Meet Rickey D’shon

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rickey D’shon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Rickey , looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

My work ethic comes directly from my family. My mom raised me as a single mother and my grandmother had four kids. Seeing them do what it takes to provide for their families and being raised with a “no excuse” mentality has extremely benefited the way I approach not only work but everyday task as well.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I’m co-founder of Refined N Aktiv. We are an event coordinating company that puts on everything from club parties to corporate happy hours and everything in between. We have several brands under our house umbrella which include:

Rhythm N Brunch: our brunch & day party series
If You Love Me: our all R&B day party series
Rhythm N Burn: our community workout series
Vibration Series: our community spoken word series.

The origin story is actually pretty funny. My friends used to get together and go to brunch all the time. We would try different restaurants all over the city. One particular time we were in Culver City (at a restaurant I wont name lol) having brunch and having a good time. There might have been about 15 of us and we were laughing and talking like every other group in there but we didn’t look like every other group in there if you know what I mean. The manager actually came over to our table, looked at us, and put his finger to his mouth and “shushed us”. I can’t make this stuff up. He could’ve asked us to lower our voices, but then he would have to do that to every table in the restaurant because everyone was loud. To say I was at a loss for words doesn’t even sum up how I felt. I knew right then a space was necessary for the culture to enjoy brunch the way we like to. The right venue, the right food, the right music, the right energy etc. Took about a year to really get the right people on board but I’m proud to say we built that space.

We’ve worked really hard to develop each of these specific events and curate spaces where we can feel safe and comfortable enough to let our hair down and enjoy ourselves. I’ve always been in the creative space throughout my life. Whether it was cultivating events during college or during my time in the corporate world, it’s aways seemed to be where I ended up. Myself and a couple partners decided to see if we could really make this a sustainable venture and that was five year ago.

Rhythm N Brunch is our staple event. I’m very proud to say we have one of the premier brunch events in Los Angeles. If you haven’t been to one I would definitely recommend making it a part of your calendar for the month! During the past two summers we’ve transitioned our summer brunches into amazing pool parties and that’s the season we’re currently in the middle of right now.

In addition to curating events for the company I’m also the resident DJ for our events as well. So between our events and other events that I’m booked for I’m blessed to say I stay pretty busy. Music has always been a joy of mine and now that I have the opportunity to share that talent with my city it’s something I don’t take for granted.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Communication is key. You have to be able to effectively communicate what you want, and how you plan to get it. That’s the start. Make a blueprint. Follow your plan. People will ultimately decide to work with and follow you based largely on your ability to communicate. My econ teacher always said. “If they don’t like you, they won’t buy from you. How you communicate with your customers is key”

Sacrifice. Nothing in this world is free. Anything important, worth having or accomplishing will beyond a doubt cost you something. Don’t be afraid of it. Embrace the challenge. If it was easy everybody would do it.

Expectation. You have to expect to do great things. You must expect them of yourself and anyone you put around you. No one sets out on a journey to be mediocre. There’s too may obstacles, too many negative people to overcome get to where you want to be and you’ll never get there unless you expect to be great.

Teamwork. None of my success is possible without my partners and the team around me. Getting the right people on the bus and getting them in the right seats is key to your success. I consider everyone from our door staff to our bottle staff partners. I allow them to take full control of their job and I get our of their way. Let your people do their jobs!

My best advice for curating events is If you feel something is missing in your city event wise and you have the ability to fill that gap do it. Chances are really high that numerous people feel the exact same way you do. They just might not know how to connect the dots and make that concept a reality. They’ll thank you for it later!

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

My mentors have been amazing at helping me navigate into and through the business space that I’m currently in. If you don’t have a business mentor I recommend finding one immediately. Someone who has already been down the road you’re attempting to travel is ideal. They’ve already been through what you’re about to go through and more than likely they can see things coming that you can’t. Avoiding as many pitfalls as possible along your journey will help you get there as quickly as possible.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @djrickeydshon @refined_n_aktiv @rhythmnbrunchla @ifyou_lovem3