DM Me with Doug Melville

Epizodes

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  How The Breakfast Club's Mimi Brown is Dominating the Digital Era, Our 1-on-1 Conversation 29.09.2026 1h 5min

  Doug Melville welcomes Emmy-nominated journalist Mimi Brown, Front Page News correspondent for The Breakfast Club and host of Front Page with Mimi Brown on the Black Effect Podcast Network, to discuss what it takes to build a career in journalism amid today’s nonstop social media driven news cycle. Brown explains her daily process of curating stories for different audiences in different mediums, distinguishing national policy impact from local relatable news, and emphasizes old-school standards like training, sourcing, and fact-checking versus today's 'race to be first'. They explore why journalists now need a clear personal brand, and how shifting corporate dynamics and DEI pullbacks are pushing more people—especially Black women—toward ownership and content creation. They also touch on the midterm election urgency, civic literacy, and Brown’s advice to know your value, create opportunities, and avoid staying in a narrow lane. More of Mimi: @MimiBrownTV Front Page Podcast DM Doug: @DougMelville www.DougMelville.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Betting on Yourself: How This Creator Flipped a $1,000 Idea Into a Eight-Figure Sale Price - A Sit Down With Amman Ahmed 22.09.2026 56min

  Doug Melville interviews Amman Ahmed, founder of the Youtube channel Music for Pets (Relax My Dog/Relax My Cat). He shares his vision about the confidence needed to believe in your unconventional ideas, and learning through experimentation. Ahmed describes growing up in Armley, Leeds, finding hope through books, studying IT, and realizing corporate life wasn’t for him after reading Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Workweek. He started a YouTube-based relaxation music channel with $1000 and later expanded into pet-focused music and “dog TV” visuals, using insights about instruments, BPMs, frequencies, and color grading to help pets with anxiety and stress. After being pushed out of a VC-backed music discovery startup, he recommitted to bootstrapping, scaled a highly profitable business with multiple revenue streams, and sold it for in 2023 for eight figures after turning down earlier offers. He now stays in music, angel invests, and campaigns a new age album, “Ekta,” for Grammy consideration. DM Doug: @DougMelville www.DougMelville.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Breaking Into Luxury: Secrets and Strategies for Success - A Mailbag Episode 15.09.2026 43min

  This week, Doug answers a listener question from Jasmine in Washington, D.C. about breaking into the luxury industry. He explains that luxury has distinct culture and philosophy from fashion and operates within an unwritten hierarchy. He shares five tips for getting your foot in the luxury door, including that the hiring process can take up to a year. DM Doug: @DougMelville www.DougMelville.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Need to Improve Your AI Skillset? Create an AI Fingerprint. Here’s How - A Mailbag Episode 08.09.2026 37min

  Everyone is talking about AI—but are you actually getting better at using it? In this mailbag episode of DM Me with Doug Melville, Doug answers a listener who wants to improve their AI skills but doesn’t know where to start. His answer: create your own AI Fingerprint. An AI Fingerprint is the unique process you develop for using AI to think, research, create and make decisions. Doug breaks down how to build yours—from defining the problem and choosing the right AI platform, to refining prompts, comparing outputs across different models and adding the one ingredient AI can’t replicate: your own judgment, experience and point of view. You don’t need to become an AI expert. But in a workplace increasingly shaped by AI, you do need to understand how you work with it. AI literacy may soon matter as much as knowing how to use email, PowerPoint or Google - and the leaders who develop their own process now could have an advantage later. DM Doug: @DougMelville www.DougMelville.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  How to Find Your Next (And Hopefully Last) Job - A Mailbag Episode 01.09.2026 39min

  Doug answers a mailbag question from Janelle, a New York City professional who lost her corporate job and is struggling to find a new full-time role in this brutal job market. Sharing five practical tips drawn from his Stanford GSB reputation management teaching, Doug emphasizes that reputation precedes you, urging a Google first-page audit, and considering private social media settings. He notes that “ghost jobs” are on the rise, and with them, the rising importance of referrals. Doug advises proactively activating your network and understanding whether you’re in the “tennis” or “golf” phase of a career. DM Doug: @DougMelville www.DougMelville.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Navigating Creativity in a Corporate Landscape - A Sit Down with Nancy Reyes, CEO of BBDO Worldwide 25.08.2026 49min

  This week, Doug Melville interviews Nancy Reyes, president and CEO of BBDO Worldwide about creativity in a corporate environment, leadership in an age of AI, and the evolving role of the C-suite. Reyes argues creativity isn’t an output, but a way of thinking and problem-solving that must be “zoned upstream” to address the biggest business problems, not just pushed into transactional work. They discuss the increased visibility of entrepreneurs and influencers, hiring for hustle and curiosity, and defining influence as opinion that carries weight.  DM Doug: @DougMelville www.DougMelville.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  DM Me with Doug Melville: The Architect of 90's Hip-Hop Fashion - How Andy Hilfiger Combined Music & Fashion with Snoop, Aaliyah and More  22.08.2026 1h 6min

  Doug talks with longtime friend Andrew “Andy” Hilfiger about building culture at the intersection of fashion and music, from early retail lessons with his older brother Tommy Hilfiger, to creating Tommy Jeans, and his own brand, Andrew Charles. Andy recounts key moments in his career, including styling hip-hop and R&B artists, launching iconic campaigns with Aaliyah, and how Snoop Dogg ended up wearing his designs on Saturday Night Live. He tells Doug about launching J.Lo by Jennifer Lopez, and remembers where he first met Doug... on Britney Spears' Baby One More Time tour. Andy shares advice on how to start your career in the fashion industry and reflects on changes driven by e-commerce and fast fashion in recent decades. For more of Andy Hilfiger: Andy's Instagram www.AndrewCharles.com DM Doug: @DougMelville www.DougMelville.com   Original Publish May 26, 2026See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  The Value of Mentorship at Scale and Building Your Personal Board - A Sit Down with Artis Stevens, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters 18.08.2026 1h 3min

  Today on DM Me, Doug interviews Artis Stevens, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, about scaling mentorship through group and workplace programs...including momentum supported by a $122.5 million MacKenzie Scott donation! Artis describes the act of mentorship as a practice coded in human DNA that should be intentional and reciprocal. He explains BBBS’s 120-year origins as an alternative to the juvenile justice system and its reach across over 5,000 communities. They get into misconceptions about the time commitment for "Bigs", and explains how the matches are made, and why early interactions can feel rocky, but often become long-term. The conversation even touches on corporate mentorship, and how that can make a true difference for someone who may not have a way to advance the corporate ladder otherwise. More of Artis: Instagram Artis on the Daily Show with Josh Johnson BBBS Website DM Doug: @DougMelville www.DougMelville.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  How to Write and Publish Your Own Book - A Mailbag Episode 11.08.2026 1h 15min

  Doug hosts a mailbag episode explaining how to pivot from a corporate career to becoming a published author, answering listener questions about his path to writing Invisible Generals with Simon & Schuster. He stresses understanding the marketplace and your niche category, avoiding memoirs without name recognition, choosing a story you’re uniquely positioned to tell, and constructing a realistic marketing plan focused on selling tens of thousands of copies. He outlines using AI for research and editing but not to write the book or proposal and recommends hiring a book proposal writer and securing a literary agent to pitch the "Big Five" publishers. DM Doug: @DougMelville www.DougMelville.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Modern Journalism, Substack vs Freelancing, and the Written Word - A Sit Down with Alyson Krueger 04.08.2026 1h 18min

  Doug welcomes freelance journalist Alyson Krueger, who has written thousands of pieces for outlets including The New York Times, and recently launched the widely acclaimed Substack The Great Conversation. They discuss what modern journalism has become, how freelancing works through pitching and editor assignments, and how voice and objectivity differ across publications, and versus Substack’s unfiltered, direct-to-reader model. Alyson shares her path from international relations and events in London to NYU journalism school, and selling her early Times pieces through networking, coachability, and charisma.  More of Alyson: New York Times The Great Conversation on Substack Instagram DM Doug: @DougMelville www.DougMelville.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Building Old Hillside Bourbon Through Connections and Storytelling - A Sit Down with Co-Founder Emmanuel Waters 28.07.2026 1h 4min

  Doug interviews Emmanuel Waters, CEO and co-founder of Durham, North Carolina-based Old Hillside Bourbon Company. Launched in 2020 and expanding across the U.S., Emmanuel shares his pivot from a Department of Defense and contracting career to entrepreneurship after a COVID-era “aha moment”. He talks about breaking a state sales record at launch, but not before planning his career exit with his wife by reviewing finances, relying on benefits, and reviewing the spirits industry’s regulation and low margins. Old Hillside’s differentiation is storytelling, using nontraditional packaging and on-bottle narratives to honor Black American history, including early Kentucky Derby Black jockeys and the Trifecta women of horse racing. Emmanuel and Doug discuss product persistence in the spirit market, capital access challenges, celebrity liquor brands, being lumped with other Black-owned labels, and advice on chasing purpose over money. More of Emmanuel: Old Hillside Website Forbes Article DM Doug: @DougMelville www.DougMelville.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Your Reputation Enters the Room Before You Do - Managing Personal Brand with Allison Kluger 21.07.2026 47min

  Doug interviews Allison Kluger, a Stanford Graduate School of Business professor who teaches courses on reputation management, strategic communication, personal branding, and strategic pivoting. Kluger shares her AIM framework (audience, intent, message), discusses how Google and LinkedIn shape first impressions, and distinguishes visibility from credibility by emphasizing trust and front facing acts of service. She highlights the outsized impact of first impressions and outlines the “trust radar” for crisis recovery, using Will Smith’s 2022 Oscars incident as an example. Allison and Doug also discuss career pivots through transferable skills, the risks of AI-amplified misinformation, and using personal "feedback surveys" to identify the traits people most associate with you. DM Doug: @DougMelville www.DougMelville.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Solo Travel, Luxury Adventures & Passport University with Angelique Chamberlain 14.07.2026 1h 25min

  Doug Melville interviews Angelique Chamberlain, an LA Times Magazine travel contributor and telecom executive who has visited 108 countries, ALL seven continents, and the wonders of the world. She talks about how family travel, (and a UCLA gap year) sparked her passion, and how travel inspires - from luxury trips and experiences from Kenya’s Giraffe Manor to Bhutan. Angelique and Doug discuss the growth of solo travel, why she prefers it, and shares solo travel safety tips. She also describes her “Passport University” alternative education concept, and her ultimate goal of inspiring broader travel. Doug's Forbes Article on Angelique More of Angelique: @YourTravelSensei Los Angeles Times DM Doug: @DougMelville www.DougMelville.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  How Flavor Flav Is Pivoting Toward Equity in Women's Sports - Our Sit Down 07.07.2026 26min

  In the second Cannes interview, Doug Melville talks with Flavor Flav about his music and touring connections, then focuses on Flav’s pivot into supporting athletes and women’s sports. Flav talks about how he began sponsoring the U.S. Olympic women’s water polo team, after reading captain Maggie Steffens’ story, then expanded support to the full U.S. Olympic water polo program, men and women. (He also tried water polo himself!) Flav talks trying to bobsled and skeleton in Park City, and even aiming to possibly compete in 2030. Flav details S.H.E. Weekend—Sports, Hospitality and Entertainment—created after the U.S. Olympic women’s hockey team didn’t receive the same White House recognition as the men, including a Las Vegas parade route from Bellagio to T-Mobile Arena, performances by Sheila E., Chuck D, Montel Jordan, and others, and celebrations for women gold medalists and Paralympians. DM Doug: @DougMelville www.DougMelville.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  “AI Is the Cheat Code and the Game Is Life” - How AI Can Change Your Community and Career - A Sit Down With Will .i. am 30.06.2026 38min

  Doug Melville interviews seven-time Grammy winner and founder of the Black Eyed Peas Will.i.am at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativit in France. The discussion is about implementing AI for creativity and problem-solving. Will.i.am shares his history in the tech space over the past 20 year and his pivot from music into hardware, recounting early work with music executive and entrepreneur Jimmy Iovine, building of an AI watch with contextual voice capabilities, and being an early investor in companies like Tesla, Twitter, Lovable, Anthropic, and others. He explains his platform, FYI.ai, and its value proposition as a secure, collaborative messenger for large files and IP protection. Will.i.am argues it’s too early to fear AI and compares it to a life “cheat code” people should learn.  DM Doug: @DougMelville www.DougMelville.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  The Origins of "Tendernism" - A Sit Down with Nick Yepremian, Founder of Destination Smokehouse 23.06.2026 1h 6min

  Doug Melville sits down with the owner/operator of Destination Smokehouse Nick Yepremian, in an exclusive interview. His Southern California restaurant was where “Tendernism” was born. But after the success of generating hundreds of millions of views on social, Walter ‘Unc’ Johnson and Nick separated. Nick explains how “Tendernism” originated, discusses the trademark controversy, the equity conversation, the Keith Lee visit, and looks to clear up and address misconceptions about Walter’s role, while outlining plans to refocus locally and expand to other cities. Destination Smokehouse in Murrieta, California DM Doug: @DougMelville www.DougMelville.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  From eBay Side Hustle to $500,000,000 in Sales - A Sit Down With Fashionphile’s CEO and Co-Founder Sarah Davis and Ben Hemminger 16.06.2026 1h 12min

  Doug Melville hosts Sarah Davis and Ben Hemminger, founder and co-founder of Fashionphile, now CEO and COO of the largest ultra-luxury handbag and accessory retailer in the U.S. They trace their roots from selling on eBay in 1999 and bootstrapping the business, including a strategic early base in Beverly Hills to build trust and credibility through authentication guides and strong feedback. They discuss partnering after an earlier startup, leaving stable career paths, and finding product-market fit in luxury resale. Fashionphile has grown to hundreds of millions in revenue, 400+ employees, 14 locations and major flagships in San Diego, LA, and New York, plus London and Tokyo offices. They cover supply-vs-demand dynamics, the “pay her fast and fair” seller strategy, brand relationships, pricing trends, and evolving authentication tools and anti-fraud efforts, and close with advice to start quickly and obsess over customers. Fashionphile.com Fashionphile on Instagram DM Doug: @DougMelville www.DougMelville.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Pivoting From Creative to CEO: Tips from Madison Ave Leadership Coach Rob Schwartz 09.06.2026 1h 20min

  Doug Melville sits down with Rob Schwartz, former TBWA\Chiat\Day CEO and now a certified performance and leadership coach to talk about what he’s hearing most from clients right now: anxiety and uncertainty about what to do next, from seasoned executives to early-career talent, especially with AI and layoffs reshaping work. Rob shares how he starts coaching sessions with simple humanity and deep listening, then helps clients clarify goals using the GROW framework (goal, reality, opportunity, will). Rob and Doug discuss why AI can be helpful but can’t replace a coach’s ability to read body language and create real breakthroughs, plus Rob’s own pivot into coaching during COVID.  DM Doug: @DougMelville www.DougMelville.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Life After the NBA: From Injury to The Birth of Actively Black - A Sit Down with CEO Lanny Smith 02.06.2026 1h 10min

  Doug Melville welcomes in Lanny Smith to discuss his pivot from basketball to entrepreneurship as the founder of athleisure brand Actively Black. Lanny recounts playing college basketball, and signing as an undrafted free agent with the Sacramento Kings shortly before a knee injury ended his NBA career after 33 days, triggering an identity crisis. He explains how faith helped him launch his first brand, Active Faith, which Steph Curry later partnered in, and how experiences with racism and the 2020 social climate led him to launch Actively Black. Lanny discusses the brand’s “This is Not a Fashion Show” New York Fashion Week event featuring figures such as Ruby Bridges, and the daughters of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. As always, Doug closes with asking his guest for the best advice they've received, and Lanny tells us about rejecting fear. For more of Lanny Smith: Lanny's Instagram www.ActivelyBlack.com DM Doug: @DougMelville www.DougMelville.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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  Who is Doug Melville? - A Sit Down with Maisha Dyson 19.05.2026 1h 24min

  Interviewed in this inaugural episode by Maisha Dyson, Doug Melville recounts some of the highlights of his astonishing career working with titans like Quincy Jones, Tommy Hilfiger, and Magic Johnson. Having been to over 40 countries, Doug shares how his experiences and lessons he learned, along with the uniquely positioned guests he'll bring on, can help you make your next career move your best career move. For more of Maisha Dyson: MaishaStudios.com DM Doug: @DougMelville on InstagramSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.