Six Months of First Fridays: From Setup to Showtime

By: Brian Richards Rodriguez

Six months ago, we pulled up to First Friday with a simple setup, a fresh idea, and a whole lot of curiosity. No guarantees, no roadmap, just a belief that if we showed up, created energy, and let people experience something new, things would start to click.

Fast forward to now… and yeah, we’re saying it: we did that.

Six straight months of showing up, setting up, figuring it out, and leveling up every single time.

But let’s be real for a second, this wasn’t just me.

A lot of people helped pull this off.

From Corey along with the First Friday crew and friends helping us set up, to people giving feedback, to strangers who stopped, tried, and brought others back with them… this whole thing grew because of people. Because of community. Because of saying yes, even when it wasn’t fully figured out yet.

And honestly, one of the biggest things that made this work?

Just asking.

Asking for help. Asking for opportunities. Asking for space. Asking questions. Asking people to try something new. That simple move opened doors over and over again. More than anything else, just being willing to put it out there and see what happens made the difference.

At the beginning, it was all about learning. How people move. What catches attention. What makes someone stop, look, laugh, try, and then come back with their friends. We learned quickly that First Friday isn’t just about selling, it’s about creating a moment. And once we leaned into that, everything changed.

We watched strangers become teammates in seconds. People holding onto each other, laughing, trying to balance, stepping on and off, saying “wait, let me try again.” Kids pulling their parents over. Parents stepping on and surprising themselves. Groups forming out of nowhere, bonding over something they had never seen before.

That’s when we knew… this wasn’t just a product. This was an experience.

Every month got sharper. Setup got faster. Energy got stronger. The crowd started recognizing us. People came back looking for us. “You guys were here last time, right?” That’s when it hits, you’re not just another booth anymore, you’re becoming part of the scene.

And yeah, the numbers followed. Sales came, merch moved, but more importantly, confidence grew. We proved something to ourselves over these six months:

If you create something real, people feel it.

There were slow nights. There were moments where traffic dipped. There were times we had to adjust on the fly. But that’s the game. You learn, you tweak, you come back better next time. No excuses, just evolution.

And now? We’ve got momentum.

Six months in, and it feels like we’re just getting started.

We’ve built something that stops people in their tracks. Something that brings people together. Something that makes people smile, laugh, and move.

That’s the win.

So here’s to six months of First Fridays. Six months of energy, growth, and showing up. Six months of asking, connecting, and building something bigger than one person.

And trust us…

We’re rolling into the next six even stronger.

Look both ways.