Meet Tony Malzone

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tony Malzone and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tony, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
When I was younger, I gave up a lot. Not necessarily as a result of failure, but a byproduct of adhd. My moods and interests came and went like the tides. Forever breaking the shores with might and fury, only to dissipate, wash away, and be taken out to sea, never seen again. That’s a dramatic visualization, obviously, but it perfectly encapsulates the feeling of the adhd mind. I like the beach, I mean, it would be hard to find a person who doesn’t, right? But seriously, as I grow up, I find myself there more often. It’s not just the fun place it was as a kid, but something more symbolic, spiritual even. Those waves crashing, that endless sky, and that horizon of nothing. It’s one of the few places I can feel calm and turn off the lights for a bit. I bring this up because we all crash into the shore sometimes, and we retreat, and we inevitably try again when we feel much stronger. Progress is small, like the grain of sand, once a mountain, washed to sea. Why? Because the wave was persistent, it tried, and crashed, it tried, and crashed, but it moved the mountain.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My career started in finance, particularly community development finance, where I worked on behalf of government programs to deploy capital for business resiliency during the pandemic. This followed my academic work, where I took an interest in human development and was fascinated by how finance could change outcomes, and media can shape perceptions. I later took a break from those interests to embark on a much larger journey that I deeply yearned for. I was inspired to serve, and I joined the AmeriCorps. In the AmeriCorps, I became a U.S. Forest Service Sawyer and a wilderness first responder on a conservation corps chainsaw crew. Out there in the backcountry, I began to write more and become more in tune with the beauty and art all around us in the story of our world. This led me to work on the development of a mini-documentary series, to be distributed with a major studio, to tell those extraordinary stories from all around our world, because I realized it’s those simply extraordinary stories that entertain us, and truly enhance our human experience. This project ultimately did not come to fruition, but it catapulted my career to the center of entertainment and production, uniquely following in my grandfather’s footsteps, who spent his whole career in television. Shortly thereafter, I began financing and managing creative projects and working on the set of productions. During that time, I had the privilege of working with a number of celebrity partners such as The Kardashian Family, Selena Gomez, and Kelly Clarkson. I have financed projects starring Morgan Freeman, William Shatner, Nicolas Cage, and Anne Hathaway, and am associated with companies whose clients include Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Zach Bryan, Sabrina Carpenter, Coachella, and Stagecoach Festivals. I have also become associated with many other projects in arts & entertainment, including SoniMalzone with my long-time friend Jay Soni, whom I credit as my original creative partner. Today, my love for talent, story, and the world is prevalent in everything that I do. I’m honored to have had the privilege of working with some of the greatest talents of today, and I look forward to continuing to produce extraordinary creative stories, and those, “You just had to be there” moments.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First off, I’m showing them what SoCal living is all about, and that’s our beautiful coast. We’re gonna spend some time out at El Matador Beach, my favorite beach, and of course, grab some lunch and drinks just down PCH at The Sunset Restaurant. For dinner, we’re staying in Malibu, and we’re heading to Spruzzo, which has some of my favorite pasta in the city! Of course, we’ll also hit the Larchmont farmers market over the weekend, and spend a fun night out on the Sunset Strip. Now you can’t come to SoCal and skip out on LA’s pastime, our Dodgers or Lakers, so of course, we’re doing that as well!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I get to work with some amazing artists, and those artists have some amazing fans, and although they are not my fans, they are fans of the work that we do, and that often makes me feel very loved and appreciated. My biggest fans, however, have always been my parents.

Website: https://TonyMalzone.com

Instagram: https://Instagram.com/tony_malzone

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonymalzone/