NATIONAL NEWS
Aloni on the Move CRYSTAL SWEARINGEN
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It’s truly my honor to introduce you to Aloni Ford. Ms. Ford reached out to The Spot Mag from Los Angeles a month or so ago, after a friend had shared a copy of the issue with her. When preparing for my phone call with Ms. Ford, I was incredibly impressed to learn about her myriad of accomplishments, and I knew this dynamic woman MUST be our next feature! What a pleasure to talk to this lady who has had success in Real Estate, Fund Raising, Sports Management, and TV Production, and is now the founder of an amazingly inspiring book club called “Yacht Girl Book Club.” I hope you enjoy her story, as it was so exciting to have the opportunity to learn about this LA woman that’s truly ON THE MOVE!!
How did you get started as a Sports Manager and Producer? Ten years ago I left my corporate Real Estate job to follow my passion as a filmmaker. I called it “filming on faith” and spent the Summer of 2009 creating shows by myself. Ironically, I met Nick Young over the NBA Lockout, and he was so kind to allow me to film his life in the off-season. While filming him, I met his teammate/bestfriend JaVale McGee and got to film both of them training. I quickly turned that into the “Nick and JaVale Show” on YouTube which instantly went viral, and I developed a name for myself. A few months later, I filmed JaVale signing his big contract with the Denver Nuggets along with his family. I then created the show “Mom’s Got
Game” which soon after sold to OWN and was distributed by my partner Sony. After the show went off air, I began managing JaVale and ten years and two championships later I’m still here in Sports Management and producing shows.
As a woman in what I perceive as a male dominated industry, what are some challenges you have experienced? It’s funny, as much as we’ve grown as a culture, I still occasionally experience males having a hard time accepting that I’m their equal. I’ve experienced a male asking me for my client’s agent info. after doing ALL of the work on a deal, or asking ‘Who’s his manager?’ or even referring to me as the ‘assistant.’ Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with being an assistant, but demoting someone’s title because of their gender is unnecessary and unacceptable.
As a story teller, can you share one or multiple incidents that you felt really propelled you to where you are currently in your career? For example, did you make connections in college that allowed you to begin on this journey and develop relationships that have fostered your growth? And, what do you turn to for motivation (internal or external) when starting new projects” In my early twenties, I worked for Joyce Rey, one
