Rapkin’s Standing on Podiums Chronicles the Collapse of Hollywood Impact Storytelling—and the Birth of a Bold New Model
May 2025 - Los Angeles, CA — Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Brett Rapkin pulls back the curtain on the seismic shift in purpose-driven media with the release of his new book, Standing on Podiums: The Death of Impact Storytelling in Hollywood and the Birth of a Nonprofit Film Studio. Blending memoir and manifesto, Rapkin reveals how his personal and professional journey—including producing The Weight of Gold, the HBO documentary that inspired Team USA to allocate $12 million toward mental health support—led to the founding of Podium Pictures, the first nonprofit film studio dedicated to storytelling for social change.
From delivering soy milk as a young assistant in L.A. to working with iconic athletes like Michael Phelps and Shaun White, Rapkin has spent two decades at the intersection of celebrity, sport, and social purpose. His book offers a candid look at the disillusionment many creatives face as traditional outlets for cause-based storytelling disappear—and how he plans to chart a new, nonprofit-powered path forward.
Standing on Podiums captures the highs and heartbreaks of a life in film. It reflects on the suicide of Olympic gold medalist Steven Holcomb, the emotional cost of working within a broken system, and the potential of media to heal, challenge, and transform when it is freed from commercial constraints.
Hollywood used to reward impact storytelling, now, it too often ignores it. This book is about reclaiming that power—and building something better.
Brett Rapkin
Ideal for philanthropic leaders, mental health advocates, nonprofit executives, storytellers, and young creatives alike, Standing on Podiums invites readers into a vision of media that heals, challenges, and transforms.
Rapkin’s past work has aired on HBO, ESPN, NFL Network, and Amazon, and featured cultural icons including DeMar DeRozan, Bode Miller, and Mikaela Shiffrin. Now, with Standing on Podiums, Rapkin shares a blueprint for reclaiming storytelling as a force for good, shifting the spotlight from profit to purpose.
