From Backyard to Big Essex Venues:
What do you think of when you hear the word Zen? What does this mean for you? Most people would probably think Buddhas, meditation and yoga- not thousands of indefatigable Essex ravers cutting shapes in the mud to thumping House music in a field. Welcome to Zen Fest.
Let us rewind a few years to where it all began.
“Zen is more than just a way of being, it’s a state of mind”- zenapparel, 2019
My close friend Stefan Poelman, 25, is the co-owner of clothing brand ‘Zen Apparel’ , which he and best friend Sam Cottrell launched back in 2014. The brand’s vision was to combine modish streetwear with premium-quality materials, without breaking the bank. The brand’s range includes everything from T-shirts and shorts to tracksuits, sweatshirts , hoodies and hats. As I’m sure you’ll see below, the silhouettes are very simplistic and understated to appeal to a large target market. This, combined with an effective marketing strategy, has allowed the brand to take off; being worn by the likes of Towie stars Mario Falcone and Jordan Wright and other well known faces from Essex and beyond.
Having known the boys over at ‘Zen’ for quite some time, it is fairly safe to say that they have always loved parties and festivals and share a passion for House music, particularly with underground influences. So, to celebrate the launch of the brand, and as a promotional move, they hosted an event in 2016 which they named ‘Zenrow’ after the famously gaudy music festival ‘Elrow’ in London, which incorporates these such music influences. Essentially, it was a pool party in Sam’s back garden, with one person supplying a DJ set for the day… you’ve got to start somewhere right?
Who did it better then? Well that’s a no brainer…but they were just getting started. Nothing happens overnight.
But the event had a great reception. People enjoyed it. I mean REALLY enjoyed it. To the point where Stefan and Sam were being told “‘you boys really know how to throw a party” and “you should think about starting up your own festival”. Which got them to thinking…
Fast forward a few years, and the two young entrepreneurs had established their very own music festival in Essex, which they called ‘Zen Fest’ in keeping with the origins of the brand. With the connections they had established while making inroads into the events organising scene, they were able to get digital advertising companies on board whom helped to catalyse the promotional side of things. They took to social media to put out really professional-looking advertisement posts and promotional videos to acquaint locals with their new, up and coming festival. They were also able to acquire the necessary financial backing from Essex investors who saw its potential.
On the 8th September 2018 in High Ongar, Essex, the ‘pilot’ festival went ahead and was a great success; featuring local talents such as ‘George Artemi’ and popular London-based events company ‘Appetite’, who specialise in underground music. The event brought together several hundred people- not bad for a local boutique festival with minimal start-up capital and, hitherto, no reputation. It was a great day from start to finish, and again, the event received a really positive response… well, among everyone who went. Some of the elderly local residents weren’t so impressed, many of whom complained about the “ten hours of thumping bass music”
But the boys didn’t let this stop them. It simply meant that they became more mindful of, and accommodating towards, these antagonistic locals who so diligently seeked to impede their progress and failed to see them for the young, hard-working entrepreneurs that they are. They subsequently met with the council and agreed upon a noise level which was acceptable for the location. In order to make the most of this, they consulted sound engineers who advised them on ways in which they could manipulate the acoustic environment so as to make it sound louder than the noise limit and hence keep the ravers happy. They also took it upon themselves to post letters to the local Ongar residents way in advance to prepare them for the noise on the day, also outlining the ways in which they had worked to mitigate the disruption for them.
2019
Naturally, following the the success of the 2018 event, the ‘Zen’ team were quick to begin planning for next year’s festival, the only difference being this time round they now had the clout to start inviting some of the more celebrated DJ’s who would attract a larger audience. These included names like Max Chapman, Melvo Baptiste, Rossi, Grizzly and Pat Wilson, who you’ll know if you’re into your House music.
In the run up to the second ‘Zen Fest’ event, Stefan and I spent a month going around Essex handing out flyers and putting up posters, such that it would be impossible to drive through Essex and not see a Zen Fest Poster every few minutes. The boys were also invited to a local radio station and were able to promote their event on the broadcast. Marketing wise, they really had done everything in their power to turn their vision into a reality…
31st August
The big day was finally here. The sun was shining and everyone was in high spirits, but I was not there to enjoy the festival, I was there to work and support my friend. I was on the ‘tokens booth’. As paying for drinks using cash was not an option, the only ‘currency’ was the drinks tokens which had to be bought from the Zen Fest website in advance. Hence, I was in charge of issuing people with the appropriate number of drinks tokens. It was non-stop. For the vast majority of the day, right up until the evening, there was a continuous queue; a persistent assemblage of people who had just arrived.
The weather was brilliant, the atmosphere was electric- everyone seemed to be having a fantastic time and I was proud to be a part of it. Following the event, ‘Zen Fest’ quickly became the subject of conversation, particularly in the context of things to do in summer. The number of followers on the official Zen Fest Instagram page started to skyrocket, as people learnt of their reputation and continued to hear positive reviews among social circles.
And that brings us to now…
The unforeseen global COVID-19 pandemic has had disastrous effects for the events industry and of course, ‘Zen Fest’ 2020 was forced to cancel. Unaware of how long this situation might persist for, the ‘Zen’ boys began the groundwork for ‘Zen Fest 2021’, assuming normalcy by this time. However, as the number of cases and fatalities started to increase exponentially, so too did the severity of the restrictions, which would soon cast doubt on whether ‘Zen Fest’ 2021 could actually go ahead or not.
However, now that the number of cases are starting to drop significantly and a vaccine has been rolled out (with almost 30 million people in the UK alone having had inoculations already), the recent announcements of Prime Minister Boris Johnson have suggested that events of this size will likely be able to happen by September. Luckily, then, it would seem all the hard work and planning of the ‘Zen’ boys will have been worth it.
2021
This year, on the 4th September, they are going BIG. ‘Zen Fest’ has levelled up its venue (see below) and it has levelled up its guest DJ’s. Headlining is Ibiza DJ Richy Ahmed, alongside ANOTR, Funk Cartel and many more, all of whom are big-time.
Stefan has told me that the number of ticket sales is well into the thousands, a significant improvement from their previous statistics. Both the ‘early-bird’ and ‘second-release’ tickets sold out fast. Now, all that are remaining are the ‘final release’ tickets, so BE QUICK. This is not one you want to miss.
There’s nothing special about these boys. They’re no different from you and I. They weren’t born with a silver spoon, they just had the vision and the drive to make it happen. It just goes to show that anything is possible. To achieve what these boys have takes hard work and dedication.
Please do watch this short promo video of Zen Fest 2019 to see what it’s all about:
