Behind the curtain stands a curious man........

I got a very interesting e-mail today that gave me pause to reflect not only on Lombardi Street - but to reaffirm my position in creating this site, this concept, this project.

The first issue to address is the curious man behind the curtain - which in this case happens to be me. The concern is directed towards the secrecy of my identity. This secrecy (which with 15 minutes of web searching can be broken) was not set up to conceal an identity - rather to minimize it.

I am a great supporter of the United States of America - it is the country that sheltered me and provided me with political asylum from my own home country. That being said, the United States is not without a few flaws - and one of those seems to be the aggrandizement of the cult of personality. Individuals become the focus - not the cause. Deserving or not, I wanted to take myself out of that equation and let the project build merit on it's own. It did. However in my clouding of myself as the creator of this project, I created a target for speculation, intrigue and yes - even conspiracy.

So here I am to eschew obfusification.

Hello Lombardi Street - my name is Antony van Zyl. I was born and raised in South Africa where I attended the University of Natal in Durban following theater and English. I had to leave South Africa very quickly and ended up in London in 1986, followed by a stint in Spain and then onto the balmy paradise known as Minneapolis, Minnesota- in February mind you.

I initially worked for a brokerage house, studied for a series seven license and hated it. During that time, I discovered an lovely niche in the Private Placement Memorandum field - nobody ever read a prospectus. So I created a company- Take Two Video and Film Productions focusing on the creation of 10 minute long video prospectuses for financial services.

I sold Take Two for a silly sum (well, silly for aa 22 year old) and promptly blew the money in all sorts of naughty ways. After that I got heavily involved in theater and spent a whole bunch of years living in various buses as I traveled from city to city- seeing every cornfield of every state (except Alaska and Hawaii). It was a wonderfully time and as I moved from small bus and truck shows to Rock and Roll tours to Industrial events, I got to see and meet people in every state (except Hawaii and Alaska).

Moving from technical assistant, to truss monkey, to rigger, to stage manager to production manager to company manager was great fun - but very tiring (To Denny in Rock Island, IL - thanks for giving me the chance).

So, after a few years on the road - I decided to step into the producer seat. A few very successfully (very stressful) national tours lead to a decision - traveling man or family man.

I have never regretted giving up traveling.

So from theater to computers (with the occasional stint as a freelance grip here and there).

Lovely wife, two children, nice house and a decent business doing off site computer systems and maintenance for all sorts of companies left me very - restless. One day I told my lovely wife that I was going to sell the nice comfortable business we had built and start building something called web sites - of which there were about 20 in existence at the time.

Lovely wife - pregnant with child #3 - promptly contemplated where to send my very insane arse. After many arguments, grumbling, outrageous promises and so forth - we started a web development company.

Oh those were lovely times. People threw money at projects, even the assistants had assistants. We did some good over the years - killed the entire East Coast Internet one day when we launched a web site called Giga Pets, developed lots and lots of web sites for all sorts of silly money - even added another child to the family. Highlight was being named Top International Web Marketer by ChannelSeven in New York.

Then it went South - way way way south. Laid off 46 people, lost the house, lost the cars, lost the toys - but hey, gained a 4th child.

All sorts of lower than low stuff for a while - briefly brightened by the ability to purchase a coffee shop in a beautiful little tourist town - ready to get back up with a grand opening of September 20, 2001. That year the lovely little tourists town saw tourism fall by 96%. Needless to say - I was my own best customer at the coffee shop - and I was a lousy tipper.

Well - one good thing about being virtually rock bottom is that is is not far to fall. Lovely wife consoled me and soon we had child #5.

Back to square one - back to computers. This time developing WiFi hot spots in restaurants, coffee bars, hotels, etc. Added to that with Fixed Wireless, then VoIP, then localized IT services and hey - I was back to where I was 10 years ago - frustrated.

So I went back to my loving (and long suffering wife) and told her I wanted to move into the electronic entertainment industry. I believed that the era of broadcast television was over and that new Internet enabled distribution, combined with comprehensive three screen availability and all sorts of other new things would forever change the entertainment field.

Without further ado, I threw myself into Internet advertising systems, web based video, virtual worlds, SMS systems and all sorts of other things along those lines. Some successes here -a few failures there - but in the end grew a concept for a sea change in entertainment. The seeds of Lombardi Street.

On January 13, 2009 - that sea change began.

For those that are interested - in those years above were some highlights - such as writing a play which was nominated for six Joseph Jefferson Awards in Chicago - and won seven, including best new work. Seeing that play performed around the world. Getting the opportunity to discover Northwest Montana. Being the father of 5. Rediscovering the love of a good woman, wife and mother. Making some good friends.There were some very low points - not being able to get a job, being evicted from a home, separating from my wife and children for a while, being convicted of a burglary (very bad thing - never do that), losing good friends.

That journey has lead me here - to a place where I believe will one day be looked back at as a landmark time in entertainment history.

So behind that curtain is not a closet Spielberg. No Katzenburg's here plotting the takeover of the entertainment world, not even a radical Wells wanting to buck the system. I am just a guy who believes that everyone can and should have the opportunity to follow a dream - and this dream is the creation of a new type of entertainment that will change the world.

Lombardi Street is a very clear vision, a very strong project in scope and content. It offers opportunities to anyone willing to work, to risk, to believe -starting with me.

So for all who wanted to know more about me - here it is. For those who did not care one way or another - why are you still reading this?

To my letter writers - I hear your points - and hopefully we can address your concerns - and more so in the next few days. To touch on your points: (body of e-mail if you are interested)

The secrecy of me is dispelled (although I believe I was far more interesting as a mystery)

I hope to meet many of you face to face as I will start setting up meet and greets around the country in the next few weeks.

The pilot - please stay tuned - there has been a lot of work here - and even now it is not close to being done. But stay tuned next week for many fun unveils.

Utilizing the communities experience - This area is where i feel I have failed at the most - in communicating the structure of the Lombardi Street project. Everyone is asked to contribute their experience. Lombardi Street has opened the door to any and all for any position, regardless of experience. I am well aware of the multitudes it takes to make a great production and the doors are wide open for all to participate as they can. I am one person and can only do what one person can do. If you want to participate - participate. I would like to point out two people who have done just that. Ethan and Alisa, on faith have jumped in and worked beyond all expectation - believing in the project. There are others that have done so as well, David, Kelli, Kevin, Jeff, Cindy, Sarah, Austin and many others. But - since I have been remiss in communicating my need for input in this project - let me state it again - if you want to contribute - join the right group. If it does not exist, let me know and I will create it.

Integrity and responsibility- Only time can prove these beyond a reasonable doubt - but in the interim I will work hard at insuring they are displayed.

From step to step together - I look forward to continuing this very exciting journey with all of you.

I would be very happy to hear your comments.