Typically, “it all started . . .”; but that just sounds too cliché and you defiantly need some back story. Instead, here’s a question: Have you ever been so Hell bent on an idea just to prove a point? As a newly college graduate and a recent AmeriCorps alum, I had no idea what I was doing and honestly, I am still quite unsure. I’ve been resistant in getting an actual job, and quick to turn down any other opportunity as I knew I wanted to do something more than just have a job. I just wasn’t sure what that was. Out of frustration, Tommy would say “just try something, even if you fail”. - I don’t like failure. I think this is where we continue to bump heads. He would ask what it is that I like to do. My response would be something like I don’t know, I just wanna dance and shake my a** at music festivals. -You better believe my sarcasm reached new heights each time we would reach this point in our conversations.
Anyone who has attended an electronic music festival I think can vouch for the unbelievable feelings of support, community, and love. It’s no wonder we say that ‘we want to live forever in a music festival.’ Each festival offers a new experience, a new adventure, a new outlet to explore. Us being Michiganders, our first festival of the season seems to always be Movement Electronic Music Festival, previously known as DEMF, previously known as Techfest, previously known as . . . I’m too young to know. This is where we thought to create what we called Rave Packs; a fashionable, utilitarian style pack featuring all your rave necessities: chapstick, hand sanitizer, rubber bands, sunscreen, sunglasses, Q -tips, etc. You’d be surprised how handy those little suckers come in after a long night of raging and not being able to hear the next morning. We thought, sure what a great idea, but somehow this idea turned into something else.
From attending festivals, we noticed two of the same occurrences. The first being the insane amount of people who would attend these festivals. From all over we assemble to rage to our favorite artists in a magnitude of ways. Those who for hours on end would headbang so hard their front teeth would meet the rails. Those who would shuffle until their shoes came off (literally, I’ve seen it). Those who not only open up the mosh pits but the ones that are brave enough to thrash inside. Those who hoop, poi, toroflux and do much more while enjoying their favorite artists and the amazing community of people that we make up.
The second occurrence is the number of people who unfortunately are escorted out of the festival grounds or worse transported to the nearest hospital due to dehydration. This situation my friend is one I hope you never find yourself in. They say the tell-tale signs of dehydration are headaches, muscle cramps, dry mouth, tiredness . . . we can go on. In the hours and hours that we continue to rage how many of us slow down enough to recognize the most common signs?
Analyzing these occurrences, an idea that started a little over a year ago morphed into this process of try and fail, try and fail . . . and keep trying. MyHydrationPack is the outcome of those trials and errors.
In over the past year, we've been able to create a functional prototype, gain public support, secure a manufacturer, and are now waiting on our final results. And we could not be more excited.
MyHydrationPack aims to create a multitude of unique branded hydration packs that fit the unique multitude of the individuals who support its community. Our goal is to keep fans hydrated while wearing a creatively designed pack as they support the brands they love. In so, we ask for your comments, ideas, and what you want to represent. We also ask that you #NeverBeThristyAF.