Born just outside of Charleston, South Carolina, Ryan Stewart has become one the most exciting media personalities in a generation. His journey started as so many others did with exciting and informal sports pursuits in elementary school. As he matured and became a high school football powerhouse—excelling at several positions—the recruiting world came calling. Suddenly, the game of his childhood afforded him the opportunity to play at a major academic institution while pursuing an education. Many schools called, but Georgia Institute of Technology eventually solidified Ryan’s commitment to play Division One college football for a very prestigious institution.
With Atlanta as the backdrop for his college career, Ryan enjoyed the city and playing for the Yellow Jackets immensely. His college career was full of adversity, but Ryan accepted each hurdle as an opportunity to jump higher. Confronted with the coaching carousel, injuries, position changes, and academic challenges Ryan’s college experience helped him with future struggles that would propel him to career’s in the sports industry on and off the field. Stewart’s degree pursuit was first priority to him and it was not until the end of his stint as a Georgia Tech defensive back that he even started to consider a career in the NFL was possible.
Next, the NFL did call and Ryan was picked up by the Detroit Lions as a Strong Safety and special teams stand-out. His NFL career was filled with highs and lows and plenty of injuries, but Ryan used the opportunity to finish his degree in Business at Tech in the off-season and to build relationships that would be very important when his days as a professional football player ended. After six years in the NFL, punctuated by inevitable releases and resignings, Ryan found himself wondering what the next stop on his journey would be. He did internships with agents and media outlets and started to expand his media presence by doing color commentary for Georgia Tech. With a business degree in hand, a realistic outlook on the limitations of a football career, and all of his college experience, Ryan was ready to answer his next challenge.
Ryan and his older brother Doug presented a local Atlanta sports talk radio station with an idea to have a new breed of sports talk radio and so the “2 Live Stews” were born. What started as an experiment has blossomed into the number one sports talk radio show in the country in just under four years. The show is the most exciting new media to come along in years and caught the attention of ESPN executives who added the show to their original programming block on ESPN 2 so the world could visually experience what the Stews call the “Doghouse”. Ryan has also started his own marketing and media firm. Black Hollywood Enterprises manages all his marketing and media services, giving him an entrepreneurial edge in the business world.
The “2 Live Stews” are now syndicated in over 20 cities and Ryan is excited by the demand and feels extremely blessed to be in a position to give people a new voice in the media and sports worlds. In addition to his outside business pursuits, he is very active in the community and his fraternity, Omega Psi Phi. Ryan frequently visits schools in the