Professional Racing
Earned an IMSA racing license in 1981 at Road Atlanta and raced professionally in the Champion Spark Plug series at Sebring, Daytona, Lime Rock, Road Atlanta, Sears Point and Laguna Seca.
My Story
A Magical Life, Told in Full
The journey behind the legend: Broadway beginnings, supermodels and tabloids, media ventures, rock climbing, rescued big cats and a lifetime of showmanship.
The Journey
A Life Built on Vision and Showmanship
Media executive. Entrepreneur. Executive producer. Magician. Stephen Zadrick, known for his relentless tenacity for follow through on projects. Never giving up. He has spent a lifetime at the crossroads of commerce and spectacle, turning excess capacity into media, stories into films, and stages into legends.
“Great stories. Bigger stages. And a little bit of magic.”
The Broadway Pioneer
Stephen successfully partnered with Playbill, the premier national Broadway Theatre magazine in theaters from coast to coast, creating a new media division including Miami Visitors & Convention Bureau, Metro Miami, Coconut Grove, and Aventura Magazines. The new division began as a partnership: Stephen received a monthly fee plus 50% of the proceeds of the business, while his partner contributed two salespeople. Starting from one, Stephen and his new methodology grew the division to 14 salespeople. That success led to the sale of the company to a New York firm. A win-win for everyone.
Supermodels & the Tabloids
Stephen was responsible for the launching and development of his ex-wife’s modeling career, supermodel Shana Zadrick (Guess Jeans, Calvin Klein Escape, Pantene, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition). The couple were featured on Robin Leach’s Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous, Entertainment Tonight, MTV’s Cindy Crawford’s House of Style, Hard Copy, NYC’s couple of the month in the New York Post, and many more TV shows and publications.
Viva: The Club for Life
Travel, Leisure & Lifestyle, 2009–2014
Viva: The Club for Life ran from 2009 through 2014. It created, marketed, and opened a second show in Las Vegas called Breakfast with Bugsy’s, and sold the club through Real Resorts in Cancun and in Las Vegas.
The Media Architect
Chairman and president of Media Corp. of America since 1989, Stephen pioneered corporate alternative currency programs, trading excess inventory and capacity for media at Fortune 500 scale. His campaigns have served Citibank, Avon, Microsoft, Sprint, Sanyo and leading resort and travel brands across the globe.
The Film Financier
Sole founder of Global Equity Pictures and co-founder of Global Pictures Media, funding prints and advertising budgets for major motion pictures and independent films, from Robert De Niro in The War with Grandpa to Rob Reiner’s LBJ starring Woody Harrelson. Never just the financier: Stephen tied his financing to delivering the media, handling the media placement for each movie launch and aftermath, with budgets up to $30 million per film.
The Magician
A magic school graduate at heart, Stephen executive produced Disney’s primetime special Melinda: First Lady of Magic and co-produced NBC’s 40-city World’s Greatest Magicians Tour. Melinda was the #1 female magician in the world, who performed in Las Vegas for over a decade, formerly a dancer in Siegfried & Roy’s Extravaganza at the Mirage. From 1994 through 1997, Stephen produced her live stage shows and residencies across Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Atlantic City and Branson. The IMS lists Stephen among the top magicians in the world for illusion invention and staging. He takes great pride in creating an illusion, putting a team together and having it staged by other magicians. His illusions are home runs. Zadrick originated and created or co-created many original illusions, some performed and some still on paper.
The Travel Media, Marketer, Financier
TravelSolutions.com, 2010–2016
Stephen formed TravelSolutions.com to fill a need for hotels, providing all-inclusive resorts throughout the Caribbean, filling excess capacity and funding media campaigns with successful outcomes. He also consulted for OneTravel.com as senior vice president and rainmaker, exchanging millions of dollars in media for equity in the company, which was later purchased and created a windfall for everyone involved.
One Stop Media & Developer Leads
Founded & CEO, 2005
In 2005, Stephen created One Stop Media and a second company, Developer Leads, headquartered in the Trump building in Miami and on Madison Avenue in New York. It was a real estate media agency specializing in high-rise developments across the country. Stephen’s then president, Sherry Pasqual, morphed the company into the premier international real estate media placement firm, Strategy Media Services, which currently resides in New York City on Madison Avenue.
Life Through Business Cards & Beyond
Racing, Rescue & the Wild World
The full life behind the legend: professional racing, technical climbing and a three-decade sanctuary for rescued big cats.
Big Cat Rescue
Over three decades in Ocala, Florida, Stephen rescued sixteen big cats including Siberian tigers, Bengal tigers, black jaguars, spotted leopards, clouded leopards, female and male lions, cougars, servals and a Canadian lynx, plus horses, llamas and more. He stepped in after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 to save stranded cats.
Technical Rock Climbing
Recorded and published technical rock climbing first ascents in the US Northeast.
Early Years
Hartford, Connecticut School of Magic graduate, mid-1970s. Advanced technical rock climber with recorded first ascents, 1974. Manager of The Odyssey nightclub, 1975 to 1976.
Explore the Business Cards
Stephen’s Life by Way of His Business Cards
Published First Ascents, American Alpine Club
Proof in print: the American Alpine Club's Traprock: Connecticut Rock Climbs climber's guide by Ken Nichols credits Steve Zadrick in the original first-ascent party of Arrowhead 5.8, September 1973, alongside Stew Sayah and Bob F. and Bob W. Poirier.
The Life Behind It All
When not commuting coast-to-coast, Stephen currently works and lives in Miami, Las Vegas, Prague, NYC, and the United States horse capital — Ocala, Florida, where over three decades he rescued sixteen various big cats such as Siberian tigers, Bengal tigers, black jaguars, spotted leopards, clouded leopards, female and male lions, cougars, servals and a Canadian lynx, as well as horses, llamas, pigs, rabbits, dogs and cats, each with its own unique personality and story. After Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida in 1992, he stepped in to rescue those big cats. Stephen’s definition of relaxation is either traveling or working on his next hot project.