Meet Kalin Tate of BallerGirlKay in Downtown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kalin Tate.

Kalin, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My grandfather inspired my love for Sports. He grew up an LA Dodgers, Boston Celtics, and Auburn Tigers fan. I would sit up with him all day and watch the games, and make my own opinions too. I even came up with my own teams and plays that could win Superbowls one day. I tried to play sports but I wasn’t that good, so I started arguing with the guys in my high school classes about Sports instead. One day in a heated argument about if Kobe Bryant was better than Lebron James (which of course I was right), my teacher stopped me and told me that I should look into being a Sports Analyst. I took her advice and started writing for the school paper in Sports, make sports packages about athletes in my class and win a national award from the Dow Jones News Fund for my articles on the Negro Leagues. As a Lifetime Girl Scout and Girl Scouts of USA Gold Award Recipient for my documentaries and production work on Bullying in Columbus, Georgia, I was inspired to continue making my impacts global.

I attended Spelman College on a fully-funded Bonner Community Service Scholarship giving me the opportunity to volunteer in schools and impact other students just like me. I completed internships with Bleacher Report in New York City, CNN and Turner Sports in Atlanta, Georgia. I have interviewed athletes such as Andre Iguodola, Kent Bazemore, and Jeff Teague.

However, I graduated from Spelman with no full time offer in my field of passion. I was denied from every company, and even came close to landing positions but was still delayed. I decided to take matters into my own hands and start my own YouTube Sports show, BallerGirlKay where I do Sports Commentary on all sports. With a small following for now, I am determined to make this into its own Sports Show, and eventually a production company with millions of viewers.

Great, 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?
It has been extremely difficult. I am still facing these hardships now. Coming from a single parent home, I have the mentality to do what I have to do, to get it done. I work hard every chance I can, I never go below my standards. Getting denied from every position I applied for, getting the run around from various companies, I lost faith. I sought counseling, professional help and got back involved in church. I found my church home in the process, dReam Center Church of Atlanta. I regained my faith in God and strength to persevere through this season. I even considered moving back home to get back on my feet financially and professionally, because as I’m sure alot of people my age know, living single in Atlanta is tough. I saved up my own personal money to fund my channel, and it was not cheap. I was lucky to have alot of people who were willing to help me for free to start up. My videos are only being filmed with my phone. I don’t have as much professional equipment as many may think. My ring light, backdrop and cellphone is what keeps my channel alive. I have been behind on videos, but will get them back up with my new project updates coming soon!

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about BallerGirlKay – what should we know?
I am the founder and on-air talent of Baller Girl Kay Productions and YouTube show. I hope to soon lead a team when I begin making a profit from my channel; hire a media team and open its own studio space for filming. I edit, film and am the talent for my show. I produce all the social media promotions, every episode and every graphic alone with the exception of my overall promotional video for my channel. There are many YouTubers who do the same as I do, but I take advantage of every platform to promote my work and every chance I get I am finding a way to make my channel more marketable to my viewers. Being the founder, Executive Producer, director of marketing, and lead editor for my channel gives me so much to be proud of; to have control of my creativity is truly incomparable.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
My faith and persistence. In the middle of filming my promotional video for my YouTube channel, my videographer’s camera stopped working, I almost told him, this is pointless let’s stop. But instead, I had faith that everything was going to work out in according to God’s plan, and it truly did. In the first week of dropping the video, It received over 8,0000 views on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Being persistent and faithful has changed my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmIt-QqfVA7r0eTl5BiFFYQ
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @kaydesiraye
• Twitter: @kaydesiraye

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