If you’re an EDM fan living in Denver, you probably already know about Offbeat’s warehouse-style after-parties. The artists they book are usually kept secret until showtime, but their reputation speaks for itself. There’s a reason they sell hundreds of tickets based on good faith, without announcing who might be performing at any given show — regardless of who’s on the bill, fans know that a night at Offbeat’s “HIDEOUT” is a guaranteed good time. How do they do it? By getting back the roots of dance music: good people, great music.
“We’re trying to embody the things we appreciated about dance music before it got so commercialized,” one-half of the creative duo behind Offbeat, known simply as “Bry,” said in an exclusive interview with 303 Magazine. “If we’re gonna throw an after-party, the last thing fans want is another big led screen with DJs tucked away behind their equipment. That’s not really what artists want either.”
Bry and his business partner, Lucas Carpenter, have tapped into something really special here in Denver — the growing movement toward minimalism within the EDM community.
DJs of all shapes and sizes, from Skrillex to Glitch Mob, have expressed their fatigue with massive, commercialized festivals and performances. Not that these events don’t have a valuable role in the dance music scene. It’s just that most people have already experienced that sort of thing. Fans are ready for something new. Or more accurately, something old.
“Our shows aren’t anything fancy,” Bry said. “We have great production, but it’s not really a place to show off for Instagram. That’s not why people are there. People are there to experience dance music how it was before Instagram even existed.”
Early on, Bry realized he didn’t need all the bells and whistles to throw a good party — a lesson he learned during his time at Western Michigan University. He learned a lot during his college years, although the most valuable lessons didn’t happen in the classroom.
Formal education wasn’t really Bry’s style. He preferred “practical experience.” “I’m not hating on college,” Bry said. “It just wasn’t for me. I’m a nerd who loves fashion, design and having a good time. Classrooms weren’t really my style, but I was always great at throwing parties.” So, that’s exactly what he did, and his parties became notorious.
In his college days, he’d have 300 people raging at his house on a monthly basis. Back then, all he had was some CDJs, a few DJ friends happy to play to such an easy crowd, and a tire swing for good measure. Occasionally, he’d hang some neon lights in his backyard, but that was the full extent of his “production.” It didn’t matter — people loved it.
Eventually, he dropped out of college, but not because he wanted to pursue partying full time. Actually, he wanted to get involved in the fitness industry. When Alex Hormozi (now a famous Instagram influencer with over one million followers), offered him a job at his company, Gym Launch, in the early stages of development, Bry hit the ground running. “I was one of the first twenty employees working at Gym Launch,” Bry said. “I was there before it became the massive platform it is today. Alex taught me pretty much everything I know about marketing.”
After two years under Hermosi’s wing, a 25 years-old Bry decided to start his own fitness marketing company, The Fitness Code. His company did great, reaching dozens of clients across four different countries with 17 employees on the payroll. Eighteen months later, COVID bulldozed over the groundwork Bry laid and abolished the fitness industry in the blink of an eye, laying out a fresh start for Bry, if he chose to take it. Luckily, he did.
Around this time, Bry and Carpenter’s merch company, Elev808, started picking up steam. They were releasing new merch drops on a monthly basis and getting great feedback from friends, family and customers by the dozens. Despite their success, neither of them had seriously considered their intrinsic eye for fashion as anything more than a lucrative hobby. And still, “lucrative” is a strong word. Elev808 was generating profit, but Bry and Carpenter donated most of that to charity.
“Elev808 essentially started as a glorified non-profit,” Bry said. “Because we didn’t need the money back then. I had my fitness company, Lucas has his supply-chain management gig. We were all good.”
Then, COVID happened. All of a sudden, they weren’t “all good.” With the fitness industry shut down, Bry struggled to keep The Fitness Code afloat. Meanwhile, artists across the globe also lost their primary revenue stream — touring.
Touring is often the most profitable aspect of a musician’s career — especially in the dance music world. Performing is how DJs make their living, through and through. The absolute demolition of live music during the COVID era was out of artists’ control. But, there was one thing they could still do: sell merchandise.
When COVID struck, Elev808 already had an endearing reputation for high-quality products and, perhaps more importantly, high-quality people. “It’s not just about the quality of your product,” Bry said. “Of course, that’s super important. But running a good business is also about being a good person. A lot of times, having that reputation is what makes people want to work with you.”
Clearly, people wanted to work with Elev808. Sales started increasing, more artists were reaching out to colab and their reputation was growing every day. Once COVID restrictions finally lifted, Bry capitalized on this newfound notoriety and hosted an Elev808 meet-up on a rooftop in downtown Denver. To their surprise, the entire place was packed out. Offbeat was officially born.
Since then, Offbeat has hosted some of the biggest names in EDM, from Merisv to Wax Motif and everything in between. To this day, lineups for their afterparties are mostly kept secret, but fans know what to expect — great music and good vibes. Nothing more, nothing less.
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Sure, they’ve upped the ante on production throughout the years. They have a few lasers now. 360 sets and surprise back-to-back performances have become Offbeat staples. But their mission remains the same: Let the music speak for itself, and lead with good intentions. People can feel that. And people will come.