Lupita:The new name of success

Ok Ok. Let's start it here! I have many role models and big figures who have helped me in emulating them. I have had many things in mind to write about them as a way of appreciation but let's just say I was too lazy then(Of which I was. No offense!) I hope I am forgiven Trump, Russel and the rest, am I? :). First of all let's start it this way,I am a Kenyan African man who was taught in the bush not to show emotions and feelings especially towards a girl.Lord, don't think I have a crush on her!(Yes, I do! Who in his right mind wouldn't? Maybe if your genes mutated during the embryonic stage before you were born.). Even if I were to... her,(anything that leads somewhere), the fact is, She is ten years older than I am. Something I detest very much, sometimes I ask my father, why he married my mother late. I would have joined the league of Bradd Pitt and company in submitting my CV to her for vetting as a potential 'nani'. Ok, by now you have all the clues on who is about to be the topic of this context.But for my blonde fellows, let me help you. She is female, she is Kenya (Woohoo! I AM KENYAN!) and the fact that She is in freaking Hollywood just ices the cake very well!

Her name is...Stop , you guessed right!!  So she was not that famous for 29 years, and not until recently when all of a sudden, she became new kid in in the corridors of Hollywood!! What does that mean?  She became an household name. Not only here in her mother country, Kenya but the world!! Imagine that?? A whole planet talking about you! Because of what?? Success.  The stunning Kenyan actress has taken the film world by storm with her gripping performance in 12 Years a Slave, and the role has garnered her best supporting actress nominations at the Golden Globes and Oscars. Most recently, she took home a SAG award in the category and was also honored at the Critics' Choice Awards, where she was welcomed to the stage with a standing ovation by her idols and peers before giving an emotional, heartfelt acceptance speech (it was one for the books; if you haven't seen it yet, we suggest you grab a tissue and watch :link). While there's a lot to love about Lupita — her raw talent, wide-eyed ingenuity, and incredible sense of style included. Lupita was born in Mexico City, where she and her family were political refugees. Her parents decided to adhere to Kenyan tradition — naming your child after the events of the day — and give her a Mexican first name. Her father, Hon Peter Anyang' Nyong'o, is a former minister and current member of Kenya's parliament. Thanks to his notoriety there, Lupita has a realistic view of fame, telling the LA Times,

Look at that caption, I don't need to add mine! 

"I grew up in the limelight and being the child of someone famous, so my relationship with fame is not bedazzled." But Lupita's still not quite used to her growing stardom; as she told The Huffington Post,

Lupita at the 71st  Golden Globe Awards

"I'm trying to get over the fact that my name is being mentioned with freakin' Brad Pitt! It's a lot. My name is coming up alongside people that I have grown up watching and who I respect so deeply. That is incredible and unbelievable."

Lupita graduated from Hampshire College with a degree in film and theater studies. She went on to earn a master's degree from Yale's School of Drama in 2012, just months before landing the role of Patsey in Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave. She speaks Spanish! She learnt this when her parents sent her back to Mexico at age 16 to learn the language.

Lupita in one of the scenes in "12 years a slave"

Also it looks like success is just not far away from her family, as her cousin Isis Nyong'o Madison was on Forbes's  list of Africa's Top 20 Youngest Power Women. Lupita also brought her brother, Peter Jr., as her date to the Palm Springs Film Festival and thanked Julia Roberts for "making him the coolest kid in school" by taking a photo with him that night. Lupita landed a job as a production assistant in 2005 when The Constant Gardener was being filmed in her Kenyan neighborhood. She spent some of her time helping the film's star Ralph Fiennes.

Lupita with her brother, Peter Jr. at the Palm Springs Music Festival

In 2009, she wrote, directed, and produced the documentary In My Genes, which explores the treatment of Kenyans with albinism. She credits Whoopi Goldberg in The Color Purple as inspiration for her performance in 12 Years a Slave. Lupita told the Independent ,

"Whoopi looked like me, she had hair like mine, she was dark like me. I'd been starved for images of myself. I'd grown up watching a lot of American TV. There was very little Kenyan material, because we had an autocratic ruler who stifled our creative expression."

Lupita also drew inspiration from Michael Jackson: 

"There's something very Michael Jackson-like about Patsey, the childlike quality he always had."

Her breakout role has earned her an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress. This is how we imagine Lupita reacted when she found out the news. She's into '90s TV just as much as we are; growing up in Kenya, Lupita's favorite shows were Full House, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Friends. Hear that, Jennifer Aniston ? Lupita's first time seeing a roller coaster was in the opening credits of Step by Step . Watch her hilarious interview with Jimmy Kimmel where she explains her first time riding one.Lupita's interview with Jimmie

Director McQueen, Lupita and Ejiofor. '12 Years a Slave' Premieres in London

For her first-ever time at the Golden Globes, Lupita had an adorable "checklist" of stars she wanted to meet and take photos with. She nailed it! The red-caped Ralph Lauren gown she wore that night turned lots of heads and landed Lupita on many a best-dressed list . Lupita told the LA Times that she's also been keeping a journal to track her journey through award season. Prior to starring in 12 Years a Slave, Lupita appeared in a short film called East River, as well as an African MTV miniseries called Shuga. She's a fashion-industry darling! Lupita covers the February issues of W Magazine and Dazed and Confused and has already landed a gig as one of the new faces of Miu Miu 's Spring campaign. Nyong'o picked up the very first SAG Award of the night, beating out American Hustle star (and Golden Globe winner) Jennifer Lawrence for the Best Supporting Actress honor.

"Being recognized by fellow actors is an honor of the highest order, and I want to thank all of you so much,"

she said in her emotional acceptance speech. 

Lupita looking emotional during her speech

"First of all I want to thank the man without whom this would all not be possible, Solomon Northup, for a life well lived..."

She went on to thank director Steve McQueen, as well as her alma mater, Yale School of Drama, for the "amazing training." Last but not least, she thanked her family, who "have kept it real." Recalling the moment she got the role in 12 Years a Slave, Nyong'o told the crowd,

"I said, 'Daddy, do you know Brad Pitt? I'm going to be in a movie with him.' And he said, 'I don't know him personally, but I'm glad you got a job."

The invitation letter she got to the Oscars

Well as a young guy in his last teen years, I am happy that I can have a person I can look up to, a person  who has garnered a lot of accolades within weeks and has grown. And if you think she's stopped at it, you're wrong! We'll next see Lupita in the upcoming action film Non-Stop with Liam Neeson, Michelle Dockery, and Julianne Moore. Not too fast young lad! She is going for the Oscars too! Let's hope she wins! Wait! Hope?? No!! She is going to take all the Oscars she has been nominated for! I am that optimistic!

Be yourself!!

So yeah, I have been looking through my life both digitally and analogically (If there is a word like this even!) and I can say I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best. That's what life tells me to tell others. I bet it's the same with most of us. I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be. That's only for this time you know. I am still going on to strive and  be where I have to be.Then I ask myself, what should I do to achieve that? This is what life tells me, Never take life too seriously. You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching, Love like you'll never be hurt, Sing like there's nobody listening, And live like it's heaven on earth. That's what William W. Purkey advises us to do and I think he was right, and always will be.

They say that You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough. It's better than Yolo-ing the whole time or let me rephrase it, Turning up!! Yes, turning up is a good way of winding out with your gang but that doesn't mean you do the same every 48 hours. That will be insane. No one will ever take you seriously, not even your small brother in Pre-school. Just live once!

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on. Yes it does. If you don't then try and sleep wake up to see if the time is still the same. Did it pause?? Or did it move? If it did, then you're right! Life actually moves o! So should you! There is this story I heard about a dentist and his patient who came to the hospital to have his painful tooth removed.According to pure logic, the doctor will remove the tooth since it's painful but what happens when the tooth is removed? There will be a gap. Once in a while the patient will run their tongue on the gap left where the tooth was.Unfortunately, there is no tooth but fortunately,  there is no pain again. What does it teach you?? According to me let me use the normal way we perceive things, in a relationship for example,That guy whom you loved sooo much but was a pain in the behind is what you need to remove. Yes, there will be a gap but there will be no pain and with that life moves on!!

You know what? To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist that is all. Funny enough, is they don't do anything about it. is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not. Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. Plans that sooner than enough fits into your life jigsaw puzzle well.

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. This life is what you make it. No matter what, you're going to mess up sometimes, it's a universal truth. But the good part is you get to decide how you're going to mess it up. 

To the girls(and most probably boys)

Girls will be your friends they'll act like it anyway. But just remember, some come, some go. The ones that stay with you through everything they're your true best friends. Don't let go of them. Also remember, sisters make the best friends in the world. As for lovers, well, they'll come and go too. And man, I hate to say it, most of them - actually pretty much all of them are going to break your heart, but you can't give up because if you give up, you'll never find your soul mate. You'll never find that half who makes you whole and that goes for everything. Just because you fail once, doesn't mean you're gonna fail at everything. Keep trying, hold on, and always,always, always believe in yourself, because if you don't, then who will, sweetie? So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life's a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about.

Start Living simple

Yes, we have said we want to do this and that. But each day we wake up not feeling that vibe of finishing it or doing a task. But we can start somewhere. Here are a few tips that might help us to change our mistakes.

-Decide what is important. Take a step back and think about what’s important to you. What do you really want to be doing, who do you want to spend your time with, what do you want to accomplish with your work? Make a short list of 4-5 things for your life, 4-5 people you want to spend time with, 4-5 things you’d like to accomplish at work. Examine your commitments. A big part of the problem is that our lives are way too full. We can’t possibly do everything we have committed to doing, and we certainly can’t enjoy it if we’re trying to do everything. Accept that you can’t do everything, know that you want to do what’s important to you, and try to eliminate the commitments that aren’t as important. Do less each day. Don’t fill your day up with things to do. You will end up rushing to do them all. If you normally try (and fail) to do 7-10 things, do 

3 important ones instead (with 3 more smaller items to do if you get those three done). This will give you time to do what you need to do, and not rush. Leave space between tasks or appointments.

-Another mistake is trying to schedule things back-to- back. This leaves no cushion in case things take longer than we planned (which they always do), and it also gives us a feeling of being rushed and stressed throughout the day. Instead, leave a good-sized gap between your appointments or tasks, allowing you to focus more on each one, and have a transition time between them.


  -Eliminate as much as possible from your to-do list. You can’t do everything on your to-do list. Even if you could, more things will come up. As much as you can, simplify your to-do list down to the essentials. This allows you to rush less and focus more on what’s important. Slow down and enjoy every task. This is the most important tip in this article. Read it twice. Whatever you’re doing, whether it’s a work task, eating, brushing your teeth, cooking dinner, driving to work: slow down. Try to enjoy whatever you’re doing. Try to pay attention, instead of thinking about other things. Be in the moment. This isn’t easy, as you will often forget, but find a way to remind yourself. Unless the task involves actual pain, anything can be enjoyable if you give it the proper attention. Eat slowly. This is just a more specific application of taking things more slowly but it’s something we do every day, so it deserves special attention. Drive more slowly. Another application of the same principle, driving is something we do that’s often mindless and rushed. Instead, slow down and enjoy the journey. See How to Practice Zen Driving.

-Single-task. This is an important point. Do one thing at a time, and do it well; see How to Avoid Multi Tasking. Eliminate stress. Find the stressful things in your life, and find ways to eliminate them. See How to Relieve Stress . Take a walk with your pet, small brother or a friend round the neighbourhood and come back, play that Call of Duty with that PlayStation 4 you got over Christmas from your Parents(God bless Sony for such entertainment devices). You can also listen to that favourite tune you like to listen to when you are low. This will help a whole lot in clearing your mind off things you would not want to think about when stressed. In short make the best out of every minute positively.

-Unhook yourself from the lot. This means Creating time for solitude. In addition to slowing down and enjoying the tasks we do, and doing less of them, it’s also important to just have some time to yourself. Do nothing . Sometimes, it’s good to forget about doing things, and do nothing and don't worry. Sprinkle simple pleasures throughout your day. Knowing what your simple pleasures are, and putting a few of them in each day, can go a long way to making life more enjoyable. -Practice being present. You can practice being in the moment at any time during the day. The key methods of being present include paying attention instead of daydreaming, observing what is going on around you, breathing attentively and meditating . Live in the Moment . Instead of delayed gratification, try enjoying life right now. Putting others first helps with living a peaceful life. Living in conflict with people hurts, and sometimes we feel so small after a minor or major argument. But if we could just look past their faults, they could look past ours maybe. forgiveness helps with living a peaceful life, (at peace with ourselves and others around us).

-Don't always buy things you just want. Instead buy the things you need . This helps you economically too. Thus being able to cater well for what you just need. Recognize that having lots of material possessions will not increase your long- term happiness. Don't shop on impulse. Instead, make planned purchases based on your priorities, lifestyle and personal style. 

-Help yourself and help your surroundings. Many at times we just wake and forget to spread our beds (Even I myself I am a victim), yet we expect to go back in there donkey tired to just slumber. However, when we get to our beds. We get disappointed since we expect to just open the duvet and slip in our legs and sleep. That negative feeling makes you even more tired. Waking up in the morning taking those 30 seconds to quickly spread your bed will even make you think straight the whole day. (Try that and you'll notice it). You will find most of the things falling into place. Moreover, doing the dishes too makes you set free for the day. This helps you have that positive feeling that you have nothing to do when it comes to the kitchen. Creates a good vibe throughout the day for you. You will even find your attitude changing for the better!

THE ULTIMATE HANGOUT FESTIVAL

 Ultimate Hangout Festival is a  Tri-Annual event organised by the fast growing event organising company in the region at the moment- IMagine-nation INC. It is held each year here at the heart of Nairobi, the capital of our beloved country, Kenya. This event features local talents like the duo that brought down the show during Ultimate Hangout II , LoveKey&Riyo, DJ Gredo, DJ Flink, Woyez, Trancephilic5 and King of The Ultimate Hangout- VJ Mopreme. This event is all about meeting our friends, new friends and friends-to-be once in these busy days. Both at school and at the work place. 


 LoveKey & Riyo performing at Ultimate Hangout II

It creates a platform where people from all ages are able to meet, have fun, play games, socialize, and even share ideas with their beloved ones which can help them in. This event is also aimed at giving the society time to showcase their talent through music, art work and much more. Bringing out the whole Ultimate experience of a hangout with loved ones In addition to that there are live performances. With only a minimum of 500 bob(Obviously for those who will buy the tickets online)

You can get all this fun! You just need that ticket and yourself! Those tickets you can find them either online or at the ticket outlets which will be advised further by the organizers on the official event page.

This year they are planning on making it bigger than ever, with a massive stage, thumping sound from start to finish, electrifying performances from the Djs and live acts all together! With what these guys have invested in, we are surely not going to get disappointed by what they have to offer!

Oh I forgot! They did some changes like the venue where it was initially KRFU grounds. Now it's Ngong Racecourse and they have extended the time from 7pm to 9pm! WOW! I can't miss this! Will you?

The Man behind UMF

Russell Faibisch! The man behind the largest and biggest Electronic Dance music Festival in the world with an attendance exceeding 330,000 goers! A relaxed man to me who looks like he has had it all! Below is just a small history behind him and what has been a phenomenal event in the Twenty First Century! ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL!

Russell Faibisch,before his first event, left the Outback Steakhouse on 21st Street in Miami Beach on March 12, 1999, the night before he was to launch his huge beachside electronic music festival.
"We had a big family dinner. Everyone was feeling really good," Faibisch recalls now. "Later, as I drove away, something bizarre happened." He got pulled over by a cop. "I ended up getting arrested for something with my tag — something ridiculous. I had never been in trouble before and had never gone to jail."
Faibisch sat locked up as the hours ticked away. The show could not go on without him."Everyone was waiting for me because I had the cashier's checks," he remembers. "The sound company would not turn the sound on until they had the money up-front."
After about eight hours of uncertainty, Faibisch was released (the charges would later be dropped), made his way to Collins Park, and handed over the remaining payments. Gates opened at 11 a.m. as planned.
Ten thousand fans swarmed the event as electronic dance music (EDM) acts including Josh Wink, Baby Anne, and Paul van Dyk cycled through the event's main stage and 100-plus-decibel beats boomed over the city. As people danced, got half-naked and sweaty, and ran from the concert to jump into the ocean and back, Faibisch and his business partner, then-28-year-old Alejandro Alex Omes, spent the day running around and troubleshooting.

"To watch it unfold before our eyes was something really special," Faibisch remembers.
On a recent day this February, Faibisch, now 35 but still with cherub cheeks and boyish features, wore classic Miami business casual — blue jeans and a button-up — and retraced his steps at Collins Park.
"I remember walking on the sand here in 1998 and looking at this beach and dreaming," he says, "dreaming of what we could do, of what was possible."He had succeeded in breaking out of the nightclub scene and pulled off a $200,000 event. He was 21 years old only.

Courtesy of Ultra Music Festival

 Today, Faibisch's Ultra Music Festival and its related projects make up a monster business. There are satellite Ultra festivals in Brazil, Ibiza, South Korea, Croatia, Argentina, and Chile. There are Ultra radio broadcasts, film premieres, and a partnership with legendary New York City label Ultra Records.
And no one can deny that Ultra has become a powerful force in Miami. An economic-impact report commissioned by the festival estimates that it pumped $79 million into the local economy last year, when it had grown to be a six-day party for two weekends with a record 400,000 attendees are expected.
Along its 15-year journey, Ultra has had to battle city commissioners, a debauched image, and the Winter Music Conference (WMC) that paved the way for it. And last August, cofounder Omes filed a lawsuit against Faibisch, alleging that he was illegally kicked out of the company during a "secret shareholders' meeting." But as the saying goes, you can't make it to the top without making a few enemies.
Born and raised in the western suburbs of Miami-Dade, Russell Faibisch inherited a knack for business from his father, who shares his name with his son. The elder Faibisch, a Brooklyn native and bail bondsman since 1968, founded Surety Corporation of America, a company that provides underwriting services to more than 650 bail bond agents nationwide. As a teenager, the younger Faibisch worked in the family business.
"People ask me if doing Ultra is hard," Faibisch says now. "But after working with criminals, Ultra seems like a piece of cake."

 

Ultra debuted in 1999 on Miami Beach with a modest setup.

Courtesy of Ultra Music Festival

 While attending Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School, he developed a love for electronic music.
"It was Depeche Mode in [1993] for the 'Devotion Tour' at the Miami Arena that everything clicked for me," Faibisch says, "and I realized that this was what I want my life to be. Somehow, someway, but I hadn't figured exactly how yet." Later, he would name his festival after Depeche Mode's 1997 studio album, Ultra.
Also in 1993, Faibisch attended Divine Playground, one of the city's first major rave events, held in March 1993 at Bayfront Park.  Faibisch describes the event as "ahead of its time."
"I was young, but that experience for me was like, 'This is it; this is what I want to do.'"
The then-15-year-old started attending raves around the city, becoming a full-fledged promoter by the time he turned 20. He attended business classes at Florida International University but eventually dropped out when Ultra started to consume all of his time.

Thee line up!!

"Amoeba was my first-ever event, in 1998 at Power Studios," he says. "We had over 2,500 people show up."
But the idea of a beachside dance-music festival would come from another working relationship he developed in the mid-'90s. Alex Omes, a Miami Beach Senior High grad who was then about 25 years old, was publisher of a dance-music magazine called D'VOX, which devoted its pages to pushing the city's burgeoning EDM culture. Before launching the magazine, Omes had cut his teeth in the '90s Miami club scene as a bouncer at Cameo, where he developed the connections that would eventually allow him to be seen as an influence.

"I was doing an event and had to place some ads," Faibisch remembers. "That's when I met Alex Omes, who had the vision. We started Ultra together."

Omes and Faibisch connected on their mutual love for club beats, becoming close friends as well as business partners. The duo, looking to capitalize on Miami's growth as a dance-music hub, came up with the idea of holding a beachside party during Miami's WMC.
The conference was an industry event that had been launched in 1985 as a way for EDM artists, DJs, producers, and promoters to come together for panel discussions and seminars. During the week of the conference, there were also sanctioned dance parties and concerts at nightclubs throughout Miami. EDM fans began flocking to Miami every March. With thousands of people coming to town for the conference, the opportunity to launch a signature dance-music event was ripe.
Omes brought his industry connections, and Faibisch brought the business savvy.

"There were a lot of growing pains," Faibisch says.

Faibisch was able to secure investors, including a $10,000 bank loan for seed money.
"Everybody had to take a leap of faith in investing in what we were trying to accomplish. Rabbit in the Moon was the anchor — they played very rarely and usually only at Zen Festival. Once we got them, it was easier to get other artists onboard."

An early shot of DJ/producer Tiësto.

Chris Grosser / Ultra Music Festival

The Black Eyed Peas debuted their single "Boom Boom Pow" at the 2009 festival.

 However, thanks to subcultures in London, Detroit, Chicago, and New York, new genres of dance music emerged over the next two decades: house, electro, techno, and trance. The late '90s saw DJs and producers like Moby, Fatboy Slim, Paul Oakenfold, the Chemical Brothers, and the Prodigy gaining moderate success on the Billboard charts, though the genre still couldn't compete with hip-hop or pop.
But drugs, ecstasy in particular, seemed to go hand in hand with dance music, and when Ultra launched in 1999, EDM seemed to be at a crossroads. Pushed by national news reports of deaths caused by overdoses, cops raided parties and lawmakers passed anti-rave ordinances around the country. Dance scenes fizzled.
"It was euphoric in one sense and chaotic in another," says WMC cofounder Bill Kelly of the inaugural Ultra. "At some point, they were carrying people out of there on stretchers, right past a city commissioner they had invited. They brought him to see [the event] because they wanted to show it off."
Despite these early setbacks, Ultra seemed to learn that to survive, it needed to prove itself a fun but safe environment for EDM fans.
"Our number-one priority is safety and security," Faibisch insists. "A lot of promoters say that, but not many follow through. The police and city need to see that you're not only talking but backing it up with action and not trying to cut corners or save costs. If they see that, that goes a long way."
Successful as the first Ultra was, it lost money — $10,000 to $20,000, Faibisch estimates.
"Today, $10,000 to $20,000 doesn't seem like a lot, but back then, it seemed like we lost millions," he says.
But he forged ahead. "I'm very, very passionate about it," Faibisch says. "It's my heart and soul. It's what I eat, live, and breathe. Probably one of the most rewarding things now is looking back at the old days and seeing how just about everybody there was asking the same questions, saying, 'Stop, this doesn't make sense!'"

Anthony Djuren / Ultra Music Festival

In 2010, Deadmau5 put on an ambitious stage show.

In 2000, Faibisch and Omes threw a second, successful Ultra, and by 2001, its third year, Ultra had outgrown its South Beach home at Collins Park. At the insistence of the city, Faibisch moved the party to Bayfront Park in downtown Miami. Attendance swelled from the initial 10,000 attendees to 23,000.
As it grew, Ultra worked in tandem with the Winter Music Conference in championing electronic music. It coordinated dates, and WMC badge holders were allowed free access to Ultra.
The festival lasted five years at Bayfront, until 2005, when the park's trust urged Faibisch to consider moving it to the much larger Bicentennial Park, located north of American Airlines Arena.
The festival helped acts like Tiësto, Avicii, and Deadmau5 launch their careers in the United States. By 2006, with EDM virtually nonexistent on U.S. radio, playing Ultra, one the few major American electronic music festivals, seemed necessary to gain exposure. Established artists began seeing Ultra as a key place to premiere new tracks. Newcomers saw it as a way to get noticed.
"I've probably done 11 out of the 15 years of Ultra," superstar DJ Tiësto confesses. "It's probably one of the most important festivals in the world. To be a headliner there, on the main stage, with the big production, has been very good for my career."

Will you miss this?

The festival has had a slew of iconic moments. Who can forget Madonna popping up during Avicii's set last year to ask "How many people in this crowd have seen Molly?" — and Deadmau5's subsequent railing against her for trying to seem cool with the veiled drug reference to ecstasy? The Black Eyed Peas performed "Boom Boom Pow" for the first time ever at Ultra 2009 — which perhaps hinted toward EDM's eventual pop crossover. Faibisch's personal highlight was the Cure playing in 2007.

According to court documents, Omes and Faibisch "operated the company on a day-to-day basis as a small shop and rarely observed any corporate formalities" until 2005, when they created a "memorandum of understanding" establishing Faibisch, his younger brother Charles, and Omes as shareholders. The memo specified that "management and operational decision making authority remain with Alex Omes and Russell Faibisch as presently exist in Ultra."

Done phase 1 line up 2014!

Over the years, the company has grown to include "a very small core team — less than 20," Faibisch says. "Everybody has their role... These are people who have been with us eight to ten years minimum."

The biggest stage in the World ATM

Today, Omes is out, and a new partner, Adam Russakoff, is on board. Faibisch says that they put in long days due to the complexity of working with people all over the world and that Ultra 2013 will cost $25 million to $30 million to produce. This still fascinates me! From doing a $200,000 gig to doing an event bigger 100 times than the debut one! Oh My God! What a success story that is still writing it's own chapters! This year we await the 16th Edition of this phenomenal event at Miami on March!