Author: CARO

Our Genz team took the RaveRunner® prototypes out to Arizona
for Phoenix Lights, a small festival located out in the scorching hot desert. This was going
to one of the last music festivals with only a couple of RaveRunner® prototypes
running around the festival grounds (we are fully launching because you guys helped smash our KickStarter campaign).

     The guys over at Rentless Beats put together Phoenix Lights, a two-day
festival filled with house music from Malaa, headbaning beats from Excision,
and unique sounds from Svdden Death, Subtronics, and many more. It’s safe to
say there was a diverse rave crowd in attendance.

     With the sun
setting on day one, we all became anxious to turn on our underglow and hitting the dancefloor. There’s
nothing better than being able to wonder around the stage and not lose your friends in the process because you can spot your friends tearing it up with a lightshow illuminating their feet. The GenZ team was the life of the party, people came up to us and simply started to dance
around the lights. With a RaveRunner®, we created a dancefloor whereever we went, who wouldn’t love that? Funny enough, we ran into a gentleman that
actually rigged his own underglow on a pack. He hung a larger underglow with a
carabiner to the bottom of his pack. It was so awesome to see someone have the
same general idea as our underglow. We approached him and he thought the way
we made underglow system was super convenient. After our conversation, we
all combined our underglows to have a giant party circle, hard-core dancing ensued.

     This weekend our
objective was to get a ton of good marketing content because you guys have been wanting to see more of the pack in action. Staying charged was our
number one priority all night. Thankfully, we came prepared with solar panel
chargers on each RaveRunner®. With our power
banks charged by the sun all day, were able to re-charge our phones
and GoPro’s without having to go sit at a charging station and miss a single act.

     Throughout our
time at the festival we heard about way too many phones being stolen. One guy
we met dropped his phone out of his pocket without noticing just minutes before
we even talked to him. Another girl left her phone in a port-a-pot. Luckily, it
showed up at the lost and found. These are all problems that could be prevented
if they had a RaveRunner®! Although we were bummed to hear about people’s
unfortunate events, we were happy to be one step closer to solving their
problem.

     We met a couple
people who backed our Kickstarter and it felt SUPER COOL. Cody, one of our
early backers, was so amped to have met the people behind the mission. I think
we were even more excited to have met him. A multitude of other people came up
to us mentioning that they saw our ads. This was reassuring to know our
marketing was working.

     Overall, our
weekend was stellar. We were all super productive, yet still partied hard. How
else would you want to live life?!

Name a feeling worse than grabbing at your pockets only to realize your phone is gone while you’re watching your favorite performance. Exactly… there isn’t one. Festival theft is a huge problem, and it’s only getting worse. Here’s how we know….

1.) Festivals are hiring more security

In speaking with festival management, we were informed that festivals have increased the budget in security spend. The idea is by putting more security staff in the crowd, pickpockets will be afraid to go after your valuables knowing that someone is watching. Guess what? That isn’t working.

2.) Theft data is outrageous

An aggregate study done by Cooney and Conway found that 1 in 7 music festival attendees are stolen from at your typical festival. I read this before the 2018 festival season and didn’t fully believe it. That all changed when I went to Firefly Music Festival later that summer with 8 friends. Well, guess what? We left the Woodlands down one phone. My skepticism was disproved.

3.) Personal Experience at Ultra MF and Phoenix Lights MF

I’ve gone to two festivals this year, and I didn’t escape either of them without hearing “where’s my phone?!,” from at least two people. We were able to bring four RaveRunner® prototypes, but it wasn’t enough to outfit our entire squad at both events.

Ultra Theft

It was day one. we had some rookie festival-goers with us and I warned them about the dangers of pickpockets especially at Ultra. Even with my caution, we had two phones stolen from our 12 person squad. Wait for it… on day three, we had another phone stolen….and it was a replacement phone that someone had lost on day one. Detectives actually set-up a hotline to call after they busted one guy who had stolen hundreds of phones and wallets. Could that have been you? Check the article here.

Phoenix Lights Theft

I was ready to make sure that a repeat of Ultra didn’t happen again. We had a smaller squad of six, which left four people with RaveRunner®s. To no avail, we left day two with just five phones. C’MON!!!!!!! As hard as I tried, it just could not work unless someone had a RaveRunner®.

Conclusion

Problem: People will always suck

Unfortunately, we cannot change how people are. We will never be able to alter someone’s intentions. We will never be able to audit why people are entering a festival, to steal or to party?

Solution: Make a product that stops them.

Instead of trying to change the person, we set out to make a product that stopped awful people from ruining your day. We made this product because WE wanted it. It just turned out that we can help a lot of other people with it as well. The RaveRunner® solves all your problems and then some.

Festival season has begun. Who’s excited? Some of my most memorable life experiences came while I was on festival grounds. With the amount of money, time, and effort we spend to get to a festival it is important to come prepared. Water bottles are an annoyance and can be super expensive. Most festivals don’t allow anything more than a small hydration pack, so we need to maximize the usability of the small compartment that we will have on our backs. In order to have the best stay hydrated, remain a minimalist, and have the best festival experience, here are the top 8 things we recommend to keep in your hydration pack.

1.) Gum

How many times do you ask someone for gum at a music festival? More importantly, how many times has someone asked you? We recommend having one pack for each day as some festivals only let you bring in unopened packs. You’ll be surprised by the amount of friends you make when you are the gum guru. Karma will circle its way back around and help you out when you need it too.

2.) Sunglasses

With the exception of music festivals like EDC, most events have performances during the daytime. Having a pair of hater blockers is important especially if the sun is right above the stage. Don’t bring anything too expensive though. Even with an anti-theft RaveRunner® Hydration pack, sunglasses can still get shmushed and maybe even bent while storing them in your pack.

3.) Charging cable+ Solar Charger

If you have a RaveRunner®, you’ll be able to attach a solar panel charger to the top of your hydration pack. This will really maximize your festival experience because you won’t have to worry about running out of charge to find your friends or call for a ride home. How can you afford to miss the perfect snapchat opportunity of your favorite headliner who doesn’t come on until 1AM?

4.) Mini Fan/Water Spritzer

To stay hydrated is one thing, but staying cool is a whole other monster. This will come in CLUTCH when you’re packed in the front and it begins to get really hot. We recommend this cheap guy found on amazon. You can also buy one that plugs directly into your phone if you want something even smaller.

5.) Diffraction or Kaleidoscope Glasses

You think people will like you when you give them gum at a music festival?! Let them test out your glasses from our friends over at GloFX. These glasses will make the light show 10x better and they will fit perfectly in the chest pockets of your RaveRunner® hydration pack.

6.) Anti-Chafe Balm

Blisters on your heels? Chaffing legs? Nothing can ruin your festival experience more than a blister. Come prepared this festival season with a small container of Squirrels Nut Butter. We use this stuff for ultramarathons and it lasts for 100’s of miles.

7.) SNACKS!

A hydration pack is not big at all, so you need to pack some calories in smaller foods. Protein bars with nut butters are a great option. They fit perfectly in the side panel pockets of your RaveRunner® hydration pack. In our other article we highlighted how nutrition could make or break your music festival experience, so make sure you put some thought in on snacks before you go in.

PRO TIP: Get the nature value sweet and salty bars. Packed with energy and salt to replace those electrolytes!

8.) Vick’s Vapor Sniffer/Boom Boom

This little tube of delight is amazing. Sniff it through your nose and it will revitalize and re-energize your immediately. PRO TIP: You can buy Vicks with little keychains on them so you don’t have to worry about dropping it! The RaveRunner® Hydration pack has the perfect loop to attach it to.

BONUS!: Arm Slinky

This small toy may look childish, but it is actually on of the most outrageous things to play with at a festival. You can slinky onto other people’s arms, dance around and then slinky back to another person. I have made some great friendships just by going up and offering some slinky action to a random festival goer. It gives you to ability to put off some good vibes, which is what we all aim to do right?

Now you’re SET!

All of these items can be easily stashed in your RaveRunner® Hydration Pack and still give you room for some more items. You could even divvy up the items to different people within the squad. For us, we always have one person designated to toys, one person with the medical items, and one person with the snacks.  Staying hydrated is important, ditch the water bottles and come prepared with a few of these items in your hydration pack, we guarantee you’ll have a better music festival experience.

I am an avid festival goer. I love them all and attend as many as I can. There is something about the community and live music that resonates with me.  Then at one festival someone stole my iPhone out of my hydration pack. “Welp, there goes another $500,” I thought. Although I try to not let outside factors ruin my mood, this one was hard to overcome.

This sparked the idea of making the best festival hydration pack. That desire burned in me to where I made launching GenZ my 2018 New Year’s Resolution. 

I wanted to design a pack to combat theft, be extremely comfortable, customizable with custom printed skins, and lights to show off my personality.

I have been an avid ultramarathon runner for years; I am the youngest person to run 200+ consecutive miles in the Moab 240 at the age of 20. The hydration packs I use for these long-distance runs offer so much more functionality, and more importantly comfort, than hydration packs you typically see. These packs are lightweight, have comfortable straps, and tons of utility. There seems to be a hook for everything you could ever need or a pocket within a short reach.

Knowing that functionality and comfort were vital (running 8 hours is very similar to 8 hours of dancing at a festival), I needed to solve the glaring issue of festival theft.

Festival theft happens far too frequently. A study conducted by Cooney & Conway found that 1 in 7 festival goers get stolen from. Its no surprise, cell phones aren’t cheap and even a basic craigslist scan shows people willing to buy stolen/locked phones for hundreds of dollars. This has lead to thieves working in groups. One will distract you, the other will block nearby peoples views and the last one will steal your phone. Some are even so bold as to slash open backpacks and grab whatever falls out. They are so successful that they can steal over hundreds of phones a day and make several thousands of dollars in profit.

Knowing the problems that face athletes and festival goers we sought solutions and materials to make the RaveRunner® the best hydration pack available.

• Stealing from a standard backpack/hydration pack is relatively easy for thieves.  The zippers face away from the wearer. Someone with a delicate trained touch could simply unzip the backpack and reach their arm in grabbing whatever they can get their hands on. Meanwhile the more experienced could take their keys and use the teeth to quickly slash open your pack grabbing whatever they can and then disappearing into a sea of people.
• Knowing these tactics from various blogs, news headlines, and forms we designed our hydration pack with inverted zippers. Meaning that the point of access is securely against your back. This eliminates someone from being able to access your packs storage without you knowing.
• To combat the slash and dash method we constructed the RaveRunner® with ripstop nylon. Its effective against knives, keys, and scissors. If the fabric were able to be punctured it is made in a way that the puncture does not continue to rip easily, keeping your valuables inside.
• We have taken the final designed packs to over a dozen festivals and observed a thieve actually trying to get into someone’s RaveRunner®.
• Being an ultra-runner, I wanted a hydration pack that had a ton of functionality. One of the desired functions was to be able to change its aesthetic. The pack had to be able to go from the gym to the festival. And express who I am, the hottest meme, or my favorite artist at the festival.
• We developed a removable skin that can be custom printed. You go to livegenz.com and select custom skin in the shop. It takes you a builder that allows you to upload your own pictures and designs to print on a surface that is roughly 8 inches wide by 12 inches tall. Once you get your skin in the mail you can attach and remove it from your RaveRunner® with zippers. This allows you to have several skins with one hydration pack. It makes matching to your outfit really easy. The best part is that without the skin the pack has a really athletic design, it is one of the best-looking packs in the gym!
• We also added some really cool light up accessories that integrate with your pack. We use 2 meters of EL Wire with multiple strobe features and what we like to call UnderGlow. When the sun sets you really stand out and the UnderGlow is sound reactive to the music. It also makes it extremely easy to find your friends in the crowd.
• We developed a removable skin that can be custom printed. You go to livegenz.com and select custom skin in the shop. It takes you a builder that allows you to upload your own pictures and designs to print on a surface that is roughly 8 inches wide by 12 inches tall. Once you get your skin in the mail you can attach and remove it from your RaveRunner® with zippers. This allows you to have several skins with one hydration pack. It makes matching to your outfit really easy. The best part is that without the skin the pack has a really athletic design, it is one of the best-looking packs in the gym!
• We also added some really cool light up accessories that integrate with your pack. We use 2 meters of EL Wire with multiple strobe features and what we like to call UnderGlow. When the sun sets you really stand out and the UnderGlow is sound reactive to the music. It also makes it extremely easy to find your friends in the crowd.
• The ergonomics of the bag was developed with athletics in mind. So, the fit is extremely comfortable and light weight. The shoulder straps are positioned in a similar way to the packs that I use for long distance marathons. So, you don’t have to worry about it bouncing around while you jump up and down. These ultrarunning hydration packs always had pockets on the shoulder straps to store water and nutrition. We found them to be useful for storing sunglasses, chapstick and your phone when at a festival.
• The bladder is also a big comfort feature. In traditional hydration packs refilling is a nightmare. You have to fumble with taking out and reinserting the hydration bladder. Our system is a quick fill where you just unscrew the reservoir cap and fill directly into the pack. It is replaceable as well! We typically fill up and get back to the music long before others who must remove their hydration bladder.

When designing the RaveRunner® we set out to make a hydration pack for Generation Z. However, we hit something far bigger. We feel that we made a no compromise hydration pack along the way. Its perfect for anyone who likes well designed and convenient products. If you are into to customization or the stealth look, it checks both boxes. The turn out and support has been tremendous. In fact, we reached our KickStarter goal in less than 4 hours. We are extremely excited to get our first run of packs to our supporters! We are receiving them in the next week and will be immediately shipping them out, we are approximately 50% sold out and selling fast!

You can shop the RaveRunner® by Clicking Here

Music festival season is finally here, and with numerous shows to choose from, it is not unusual for some music fans to get excited and forget about the essential things that they should bring and do for them to enjoy the festivals to the fullest. For instance, dehydration is a common problem that people attending music festivals have to contend with, and failure to take deliberate steps to stay hydrated can have devastating effects your health and mood, and consequently, hinder you from having fun. With years of experience on the trails and festival grounds, we created a perfect gameplan for you to follow

Drink a lot of water (Duh…)

Drinking a lot of water is probably the most obvious way of staying hydrated. While beverages and food from outside may be banned in some events, almost every music festival allows you to bring in a hydration pack. Carry around a water bottle is not only annoying, but it’s old school. Start the day by drinking a lot of water and continue sipping as often as you can throughout the day.

Pro Tip: Don’t wait until you are thirsty to start drinking. Your body will actually tell you your thirsty way after you actually begin to become dehydrated.

Drink Electrolytes

There are many kinds of fruits that are largely comprised of water. Although fruits are great, most festivals allow you to bring in unopened packs of electrolytes. Throughout our ultramarathons, we have tested MANY different electrolytes to find out which ones settle well in our stomach and which ones taste well.

Liquid IV is our number one choice. Packed with all the micronutrients and some organic sugars to add some calories, you will be sure to never cramp up while busting out your best moves. If you want a smaller option, try Hammer Fizz tablets. They are small enough to fit in any pocket of your RaveRunner®!

Eat Veggies

Music festivals usually have a great variety of food vendors, and you will definitely find something tasty to eat. However, for the purpose of music festival hydration, it is wise to go for a nice healthy salad. Salads are an excellent option due to their nutritional value in addition to their ability to enhance your water intake. You also won’t have to deal with a super full stomach. Dancing with a bacon cheeseburger in your gut is not ideal. Cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, and other vegetables rich in water can go a long way in helping you to stay hydrated.

Avoid Alcohol

Music festivals are typically enormous parties complete with alcohols and other types of drugs. Although drinking alcohol is almost given for most people going to music festivals, it is one of the things you have to avoid if you want to stay hydrated. If you are not interested in dancing and you are planning just to sit around, you can have a drink or two (pace yourself!) However, if you want to dance and move around a lot, then you would better stick with your electrolyte filled RaveRunner®. You do not want to end up having to take a seat while your favorite artist is about to throw down.

Eat Fruits With Plenty Of Water

You are likely going to be constantly moving at the music festival; running around, hula hooping, and dancing. Therefore, it is wise you take sports drinks, also known as electrolytes, to stay hydrated. Electrolytes are also effective in keeping you balanced by maintaining the required levels of sodium in your blood. We usually plan for a smoothy run mid-way through the day.

Overall, it is apparent that dehydration is a major challenge encountered by people attending music festivals. Therefore, if you are planning to go to a music festival this summer, you have to take deliberate steps to ensure that your music festival hydration pack has what it takes to keep you hydrated and energetic throughout the event. If you are looking for an excellent music festival hydration park, the athletes and party enthusiasts at GenZ have you covered. We have a variety of top quality hydration packs designed for comfort, security, and class. Get in touch with us today for a customized hydration pack for you to attend music festivals in style.

You might be planning to attend a festival this summer, chances are you will use plastic while you’re at the event. But have you ever asked yourself where those plastics end up after the festival? I am sure you don’t because it is easy to just forget about it as soon as you toss it in the trash. It is ultimately up to you to use less plastic during an event, and these eye-opening statistics may sway you into using much less.

More than one million single-use plastic bottles were sold at one single music event in 2018. That was just one event! Imagine the magnitude of pollution caused just during that weekend. If all international events are taken into consideration, that means billions of plastic bottles were disposed of. The plastics find their way to the ocean and agricultural land and takes millions of years to decompose. Burning of the bottles as a means of disposing results to pollution of the atmosphere as they release greenhouse gases.

Now we must say, there have been many event promoters aiming to ban single-use plastics. One promotional company leading the way is LiveNation, which hosts some of the largest festivals in the world. The promoters leading the green movement hope to ban the use of single-use plastics by 2021. the ban includes plastic straws, food trays, and water bottles.

There are many alternatives to reducing environmental pollution; here are a few suggestions to reduce plastic waste.

Bring a Hydration Pack

The Sustainable Concerts Working Group (SCWG) which is a multiplatform agency for artists including the notable Jack Jackson and his team came up with the BYOBottle (Bring Your Own Bottle) idea which aims at reducing the number of one-use plastics in events and festivals. The idea promotes the use of reusable water bottles and hydration backpacks. The organization also encourages music venues to promote a green environment by providing refill stations for fans, and recycling bins for those who wish to continue using one-use bottles.

The Sustainable Concerts Working Group (SCWG) is an organization that collects music industry leaders who promote environmental sustainability in the community through music. The organization brings together music artists, venues, festival promoters, and fans to do their part in creating a green environmental movement. The organization perspective is to be a global coalition that promotes environmental awareness.

Use of plant-based water bottles

LiveNation plans to test plant-based water bottles this year in Europe as a means of environmental sustainability. Most European festivals are already committed to ditching single-use plastic bottles. The plant-based bottles are biodegradable and cause little to no effect on the environment, unlike the plastic water bottles. Plant bottles can be made into cooler shapes for aesthetic appeal.

Ban on the use of straws during music festivals

We have seen a big push in the use of metal straws lately, and it’s for a good reason. Straws are very small in size compared to other plastic materials such as bottles, but they cause environmental pollution nonetheless. I am sure many of you have seen the infamous video of a sea turtle getting a straw ripped out of his nose. If festivals ban the use of straws, although it wouldn’t make a huge difference, it will bring us one step closer to resolving the plastic overuse problems.

Artists and fans are encouraged to be passionate about environmental conservation. Advocacy should start at home where you can speak with your local stores that host festivals to embrace the green environment initiative. This includes other environmental practices such as the use of recyclable packaging materials and bagging options. The more businesses that embrace going green, the more we will save the environment from both the soil and air pollution.

Involve the government in the conservation of the environment

Government agencies can create campaigns that are desired to reduce the use of plastics; most countries have enacted regulations that reduce the over-reliance on plastics. Some have banned completely the packaging of goods using plastic materials. The recent London marathon saw the use of capsules that can easily decompose; the capsule membrane is made of decomposable algae material.

Use take out utensils

Yes, this may sound crazy, but if you can remember to bring a fan, chapstick, and sunscreen, you can remember to bring biodegradable/reusable utensils with you. When attending festivals you live on a minimalist lifestyle. So this shouldn’t be hard to do! this is one of the ways of having an eco-friendly nomad lifestyle.

• As the world continues to find a solution to plastic waste. festival attendees remain some of the highest consumers. Celebrities, together with government officials, are working towards enact laws that reduce the wastes to the environment to minimize pollution as possible. The environmental impact already indicates that it is omnipotent for plastic pollution to be reduced for the benefit of the environment.
• With minimum pollution, the ecosystem is well maintained; this includes a reduction in littering of the marine system that results in the thriving of the fish. Plastic pollution has led to the death of whales that eat plastics as well as other animals that choke from plastic pollution. Moreover, the plastic damage to the agricultural soils leading to poor agricultural yields and unsustainable food production.

Efforts to reduce plastic pollution in the environment during festivals can create a great impact on the environment. Artist, together with social groups and government agencies, can play an important role in reducing the number of bottles that get to the sea.

By bringing a hydration pack, packing your own utensils, and simply choosing to not use plastics, your festival footprint will decrease enormously. Chances are you will be rewarded with good Karma for the next event you attend. Which is what all of us cannot get enough of!

Proper hydration ensures that your body system is functioning correctly. With all the side effects of dehydration, you probably have a measure to ensure you stay hydrated. On your everyday schedule, you may have adopted a hydration routine, but it might not apply when you are going out for music festival. A music festival can disrupt your usual cautionary hydration strategy, exposing you to the dangers of dehydration.

With all the physical exertions as you show off your sweet dance moves, you lose a lot of fluids. What’s more, if the music festival is held outdoors, the heat further accelerates the dehydration rate. As a measure to avoid dehydration, you carried your water bottle, but the real question is how much water you should drink at a music festival to stay hydrated?

Regular water sips may not cut it since you are likely to forget as you get excited by your favorite band playing. As such, you need to observe extra measures to ensure you are consuming the right amount and top it with other options such as electrolytes and water-rich fruits and vegetables.

Here is a look at some tips to help you stay hydrated at a music festival:

Listen To Your Body

Apart from feeling thirsty, you could be getting lightheaded, dizzy, cranky, or notice that you are sweating a lot as you enjoy music. This is a clear sign that you need to hydrate, and a hydration pack is your best option (it will keep your from having to wait in long lines or navigate the crowd to purchase water bottles as frequently. Drink as much as you can, but not too much that you have to hit the restroom after every few minutes.

Get The Rave Runner Hydration Pack

Be Mindful Of Your Coffee & Alcohoic Beverage Intake

Coffee and alcoholic beverages are typical at a music festival. As you consume your favorite option, remember that they are not the best fluids to keep you hydrated. Alternate the drinks with 12 ounces of water to ensure that you do not get dehydrated. Apart from staying hydrated, alternating the drinks with water helps to reduce hangovers the following day.

Keep the electrolyte balanced

Electrolytes such as potassium, in large enough quantities, shield your body from dehydration. What’s more, potassium helps to attain fluid balance and reduce high heart rate that is caused by thickening of the blood. With all the physical activities as you enjoy the music festival, this could see your fun cut short. Regular water sips help keep your body hydrated while fruits and vegetables such as avocados are vital in maintaining proper electrolyte levels. Apart from the water-rich fruits and vegetables, you could go for soup.

Check the color of your urine and avoid sugar

Your kidney produces more urine to bring down the sugar levels in the bloodstream, which leads to loss of fluids. If you consume sugary things, it will accelerate the dehydration rate. Light yellow urine is an indicator that your hydration is at the right level. However, if you notice that it is darker, maybe it looks like apple juice, you need to hydrate. With proper hydration, you are likely to visit the restroom after every 2 hours or less.

Keep in mind that you need more than the usual water intake if you are actively involved in a music festival. On a typical day, if you consume 100 ounces, doctors recommend you take 150 ounces or double the amount during such a day replenish the fluids lost through perspiration as you go all out on the dance floor. With all the sweating and burning calories, which demand more water, you can quickly become dehydrated.