PARTYMAKERS

★ fashion
Partymakers
A Look at some of toronto’s hottest promoters
Photographed Exclusively For UMM By: Dan Lim | Stylist: Rita Fiorucci (Judy Inc) | Groomer: Dee Daly (Judy Inc)
Write-Ups By Phil Maranda
Girls
All Dresses By Laundry BY Shelli Segal
Mark
Sergio
Shoes By Gucci $595
www.gucci.com
Tuxedo Shirt By J.Lindeburg $210
www.jlindeberg.com
Tuxedo Suit By J.Lindeberg $195
www.jlindeberg.com
Blazer By Drykom $525
@ Gotstyle
www.gsmen.com 416.260.9696
Shirt By Bustle $205
@ Gotstyle
www.gsmen.com 416.260.9696
102 | winter 2007
Shoes By J.lindeberg $260
www.jlindeberg.com
Denim $215
@ Holt Renfrew
www.holtrenfrew.com
fashion ★
Kleen Media
www.kleenmedia.ca
Kleen Media is a blazing-hot Toronto marketing and
promotional company made up of two friends, Sergio Senatore and Mark Holland. They handle numerous accounts in the city that range from the swankiest nightclubs to high-end restaurants, spas, and gyms. Senatore and Holland
credit their flamboyant expertise to the ten years that they spent in New York
City learning the tricks of the promotional trade.
They say that the job involves massive amounts of socializing, along with the
booking of performers, DJ’s, and the like. The job description also calls for
advertising, web promotion, obtaining liquor and media sponsors, organizing
guest lists, inviting VIPs, emailing all day, hosting, staying on top of what’s hot
in music, public relations, contracts, negotiating, and so on.
They also say that the biggest misconception about what they do is that, “we
only work at night,” but adds; “we work during the day in an office all week
long.” People generally think that promoting nightlife is an easy job, but that’s
not really the case. “It’s essential to multitask in this business, so you must
wear many hats. It is supposed to look fun and glamorous, but it is the work
of a great, hardworking producer under all that glamour.”
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★ fashion
Andrew Christoforou www.mysteryentertainment.com
Andrew Christoforou started Mystery
Entertainment in 1999 with his business
partners, Andy Deonarine and Peter
Weil. It all began back in their college
days, and they’ve been promoting and
producing first-class entertainment ever
since. Their love for the game and strict
attention to every detail has earned them
the reputation of promoting and managing events that cater to a fashionable and
upbeat clientele.
“The success of Mystery was built on
ensuring client satisfaction by creating a superior party atmosphere that
utilizes some of Toronto’s best DJ’s
and nightclubs, along with celebrity
guest hosts and international talent,”
said Christoforou. They now host one
of Toronto’s hottest weekly events—
Entourage Saturdays at the Embassy
Nightclub. Celebrating its one-year
anniversary, the special guest for the
gala was TV and movie star, Kevin Dillon,
who plays Johnny Drama on the hit HBO
show, Entourage.
Christoforou says that another of the
Mystery parties that shouldn’t be
missed is the Annual Northern Lights
Summer Boat Cruise. The company is
also working hard on their latest project,
Continuum Events, in which corporate
events, product-brand management, and
putting on events for the 25-plus crowd
is the focus. Check out the Maro Supper
Club on Friday nights for this new brand
of entertainment.
104 | winter 2007
Denim By Paper Denim & Cloth $170
@ Gotstyle www.gsmen.com 416.260.9696
www.paperdenim.com
Shirt By Sand $89
Tie By Tiger Of Sweden $135
@ Gotstyle www.gsmen.com 416.260.9696
Blazer By J.Lindeberg $345
www.jlindeberg.com
Shoes By Energie $199
@ Browns www.brownsshoes.com
www.energie.it
fashion ★
Byron Dill
If you’re looking to throw
a party in Toronto, Byron
Dill is the man to see. He’s
a lone-wolf entertainment
specialist who’s been in
the promotions game since
the late eighties and is famous for his flamboyant
attention to every last detail in organizing an event.
Known as the party guru,
Byron has hosted parties
in a number of top-drawer
nightclubs and lounges in
the city of Toronto, the
likes of Fluid Nightclub,
Ultra Nightclub, the C
Lounge, and the West
Lounge.
Specializing in theme
parties, Byron—that’s
‘B’ to those in ‘the
scene’—has thrown
some of the wildest bashes the city
has ever witnessed. His
claims to theme-party
fame include the Ugly
Sweater Party, WesternStyle Togas, Pimps & Hoes,
a Star Trek bash, and even
a Miami Vice rocker. He
believes that the number
one most important thing
in hosting a party is to
ensure that everyone who
goes to the event has a
great time!
Over the years, Byron’s
hands have been in
all kinds of business
cookie jars in the Toronto area, including
once owning a club
called State Theatre.
‘B’ has also owned
an ultra-hip restaurant/bar called the
Kubo Restaurant,
has been a
hairdresser
for twenty
years—his
salon,
Shagg—
and was
one of three
members of the promotional company, Panic
Entertainment. When
asked about the future,
‘B’ likes to say, “The sky is
the limit!”
Michael Henry Suit By Prada $2095
@ Holt Renfrew
www.holtrenfrew.com
www.prada.com
Shoes By Puma by
Alexander McQueen $345
www.puma.com
Byron
Byron’s own denim
Byron’s own t-shirt
Byron’s own shoes
Cardigan By APC $385
@ Holt Renfrew
www.holtrenfrew.com
★ fashion
Mike Arnoldi
www.parklanetoronto.com
Mike Arnoldi has been in the promoting game since he was seventeen, when he began arranging parties at the University of Toronto frat houses. More than 1,500
people came out to each event, and by the time he moved into bar/club promotions, he had a huge following.
At nineteen, Arnoldi fired up a company with Matty Tsoumaris—Voice Marketing—and it soon became one of the most successful multi-venue promotion companies
in Ontario. Following University, he left his beloved promotion business for six months and moved to South Carolina to play golf on a professional level.
Currently, Arnoldi is the proprietor of one of Toronto’s hottest nightclubs, Park Lane, which he slates as a six-star affair. He says it’s going to revolutionize the
nightclub experience with its unprecedented attention to service. “Park Lane will ensure that every guest will be in full control of his or her environment and that every
guest is a VIP.”
Arnoldi has now focused his main attention on his club but still finds time to involve himself in promoting what he calls ‘one-off’ events—one of his clients is UMM.
He’s also started targeting a certain age group. “I have begun to promote and build relationships with the 26-40 year old demographic, because I believe that in
today’s society, they are the true-and-dedicated club-goers.”
106 | winter 2007
fashion ★
Blazer By Hugo Boss $795
www.hugoboss.com
Shirt By Philip Sparks $350
@ Gotstyle www.gsmen.com
416.260.9696
Denim By Paper Denim & Cloth $200
@ Gotstyle www.gsmen.com
416.260.9696
Shoes By Lacoste $175
@ Browns www.brownsshoes.com
www.lacoste.com
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107
Matty
Nudie Denim $215
@ Holt Renfrew
www.holtrenfrew.com
www.nudiejeans.com
T-shirt By American Apparel $25
www.americanapparel.net
Vest By Buckler $220
@ Gotstyle www.gsmen.com
416.260.9696
Shoes By Energie $199
@ Browns
www.brownsshoes.com
www.energie.it
Wool Bomber
Jacket By
Morphine
Generation $485
@ Gotstyle
www.gsmen.com
416.260.9696
Heavy Metal
Necklace
Matty’s
own
JP
Denim By Hugo
Boss $300
www.hugoboss.com
T-shirt JP’s Own
Sweater By
Filippa K $325
@ Delphic
www.filippa-k.com
Matty Tsoumar & JP Salib
www.vmarketing.ca
Marketing and promotions came naturally to Matty
and JP; in fact, they’ve been organizing parties since
high school. They were the inventors and brains behind the multi-successful marketing and promotion
company Voice Marketing and just recently opened
their first nightclub (Cheval) in Toronto’s trendy King
West District, while still operating the promotion
company and throwing great parties that span from
places like Montreal, Miami, to Mexico.
108 | winter 2007
Matty went on to attend the University of Western
Ontario, where he took his skills to the London
club scene for four years—gaining a reputation for
always putting on the wildest events and showing
appreciation to the people who came out for each
gathering— while JP stayed in Toronto putting together great parties and corporate events. When
the two reunited back in Toronto, Voice Marketing
grew bigger and stronger than it ever had been.
They now throw as many as four parties a week in
Toronto’s top nightclubs and three other parties in
various cities.
Cheval was opened in February of 2007 and is one
of the hottest clubs in the Toronto area and has
had the pleasure of hosting celebrities the likes
of Jude Law, Naomi Watts, and Tara Reid. And if
that’s not enough to add to Matty & JPs success,
there’s another nightclub on the way in London,
Ontario called Mansion, which is scheduled to
open late 2007.
Adnan
fashion ★
www.adnanmedia.com
Adnan created Adnan Media to turn Torontonians onto the hottest parties that the city has
to offer…! His enthusiasm for promotion was
spawned by another equal passion for the art of
fashion photography, which he credits for first
getting him involved in the nightclub scene. From
his humble beginnings, Adnan went on to host
after-parties and one-offs, and then by introducing other promoters and club owners to various
events, he was able to work his way up to weekly
contracts.
“The response was overwhelming; it was the
right thing at the right time for Toronto!” he said.
Becoming a portal to the city of Toronto, Adnan
Media—in the past eight years—has grown from
a one-man show to a staff of six, promoting venues in Toronto, Cancun, and Montreal. And last
year, torontonightclub.com voted him Toronto’s
best promoter. (Adnan Media was the first company in Toronto to send out electronic invitations
for upcoming events.)
Adnan feels that his company has become a
household name in the Toronto area, along
with expanding internationally, and in the near
future, will continue to book
the best parties in
the city, while
promoting
events in
places like
Rimmini,
Mallorca,
Beirut, and
Dubai.
Denim By Monarchy $265
@ Gotstyle www.gsmen.com
416.260.9696
T-shirt By Blue Blood $165
@ Kama Kazi
www.kamakazistyle.com
416.304.0887
Cardigan By Acne
Jeans $335
@ Delphic
416.603.3334
www.acnejeans.
com
Brown Belt,
J.Lindeberg
$78
www.jlind
eberg.com
Boots By
Browns ID
$198
@ Browns
Shoes
www.
brown
sshoes.
com
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