If you’ve been to a Those Guys Event, like FRDAY, Mi Casa Su Casa or Just Friends, then you’ll already know who we are and what we stand for.
But if not, consider this a semi-formal introduction to Those Guys Events, an event planning and event production agency with nearly a decade of experience across the UAE.
Founded by Mon Belle in 2015, Those Guys Events have done everything from roof-top jams to providing entertainment for A-list after parties for Alicia Keys and Swizz Beats, dinner parties to becoming an official Dubai Expo 2020 entertainment partner. As well as running events and entertainment management across the UAE, we have an international edge with previous events having taken place in Los Angeles and London under our previous Soulful House and Afro House clubbing brand Afrocentric.
And we’re delighted to be continuing that international expansion in 2023 as we take our homegrown brands to North America thanks to our new event partners Collin and Corie Weaver AKA DJ Colione and DJ Crown Prince. The highly successful entertainment entrepreneurs have worked with Drake, The Wailers and Lil Wayne (to name a few) and put on shows in Toronto, Miami, New York and Antigua and we’re so happy to be teaming up with them.
Those Guys Events are drawing on that experience as we plan to take two of our homegrown event brands FRDAY and Just Friends to North America at the start of 2024.
“International expansion is something that has always been a focus for us. We did it in the very early stages of the company setting up when we were able to take our first brand Afrocentric over to Los Angeles and London. Several years on, we are now more established with a bigger team and a stronger international network. We are incredibly excited about being able to export the brands we have built here in the Middle East and take them to other parts of the world,” says Mon Belle, the Founder and CEO of Those Guys Events.
We’re also executing several other events across America and Canada this summer, including Supa Soca in Atlanta and Toronto, Socafro in Atlanta, Miami and Toronto and BonitaAppleBrunch in Toronto, Orlando and Atlanta. Several Dubai DJs, including TGE Partner Corie Weaver AKA DJ Crown Prince, will fly out this summer to ensure the events have the same cutting-edge soundtrack as in the UAE.
“The biggest joy about being able to partner with Those Guys Events is that I get to help curate and deliver a vast range of events and build brands around the world that are sustainable and culturally relevant. We run a business that focuses on connection over everything,” says Corie Weaver.
That growth is all thanks to you, the people who turn up to our events and have grown into family. 2022 was our most successful year to date in Dubai with new venue partners Monkey Bar in 25Hours Hotel and La Carnita and Sinners in Intercontinental Hotel.
At the end of 2022 we closed the year by collaborating with one of our bucket list event brands from New York, Everyday People, a party that Vice called ‘The World’s Coolest Day Party’ with over 1,500 party goers on the rooftop of Monkey Bar. At the start of 2023 we collaborated with-stunning new independent restaurant and lounge Lulu and the Beanstalk which is located in ICD Brookfield Place.
We worked with them on their inaugural block party back in March 2023 featuring world class DJs with headline performance by well renowned Hong Kong born and based selector Gia Fu and Amapiano sensation Uncle Waffles who just played Coachella.
As for those who have been to our events over nearly a decade, Those Guys Events are run with community, inclusivity and acceptance at their core. And that inclusivity (and a welcoming hug, if you’re game) is all thanks to founder Mon Belle.
“It’s always been important that we create safe and inclusive event spaces for all our attendees. Our audience consists of people from all walks of life and being able to bring people together through the events we do, the music and new immersive experiences is a key indicator of success for Those Guys Events. I met my best friends on the dance floor, while others have met their lifelong friends, partners and forever dancing buddies at our events. Being able to create events where others can come and experience genuine connections like that is one of the major reasons why I started Those Guys Events.”