Meet Cory Martin of Cory Martin Events in West Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cory Martin.

Cory, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My journey in the hospitality industry began on the beaches of New Jersey at the age of 17 as a barback. From there I started bartending at different clubs, bars and restaurants throughout NJ while attending college.

In 2001, I moved to NYC and continued working as a bartender and server until a friend of mine offered me a side job in catering. At first, I only really enjoyed the flexibility of the schedule but as I began working more events, I fell in love with the transformation from one event to the next. I was also fortunate enough to be working with some of the world’s best event companies and chefs, learning more than I ever imagined about this complex but exciting industry.

In 2005, I moved to Los Angeles and immediately started working for some of the premier catering and events companies. I was also working at Dolce & Gabbana as an in-house waiter and they would call on me to staff their upcoming events so in 2007, I started my own staffing company, Adonis.

After a year of focusing on luxury service, I opened up a catering division with an Award Winning Chef, Rashon Smith. It was only until my clients started asking me to produce their dinner parties did I realize that I had any talent in designing, which clearly came from my mother who was an interior designer.

By 2010, we were a full Event Planning, Design, Catering and Staffing firm, servicing clients such as Louis Vuitton, Bentley, Vanity Fair, Versace, Valentino, Angeleno Magazine, Brooks Brothers, Ralph Lauren, Vogue and many more. In 2013 I decided to rename the company to Cory Martin Events as I felt it was more encompassing of all the different elements we now offered.

March 1st, 2018 will be the next exciting evolution of my life in the hospitality industry. I have partnered up with Kevin Vanegas, who has a long extensive background in marketing and the beverage industry. Cory Martin Events will be rebranded to the Martin & Vanegas Agency which will be an Experiential Marketing and Events Agency. We will continue designing and producing the same type of events for our existing clients but now we will be able to offer strategic marketing concepts, brand plans, brand integration, social media amplification, and sponsorships.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Like any business, I feel the everyday struggles of keeping my company up and running. I need to make sure my employees are happy and productive, vet new creative vendors, make sure my clients remain excited to hire me while we continue to grow, create and develop new innovative strategies and designs, all during a time when the economy has its own challenges where budget cut-backs are all too common.

Some of the biggest hurdles I had to overcome were more of the business aspects of running my company. John Lennon said it best, “I just want to play the music” and that was how I felt about events. To be in the events industry, you have to love it. It is too difficult to be in it for any other reason and over the years as the company has scaled up, I have had to find the proper balance between running the company and planning my events.

Then the recession hit and I had to focus all my attention on staying open and new business development. But like any challenge we face, we become stronger and wiser on the other side. I won’t make the same mistakes again but I look forward to learning from my next ones.

Please tell us about Cory Martin Events.
When I first opened Adonis, I was only known for catering and staffing but once I began designing my events, we quickly established a reputation for our aesthetic and detail. Today we are designing and producing large scale events for clients such as Bentley, Rolls Royce, Verizon, Vanity Fair, Netflix, Herradura, NANOG, Vogue, Pierre Jouet, and we will be featured on The House Wives of Beverly Hills, seasons 7 & 8.

What I am most proud of is the list of people and companies that I have been fortunate to work with over the years. It has been an amazing journey with its successes and challenges but what has been contestant are the clients who I am honored to call my friends, who will still call me to produce the special moments in their lives. My very first client 11 years ago was Dolce & Gabbana and I am proud to say that I just got off the phone with them earlier today to discuss their event this weekend in Las Vegas.

I am also very excited for the next chapter in my life and launching Martin & Vanegas Agency with the most talented person I have ever known, Kevin Vanegas. We have been working together for years in different capacities but in 2018, we will finally be able to express our ideas in ways that our clients never thought possible.

I have lived by two mottos’, “If you are going to do it, do it right” and “I do not work for money, money is the result of what I love doing.”

Following this, I will find myself successful in life.

Contact Info:

• Address: 8687 Melrose Ave, Suite B222
  West Hollywood, CA 90069
• Website: www.CoryMartinEvents.com
• Phone: 310.273.8456
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: CoryMartinEvents
• Facebook: Cory Martin Events

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