Interview Series
EP 1: Zach Katz from Music Lawyer to BMG, FaZe & Fixated
Wael Abou-Zaki sits with Zach Katz, an influential executive in music and entertainment. From building a career as a lawyer and finding some of the biggest artists in the music industry, to serving as President of BMG US, founding Raised In Space, a President at Faze Clan and now founder of Fixated, Zach’s story is about constant reinvention, vision, and a deep belief in the power of artists. His journey reveals not just the highlights of success, but the pivots, doubts, and choices that shaped who he is.
EP 2: Julie Pilat from Local radio to Beats, Apple & Building at FYI
Julie Pilat has lived many lives in music, media, and technology — from programming and leadership at radio and Beats/Apple to her current role building with will.i.am at FYI. In this episode of The Messy Middle, she takes us behind the scenes of those transitions: the doubts, the pivots, and the moments that forced reinvention.
EP 3: How Hitting Rock Bottom Gave Eddie Francis His Life Back
Eddie Francis has one of those stories that stays with you. From his early days in local radio to building a career at Apple Music, Eddie’s journey is proof that success isn’t linear.
He’s been at the top, hit rock bottom, and found himself again. This conversation goes beyond the highlight reel. It’s about addiction, redemption, creativity, and what it really takes to rebuild with intention.
The Messy Middle isn’t about perfection, it’s about what happens after the fall, and how you keep showing up
EP 4: The Architect Who Builds for Storms, Struggle, and Human Survival | Ted Givens
Architect and futurist Ted Givens has spent his career designing at the edge of what’s possible, from Hong Kong towers to kinetic, climate-resilient homes built to move with the weather. In this episode of The Messy Middle, Ted shares how he left the safety of big firms, helped build 10 DESIGN, launched his experimental studio BIRD, and why he keeps chasing ideas that look risky on paper but matter in the real world. If you care about architecture, climate, design, risk, and creative careers, this one’s for you.
This isn’t a highlight reel. It’s the part of the story most people skip: the doubts, dead ends, and decisions that shape the work we eventually see.
EP 5: How a Scorpion Changed Brain Surgery | Dr. Jim Olson and Tumor Paint
After a 12-hour brain surgery, doctors believed they had removed all visible cancer. Days later, scans revealed what the human eye could not see. A remaining tumor, indistinguishable from healthy brain tissue, left behind because removing it risked speech, movement, and life. That moment forced a question no one could ignore anymore. How can modern medicine still be unable to tell cancer from healthy brain in real time? In this extended cut from The Messy Middle, Dr. Jim Olson walks us through the full origin of Tumor Paint. From the impossible decision that sparked it, to a brutal six-week search through failed ideas, to an unlikely breakthrough involving scorpion venom and fluorescent light. What followed was not a straight line. It was years of iteration, collaboration, restraint, and trust in systems over ego. Today, Tumor Paint has been used in hundreds of surgeries, helping surgeons see what they would have otherwise missed. This is not a story about overnight success. It is about building through uncertainty, honoring patients first, and staying in the work long enough for light to finally appear. We are not chasing headlines. We are tracing the through line.
EP 6: 11 Emmys Later: Bill McCullough on IP Ownership, Metrics, and Making Hits
Bill McCullough has worn every hat: HBO Sports, GoPro, NFL Media, FaZe Clan, XFL. Eleven Sports Emmys and a career defined by adapting, building teams, and owning the work. In this episode we go inside the engine under the titles: how to protect taste at scale, when metrics sharpen instinct, and why rejection is fuel.
EP 7: What Justice Really Means | One of The Youngest Judge in Virginia
What is punishment?
Is it retribution?
Is it rehabilitation?
Is it accountability?
Or is it something deeper?
In this episode of The Messy Middle, we sit inside a courtroom in Henrico County with Judge Nael Abouzaki, one of the youngest judges in Virginia.
But this is not a story about power. It is about humility. Nael came to America from a small village in Lebanon at seven years old. He once sat in this same courthouse as a juvenile defendant. Today, he presides from the bench.
We talk about:
• Growing up as an immigrant trying to find identity
• Being a defendant before becoming a judge
• Prosecuting violent cases and seeing two victims in every courtroom
• Why a 30 second decision can cost 48 years
• Judging emotions, not just actions
• Ordering defendants to look in the mirror and confront who they are
• Why guidance changes everything
• What justice actually means
This conversation is not about headlines. It is about ripple effects. About children. About families. About what happens after the case closes.
Justice is not just a verdict. It is a responsibility.
EP 8: Ownership Is Everything | The Business of Music and Legacy
“To be wealthy in America, you have to own something.” — Ricardo Frazer
Ricardo Frazer is a Seattle music and arts veteran, longtime manager of Sir Mix-A-Lot, and co-founder of the creative studio, Zaki Rose. Born in Costa Rica, he emigrated to New York as a child before eventually settling in the Pacific Northwest, where he built one of the most distinctive careers in Seattle’s arts community, starting on the cleanup crew at the Paramount Theater and rising to become Chairman of the Seattle Theatre Group board.
As Sir Mix-A-Lot’s manager for nearly 30 years, Frazer helped secure a record deal with Rick Rubin’s American Recordings and arranged publishing deals that allowed the artist to monetize his songwriting, navigating relationships with Universal Music Group, Sony Music, and Warner Bros. along the way. His impact on Seattle’s arts community led STG to name its Ricardo Frazer Executive Leadership Program after him, a program designed to advance BIPOC and historically excluded professionals into executive roles across the arts.
Ricardo is also a passionate champion of STG’s Dance for PD program, a free initiative using dance, live music, and community to bring joy and movement to people living with Parkinson’s disease. If this conversation moves you, please consider supporting the program at stgpresents.org/learn-engage/wellness-accessibility/dance-for-pd.
What Ricardo Frazer covers in this episode:
Why ownership is the non-negotiable foundation of generational wealth
How to read and understand contracts before you sign anything
The critical difference between creating art and running an art business
How to identify and walk away from the wrong deal
Why trust and loyalty outperform paperwork in long-term relationships
What artist development actually looks like over a 30-year career
Balancing ego, purpose, and integrity across decades in the industry
What it means to build a legacy for the next generation
Ricardo Frazer’s path, from theater cleanup crew to board chairman, from street-level management to major label deal-making, is a case study in building an intentional, integrity-driven career. This is what it looks like when someone carves their own road and wins.
EP 6: 11 Emmys Later: Bill McCullough on IP Ownership, Metrics, and Making Hits
Bill McCullough has worn every hat: HBO Sports, GoPro, NFL Media, FaZe Clan, XFL. Eleven Sports Emmys and a career defined by adapting, building teams, and owning the work. In this episode we go inside the engine under the titles: how to protect taste at scale, when metrics sharpen instinct, and why rejection is fuel.
EP 1: Zach Katz CEO of Fixated
Wael Abou-Zaki sits with Zach Katz, an influential executive in music and entertainment. From building a career as a lawyer and finding some of the biggest artists in the music industry, to serving as President of BMG US, founding Raised In Space, a President at Faze Clan and now founder of Fixated, Zach’s story is about constant reinvention, vision, and a deep belief in the power of artists. His journey reveals not just the highlights of success, but the pivots, doubts, and choices that shaped who he is.
EP 2: Julie Pilat from Local radio to Beats, Apple & Building at FYI
Julie Pilat has lived many lives in music, media, and technology — from programming and leadership at radio and Beats/Apple to her current role building with will.i.am at FYI. In this episode of The Messy Middle, she takes us behind the scenes of those transitions: the doubts, the pivots, and the moments that forced reinvention.
EP 3: How Hitting Rock Bottom Gave Eddie Francis His Life Back
Eddie Francis has one of those stories that stays with you. From his early days in local radio to building a career at Apple Music, Eddie’s journey is proof that success isn’t linear.
He’s been at the top, hit rock bottom, and found himself again. This conversation goes beyond the highlight reel. It’s about addiction, redemption, creativity, and what it really takes to rebuild with intention.
The Messy Middle isn’t about perfection, it’s about what happens after the fall, and how you keep showing up
EP 4: The Architect Who Builds for Storms, Struggle, and Human Survival | Ted Givens
Architect and futurist Ted Givens has spent his career designing at the edge of what’s possible, from Hong Kong towers to kinetic, climate-resilient homes built to move with the weather. In this episode of The Messy Middle, Ted shares how he left the safety of big firms, helped build 10 DESIGN, launched his experimental studio BIRD, and why he keeps chasing ideas that look risky on paper but matter in the real world. If you care about architecture, climate, design, risk, and creative careers, this one’s for you.
This isn’t a highlight reel. It’s the part of the story most people skip: the doubts, dead ends, and decisions that shape the work we eventually see.
Every story looks clear in hindsight. But in the middle of it, it gets messy. The Messy Middle dives into that space: the process, the pivots, the doubts, and the breakthroughs that shape who we become. Hosted by filmmaker and creative director Wael Abou-Zaki, the series sits with entrepreneurs, artists, and builders to uncover the unfiltered truth about growth. The lessons learned between chaos and clarity.