Get Your Husstle On
Everyone in the west is starting to hear the chimes of China. The other day we overheard people talking about how many young companies are springing up. However, quality, professionalism, and delivery are hard to find at times in the concrete jungles of Beijing. You gotta hustle to make your mark. 360Fashion recently worked together with the Street Hustle event company in Beijing and were impressed with the delivery. We met up after the event with Matthew Arnett, Executive Officer of the company, and asked him about his experience in China and what he's been hustling lately.
INTERVIEW WITH MATTHEW ARNETT / STREET HUSTLE
Q: What made you start a company in China?
China's a bit like the wild west. Because everything is so new and developing so fast, everything's wild and untamed here. That doesn't mean just risk, but also huge opportunity and potential. With so much getting started, there's a lot of room to establish a company here to my own ideal, rather than fitting into a locale with an established way of doing things. People think of China as an old-fashioned country, but in many ways the new China is a place where new things happen.
Q: What brought you here? How did you end up in Beijing and how long have you been suspect here?
Seeing that China was the future of things. Everyone feels like China is the next big place to take over entertainment. It's going to be the next superpower, so I wanted to get a head start. Right now in Beijing, the entertainment is underdeveloped, and I felt like I could nurture. I have a lot of opportunity to create something like that. It's not like Shanghai, which has a much more developed infrastructure.
I came here in 2005 for a conference and Will took me out. And just because of the night life, I decided that I would come back and live. Beijing's night life is really on another level. I was so inspired that I came back in 2006 to work.
Q: How did you open a company? Was it a grueling process?
Starting a business from the ground up requires a lot of hard work and dedication, but I didn't name it "Street Hustle" for nothing. Everyone on board from day one is here to hustle and give all there is to give to the job.
It can be especially tough in the beginning because our thought from day one when we went to meetings with club owners, concert promoters, and other big companies was: let us prove to you what we can do first, then we'll talk about a contract. Let us throw a party, let us show how big of a crowd we can draw, how wild we can make the party, and then let's talk. Our bets paid off when show time came, but it did make for a tough beginning.
Q: How do you cope with doing business in China?
Doing business in a vastly different culture is harder than hopping on a flight. So I am used to reminding myself often to be patient and understand that there are different ways of doing things over here. My motto for working with partners is that it only seems like we have conflicts until we both just communicate what we need. I find over and over again that simple communication solves most problems.
Q: What are the elements of success in China?
In China right now, there's a great space for innovation. If you've got a great idea, you can come here to try it out and make it big. The only catch is that it will probably come with more cross-cultural hurdles than you can imagine, so you'll have to add a dose of perseverance.
Q: Is your plan long term here in China?
Street Hustle is a global idea, of which China is a part. Street Hustle will be in Beijing to stay, and plans are in the oven for expansion. If expansion takes me across the world, so be it. But Beijing will always have a place in my heart.
Q: What do you think about the Chinese party scene? Why do Chinese and westerners not mix?
People sitting at home across the ocean probably imagine the Chinese party scene to be as boring as a trip to grandma's, but they're dead wrong. Back in the US, most bars and clubs are legally required to shut by 2AM. Here, the party goes right on through the morning. In Beijing, some clubs don't really get started until 3 in the morning, when clubs back in the States would be long since shut.
Chinese and Westerners definitely have different styles of partying, but that doesn't mean they don't mix. Hip hop is an American phenomenon, but check the dance floor at Club LA any night of the week, and you'll see Chinese people enjoying themselves just as much as Westerners.
Q: How did you achieve this mix with LA CLUB?
Because Westerners tend to order single drinks at the bar, whereas Chinese party-goers tend to order bottles at tables, for Club LA, we encouraged a mix of easy-access bars with expanded seating options, to suit both crowds.
Q: What about the Street Hustle and LA Club collaboration?
The editor of one of Beijing's largest expat magazines foreshadowed Street Hustle's task
when he heard that Club LA was looking to draw the foreign crowd to a new hip hop club in the Worker's Stadium area: "Impossible. No way," he told the owner. Mere weeks later Club LA has already seen massive beach parties (named "epic" by one local expat magazine), international superstar after parties, and a consistent foreign draw.
Q: Beach Parties in Beijing at Club LA? What is going on?
What's most important is how meteoric this club's rise has been. Starting mere months ago (Spring '09) and coming to an already crowded market around Worker's Stadium (Beijing's club center), Club LA has managed to routinely bring out the crowds and, especially, draw in the hard-to-pull foreign market, along with Street Hustle's help. Now Club LA is quickly becoming the place where the stars party. This past month has seen the Ghostface Killah after party and Mobb Deep and DJ Unk partying in Club LA. One thing is clear: Club LA has arrived.
Q: What are the elements of creating a successful party?
The true Street Hustle secrets are on a lock-down on par with that of the secret ingredients of Coca-Cola, but what I can say is that Street Hustle always strives to keep things interesting. Parties seem simple, but there's a lot of details that need to be done perfectly, from the music, to the drinks, the performers, the atmosphere...the list is exhausting just to think about. For Beijing in particular, we try to make sure that our parties have an international touch, bringing people from all over the world to party together. Partying is a global language.
Q: What makes Street Hustle different?
That Street Hustle is both (1) BEIJING'S NEWEST and (2) one of the most FORWARD THINKING promotion and events organizations in Beijing. We are forward thinking in that we use buzz campaigns and a real-life social network to hook up Beijing's most active residents with the hottest parties, concerts, and events.
Q: Who would you like to bring here and do an event with?
If I could bring anybody, I would like to have a hip hop where a few different artists come down and showcase what they do, rather than just have one artist. Not because I'm all for hip hop, but because the hip hop scene is so commercial, I'd want to have much more of a music festival.
Q: What events have you already hustled up?
Street Hustle's major events include: The Identidad Latina Party and
Inaugural Club LA Beach Party (both at Club LA). We've also done the
Art of War After Party at Ruby Khi. Some important celebrity guests to
Club LA include rapper Mobb Deep and DJ Unk, and the Ghostface Killah
after party.
Q: What is the Street Hustle touch?
In promoting, Street Hustle focuses on the buzz factor. Enough companies can do traditional advertisements. What we can bring is something that raises questions, that stays on people's minds, and that they'll go home and tell their friends about.
For our parties, we always try to give back and create a sense of belonging, of identity, where people can be all of who they are. For that, we started our VIP group, Identity, so that our dedicated followers will always have the inside access to Beijing's hottest parties.
INTERVIEW WITH MATTHEW ARNETT / STREET HUSTLE
Q: What made you start a company in China?
China's a bit like the wild west. Because everything is so new and developing so fast, everything's wild and untamed here. That doesn't mean just risk, but also huge opportunity and potential. With so much getting started, there's a lot of room to establish a company here to my own ideal, rather than fitting into a locale with an established way of doing things. People think of China as an old-fashioned country, but in many ways the new China is a place where new things happen.
Q: What brought you here? How did you end up in Beijing and how long have you been suspect here?
Seeing that China was the future of things. Everyone feels like China is the next big place to take over entertainment. It's going to be the next superpower, so I wanted to get a head start. Right now in Beijing, the entertainment is underdeveloped, and I felt like I could nurture. I have a lot of opportunity to create something like that. It's not like Shanghai, which has a much more developed infrastructure.
I came here in 2005 for a conference and Will took me out. And just because of the night life, I decided that I would come back and live. Beijing's night life is really on another level. I was so inspired that I came back in 2006 to work.
Q: How did you open a company? Was it a grueling process?
Starting a business from the ground up requires a lot of hard work and dedication, but I didn't name it "Street Hustle" for nothing. Everyone on board from day one is here to hustle and give all there is to give to the job.
It can be especially tough in the beginning because our thought from day one when we went to meetings with club owners, concert promoters, and other big companies was: let us prove to you what we can do first, then we'll talk about a contract. Let us throw a party, let us show how big of a crowd we can draw, how wild we can make the party, and then let's talk. Our bets paid off when show time came, but it did make for a tough beginning.
Q: How do you cope with doing business in China?
Doing business in a vastly different culture is harder than hopping on a flight. So I am used to reminding myself often to be patient and understand that there are different ways of doing things over here. My motto for working with partners is that it only seems like we have conflicts until we both just communicate what we need. I find over and over again that simple communication solves most problems.
Q: What are the elements of success in China?
In China right now, there's a great space for innovation. If you've got a great idea, you can come here to try it out and make it big. The only catch is that it will probably come with more cross-cultural hurdles than you can imagine, so you'll have to add a dose of perseverance.
Q: Is your plan long term here in China?
Street Hustle is a global idea, of which China is a part. Street Hustle will be in Beijing to stay, and plans are in the oven for expansion. If expansion takes me across the world, so be it. But Beijing will always have a place in my heart.
Q: What do you think about the Chinese party scene? Why do Chinese and westerners not mix?
People sitting at home across the ocean probably imagine the Chinese party scene to be as boring as a trip to grandma's, but they're dead wrong. Back in the US, most bars and clubs are legally required to shut by 2AM. Here, the party goes right on through the morning. In Beijing, some clubs don't really get started until 3 in the morning, when clubs back in the States would be long since shut.
Chinese and Westerners definitely have different styles of partying, but that doesn't mean they don't mix. Hip hop is an American phenomenon, but check the dance floor at Club LA any night of the week, and you'll see Chinese people enjoying themselves just as much as Westerners.
Q: How did you achieve this mix with LA CLUB?
Because Westerners tend to order single drinks at the bar, whereas Chinese party-goers tend to order bottles at tables, for Club LA, we encouraged a mix of easy-access bars with expanded seating options, to suit both crowds.
Q: What about the Street Hustle and LA Club collaboration?
The editor of one of Beijing's largest expat magazines foreshadowed Street Hustle's task
when he heard that Club LA was looking to draw the foreign crowd to a new hip hop club in the Worker's Stadium area: "Impossible. No way," he told the owner. Mere weeks later Club LA has already seen massive beach parties (named "epic" by one local expat magazine), international superstar after parties, and a consistent foreign draw.
Q: Beach Parties in Beijing at Club LA? What is going on?
What's most important is how meteoric this club's rise has been. Starting mere months ago (Spring '09) and coming to an already crowded market around Worker's Stadium (Beijing's club center), Club LA has managed to routinely bring out the crowds and, especially, draw in the hard-to-pull foreign market, along with Street Hustle's help. Now Club LA is quickly becoming the place where the stars party. This past month has seen the Ghostface Killah after party and Mobb Deep and DJ Unk partying in Club LA. One thing is clear: Club LA has arrived.
Q: What are the elements of creating a successful party?
The true Street Hustle secrets are on a lock-down on par with that of the secret ingredients of Coca-Cola, but what I can say is that Street Hustle always strives to keep things interesting. Parties seem simple, but there's a lot of details that need to be done perfectly, from the music, to the drinks, the performers, the atmosphere...the list is exhausting just to think about. For Beijing in particular, we try to make sure that our parties have an international touch, bringing people from all over the world to party together. Partying is a global language.
Q: What makes Street Hustle different?
That Street Hustle is both (1) BEIJING'S NEWEST and (2) one of the most FORWARD THINKING promotion and events organizations in Beijing. We are forward thinking in that we use buzz campaigns and a real-life social network to hook up Beijing's most active residents with the hottest parties, concerts, and events.
Q: Who would you like to bring here and do an event with?
If I could bring anybody, I would like to have a hip hop where a few different artists come down and showcase what they do, rather than just have one artist. Not because I'm all for hip hop, but because the hip hop scene is so commercial, I'd want to have much more of a music festival.
Q: What events have you already hustled up?
Street Hustle's major events include: The Identidad Latina Party and
Inaugural Club LA Beach Party (both at Club LA). We've also done the
Art of War After Party at Ruby Khi. Some important celebrity guests to
Club LA include rapper Mobb Deep and DJ Unk, and the Ghostface Killah
after party.
Q: What is the Street Hustle touch?
In promoting, Street Hustle focuses on the buzz factor. Enough companies can do traditional advertisements. What we can bring is something that raises questions, that stays on people's minds, and that they'll go home and tell their friends about.
For our parties, we always try to give back and create a sense of belonging, of identity, where people can be all of who they are. For that, we started our VIP group, Identity, so that our dedicated followers will always have the inside access to Beijing's hottest parties.
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