We recently connected with Liv Johnson and have shared our conversation below.

Liv, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I started Almost Nakey at 16. It all started as a bikini company – I had a manufacture in China, learned the ins and outs of manufacturing, moved to Bali began sewing in factory with my team, and learned how to build a business. The brand evolved into an event production company after our first launch party in La Jolla. I quickly dove head first into the world of experiential events.

The first event I had back in 2021 in La Jolla really blew open the doors to this new part of the business in event production and we haven’t turned back since. Every event we do, I dream up spaces, places, and experiences where attendees are not just participants but can be free spirits exploring their inner child.

Now, Almost Nakey produces 3 major music festivals per year –
San Diego’s Largest Santacon – 6,500 attendees at Belmont Park, San Diego in December
Almost Nakey Freedom Fest – 3,500 attendees at Beach House, San Diego in July
Fresh Tracks Festival – 2,000 attendees in Mammoth Lakes, California in March.

We always have the highest level production, wildest experiential builds, and mind-blowing activations to create the environment that defines Almost Nakey events. We really go all out from the creative promotional aspects to drive ticket sales as well and I think it shows in our video content that we have fun doing it.

When it comes to planning the actual event, I really go back to our brand ethos and make sure that everything we are doing is centered around creating the best experience for our audience and doing things that are unique and different from what everyone else is doing. For example, a unique experiential moment we had at SantaCon was a custom-created 80-foot-tall Santa – the largest Santa in North and South America. I take production and build-out extremely seriously to make sure people leave with something to talk about and want to come back to see how we one-up ourselves at our next event.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am most proud of SantaCon at Belmont Park (an original San Diego staple amusement park on the beach) and this was the first public full park takeover in 99 years. All of the attendees could explore the entire park which included 4 stages, a speakeasy, and access to all rollercoasters. Talent ranged from Chromeo, Cherub, Austin Millz, DJ Susan, & inspiring local talent to support San Diego’s local music scene. It was an experiential event where the entire venue turned into a Christmas wonderland. All of the attendees fully immersed themselves in the Christmas theme with their own costumes and spirit. We really leaned into our creative side in our promotion leading up to the event and the idea of bringing Santa to San Diego and saving Christmas (Check out the Almost Nakey Instagram account to see our creative campaign). I think the combination of it all played well together and is what contributed to having a sold-out event.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

It all comes down to an incredible team and an incredible venue. We planned this event for 6 months which gave us time to make sure we had every detail planned out. We had big aspirations for this event and knew we wanted this one to be our biggest turnout yet. Our biggest challenge was curating a lineup that appeals to different audiences in San Diego, while remaining cutty and cool and pulling in a huge act like Austin Millz.

A great team where we can push the boundary because we know the foundation is strong. I have been working with the same team for years and we’ve been through a lot of other large scale events so it was a huge moment for us. The ball never drops, ever, due to our amazing communication. Our teams were so ready to handle anything because of all pre-production work, amazing team leads, managers, and full staff.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Lead with a heartbeat. My passion for these events makes me push on. Guest experience is paramount from the second doors open to the final egress.

Contact Info:

• Website: almostnakey.com
• Instagram: @almostnakey

Image Credits
@ArtByGoldie – Natalie Goldstein