An ode to experiences
You’ll never know, if you never go.
It’s a common misconception that everyone who works in the hospitality industry must ‘love people’.
In fact, for the vast majority of us who have — at some point in our lives — paid the bills by serving behind a nearby cash register, it’s usually an efficient shortcut towards opting out of any future human interaction entirely.
In much the same way, I know I’m not the only person who works in the ‘events’ industry who doesn’t exactly live for VVVIP access, imaginary exclusivity and extravagant late night parties with flamboyant personalities.
What I love — Nay, what I live for — Are experiences.
Ordering 50 cheeseburgers just to see what happens.
Sunburn all over.
Remembering those song lyrics in time to scream them out loud.
Too much salt on your margarita.
Jumping in, headfirst.
Falling in love with absolutely everyone I’ve ever met, 1000 times per day, then forgetting all about them a moment later.
Watching unapologetically weird porn.
Moving to America. Hating it. Moving home a few days later
Being there. Being present and just being ok with it all.
Which is why I was so happy to come across this short film by UK writing and direction duo Mathy & Fran. Not only is it beautiful to watch, it’s just so happily and openly enamoured by the past experiences of others… Something so painfully difficult to capture on film.
A few years ago, I penned a line to help market an event which has come to be somewhat synonymous with them ever since… ‘Content you can’t Google’.
While it’s never easy to leave your intellectual property within the four walls it was created in, I don’t regret handing this (or anything else I worked on during that period of my life) over to the event’s founder. Contrary to popular belief, I’m actually incredibly grateful for the cuts and bruises that came along with working on my first large scale technology conference.
My only wish is that I could have found better words to describe what we were setting out to achieve… Or indeed, the experiences I’m still in the process of designing.
‘Content you can’t Google’ isn’t bad.
‘Too much salt on your margarita’ definitely isn’t great.
But one of the most difficult parts of my job these days is finding words to help bring people along the journey with me… Whether it’s investing in a long term partnership with a first time festival, or simply purchasing a ticket to come and see what it’s all about, the tension for me always lies in the fine art of indicating this will be awesome, but not really explaining how or why.
Or maybe that’s the point.
Just like the video describing perfect memories of sticky floors in Paris, London and Berlin, I guess you’ll just have to be there to know what the hell I’m talking about.
