Thank you to everyone who joined us last night for our conversation with Rob Kaczmark, Founder & Executive Director of Spirit Juice Studios and creator of the children’s YouTube channel Juice Box.

Your presence made it a night of real encouragement not just for Rob, but for the many Catholic founders, creatives, and investors in the room who are trying to build something beautiful with God.

Rob’s story took us from a rough junior-high experience and a simple CCD prayer card…
to BMX commercials in downtown Chicago and a near-miss career in advertising…
to getting kicked off Catholic radio, filming in underground churches in China, building a chapel in an industrial warehouse, and streaming Masses to tens of thousands during Covid.

Again and again, one theme kept surfacing: God is far closer to your work, your risk, and your suffering than you think.

We also cannot thank enough Fr Cassian Derbes, Fr Vincent Bernhard, Shannon Sullivan and Brandon Di Meglio at The Catholic Center at NYU for hosting us in their space as well as our photographer Nick Tan!

Without further ado, here are 3 golden takeaways from Rob’s conversation that we hope will stay with you:

1. God Doesn’t Just Watch Your Suffering, He Walks With You Through It

For Rob, faith didn’t start with a huge miracle.
It started in 7th grade, bullied and isolated, with a simple CCD prayer card:

That line became an anchor.
Then came the Serenity Prayer, and the realization that even if the “whole world” felt against him, God wasn’t.

Decades later in China (in 2012), standing in a state-run orphanage in front of a little boy whose head was swollen “the size of a watermelon” and who likely would never leave that crib Rob found himself asking again:

He didn’t get a clean theological answer.
But through St. John Paul II, Mother Teresa, and the witness of the Church, he came to one conviction:

And this past year, which Rob described simply as “a hard year,” that same truth came back in a new way:

What this means for us:
You don’t have to understand why you’re going through what you’re going through loss, delays, closed doors, loneliness in your work.
But you are never asked to walk it alone.

Ask Him very simply:

When someone starts to have that level of humility, that is where courage starts to come out.

2. Show Up and Stay: God Builds on the Risks You Actually Take

One of the key threads in Rob’s story is “showing up and staying” even when things look small, unimpressive, or like a failure.

• As a teen, he “got lucky” with one BMX commercial, joined SAG, and suddenly had trailers, agents, and the possibility of Calvin Klein-style ad work.

• At the same time, his youth group, retreats, and one-on-one conversations filled him with a joy and peace the industry couldn’t match.

• When an agent asked if he’d be comfortable doing underwear ads as a minor, something in him said no and he walked away.

Then came Spirit Juice’s “pre-history”: a Catholic radio show called Spirit Juice on Relevant Radio.

• Rob was working full-time at the Sears Tower,

• editing episodes late into the night,

• sleeping under his desk,

• and pouring everything into this dream of being syndicated.

Then one misstep, airing a remix of a beloved preacher’s talk over a dance track got him kicked off the air entirely.

That pattern kept repeating:

• China: hauling gear up the Great Wall, getting turned away from a lift, praying nine Memorares with Danielle Rose until the guard suddenly waved them through… and celebrating Mass at sunrise on the Wall.

• Covid: finishing a small office chapel just before lockdown, then using it to live-stream Mass daily to tens of thousands when churches were closed.

• Juice Box: seeing a need in his own family for good kids’ content, noticing that “if Blippi can do it, I can figure this out,” and slowly building a channel that now serves over a million children.

One line from Rob’s talk captures this:

What this means for us:
The Church doesn’t need perfect plans. It needs faithful presence.

Let God repurpose your “failures” into the next chapter of your mission.

Very often, the loss leads you to the bigger thing God had in mind that you’re now called to build.

3. Take Beautiful Risks: Catholics Are Meant to Shape Culture, Not Just Comment on It

Rob closed with a challenge that was as much for himself as for us:

He reminded us:

• For centuries, Catholics built the most stunning works of beauty in the world cathedrals that towered over two-story buildings and transformed entire cities.

• You didn’t have to read a treatise to encounter God; you just had to walk into a church.

Today, he said, the biggest cultural forces are Marvel, Star Wars, streaming platforms, and YouTube. They are forming imaginations and desires at scale.

Meanwhile, Catholics often hesitate especially around media, film, and digital projects afraid of failing, looking foolish, or appearing “too religious” or “too commercial.”

Rob’s counter-proposal was simple and bracing:

That’s how Juice Box started:

• He didn’t begin with a perfect business plan.

• He began with his own kids, a “crappy flyer” at church, and the conviction that Catholic families needed better tools to share the faith.

• From there came a children’s channel, new projects, and a growing ecosystem of Catholic media.

And his advice to Catholic founders and artists in the room was strikingly practical:

• Take real risks. Not reckless ones but meaningful ones that might not work.

• Start in your immediate circle. The people right in front of you, in your parish, in your family, at work.

• Think like builders, not just content creators. You’re not just making things about the faith; you’re helping souls encounter Christ.

What this means for us:

If we take this seriously over the next 10–20 years:

• We’ll still see suffering, opposition, and an imperfect world.

• But we’ll also see Catholic chapels in offices,
  Catholic studios producing world-class media,
  and Catholic ventures whose business models are shaped by the dignity of the human person, not just the bottom line.

• 
  The point is to respond, again and again, in a way that people can see the true power of Christ.

Upcoming events

Tuesday December 9th 2025, 8:00PM-12:00AM

It’s officially been more then 1 year since we started Fides Entrepreneurship!

After many ups and downs we’re very happy and thankful to God to have been able to reach this milestone!

Such is why we’re hosting a Christmas Party to celebrate all that has happened over the last year!

Past speakers and attendees who have been with us since the beginning will reflect on how this community has challenged, encouraged, and transformed them over the past year.

Other then joy and celebration as Christmas is around the corner you will also hear a word from each one of our past speakers and attendees on the impact Fides has made on them as well as meet many people who have supported us since the very beginning.

Not only that but this party will help sponsor Catholic high school and university students so they can attend our monthly Fides Entrepreneurship events throughout 2026.

Like how the New York Economics Club and Wings Club have sponsors, who sponsor student tables your support will allow students Universities and local Catholic high schools to attend for free, gain real world business experience, be part of a community of mentors, founders, and ultimately learn what it means to make an impact through ones faith.

We truly cannot wait to see you there as we share with you what’s next for Fides, as well celebrate all the great things that have come to be in the last year!!

Time: 8:00PM-12:00AM

Location: 134 4th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Attire: Black Tie/Formal

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Tuesday January 20th 2026, 8:00AM-10:00AM

After many requests and inspired by our role models Ken Langone and our speaker Sean Fieler who attend daily mass we believe that by starting the day with the eucharist, prayer and good company you are bound to the most incredible things!

That is why we’re starting Fides Run Club in addition to our talk series. To bring together Catholic founders, professionals, students, and friends who want to integrate prayer and health into their daily life.

08:00 AM, Mass at St. Anthony of Padua (Soho)
Begin the day grounded in the Eucharist.

08:30–09:00/09:15, Run/Walk on the Hudson
After Mass, we head to the Hudson River path for a light run or walk.
All paces welcome some pray the Rosary, others enjoy the view and conversation.

09:00/09:15–10:00, Coffee Nearby
We finish with coffee at a nearby café for a relaxed time of community and conversation before starting the workday.

Location: 154 Sullivan Street, New York, New York 10012

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Their ultimate goal is making professional catholics

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It publishes his letters, official biographies, and other spiritual works while also offering religious articles. Working closely with Voce di Padre Pio, Tele Radio Padre Pio, and Padre Pio TV, it forms part of a broader Capuchin mission to communicate Gospel values and continue Padre Pio’s legacy of faith, charity, and evangelization through modern media.

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