Matt Preis

Rockaway, NY 11692
917-862-4513
maxpowerpresents@gmail.com

@maxpowerpresents
@rockawaymusicfest

DOWNLOAD PDF RESUME HERE

LIFE EXPERIENCE:

Max Power Presents*, LLC

Formerly  *Productions

NYC (2001 - Present)  

Minneapolis (1997-2001)

Owner/Founder

Instagram:
@maxpowerpresents
@rockawaymusicfest


SKILLS AND TALENTS INCLUDE:

- Working closely with educators, BID's, businesses, and city agencies to create free events for local communities 

-  Creating multi-cultural events integrating diverse teams of creative artists to help bridge gender, racial, religious, generational, identity, and socioeconomic gaps  

- Artist Development and Mentorship

- Obtaining maximum results from minimal budgets

- Implementing infrastructure to develop and nurture sustainable artistic environments 

- Marketing and Business Development

- Graphic Design: Proficiency with full Adobe Creative Suite

- Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, Google Applications, and others

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS:

•    Founder & Executive Director of ROCK! AWAY! Music Festival 

•    Recently completed MBA (2023)

•    Familiar with Scrum, Agile, Kanban, and other business methodologies 

•    Proficient in developing and understanding financial reports, budgets, and P&L

•    Helped develop and institute live streaming for the Battery Park Dance Festival to facilitate the festival’s revival in the wake of COVID (2021)

•    Production Assistant for the Battery Park Dance Festival (2023)

•    NYFA/City Artists Corps Grant recipient (2021)

•    Practiced in using ticketed-based events at profit-based community venues to generate revenue budgeted for free concerts and seasonal events

•    Experienced with curating artistic media presentations to accompany performing arts

•    Partnered with the Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District (BID) to help local businesses to create collaborative promotional community events including the Ft. Greene/Clinton Hill SCRAWL

•    Experienced in finding corporate sponsors for ticketed and donation-based charity events

•    Established eventable.nyc, an online ticket and reservation system developed to help facilitate access to and receive donations for local community events, concerts, and performances

•    Advocated for diversity and inclusion in the arts, especially in regards to offering opportunities to artists from underrepresented groups

•    Dedicated to employing fair and sustainable business methods


REFERENCES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

We probably have mutual friends/connections

Max Power Productions began as a way to market my various freelance services (Photography, Writing, Design, etc) in Minneapolis in 1997 and then, beginning in 2001, in NYC. Yes, I stole the name from Homer Simpson who stole it from a hairdryer... 

2003 brought on DJ Max Power and from there a two-decades long passion project of a variety of events ensued, including but not limited to:

ROCK! AWAY! SUMMER FEST:  
Founder and Curator:  
- ROCK! AWAY! Summer Fest 2023 hosted over 80 bands at multiple locations during 3 days in Rockaway.
ROCK! AWAY! MUSIC and FILM FESTIVAL is 3 days at one location during the off-season in Rockaway, NY.
ROCK! AWAY! WEBSITE
(see below under PROJECTS for more info)

• Over 20 years of NYC Event Production/Talent Buyer including but not limited to:

- Full venue events, private parties, weddings, DJ/music/burlesque and other creative arts productions, and neighborhood-wide multi location events which have included over 20+ businesses featuring multiple creative acts

- Event management/Talent Buyer @:
• Rockaway Brewing Co., Rockaway NY
• Playland Bar and Grill, Rockaway
• Rockaway Bazaar, Rockaway NY
• The Emerson Bar, Brooklyn NY
• The Rope Bar, Brooklyn NY
and others...

Bartending, Bar Management, and Consulting Experience (2003-Present) including but not limited to:

- Opening team at The Emerson Bar in Clinton Hill Brooklyn (I was referred to as "the unpaid 4th partner" in an AM New York article). Still going strong after 13 years!

- Bartender at Sea Wolfe, Bushwick, NYC

- Assistant bar management and bartending at Playland Bar and Grill, Rockaway

- Bar management and bartending at Rockaway Brewing Co., Rockaway NY

• Bar management and bartending at The Rope Bar, Brooklyn NY
and others...

Brooklyn's Best Damn Pet and Home Service for Nearly 20 Years!

Chuck and Buddha Pet and Home Services, LLC

January 2002 - September 2023 
RIP? TBD
Brooklyn & Queens — NYC


Owner/Founder

www.chuckandbuddha.com



ROLES:

• CEO, COO, CFO, and CMO

• Built business from the ground up into a $250,000+/year company

• Led teams of employees

• Managed Payroll and Compliance

• Created a positive-reward ethos among clients and co-workers 

• Full Business Management

• Marketing and Branding


  

September 10th, 2001: 
Sent rent/deposit check to my brother in NYC with scheduled work in photography, advertising, and publishing. Moved to Brooklyn October 2001. Creative industries collapsed in NYC due to 9/11. 

November 2001: 
I began walking dogs in Brooklyn NYC for an independent neighborhood dog walker.

January 2002: For $500 I bought the pet service business and a used Ikea shelf from the woman I was working with, renamed the business to Santa’s Little Helper then, in 2015, renamed to Chuck and Buddha’s (named after my Dog and Cat) and expanded the business into a $250,000+/year company. 

September 2023: The pandemic squashed both of my businesses and I have chosen to rebuild myself in a career focused on music and the creative arts. Most likely I won't be rebuilding Chuck and Buddha's (unless an Angel Investor/s becomes interested in building a multi-million dollar pet and home service company — if that's you, let's talk). 

EDUCATION

Power MBA, Online — MBA with a Digital Marketing Add-On

September 2021 - July 2023

I wish I had gotten an MBA before I accidentally started multiple businesses… I have learned A LOT from Power MBA and would recommend it to everyone who doesn’t have their MBA, no matter what they do in life. The additional Digital Marketing add-on is greatly beneficial in navigating the rapidly changing world of branding and advertising. 


SKILLS MASTERED INCLUDE: 
Talent Management · Finance · Accounting · Leadership · Fundraising · Project Management · Human Resources (HR) · Business Development · Business and Project Methodologies · Entrepreneurship · GDEIB and SDG

Winona State University, Winona, MN

B.A. English: Literature & Journalism
B.A. Photography & Mass Communications (Marketing, Graphic Design, html/web development, etc.)

I worked my way through college (but still racked up debt) and often went part time during these years. 

• Studied abroad at Oxford University and throughout Europe
• Offered post-graduate admittance with partial scholarship at Oxford University —chose not to accept it 

Life, Worldwide

PhD

I’ve been lucky enough to follow my instincts and it has taken me on adventures throughout the world in over 20 Countries and 30+ States, learning more in the real world than I ever did in any of my schooling (but the schooling definitely helped). 

PROJECTS

ROCK! AWAY! SUMMER FEST / ROCK! AWAY! MUSIC & FILM FEST — 
My Babies… www.eventable.nyc/rock-away 

The ROCK! AWAY! Summer Fest and ROCK! AWAY!  Music & Film Fest began as the ROCK! AWAY! Music series at Riis Beach Bazaar and Playland Motel Bar and Grill in 2015 and grew into multi-day and multi-location music and arts festivals that grow bigger and better every year! I have a 20 year plan and we are in year 8 (including pandemic year)

EVENTABLE.NYC — 
My Mothership... www.eventable.nyc

I created eventable.nyc so I could have full control and offer full  transparency of events I create or am involved in, without having to rely on Facebook or Eventbrite/Dice/etc. I have built it myself upon the Easol platform but plan to have someone else continue to update, refine, and improve the site. 

OTHER EVENTS — 
I create and help create mostly-free fun events for community, businesses, creative artists, and their supporters.

  • Max Power Presents Events - Music and creative arts-centric events of varying scope at various locations! 

  • Max Power’s Bloody Battle - THE BEST DAMN BLOODY MARY CONTEST EVER! www.maxpowersbloodybattle.com

  • Max Power’s SCRAWL! - Part bar/restaurant crawl, part music/food/and booze scavenger hunt = ALL FUN! https://maxpowerscrawl.com/

  • GABBA GABBA FEST — A ROCKAWAY TRIBUTE TO THE RAMONES! COMING SUMMER 2024

AND MANY MORE!
     #SPREADMUSIC
          #SPREADART
               #SPREADLOVE

A FEW OTHER THINGS ABOUT ME

OTHER SKILLS

* Adobe Creative Suite: Photoshop/Illustrator/In-Design/
Premier/Dreamweaver/etc.
Microsoft/Google: Excel/Docs/Word/Sheets etc.



* Leadership: Leading teams of 5 to 500 (my ROCK! AWAY! Summer Fest has booked over 100+ acts with multiple musicians and performers). Chuck and Buddha’s Pet Services had a dedicated staff of up to 10 people.


* Familiar with MLA, AP, APA, and CMOS editing styles



* Types 80+ WPM



* AND MUCH MORE!

OTHER NOTABLE WORK

• Co-founder of Rockaway Beach Studios (formerly RBBC Radio & Rockawaves Radio) 
@rockawaybeachstudios
https://www.rockawaybeachstudios.com/ 

Freelance Work —  Ogilvy Mather, BBDO, Dublin Productions, and others

Richard Hamilton Smith — Studio Manager, Photo Editor, Photo Assistant
https://www.richardhamiltonsmith.com/

Steve Wewerka — Photography Assistant, 2nd Shooter 
https://stevewewerka.com/

North American Outdoor Group (NAOG formerly NAMG) — Photo Editor, Book Development, Pre-Press Proof Checker (print runs done at RR Donnelley, Roanoke VA)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scout_Media

https://www.chiefmarketer.com/cendant-sells-north-american-outdoor-group-to-doughty-hanson-affiliate/

Winona Post Newspaper — Head Photographer, Typesetter, Reporter, Copy Editor, Ad Creation, Distribution
https://www.winonapost.com/site/about.html

Various other Freelance Publications/Articles/Photos/etc.

VIEW LINKED-IN HERE

WHY / HOW / WHAT

WHY i'm looking for work (and WHY this is a perfect opportunity for YOU), HOW I can help you, and WHAT I am optimally looking for...

WHY

WHY I AM LOOKING FOR WORK:

After a long, hard (and expensive) decision I’ve recently chosen to close Chuck and Buddha’s Pet and Home Services and pursue rebuilding my life around what brings me the most joy — events and creative artists (though I still love dogs and all animals!).

This creates a perfect opportunity for an established organization or a start-up with amazing vision and proper budget to acquire a dedicated team player to help them grow!

HOW

HOW I CAN HELP YOU:

  • Great at leading teams and people
  • Excellent communicator with knowledge across many fields
  • Connector, Maven, and Salesman
  • Multi-faceted background 
  • Able to articulate many different angles to any project
  • Associated  with 100’s of professional musicians, comedians, creatives, and people involved on every side of the music and events businesses

WHAT


WHAT I AM (OPTIMALLY) LOOKING FOR:

* A professional company with a vision that I can help grow while at the same time grow with and learn from them


* Preference for full-time Executive Director/Event Director of a music-centric venue or organization that offers good benefits and a clear career path


* Positions in various sides of the Music and Events businesses including A&R, Touring, Management, etc. 


* Open to discuss many situations/opportunities

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