2022 – Stephen Receives the International Magician Society’s Merlin Award – Lifetime Achievement
Stephen Zadrick receives the special edition 24-karat gold Life Time Achievement Merlin Award from Tony Hassini at the 54th Annual Merlin Awards in Las Vegas on May 19th, 2022. >> Read More 
Stephen Zadrick is a Media expert, entrepreneur, film, television, live stage and magic executive producer. Stephen Zadrick is currently chairman and president of Media Corp. of America and has been since 1989. He has a gift for conceptualization and has developed cutting edge corporate alternative currency programs, arbitrage, television, live stage, defense, travel and new media-related businesses. Steve holds innumerable industry awards and honors, is published, and has been a featured speaker at Real Estate, Military, Tech, Trade and other industry events globally. He brings over 35 legendary years of experience spent specializing in & perfecting his unique model offered to movies, television, hotels, resorts, high rise real estate, Internet start-ups, bank bail-outs and more. His access to past clients, Media Agencies, Media Companies, friends and colleagues is second to none. These longstanding C-level relationships are all a statement to Stephen’s ethics, strong character, creativity and professionalism.
Stephen’s passions are Media and unique monetization strategies. He specializes in structuring large trade or alternative financing advertising campaigns, and creating new revenue divisions and programs within companies. Stephen takes a more comprehensive, precise approach that combines exceptional media rates with sophisticated strategies, delivering greater value. Great customer service combined with Stephen’s unique monetization strategies, cutting edge programs and non-dilutive distribution channels help grow businesses. Media Corp. of America provides advertisers in the entertainment travel and hospitality sector with an innovative creative financing package. Clients utilize the programs to leverage excess inventory or capacity for media and other non-media expenditures.
Stephen is also a co-founder and the media expert of Global Pictures Media and sole founder of Global Equity Pictures a cutting-edge company that funds P&A budgets for major motion pictures and independent films. Some recent titles include “War with Grandpa” starring Robert DeNiro, “Replicas” with Keaneau Reeves, “LBJ” a Rob Reiner directed film starring Woody Harrelson, “Book of Love” starring Jessica Biel, “Bad Samaritan” featuring David Tennant & Robert Sheehan, the horror film “Friend Request” and multiple others.
Following the success of “Cops,” a syndicated television special in the early 1990 a wave of new shows emerged within the same genre. Among these, “Highway Patrol” and “Emergency Call” quickly gained popularity as successful TV syndicated programming. My work on these series took place at our Universal Studios Orlando headquarters, where I also served as a Co-Producer alongside Al Gannaway and Genesis Entertainment.
In 1993 Stephen’s company Z-TV Entertainment pioneered long- and short-form travel entertainment shows that were syndicated on television stations across the U.S. These Direct Response travel shows aired served as a method of lead generation for the travel and fractional real estate industry.
Stephen is listed in Florida International Magazine’s People edition titled Power Players: 100 A-List Floridians (April 2005) where he was included as an Innovator: People Who Use Originality to Reinvent the Status Quo. Other recipients of this honor include Donald Trump, Gloria Estefan, Shaquille O’Neal, and Jorge M. Perez. Stephen Zadrick also founded and was CEO of CenterPoint/Developer Capital Solutions LLC. For two-years in a row he was recognized as one of Builder and Developer Magazine’s Who’s Who in the Building Industry (Jan 2004 & 2005).
The International Real Estate Trade Organization awarded Developer Capital Solutions and Mr. Zadrick Financing Idea of the Year in 2005 and the Chairman of the BIS awarded Developer Capital Solutions the International Business Innovation award for its efforts in forming SourceChina. SourceChina was also presented with the Golden Sourcing award at the CIHAF conference in Shanghai China by IRETO. SourceChina, of which Mr. Zadrick served as CEO and Chairman of the Board, was a joint venture for sourcing Chinese vendors specializing in the real estate industry. Stephen Zadrick and Source China were presented with the 2006 China Housing Industry Contribution Award, Golden International Partnership at the CIEHI Conference in Beijing, China personally presented to Stephen by the Ministry of Construction of the People’s Republic of China.
Mr. Zadrick was an Urban Land Institute Member & Trustee (www.uli.org) and was also a member of the National Association of Home Builders (www.nahb.org), the Building Industry Association (www.biasc.org), the National Sales & Marketing Council and the National Council of the Housing Industry.
Stephen’s past triumphs include an unprecedented $30 million plus, multi-year Media-for-Real Estate Asset Recovery deal with Citibank Worldwide and the Interpublic Group of Companies. The transaction, exchanging prime commercial real estate for media for use in funding the company’s Visa and MasterCard spot radio and television advertising budgets, was the beginning of an industry trend. This was a banking first and required approval by the U.S. Banking Commission following the real estate crash of the 1980’s which we obtained.
Stephen has been in the business of Corporate Trade and Media for his entire adult life and launched a successful media company located on Madison Avenue in NYC that specializes in Real Estate and unique monetization strategies. With programs under his direction, Stephen has been credited with creating a variety of unique media programs over the years including multi-media, local, regional, national and international campaigns for major Fortune 500 companies such as Citibank, Avon, Microsoft, Sprint, Sanyo and real estate clients such as Parker Meridien Group, The Marketing Directors, Crescent Heights Development and Citibank. A few examples of consumer brands that have been represented include Proline, Chimento Jewelry, Damiani Jewelry, AutoChic, Eagle One and Herbalife. Some past and current hotel and travel clients include Real Resorts, Palace Resorts, Hotels.com, Priceline.com, Hard Rock All-Inclusives, Allergro/Occidental Resorts, RCI, Super Clubs, Viva Resorts and many more.
He also successfully partnered with Playbill, the premier national Broadway Theatre magazine within theaters coast to coast, creating a new media division including Miami Visitors & Convention Bureau, Metro, Miami, Coconut Grove, and Adventura Magazines.
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 Lifestyle 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.
Zadrick also Executive produced the live stage show and Disney prime-time special “Disney’s Melinda First Lady of Magic”, 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. In 1996, Stephen co-produced NBC’s 40-city North American World’s Greatest Magicians Tour, and was recognized with the IMS’s prestigious Executive Producer of the Year for his never ending efforts in Magic television productions, live stage touring show and propagating the Magical Arts. He is listed as one of the top magicians in the world for his illusion inventions, staging, and Executive production, keeping company with David Copperfield, Siegfried & Roy, and other world-class Magical Legends. To top it all off, in 2022 Steve received the Merlin Award for Lifetime Achievement from the International Magicians Society.
In 1999 Mr. Zadrick, as co-CEO and Founder, incubated an ‘in kind’ media-based venture capital fund that closed-out in 2001 following the fall of the tech stock surge, exchanging Media for equity with multiple Internet companies. NetMedia VC was also the exclusive Media provider to one of the largest EcoNet and incubators of the time, Safeguard Scientifics, supplying Media as needed to its billion-dollar plus portfolio of hundreds of Internet companies.
Stephen’s companies specialize in offering unique media promotional opportunities that reach a targeted audience with a strong call to action utilizing performance-based compensation coupled with Television, Radio and Internet video for Hotels and other Travel related providers like hotels, restaurants, attractions, shows, and more. Our core programs include special travel & product related promotions and proprietary programs for Media and Corporate partners like NBC (Today Show), CBS owned and operated, Fox network media and various deal sites. We created unique cooperative programs for Cruise Lines, Resorts, and Hotels like Hard Rock All Inclusives, Palace Resorts, Real Resorts, Rosen Hotels, Palms Casino Hotel Las Vegas, Payless Rental Car, and Kandy Kruise/ Karma Foundation (Playboy Mansion Events). One promotion alone sold 5,000 All Inclusive travel packages in just 4 minutes.
In 2018 his Company formed Emax Group Corp in partnership with Emax Studios, distributors of Latin films and licensees of “Latin Billboard Awards” name for an international concert series.
Steve spent years as an executive leader with extensive field experience from the late seventies into the eighties providing critical timely operations in support of US Government activities in Panama, Nicaragua, and El Salvador during the Sandinista rebel war.
In the early 1980’s Stephen raced cars professionally on the International Motor Sports Association circuit. He raced I.M.S.A. endurance races at Sebring, Daytona, Limerock, Road Atlanta, Searspoint, Laguna Seco and more.
When not commuting coast-to-coast, Stephen currently works and lives in Tampa FL, Prague, and Pensacola FL. He has also spent ~35 years between Miami, NYC, and the United States horse capital – Ocala, Florida where over three decades he rescued sixteen various big cats such as Siberian and Bengal tigers, leopards, cougars, lions, a lynx and a several 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.
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Published Articles
- Multi-Family Trends (April/May 2006) ”Building Blocks”
- Multi-Family News E-Newsletter (April 2006) “East, Meet West – Made in China”
- Sales & Marketing Ideas Magazine cover and feature article (September/October 2005) “Finance & Marketing – Meeting in the Middle – How to help ensure a smooth transition between the sales office and the loan office”
- Multi-Housing News (June 2005) “Executive Insight – Questions for Stephen Zadrick”
- Options Magazine (January/February 2005) “Secure the Best on a Consistent Basis – How partnering with an ‘our money, our vendors’ real estate investment company can save time, money and headaches”
- Nicholas Magazine (June 2003) “Graycliff Resort”
- Private Air Magazine (January/ February 2003) Ocala Magazine (February 2003) “Pirates Treasure Graycliff Resort”
Professional Awards, Honors and Accomplishments
- Stephen was recognized as the IMS Executive Producer of the Year for his tireless efforts in the creation of television productions, including multiple foreign television specials and a Walt Disney CBS Primetime special that aired during Sweeps Week and the spectacular live stage touring show Melinda First Lady of Magic.
- Executive Producer of “Dreams”, a one-hour foreign Magic special staring Melinda First Lady of Magic. Funded by Berlusconi of Italy, Bob Seligman and Chester English, it aired throughout the overseas markets.
- Stephen helped supply talent for a foreign film titled “Inferno” directed by Ellen Von Unworth, the Guess jeans top fashion photographer’s first film, which included several of the top Supermodels of that time.
- The International Real Estate Trade Organization awarded CenterPoint and Stephen Zadrick Financing Idea of the Year in the ’05 Award Issue.
- The Chairman of the Building Industry Show awarded CenterPoint and its partner Sino-China Trading the International Business Innovation award for its efforts in creating SourceChina.
- For two years in a row Stephen was recognized as one of Builder and Developer Magazine’s Who’s Who in the Building Industry (January 2004 & 2005)
- Stephen was listed in Florida International Magazine’s People edition titled Power Players: 100 A-List Floridians (April 2005) where he was included as an Innovator: People Who Use Originality to Reinvent the Status Quo. Other recipients of this honor include Donald Trump, Gloria Estefan, Shaquille O’Neal, and Jorge M. Perez.
- SourceChina was presented the Golden Sourcing award by the International Real Estate Trade Organization at the 6th Annual CIHAF in Shanghai, China
- Stephen earned his International Motor Sports Association racing license in 1981 at the Road Atlanta track and raced professionally for one season in the Champion sparkplug series.
- Stephen and his first wife Shana Zadrick appeared together on segments of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, Entertainment Tonight, dozens of publications, and newspapers.
- Stephen has recorded and was published for his technical rock climbing first ascents in the US Northeast.
- Stephen received the National Patriots’ Award from the Honors Committee of the National Rifle Association. The first recipient of this Award was Charlton Heston. Less than 2% of the NRA’s members fall into this category. Mr. Zadrick participates in the top leadership ranks of the NRA as a Member of the NRA Golden Eagles.
- The NRA Golden Eagles awarded Stephen a Certificate for Outstanding Leadership in the defense of our Second Amendment freedoms.
Early Years
- Magic School Graduate, Hartford, Connecticut 1972
- Technical Rock Climbing (Advanced), multiple recorded 1stAccents 1974
- Manager of The Odyssey night club/disco/restaurant 1975-1976
- Private Instruction Hypnotism & Mind Control, Irving Harris (Hypnotist), Hartford, Connecticut 1976
- Lessons in Kung Fu techniques including performed mind-control in multiple Live Stage Shows, walking & laying on broken glass, standing & jumping on razor sharp swords, fire eating and immersement, ice and wood splitting, meditation, hand to hand fighting techniques. Kung Fu Temple, West Hartford, Connecticut
- Private Investigation, Tomin Agency, Tampa, Florida 1976-1977
- Salesman Bartercard of Tampa, Florida, Trading of Media Goods & Services 1977
- Exporting Seminars U.S. Government Department of Commerce 1978
- Trade Missions to numerous Central American, South American, and Caribbean island countries 1979-1981
- Successful International Import & Export business background 1979-1986
- Private contractual employment in Security and Counter-Surveillance both National and International 1979-1988
- Road Atlanta, International Motor Sports Association, Race Driver, Licensing School and Evasive & Anti-terrorist Driving. Instructor Doc Bundy, Graduate 1980, National on-track experience 1980-1981
- Multiple government anti-surgency program participation 1980-1986
- Sionics Training Center; at that time, the world’s largest private training center for Advanced Physical Security, Counterterrorism, Intelligence Gathering, Silent Warfare, Combat Pistolcraft, Unconventional Warfare Techniques and Aggressive Counter Force. Instructor Lt. General L. Werbel III, RFAA Retires O.S.S. (wartime intelligence) and inventor of the Silencer/Suppressor. Eleven-week Graduate 1981
- Communication Control Systems (CCS), New York City based, Basic and Advanced Electronic Counter-Surveillance techniques and wiretapping (applications), Graduate 1981
- Beginning through Advanced Pistolcraft, Miami, Florida Tamiami Range/School 1982
Stephen’s Life by Way of His Business Cards – Click the images below to view Stephen’s business cards and prior titles of his companies. Over the years, he has had multiple companies running simultaneously, demonstrating his diverse talents and interests.
