We’re looking forward to introducing you to Ben Reed. Check out our conversation below.
Hi Ben, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
My wife is pregnant with our second child, another daughter, due in January. After years of trying for a second child, God’s blessing and grace have put a lot of joy in our hearts for this new life entering the world. We are really grateful.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Blazing Bull Productions is a boutique content creation company operating mainly in the sports world. We produce everything from social media videos to long form documentaries – all from concept to completion. Currently, this is the fall, so we are producing a ton of golf content. We just delivered the 2025 PGA Championship Official Film and are gearing up for our third Ryder Cup – the biggest golf event in the world. But we are always looking to partner up with new clients on interesting projects, sports or otherwise.
As for me personally, I’m an 20 year veteran in the sports and entertainment production industry, have been honored with 3 National Sports Emmy Awards and 9 nominations. I helped redefine how NASCAR was presented to the masses and worked on staff with PGA Tour Originals before founding Blazing Bull Productions.
I have been a story producer or editor on several high profile projects like “All or Nothing: A Season with the Michigan Wolverines,” on Prime Video; “Shaq Life” on TNT, “Coach Snoop” on Netflix and “1989: The Year that Made Us” on National Geographic, among others.
My work has been featured on every major sports and entertainment channel as well as multiple streaming platforms. And Blazing Bull is continuing that legacy.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
That everything I touch turns to gold. Now that might seem arrogant, but trust me it isn’t. I had a lot of success early on in life and in my career. And while I used to think I had a lot to do with that, what I realized was that God blessed me with great teams. I got to work and learn from some of the best to ever do it. And since that time I’ve not found success as easy as it once was – or I thought it was. But, that has taught me to fight, to be resilient and to never give up. Which are much better qualities to have in life. And all skills that must be learned the hard way to truly stick. And all skills necessary to create and operate a successful business. Life isn’t always easy or fair, but with the proper outlook, navigating the speed bumps are definitely easier.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
Right before my company took off, I was trying to partner with a marketing company in town to provide marketing videos to their clients. And most of their clients were smaller companies looking to get the word out. I knew they didn’t have a ton of resources for video but I wanted to provide a lot of value for them. There was a tree trimming service in town that we prepared a deck to help their marketing. I was basically doing the video at cost – and had enlisted some of my friends from a major sports league to help out for a reduced fee on their way to a sporting event in the area. I desperately wanted to consistently produce our own projects after about five years or so of effort. I was like, I’m basically doing this marketing video for free, how could they say no? Well, they did, and I was dumbfounded. It made me question everything. I was at my wit’s end and just prayerfully asked what the heck do I have to do?? Well, a week later we got a small national commercial spot and the rest is history. Blazing Bull Productions was off and running. The moral of the story is to never give up. Believe in yourself, embrace the “no’s” and keep trying. And every time I see a tree service in the neighborhood, it brings me back to that moment and I’m filled with gratitude. If I hadn’t gone through that, things wouldn’t have turned out like they did.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What important truth do very few people agree with you on?
In this current climate I would say integrity. Being committed, doing what you say you are going to do and taking responsibility for your actions – good or bad. These truths are fundamental to everything that I do and how I run my business. With texting and all the electronic communication it is so easy to bail last minute or to ghost people all together. I have a lot of demands on my time, so I am selective on my commitments. So if I commit my time or my family’s time, come hell or high water, we will be there. I also feel that people are taking less and less responsibility for their actions – whether it be companies not doing the right thing, or public figures giving all sorts of excuses or in providing feedback to an employee – everyone wants to take the credit when things are good and crickets when things don’t go as well. We should be just as quick to say my bad, it won’t happen again, as we are to receive praise and adulation. That’s integrity. That’s how you build trust and respect.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
I tell our clients you get the same effort from us for a :30sec social media video or a long form documentary. That is true and I am proud of that. A lot of companies mail in smaller projects that don’t get the glitz and glam, but I believe the way you operate in small things is the way you’ll operate when big things come along. So that is important to me. And, we work in such a subjective business and you have so many people with different thoughts and ideas providing feedback for the work that we do that you have to create a healthy baseline or you’ll go insane. My philosophy has always been that I get a project to where I am happy with it, before I share it with clients. I make it for me. I don’t make something based on what I think the client will like. And if I’m happy with it, foundationally, then no matter what the finished product ends up being, I’m content. And I can make non-emotional decisions or comments to the client. People are going to call your baby ugly all the time in the content world, that’s the norm. So the quicker you can get unemotional about it, the better.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.blazingbull.net
- Instagram: @blazingbullprod
- Linkedin: Ben Reed
- Twitter: @blazingbullprod
- Youtube: Blazing Bull Productions
