NextDayBetter+ORL 2015
One of my favorite events this year was NextDayBetter+ORL.
Thank you to my bro, Julius Droolius Mayo Jr., who invited me to be part of this great food and culture event.
I had the chance to meet the whole team behind the event. This all-day event brought together amazing talents, creators, and artists.
The event also included delicious snacks/food and drink and was a great way for people to network. I invited my friends: Dave; Randy; Orlando, Mai Hiro Editor, Larnna, and her husband, Geno, to join this event.
The event was held in local venue called, “Envy Labs,” which many of you may know as a successful online platform for “Code School” (one of my former colleagues currently works there currently). This place is really cool and has a Google or Silicon Valley type environment and culture.
We were able to catch one of the speakers, Kunal Patel, founder of Phyken Media.
Lunch was provided by food truck chef, Clarito Macalalad of Curbside Chef. I really loved the Kalua Pig Plate!
The Leche Flan dessert was delicious!
After such a great meal, it was my turn to take the mic. Luckily I had Julius as my emcee and he introduced me to the audience.
It’s showtime! Sharing the Mai Hiro journey and my knowledge was fun for me.
After my presentation, I had a Q&A session. There were so many great questions!
It always feels good to give back to the community. I really appreciate all of the support and love. I gave away some swag to those who came and entered in a quick photo contest. Thank you to everyone for participating!
I was so excited to meet Varick Rosete, another talented artist. We have many mutual friends and were finally able to share our love of vinyl toys. I hope I get the opportunity to work with Varick soon.
Time for another break! Thanks to Jonjie Sibayan, owner of Pao Cafe located in Tampa, Florida, who brought us some great Philippines-inspired food, including some bars and coffee.
I truly enjoyed being part of this event. Thank you to the NBD ORL+ team for making all this happen. This event shows that there are great things happening right in our own backyard and that the goal is to inspire those around us.
I hope everyone can attend the event for 2016 because it’s going to be bigger and better!
P.S. Envy Labs, please send this robot to me. I want this little guy so badly.
For more information about the 2016 NextDay Better+ORL event, please check out:
https://nextdaybetter.com/attend/orlando/
@NextDayBetter
#ndbORL
https://nextdaybetter.com/attend
Photos by: Larnna & Geno Thompson
Edited by: Larnna Thompson