It’s Been Done – FQ Crazy Sexy Cool: Nightlife Episode

We had a time on The FQ Crazy Sexy Cool podcast, discussing the current state of NYC Nightlife and my personal journey.

As much as I layout pitch decks with client history as an art director I had never mapped out my nightlife history till the day of filming. No shade, I have the most expansive, extensive and diverse nightlife resume of my generation, working nearly every area and sub-genre in NYC, from photographer, to MC to publisher and archivist.

From curating my own signature events like No Bad News, Some Nice Things, The Stimulation Ball, Slight Return of The Gurls; building party concepts like Stimulation Sunday, Douched & Dangerous, Hot Sauce Friday or Meatfest, community events like They Are Playing Games, Offline: Speed Dating, TENz Coat Drive, partnering with The Big Apple Circus, The Nets to investing and supporting a new generation of hosts, nightlife content creators and event producers.

It’s Been DONE!

I started my NYC nightlife journey in 2006 as a first-time patron after becoming fascinated by the movie Trick, and song Club Lonely by Lil Louis; eventually navigating my way through the scene as a club photographer, creating advertisements for the legendary Escuelita and XL Nightclub under the direction of Big Ben.

My layered proximity to dynamic club personalities deepened my love of nightlife and impacted the cultural scope of my “daytime career” as an art director; with encouragement from my scene family and new emerging personality lead me on a path to try hosting and become an event curator.

My nightlife foundation has been Black+Brown (Blatino) events and the Ballroom Scene, joining my 1st house just 5 months after immersing myself in nightlife, by 2015 I began to expand my footprint to other niche areas of nightlife including the drag circuit and club kid scene.

That combination of experiences led me to create TENz, which has become a resource for the ball community and the surrounding queer of color community, acting as a bridge to the extended NYC nightlife scene.

Over the last 2 years I have been chronicling the decline of queer spaces at TENz, with a recent spike of 10 bars closures in the last 6 months with a broad decline in LGBTQ+ bars across the U.S., down 45% from 2002 to 2024. The rise of dating apps, rising rents, the state liquor authority, and of course the Covid shutdowns of 2020 are largely to blame. There is also a large unrealistic expectation that your beloved space will “Just Be There”, even if you haven’t visited in years. There are arguments monthly on twitter about “What new party should be created”, “What kind of bar should open”, and when they do the cycle of request continues and the last request for support is dismissed.

Get outside and get in the field! Support the functions that bring you joy, safety and mental relief.