Profile: Cedric Walker, founder and CEO of UniverSoul Circus

Cedric Walker, founder and CEO of UniverSoul Circus

Cedric Walker is the founder and CEO of the UniverSoul Circus – a company and circus that he founded in 1994.

According to the company’s website, the UniverSoul Circus is as a result of hard work and perseverance – Mr. Walker would not give up despite the company not being profitable for a long time, however under his able stewardship – the company is now very profitable and continues to attain growth.

Walker’s main motivation behind founding the circus was to create a show that would bring together black families, in the same vein as the gospel comedies he produced in the 1980s, such as “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”

Walker has always been an entrepreneur, at age 6, in a bid to make some extra money, he created his first company – a shoe shine business, in addition, he sold fruits and vegetables, popsicles and Christmas cards.

Prior to his founding the UniverSoul Circus, Walker was involved in the musical promotion of groups such as the Jackson 5, the Commodores, Salt n Peppa and The Fat Boys.

Walker studied first black traveling circus, founded in 1885 by Ephraim Williams, he has travelled the globe recruiting predominately black performers – professional and street-corner acts. The the performances feature a heavy dose of hip-hop, salsa rhythms and other Afro-centric beats.

“We look for acts that reflect the whole urban experience,” he says. “Yes, it’s heavily entrenched in black entertainment, but soul is not a color – it’s an experience.”

The UniverSoul has remained true its roots, empowering and enlightening black audiences who might have felt underserved by mainstream circuses. But above all, it’s a circus that wants to entertain everyone.

More on Cedric Walker and the UniverSoul circus can be found here…