Erman Baradi who is a Virginia Beach native is quite active in the Hollywood scene coordinating events to connect creatives in the industry. He has coordinated events in Hollywood with his The Rel/event series. He’s now bringing Hollywood to Norfolk, Virginia on November 19 for his new MixKnowledgy panel. Here’s a small interview that we did recently.
What are MixKnowledgy panels?
I had a previous event series, but when I partnered with my friend Brandon Waites for what I like to call a “fusion of of forums and mixes.” By that, I mean panel events with a social aspect to them, not just some boring town meeting. He’s from Tuscon, and I’m from Virginia Beach, so we both know what it’s like to network.
I know you’re a celeb interviewer as well as event coordinator; did the interviewing inspire you to create events or just working on some in LA?
Absolutely he did! I believe in the power of networking and making that connection with someone. I love interviewing but admittedly I use it as a platform for my other endeavors. In the beginning I’d contact publicists, agents, and managers whose clients I’ve interviewed in the past to help me book guests for my early events. From there, it snowballed with know more and more people in the industry. Of course, my ultimate goal was always LA. Los Angeles is the home of my biggest events so far. Not to take away from NYC or Chicago, which we did for the first time. But I see myself relocating here. I already have my foundation here.
If someone is planning to attend your event this month, what can they expect?
To be straightforward, Hampton Roads has never had an experience like this. My home state doesn’t get the type of industry events like LA or Atlanta or NYC or Miami. With the level of talent coming in on November 19th it’s almost an entirely new concept to them. It’s a series of Q&A’s/panels with
time to network in between. We have a house DJ for ambience to provide a low key, stress free environment. There’ll be a red carpet for photo ops because who doesn’t love that. There’ll be media for interviews as well. So, it’s a full experience.
time to network in between. We have a house DJ for ambience to provide a low key, stress free environment. There’ll be a red carpet for photo ops because who doesn’t love that. There’ll be media for interviews as well. So, it’s a full experience.
Who are some of the speakers?
Alan Wenkus, Oscar-nominated writer of “Straight Outta Compton, Angela Kang, executive producer/writer for “The Walking Dead”, Carlos Villalobos, music producer of “Empire” and Markus Bensch, production executive for “Captain America:Civil War.”
You have a good following on Twitter and Instagram, any advice you can give to those who would want to be more successful in that?
I don’t have the biggest followings ever but it gets the job done when it comes tofilling a venue across the country. I’d say devote time to actually working on your social media. It’s not always about how many but who follows you.
Where do you see yourself in a year?
Hopefully signed! I also would love to work on projects outside the entertainment world.
If you interested in attending the MixKnowledgy event in Virginia on November 19, here’s the link to it on eventbrite:
Follow Erman on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erman_la/?hl=en
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