Meet Hammad Zaidi of Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hammad Zaidi.

Hi Hammad, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Circa: Lahore, Pakistan, 1968. I rolled off a bed and landed on my head as a six-month-old, which made me moderately disabled instantly. It was the most significant event of my life because it got me to America within months and, more importantly, made me who I am. Then, in 1973, I found a UCLA snowcap buried in the snow during recess in kindergarten in Kansas. After turning the beanie in to lost and found, something I only did because a rigid teacher with no tolerance for indifference made me, I got to take the beanie home after nobody claimed it. When I asked my parents what UCLA was, they told me it was a school in Los Angeles where it’s always warm and Sunny, with beaches, oceans, palm trees, and Hollywood. I was hooked, and soon thereafter, I began dreaming of attending the UCLA School of Film. In fact, I would wait until my family went to bed, then go to the kitchen and get a plate and a salad fork. I’d proceed to our sofa and pretend it was a Porsche 911. The dish would become my “steering wheel,” and the salad fork was my “stick shift.” I’d drive around Los Angeles with UCLA Film School Alumni license plate frames on my car until I went home to my beach house. I had that daydream for years, and always believed every aspect of it would come true. Amazingly, it all did.

When I was seven, I watched a documentary on the clubbing of harp seals. All snow-white pups perished except for one called “The Lonely Seal.” The name stuck. Then, when I was 12, I realized that even if I didn’t have a disability, my 5’4″ frame would never quarterback the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl. I’d never be the Lakers’ point guard, leading them to their next NBA championship, nor would I ever be the Dodgers’ shortstop who hit a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning of game seven of the World Series to help them secure another ring. So, I set my sights on owning a professional sports franchise someday. I know how crazy this all seems, but I’ve always believed that somebody’s got to have this life, so that “somebody” should be me.

I received my Master’s of Fine Arts from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Producers Program in 1994, then executive produced my first feature film, “The LaMastas,” in 1997. I also started judging festivals with Flickerfest in Bondi Beach, Australia, in 1997, a timeless experience where he and his fellow judges would dive into the ocean between screenings. From there, I became a Judge, World Cinema Screener, Filmmaker Advisor, Panelist, Screenwriting Contest Founder/Judge, Program Curator, Screenwriting Award Creator, Advisory Board Member, and/or sponsor at several film festivals, including Sundance, Slamdance, and SXSW.

In 2005, Hammad launched Lonely Seal Releasing, a distribution company that attends significant film markets and festivals to buy and sell cinema. Then, in 2018, I founded the Lonely Seal International Film, Screenplay, and Music Festival, which has been cited as a “Top 100 Best Reviewed” festival on FilmFreeway.

I attended NATPE in Miami in January 2024 to acquire content for Lonely Seal Streaming, which I’m launching in 2026. But, instead of finding filmed content, I accidentally ran into Neil Brubaker, a sports industry professional. Meeting Neil triggered my next adventure.

Several months later, Neil and I co-founded The Ryz Sports Network, America’s hottest new sports network, available on every major FAST (Free Ad-Supported Television) streaming platform in the United States. You can find the Ryz Sports Network on Samsung TV Plus, Roku, Amazon, LG, Xumo, Xfinity One, Comcast, Sling, Fubo, VIDAA, Hisense, and Atmosphere TV, with DirecTV launching in early 2026, and a few more. We reach over 700 million user accounts across all platforms. I currently serve as the co-founder, managing director, and CEO of the Ryz Sports Network, where I spend my days, nights, and weekends.

So, in a nutshell, my life has been an amazingly unusual, but ridiculously enjoyable journey. Most of my childhood dreams have come true, and so now part of my existence is to help others chase theirs. I know, it sounds crazy…but somebody’s got to do it.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I have never met an obstacle that I didn’t try to overcome. Sure, I’ve fallen flat on my face more times than I can remember (both figuratively and literally, since I have limited balance on one side). Still, I’ve been able to overcome enough challenges to keep me limping forward. From learning how to ride a bike with limited balance, to going from barely graduating high school to earning a Master’s degree from my dream school (UCLA), and working and thriving in my dream careers, film and sports, I’ve always found that things will work out if you never give up. Actually, I always say, “There’s a fine line between stupidity and genius, and the only genius I’ve ever been graced with is that I’m too stupid to give up on my childhood dreams.”

Racism has always been an obstacle. I try not to be bitter about it. Everyone has a choice about how to respond to adversity, and my choice has always been to dig in deeper to overcome. Some incidents are subtle, some are overt, but all are forever tattooed in my mind. However, obstacles are only obstacles if you allow them to be. I never permitted them to hinder my path, which is why I keep moving forward.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a founding partner and CEO of the Ryz Sports Network, a Sports FAST Channel currently showcased on every major FAST platform in the United States. I also founded The Lonely Seal Company Group, Lonely Seal Releasing, The Lonely Seal International Film, and the Screenplay & Music Festival Lonely Seal Streaming. I am on the Board of Directors of Cinema Without Borders and the Advisory Board of the Master’s in Entertainment Leadership and Management—MELM—at Loyola Marymount University (LMU).

I am an award-winning member of The Producers Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America. I have produced, written, and or directed several projects. These include award-winning feature films, feature documentaries, a children’s television series, live concerts, a nationally recognized short film, and 29 video games. I also hosted Limping On Cloud 9, a podcast about his life that is being developed into a motion picture, and I wrote nearly 300 published articles for Going Bionic, his film distribution and career strategy column. I also served as a journalist, a member of the Cannes Film Festival Press Corps for three years.

I created “Ogreachiever,” a national Shrek-based billboard campaign designed to inspire children. I also won a Telly for writing “Generosity,” a national PSA.

I’m most proud of two things: writing, directing, and producing “Champions of Hope,” a White House-endorsed national PSA made for the first anniversary of September 11. Champions of Hope played on 5,001 theatrical screens, television networks, and major sporting arenas. It was paid for by Disney and Verizon and released theatrically by Regal Cinemas. I’m also quite proud to have been accepted into and to have received an MFA from the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television Producers Program.

I have served as a juror, filmmaker advisor, curator, panelist, advisory board member, and world cinema screener at several major film festivals. These include, but are not limited to, Sundance, SXSW, Slamdance, Nashville, Cinequest, Temecula, and many more.

I have also served as an adjunct professor, guest lecturer, and panelist at several universities, including my alma mater, UCLA, USC, Vanderbilt, Chapman, Avila, The Watkins Film School (acquired by Belmont University), San Diego State, The University of Kansas, The University of Missouri, and numerous others.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
The FAST space (Free Ad Supported Television) is making the cable universe obsolete. People are “cutting the cord” by the second, and the cable industry, like VHS videotapes and dinosaurs, is going extinct.

The film industry is changing as well. Small to medium-sized films are (for the first time) more prevalent in Hollywood than $300 million budgeted tentpole films. Movie theaters, which I love, are less relevant than streaming platforms, and social media influencers have more influence than “movie stars.”

The entertainment industry will likely focus on individualized experiences for viewers over the next five to ten years. Shared experiences in movie theaters have already given way to capturing audiences on their phones and iPads. Only sports events and concert tours will continue to thrive in extensive crowd-shared experiences.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ryzsportsnetwork.com – www.LonelySeal.com LimpingOnCloud9.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hammadhzaidi/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HammadHZaidi?mibextid=wwXIfr&mibextid=wwXIfr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hammadhzaidi/
• Twitter: https://x.com/HammadHZaidi
• Other: https://www.hammadzaidi.com