From Humble Beginnings to Media Mogul

Rushion McDonald grew up in the Fifth Ward district of Houston, Texas, as the middle child of nine with six sisters and two brothers. Despite his humble beginnings, he learned to never let other people’s expectations limit his dreams or opportunities. From an early age, McDonald understood how to make money, whether it was selling photos of couples at parties in high school or making pizzas in his dorm room in college. Rushion attended the University of Houston and studied Mathematics and Sociology, degrees which would later fuel his success in marketing and branding. While still in college, he served as an Administrative Accountant at IBM, a position only intended to be semester-long, but which grew into a five year career.

During McDonald’s final years at IBM, he tried his hand at standup comedy. Winning the title of Showtime’s “Funniest Person in Texas” for three consecutive years, Rushion went on to compete for “Funniest Person in America,” only losing in the finals to Ellen DeGeneres. In 1986, McDonald met Steve Harvey, who was his opening act. Over the next few years, McDonald fully realized Harvey’s true talent and passion, so McDonald put his standup comedy career aside and jumped at the opportunity to become a writer on Harvey’s new ABC show called Me and the Boys. Within the next 30 years, McDonald and Harvey would build a media empire that included the #1 syndicated Steve Harvey Morning Show, #1 new syndicated Steve Harvey Talk Show series, and #1 syndicated Family Feud game show series; three consecutives #1 New York Times Best Selling books Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man, Straight Talk, No Chaser and Act Like A Success, and Think Like A Success; and finally #1 blockbuster movies Think Like a Man and Think Like a Man Too.

Today Rushion McDonald is a motivating entrepreneur and brand architect holding the titles of a two-time Emmy Award Winning TV Producer and three-time NAACP Image Award Winner. Rushion launched his 3815 Media company now representing top talent like Stephen A. Smith from ESPN and CNN Legal Analyst Areva Martin. Rushion hosts a popular iHeart Media podcast called Money Making Conversations, with guests like ABC’s The Good Doctor actor, Hill Harper; NFL Hall of Fame Pro Deion Sanders; Bishop TD Jakes; actor Morris Chestnut; TV host and entrepreneur Nick Cannon, CNN’s Van Jones; comedian and actor Cedric The Entertainer, five-time Grammy Award-winning Gospel singer Yolanda Adams and many more. Rushion is also the Chief Marketing Officer for the Air National Guard national account.  He oversees the Recruitment and Retention campaign in the 50 United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and Washington, DC.  Rushion manages the media budget, ad placement buys and creative development; which covers the Air National Guard’s print, digital, out of home, YouTube, OTT, syndicated radio and national television productions.  He is also responsible for producing 135 Air National Guard Live Recruiting Events throughout the US and four of its territories.  McDonald enjoys being the Brand Ambassador for the Perfect Bake Pro Scale, which pairs a smart scale with a companion recipe app on your phone or tablet. It measures as you pour and guides you step-by-step to make mouth-watering desserts, loaves of bread, appetizers, and has a downloadable Perfect Bake app filled with 80 of his original homemade baking recipes.