Today we’d like to introduce you to Dorian Ezzard and Morgan McCrory.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Dorian: In the fall of 2018, I launched Grace Group, a Bible study group for young people of color. One of the first members, a friend named Rody, casually mentioned in conversation one day, “You should think about sharing some of these topics with a broader audience. You’d be great on a podcast.” I remember thinking, ‘That’s a cute idea’, with no intention of ever pursuing the thought again.
Fast forward to January 2019. By then, I had subconsciously written about the podcast in my journal at least three times. I even had a name and knew who I wanted to join me as a co-host. By March 2019, the idea was weighing on me so heavily that I knew it was time to step out on faith. So, I nervously asked my dear friend Morgan if she would join me on a pretty crazy adventure to start a podcast that I hoped would exist as an extension of Grace Group and provide a fresh perspective on what it means to walk with God. Much to my surprise, she’d always wanted to host a podcast and was all in before I could even get the question out! From there, we began the 4-month research process, purchased recording equipment, flushed out the episode content and developed a social media strategy.
On July 10, 2019, we released Episode 1: Believe His Hype. The response was overwhelming with over 300 listens in 24 hours! During the first week, so many friends, family members, and even strangers reached out to share how the content resonated with them and that they were inspired by our openness. It was only episode one but it was very clear from the beginning that we had something special that was going to make a difference in people’s lives.
Morgan: Interestingly enough, the story of our friendship and podcast began before either one of us was born. Dorian’s parents attended Therrell High School in Southwest Atlanta with my aunt & uncle back in the day. Fast forward to 2009, Dorian and I ended up meeting at an Atlanta house party our senior year of high school and we immediately hit it off.
Now, we both call D.C. home, although we’ll always be Atliens at heart. Living in a new city has caused our friendship to grow and our faith to deepen. As we began to face life changes and new challenges, we talked more and more about what it meant to really walk with God.
Last Spring, she approached me with this crazy idea to start a podcast about walking with God. I immediately said yes even though there were plenty of unknowns; the main ones being that we had no experience, no equipment, and no idea where to start. As we began to flush out this idea, we realized that we both had backgrounds and interests in media; Dorian has a Journalism degree and I have experience as a blog writer and content developer.
We were crazy enough to believe that all we had was all we needed – shoutout to #TransformationNation -, so with an idea and a lot of crazy faith, we launched our podcast in July 2019. In just two months, we have had over 3,000 plays and 500 unique listeners. It’s amazing to see the podcast reach and resonate with people all over the country and all over the world.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Dorian: Well as with any new project, especially one that requires faith, there have been a few hurdles. Interestingly enough, the challenges were more internal than external. Outside of the anticipated technical challenges like learning how to host, teaching myself how to record and edit, and us scraping funds together to finance the resources needed for production, we struggled with the confidence to pursue the project.
There were many times when we felt inadequate, ill-prepared or even unqualified to be leading people around the topic of faith. As two women who barely just got their lives together, we thought we would be the last people to inspire others. I think it took us remembering that God does not call the qualified but qualifies who he calls. Once we really started to believe that this was His project, we knew that He would sustain it.
Morgan: The road has definitely not been smooth; it has been full of challenges and obstacles. But no road worth traveling is smooth, so I love that this podcast pushes us to learn new skills, grow as people, grow in our Faith, and learn how to have a healthy business relationship as well as a healthy friendship.
I think the most difficult part has been navigating the business/project terrain with your best friend. It’s hard to work through conflict, have difficult conversations, and navigate miscommunication and different expectations. But we’re grateful for the opportunity to grow in those areas and it’s really awesome to grow alongside one another. Plus, it makes for great podcast content.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into The Rooted Life story. Tell us more about it.
The Rooted Life is an inspirational podcast that leads with the belief that our lives are better when they are led by God. The concept of ‘rooted’ is based on Jeremiah 17:7-8 which describes those who trust in the Lord as trees with roots that reach deep into the water. Because of their faith, these trees never stop producing fruit. We believe this scripture to be the foundation of our walk; that when our identity is rooted in God, He can grow us immeasurably and use our lives to do extraordinary things.
As two young women of color, we have unique stories that serve as the backdrop to our project. The podcast highlights our personal experiences and the lessons we’ve learned along the way to paint a complete picture of the walk with God, one that is full of both highs and lows. Our conversations are real and we pride ourselves on using transparency to shed light on the importance of developing a relationship with God instead of mindlessly subscribing to religion.
We think The Rooted Life thrives because there are few existing platforms that so boldly and unconventionally share the gospel. Tradition and misconceptions around Christianity have made faith a taboo subject, but our mission is to demonstrate that life as a believer is comforting instead of constricting. With each episode, we simply want people to be encouraged to either start where they are or keep pushing toward Him.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
We’ve got a respectful relationship with luck except we call good luck God’s favor and bad luck God’s plan. Our lives have taught us that bad luck is really about perspective. Most of the challenges that we deem bad are only that way because of how we see them. Instead, if we saw them as opportunities for us to stretch our faith and remain dependent on God, we’d see that His grace is enough to carry us. Because we believe that every moment, whether it feels good or bad, is a part of His plan, we know that if He brought us to it, He will bring us through it.
His favor has led us to unexplainable wins and the ‘how did that happen’ moments that confirm how real He is. For example, our podcast was featured on a major Christian platform called The Grove at Passion City Church in Atlanta AND we were invited to speak at a conference on January 2020, all in the same week. God has moved incredibly through this project and His favor works as the little nudge that tells us to keep pushing and reminds us that His hand is in everything.
WHO ALSO DESERVES CREDIT?
It may sound cliche, but it really was divine intervention, divine gifts, and divine orchestration that has made it all possible. So basically, God deserves all of the credit! In addition to Him, we have an AMAZING group of talented friends and community who have rallied behind this idea and supported us 100%. Our friends have offered their gifts, skills, time, and expertise to help make this vision a reality. They’ve provided their gifts as videographers, photographers, music producers, marketing experts, thought partners, and more. Specifically, we owe a huge thanks to our creative director Kenny Lewis (@strictlyklew), our photographer Chesley McCarty (@thetangledtomato) and the man behind our music, SPN (@spndrft.music).
It’s been dope to be surrounded by a community of believers who are supportive, encouraging, and willing to provide their gifts for FREE. Shout out to our people for believing in the dream.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rootedlifepodcast.com
- Email: rootedlifepodcast@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rootedlifepodcast/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rootedlifepodcast/
Image Credit:
Chesley McCarty
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