From Taylor, Popfly’s Founder & CEO
A few hours before doors opened, every single one of us at Popfly was in motion. Lugging ice. Lining up water bottles. Packing the last swag bags—stickers and all.
This wasn’t just any event. This was our very first Popfly IRL.
Hosted at the AriBike HQ in Salt Lake City, we brought together nearly 100 creators and brands for a night that went way beyond DMs and story replies. It was about real people, real conversations, and the kind of connections you don’t forget.
As a team of creators ourselves, we’ve always believed in the power of online community. But this event? This was about turning that digital magic into something tangible. A space to connect face to face, share ideas, and maybe even start something new.
In the final minutes before kickoff, the whole Popfly crew was on the move:
Key senior leaders like Victoria and Maren-- those leading our global marketing efforts--took to handing out some swag bags, welcoming each and every guest who arrived, and making sure everyone was stoked even before they got into the event. Ian, one of our Creative Directors and a local to Salt Lake City, followed up with hand shakes and hugs… did he know EVERYONE there? Zach, our video guy, dialed in the gear. Siena was already capturing BTS on her iPhone. Payton had the coolers locked in. And me? I was backing in the Hyundai like it was a priceless museum piece because when a brand sends a car, you do not mess around.
At 5:30 sharp, the doors opened.
Creators trickled in—some local, some from far away—asking questions, swapping handles, making fast friends.
“What kind of content do you make?”
“You here with a brand?”
“What do you shoot on?”
By the time our brand partners arrived—Alpaka, AriBike, K9 Sports Sack, and so many more—the space was buzzing. Jurassic tacos in hand, Hiyo in the other, with Crumbl cookies vanishing faster than we could unwrap them.
Then, the giveaway.
I stepped upstairs, looked out at a packed house, and just took it in. We built this.
We drew names and gave away gear from some of our favorite partners—Four Rabbit, Thread Wallets, Cubix Outdoors, TASER, more.
And finally, the grand prize: a $1500 AriBike.
The winner? A creator from the Popfly community named Oaks. The whole room lit up as she rolled her new ride through a crowd of high fives.
In that moment, I looked around at our team and knew: this is why we started Popfly.
Not just for campaigns or content.
But for community.
For connection.
For everything that happens when people show up—in person, in full.
The night ran long. No one wanted to leave. Conversations lingered, laughs echoed, and the gratitude was real.
To every creator, every brand, every person who made this night what it was—thank you.
This is just the beginning.
Here’s to the next one.
Here’s to showing up.
And here’s to telling better stories—online and IRL.
– Taylor
Special thanks to our sponsors:
Aribikes, Thread Wallets, Alpaka, Four Rabbit, K9 Sports Sack, Crumbl, Hiyo, Tinkle Belle, Echo, The Geo Project, Readywise, Cubix Outdoors, Grill Your Ass Off, Dry Brew, TASER, Brutus Broth, Better Being Co
