Today we’d like to introduce you to Thorsten D Meier
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in Europe. My main passion has always been serving people, helping people, providing a better experience and/ or life for all hence I originally started in the hospitality industry. My first job was in housekeeping, i.e. cleaning hotel rooms.
I came to the US in 2005/06 and started my first own business in 2008 – a travel and event management company offering 24/7 service. During the years, I have organized, planned, executed and/ or produced the biggest sporting events the world has seen (especially when it comes to boxing matches), all of them on live TV.
I am most proud of my entrepreneurial skills; during the lockdown period of the pandemic, I could not believe that my life of events was immediately stopped. My livelihood was threatened to the core. I declined to furlough my staff and continued paying full salaries and wages for the entire time. We created a medically supervised event protocol for live TV events, got it regulated in the states of CA, NY, TX, FL, NJ and CT and then executed over 50 live TV boxing events during the lockdown when the world was sitting at home. This was physically and mentally draining but I simply did not want to accept that the world would stand still.
What sets me apart is a difficult question, I do not want to sound self-serving or cocky. But I somehow have a 360 degrees approach which helps me and my team to look at anything and anybody from all sides, remember there is not two sides to a coin, it is actually three including the edge/ rim. This is how I ended up creating KICKit World, a much-needed event project which is bigger than us. I am extremely passionate and believe in a long-term vision. If somebody wants to tell me that an idea is impossible, I will proof them wrong.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think there is ever a smooth road, life is hard. But it all depends on how you tackle it, that you stay determined. In my personal and work life I had so many setbacks, we all do, but then you got to get up and do it all over again. Especially if you feel that nobody believes in you.
In the case of KICKit World, there have been a few struggles. No start-up is ever smooth I would say. My top three struggles of launching this event would be:
Funding (was one of the bigger issues): Organizing an event the first time, it is beyond difficult to find sponsors, brands and supporters who understand the mission and want to associate themselves with it, or even thinking about spending money. Brands these days want to see proof of concept before they commit hence the inaugural event ended being self-funded which is stressing and scary beyond belief.
Brand awareness: it is extremely difficult to build your awareness, to get the attention you need to grow, to attract attendees and supporters alike.
Charitable work: one of the main components was to give back and empower the underserved youth. Our general idea everybody did like, but so many companies and individuals wanted to be paid full-rate for their services/ products and so many were not willing to offer us a better deal. Where is that giving back?
Going through such a phase you learn so much about yourself, dig deeper and work even harder. It will pay off. In my case, I came across DJ Hed and Jaden Smith, they understood the idea, they saw the vision, they support. This means the world to me.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My most recent work and the one I am most proud of is KICKit World. Seeing that kids are more and more on their phones, I wanted to bring it back to what it used to be, ie being outside and kicking it with your friends all day long. Within weeks, we started to create the first street sports festival ever; a full day filled with fast paced street sports such as skateboarding, roller-skate, basketball, wrestling and pickleball plus activations for sports, apparel, fashion and lifestyle, and concluding the day with a one-of-a-kind music concert. Very soon, we realized that we need to do more, we wanted to empower young, underserved minds with inspiring masterclasses, basically opening doors to their professional futures. This was done by creating our so called ‘RiseAbove Classes’, which are masterclasses giving them access to professional athletes, celebrities and personalities they normally would not be able to meet one-on-one.
It was more than important to us, to attract a very diverse demographic, spanning age, gender, ethnicity, and background. We wanted to attract everyone from beginners to enthusiasts, creating a united community. The more we brainstormed and worked on our vision, we realized that we are onto something big.
We launched the event on April 6 in Inglewood, offering over 40 masterclasses taught by super stars like Essence Carson, Desto Dubb, Social House, Rance Dopson, Jaden Smith and others. We hosted over 500 underserved kids fully (entrance fee, all activations and masterclasses, backpack, JUST water and I LOVE YOU food all was on us). Our concert in the evening featured local, upcoming artists (eg Niqa Mor, Chella, Christine Marie) as well as big names such as Lakeyah, LaRussell and Rich The Kid. In my personal opinion, LaRussell gave one of his best performances so far, if not the best. Him acknowledging our work and mission in the middle of his performance was priceless, definitely one of those “so proud” moments.
The City of Inglewood honored us with a Proclamation Day. The feedback from attendees and press was tremendously positive.
Our mission is to take the festival on a tour through secondary destinations in the US, cities which normally do not get this type of a community event.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I grew up in an extremely conservative, European family, where culture, tradition, family, values, respect for anybody was everything. My parents absolutely hated if and when we did anything selfish. Very early on, I was taught to care about the big picture and not yourself. I always tried to serve people, to make them happy; often putting my interests second. Sometimes I wish I could be more selfish though.
I was really shy until I started working fulltime. We grew up playing outside, no matter if subzero degrees or rain, my mother kicked us out of the house in the morning and we were expected to be outside until dinner. I loved sports when I grew up especially soccer and swimming.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kickitworld.com
- Instagram: @kickitworld.com
- Youtube: @KICKitWorld
Image Credits
Kiara Graves
Keila Gonzalez
