Valley Drive In, Backstage Area
"I'm going to miss this so much, I don't know if I really want this to end."
After that last Neko Nation Brisbane show, was the first point where I seriously felt like I finally had enough motivation and inspiration to consider just one more show, at least for Brisbane. It was the first time I had been so emotionally overwhelmed by an event or a tour maybe since TeddyLoid in 2016. It was a combination of an amazing team, a lot of things going to plan and the amazing crowd reaction, seriously, I couldn't have asked for a better event.
Sadly, I do see it as the end for Neko Nation Brisbane.
Sadly, I do see it as the end for Neko Nation Brisbane.
I've gone into great detail in past posts but I'll try to quickly sum it up. Putting on a show involves a lot of time and effort, on a personal level that involves a lot of stress, it puts pressure on my health, relationship, friendships, work and study. Neko isn't something I do for a living, I've juggled Neko regardless of what life has thrown at me, I've done Neko while holding full time work, sometimes multiple jobs, even getting a uni degree and holding a job and Neko!
To get Neko to where it has been, I've made a lot of sacrifices which I don't regret but it's taking its toll and it's getting harder for me to put on a show. With Neko it is something I only want to do if I know I'm giving it my 100% all and I no longer believe I'm at a point which I'm able to do so. I'm on my 8th year and I'm on show #73 now, I've done this way longer than I should have.
That said I would still love to see the event continue in one way or another
I have obviously thought about it and looked into the idea of selling or having somebody else takeover. I'm 100% commited right now to finishing off The End is Meow tour in Perth and the finale in Sydney but I'm open to talks when this is over.
You'd find very few people who have a combination of the skills required to run a club event like this, experience in the anime and cosplay scene and the passion and drive to run an event of the scale of Neko. It's unlikely but I wouldn't say impossible, we will see.
Maybe someone else could run a similar event...
After this tour is over, I doubt I'll ever see a desire for me to be in a position to run events, however I'm very interested in stepping back and keen to help let the next generation take over and run something similar. Unlike when I first started doing Neko, you've got the advantage of knowing that it's a proven concept!
I'll admit how much I want to help here I'm not quite sure yet, I've got my main personal goals I want to work on first, marriage, career, holiday. Plus I'm not sure how I'll go about it whether I want to handpick someone to mentor, start up a blog/video series in regards to how to go about running events, do an AMA or even just leave my inbox open for people to message in regards to advice.
Maybe ?
It's worth noting that of course my future plans and thoughts on this could change on how I want to go about my future and the future of similar events to this. I'm pretty certain I won't be running Neko or events anything on a large scale in the near future. I'm looking forward to finishing this tour, having a nice holiday and then I'll see how I feel. The reality is I'm probably more keener in actually finally getting to go to any event like Neko rather than working.
Finally
Finally, don't be sad it's over, be glad that it's happened.
Finally
Finally, don't be sad it's over, be glad that it's happened.
