted what I have learned for my company. I made it a point to create and learn from every gig and every person I have work with. I would love to say the journey has been an easy one and I have achieved all of my goals, but that is far from the case. Every no, every denial, every reset has been a learning experience that I had to use to build, not only my company but my own self-confidence.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

As noted earlier, I have wanted to be a Game Show Host since the age of 4. I have always been enthralled with the world of TV Game Shows. It has always been the one form of entertainment that always brings people together to have a good time and potentially change their lives for the better. I have pushed myself towards going after this dream career for over a decade, only to have been looked over for a multitude of reasons. That has not deterred me in the slightest. After working on various projects and networking over the years, I have been tapped to create, produce and host my first game show. Details coming soon on our inDspotlight website. A running joke amongst those close to me, has been that I more than likely host my own game show before I get hired to host one. Well, that joke is becoming reality, as my team is currently in pre-production for our first game show from inDtv | inDspotlight Television®.

I hope that everyone who reads this knows that your own personal drive is what’s going to keep you moving. Be your own biggest cheerleader and motivate yourself to keep that drive going, because when you reach those milestones, you’ll want to enjoy those accomplishments and not just let them pass by.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.inDspotlight.net
• Roku: inDtv | inDspotlight Television®
• Instagram: @mrhrcole @indspotlight @indlivestream @indspotlighttelevision @indspotlightcountdown
• Facebook: facebook.com/inDspotlight
• Linkedin: @MrHRCole
• Twitter: @inDspotlight @indspotlighttelevision @MrHRCole

Image Credits
All images taken by Carmen Rocio Carrera. Dark Silhouette Purple Shirt taken by Zachariah Schmitt