Cleveland Hustles
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image =
| caption =
| alt_name =
| genre = Reality show
| creator =
| based_on =
| presenter = Bonin Bough
| starring = {{plainlist|
- Kumar Arora
- Kathy Futey
- Alan Glazen
- Jonathon Sawyer
}}
| judges =
| narrated = LeBron James
| theme_music_composer = Robert ToTeras
| opentheme =
| country = United States
| language = English
| num_seasons = 1
| num_episodes = 8
| executive_producer = {{plainlist|
}}
| producer = {{plainlist|
- Kathryn Vaughn
- Jada Bates
- Andrew Wallace
- Mike Roth
}}
| location = Cleveland, Ohio
| camera =
| runtime = 60 minutes {{small|{{tooltip|inc.|including}} commercials}}
| company = {{plainlist|
- SpringHill Entertainment
- Magical Elves
}}
| first_aired = {{Start date|2016|08|24}}
| last_aired = {{End date|2016|10|12}}
| related =
| channel = CNBC
}}
Cleveland Hustles is an hour-long American reality TV series created by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, which aired for an 8-episode season between August 24 and October 12, 2016, on CNBC. In it, aspiring entrepreneurs competed to open one of four physical stores in the Gordon Square Arts District under the mentorship of a Cleveland investor.{{cite web |url = https://observer.com/2016/08/nba-legend-lebron-james-gives-small-businesses-a-boost-in-cleveland-hustles/ | publisher = Observer | title = NBA Legend Lebron James Gives Small Businesses a Boost in 'Cleveland Hustles'| date = 31 August 2016 | access-date = 11 January 2020}}
About
The show was produced by SpringHill Entertainment and Magical Elves, with LeBron James and Maverick Carter as executive producers. It was hosted by Bonin Bough, with Kumar Arora, Alan Glazen, Kathy Futey, and Jonathan Sawyer as its panel of investors,{{cite web|title=Contestants, judges chosen for 'Cleveland Hustles,' LeBron James' CNBC reality show|url=http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2016/06/contestants_judges_chosen_for.html|website=cleveland.com|date=24 June 2016 |access-date=4 January 2018}} and LeBron James making several cameos.{{cite news|last1=Jones|first1=Kathryn E.|title=LeBron James Documents The 'Cleveland Hustle' In New Reality Show|url=http://www.vibe.com/2016/01/lebron-james-documents-the-cleveland-hustle-in-new-reality-show/|website=Vibe|access-date=4 January 2018|date=15 January 2016}}
The show was based in the Gordon Square Arts District, a commercial hub in Cleveland's Detroit-Shoreway neighbourhood near Lake Erie.{{cite news|last1=Glusac|first1=Elaine|title=A Cleveland Arts District Hustles and Rebounds|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/15/travel/cleveland-gordon-square-arts-district.html|access-date=4 January 2018|work=The New York Times|date=15 November 2017}} Cleveland had been second on the Distressed Community Index, and fourth on the list of dying cities.{{cite web|title=How a New Reality TV Show Featuring Lebron James Could Help Struggling Cleveland|url=https://www.inc.com/john-boitnott/how-a-new-reality-tv-show-featuring-lebron-james-could-help-struggling-cleveland.html|website=Inc.com|access-date=4 January 2018|language=en|date=6 Sep 2016}} CNBC announced that it would "help a neighborhood that desperately needs investment",{{cite web|title=LeBron James' reality TV show 'Cleveland Hustles' to premiere Aug. 24 {{!}} Crain's Cleveland Business|url=http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20160401/NEWS/160409954/lebron-james-reality-tv-show-cleveland-hustles-to-premiere-aug-24|website=Crain's Cleveland Business|access-date=4 January 2018|date=31 March 2016}} and may have assisted Gordon Square's revitalization. One business owner, however, suggested that "To create good TV, you have to create a villain. That villain was vacancies", and investor Sawyer confirmed that "the neighborhood was going to be there with or without the show... It was going in that direction, is going in that direction and buildings are still affordable".
In each of the first four episodes, two businesses presented competing pitches and ran a pop-up shop, with one of the businesses being selected for mentoring and financing. The remaining four episodes focussed on stages in the setup and opening of the selected stores.{{cite web|title=Cleveland Hustles: 'Location, Location, Location' Gallery|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/23/cleveland-hustles-location-location-location-gallery.html|website=CNBC|access-date=4 January 2018|date=23 September 2016}}{{cite web|title=Cleveland Hustles: 'Constructive Criticism' Gallery|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/12/cleveland-hustles-constructive-criticism.html|website=CNBC|access-date=4 January 2018|date=12 October 2016}}{{cite web|title=Cleveland Hustles: 'Open for Business' Gallery|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/26/cleveland-hustles-open-for-business.html|website=CNBC|access-date=4 January 2018|date=26 October 2016}}
=Cast=
Bonin Bough: former executive VP for PR firms Weber Shandwick and Ruder Finn who then joined PepsiCo in 2008. Serving as its senior global director for digital and social media, his work resulted in Fast Company naming him one of its "100 Most Creative People In Business" in 2011.{{cite web|url=http://adage.com/article/digital/pepsico-loses-digital-guru-bonin-bough-kraft/232590/|work=Ad Age|title=PepsiCo Loses Digital Guru to Kraft|first=Natalie|last=Zmuda|date=2012-02-07|access-date=2016-09-13}} Between 2012 and 2016, he worked for multinational food company Mondelez International, where he became its chief media and e-commerce officer.{{cite web|url=http://www.mensfitness.com/life/entertainment/b-bonin-bough-creative-genius-who-teamed-lebron-raise-clevelands-game|title=B. Bonin Bough: The Creative Genius Who Teamed With LeBron to Raise Cleveland's Game|date=2016-09-01|access-date=2016-09-17|first=Michael|last=Rodio}} He is a member of the Board of Directors of Philip Morris International, the multinational tobacco company.https://www.pmi.com/corporate-governance/board-of-directors
Kumar Arora: CEO of investment firm Aroridex,{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2016/06/09/how-five-entrepreneurs-overcame-their-toughest-emotional-challenges/3/#7a8cb2394358|title=How Five Entrepreneurs Overcame Their Toughest Emotional Challenges|last=Council|first=Young Entrepreneur|website=Forbes |access-date=2016-09-02}} founder of designer sunglasses company Rogue Eyewear,{{Cite web|url=http://www.cleveland.com/kristel/index.ssf/2014/06/rogue_eyewear--cleveland-based.html|title=Rogue Eyewear--Cleveland-based sunglass line making global fashion statement: Kristel's CLE|date=19 June 2014 |access-date=2016-08-27}} and investor in {{proper name|iLTHY}}, a streetwear apparel company.{{Cite web|url=http://www.freshwatercleveland.com/devnews/ilthy121514.aspx|title=ilthy makes a local move, looks to national stage|access-date=2016-08-27}}
Kathy Futey: A wealth management advisor who previously worked at Morgan Stanley.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/kathy-futey/|title=Kathy Futey|website=CNBC |access-date=2016-09-17}} She serves on the board of the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA) and the Cuyahoga Valley Chamber of Commerce.{{cite web|url=http://mocacleveland.org/about/board|title=BOARD OF DIRECTORS|access-date=2016-09-17}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cuyahogavalleychamber.com/who-we-are|title=Who we are|access-date=2016-09-17}}
Alan Glazen: A neighborhood developer, and retired advertising executive. He co-founded the Cleveland International Film Festival,{{cite web|url=http://clevelandmagazine.com/in-the-cle/mad-man|title=Mad Man|access-date=2016-09-17}} and was once mayor of the village of Bentleyville, Ohio {{cite news|url=http://www.cleveland.com/sunnews/communitylife/index.ssf?/base/features-0/1237405675226310.xml&coll=4|title=People|access-date=2016-09-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012074600/http://www.cleveland.com/sunnews/communitylife/index.ssf?%2Fbase%2Ffeatures-0%2F1237405675226310.xml&coll=4|archive-date=2016-10-12|url-status=dead}}{{better source needed|date=September 2016}}
Jonathon Sawyer: Chef and owner of three Cleveland restaurants, including the Greenhouse Tavern for which he won a James Beard Foundation Award in 2015 as Best Chef: Great Lakes. He was a finalist on the Food Network's 2016 Chopped Grill Masters series.{{cite web|title=Cleveland chef Jonathon Sawyer close but not quite in finale for 'Chopped Grill Masters'|url=http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2016/05/chef_jonathon_sawyer_to_repres.html|work=The Plain Dealer|first=Laura|last=DeMarco|date=2016-08-02|access-date=2016-09-17}}
Episodes
{{Episode table |total_width=60 |background=#36B26A |overall=5 |title=20 |viewers=16 |airdate=16 |viewersT=U.S. viewers |episodes=
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 1
| Title = Bagels or Blowouts
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2016|08|24}}
| ShortSummary = "The Cleveland Bagel Co." (winner) vs hairdresser "Styles of Success"{{cite web|title=Cleveland Hustles: "Bagels or Blowouts"|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/08/cleveland-hustles-bagels-or-blowouts.html|website=CNBC|access-date=4 January 2018|date=8 September 2016}}
| LineColor = 36B26A
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 2
| Title = Honey vs. Hip
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2016|08|31}}
| ShortSummary = "Akron Honey Co." vs handbag shop "FOUNT" (winner){{cite web|title=Cleveland Hustles: "Honey or Hip"|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/08/cleveland-hustles-honey-or-hip.html|website=CNBC|access-date=4 January 2018|date=8 September 2016}}
| LineColor = 36B26A
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 3
| Title = Downward Dog vs. Proper Pigs
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2016|09|07}}
| ShortSummary = BBQ food restaurant "The Proper Pig" vs yoga school "Groundswell" (winner){{cite web|title=Cleveland Hustle: "Downward Dogs and Proper Pigs"|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/07/cleveland-hustle-downward-dogs-and-proper-pigs.html|website=CNBC|access-date=4 January 2018|date=7 September 2016}}
| LineColor = 36B26A
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 4
| Title = Soda Bars vs. Pickle Jars
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2016|09|14}}
| ShortSummary = "Randy's Pickles" vs soft drink manufacturers "Old City Soda" (winner){{cite web|title=Cleveland Hustles: "Soda Bars and Pickle Jars" Gallery|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/19/cleveland-hustles-soda-bars-and-pickle-jars-gallery.html|website=CNBC|access-date=4 January 2018|date=19 September 2016}}
| LineColor = 36B26A
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 5
| Title = Location, Location, Location
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2016|09|21}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 36B26A
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 6
| Title = Expanding Horizons
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2016|09|28}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 36B26A
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 7
| Title = Constructive Criticism
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2016|10|05}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 36B26A
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 8
| Title = Open for Business!
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2016|10|12}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = 36B26A
}}
}}