Exclusive | Feature Spotlight
Gaye Magazine got the opportunity to interview Exec Eventz' CMO and Co-Founder Damien DuRell. Damien spoke with us about the origins of Exec Group, details on their Posh Day Party Tour, and the importance of bringing back fun, safe spaces for Black, queer patrons in clubs.
According to Damien, Exec Eventz started out as a series of house parties hosted by himself and Jay Izak, founder of Exec Group, in their hometown of New York City. Due to the success of these parties, the two decided to take their hosted events to higher heights.
Both Damien and Jay understood the necessity of providing events where people, specifically Black, queer people can fully enjoy themselves and take part in an elevated nightlife experience. What started as something unintentional and unplanned evolved into a purposeful movement, which is the essence of Exec Group/Exec Eventz.
Exec Eventz, which functions under the parent company Exec Group, is an entertainment service dedicated to bringing back the fun in Black, queer nightlife through chic, carefully curated signature events. The Posh Tour is one of Exec Eventz trademark events that take place across many major cities across North America such as Atlanta, New York City, and Toronto.
It was such a pleasure to hear Damien speak on his vision for the Posh Tour and enhancing Black, queer nightlife.
Can you tell us about Exec Eventz? How did it start?
“Exec Eventz started in 2017. We would have parties in one of our friends' backyards. It started with Jay Izak having his party. And then it went on to me having my birthday party. So it was kind of like two separate events.”
“...At first we were a little hesitant. You know, we were just like uh, what’s going to happen? You know, it’s so much competition, so many promoters out there. Our first party was Halloween, and we called it Erotica and from there it shot off into the stratosphere."
How did the Posh Day Party Tour originate?
“Initially we were already on “tour” per se because we were going to NYC, LA, DC, and ATL. So doing that, it just came to mind like, why don’t we just do a tour? Why don’t we just go from city to city and literally have a party and bring back that club vibe, that feeling of just having fun and that euphoric feeling that was missing from the scene.”
“And so it just happened. Honestly, it blew up overnight. So it’s been a great thing, us starting this tour. And we’re not even halfway done yet with the tour.
Would you say Exec Eventz is one of the first entertainment services centering Black, queer partygoers to have a tour of this caliber?
“Absolutely. When you see our production it’s different from other club promoters and other parties that you go to. We go all out pretty much. We put our heart and soul into it. We pretty much just want people to have fun.”
What’s the process of choosing an ideal venue for an event?
“So we honestly go out ourselves and look at venues. We really do our research, we will get on Google, we will ask people, we’ll schedule a meeting with the manager of the venue, etc…We try to go inside the venue and get a feel for it before anybody else and see how it will match the energy of the crowd. We go for a venue that caters to everyone. We want everyone to feel welcome and included.”
What tips would you give to partygoers to enhance their experience?
“Come out even if you’re alone, even if you have one friend or a group of people. Come out and have fun because like I said before, I’m gonna come up to you and greet you. My thing is we want everyone to feel welcome and we want everyone to feel comfortable. It’s a no-judgment zone over here.”
“...Don’t be shy. I know how it feels if you don’t really know anyone or if you want to just be to yourself. I’ve been in that space before and I had to open up and just realize people aren’t judging you…you can go out and have fun…”
Where do you see Exec Eventz in the future?
“Definitely a huge expansion. This Posh Tour has really opened our eyes to see how many people appreciate us. The call for us is so big we just want to keep going and growing. At the end of the day we just want to be great in the future…continue being great. We don’t want to stop what we’re doing. We love doing this.
“For me and Jay, we just want to continue to grow and hopefully take it to higher levels. My goal and my dream (Jay’s as well) is to go international.”
To learn more information about Exec Group and for access to Posh Day Party tickets check out their website.
Also, be sure to follow Exec Eventz on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok @execeventz.