LOS ANGELES — PodcastOne, a leading podcast platform and a subsidiary of LiveXLive Media, announced today that it will launch The Cray, a podcast and vodcast from filmmaker, producer and writer Rob Weiss, restaurateur and branding expert Shawn Chase and stylist, producer and entertainer O’Neal McKnight.
Set to debut on June 24, 2021, the weekly podcast and vodcast The Cray is sponsored by Mercari.
Through the lens of hosts, long time friends and business associates, Weiss, Chase & McKnight, The Cray will address today’s biggest issues in hopes of enlightening listeners and helping them grow.
No one can deny, in these wild times, that the world has gone more than a little crazy and The Cray aims to explore the effect of these times on our body, mind and soul. The Cray’s first episode will feature podcasting veterans Adam Carolla, Perez Hilton and Robert Horry, with actress Ashley Benson set for their second episode.
In an ongoing segment feature, guests who jump into The Cray will be asked to bring with them a memento from their personal collection that will go up for sale in The Cray store on Mercari. Funds raised from the sale of the guest owned items will directly benefit Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
To launch the store Weiss, Chase and McKnight are also contributing a few of their own personal items which are available starting Tuesday, June 22nd on Mercari.com/TheCray.
“It is a rare feat when a podcast launches with a title sponsor. To be able to have a top-notch corporation like Mercari partner with incredibly high profile and prolific hosts like Rob, Shawn and O’Neal and then take it one step further and incorporate a branded in-show segment, it’s a dream scenario for a podcasting platform and exhibits the endless possibilities that exist for brands and hosts in the world of podcasting,” said Kit Gray, President of PodcastOne.
A native New Yorker, Rob Weiss studied film and fashion in New York City at Parsons School of Design – The New School. Weiss wrote and directed the 1993 cult classic Amongst Friends which premiered at The Sundance Film Festival where it received a nomination for the Festival’s top Grand Jury Prize.
A true visionary in the television landscape Weiss has had the distinct honor of serving as Executive Producer, director and writer of three critically acclaimed HBO television shows including Entourage (2004-2011), How to Make it in America (2010-2022), and Ballers (2015-2019) starring Dwayne Johnson.
The massive pop culture success of Entourage earned Weiss six Golden Globe nominations for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy, three Primetime Emmy Award Nominations for Best Comedy Series and three Writers Guild of America Awards for Best Television Comedy Series. Weiss executive produced and originated the story for the film adaptation of Entourage (2015).
Shawn Chase is an American restaurateur, producer and brand consultant. Having spearheaded various companies into garnering mainstream success, Chase — himself a native San Diegan — founded Clutch Hospitality, whose portfolio of venues has quickly spanned across Southern California. An MMA-enthusiast-at-heart, Chase would later set his sights on sports entertainment, where he used his branding ties to secure lucrative partnerships for several of today’s top athletes.
O’Neal McKnight has been a fixture in the entertainment industry for over 20 years from being a dancer, celebrity stylist, to even creating, producing, and starring in his own tv show. O’Neal has worked with the likes of Kanye West, Diddy, Jermaine Dupri, Usher, Robin Thicke, DJ Cassidy, and his cousin the late legendary Andre Harrell and co-hosted a radio show with DJ Mos called Off the Record on Dash Radio.
The Cray is available on PodcastOne, Amazon, Apple, Spotify and wherever podcasts are heard and the vodcast will be seen on LiveXLive.
