This is Jasper the founder of Xstatic Sunsets. I wanted to make a formal announcement that Xstatic Sunsets has sadly been wound down as an NFP.
It was not through a lack of effort or the success of the concept we created to achieve our social impact mission. I am ready to step up to lead a team to achieve our social impact strategy. However, there are real financial challenges which are not unique to us. I share the full story below, including insights that will be interesting for anyone in the mental health/addiction sphere.
Before I continue, I just wanted to say a big heartfelt thank you to all the artists, volunteers and attendees who have supported our events over the years.
I can proudly say we have co-created some of the coolest parties, knocking on the head the stigma that sober is boring. Delivering on our mission by delivering truly spectacular experiences, proving you really don’t need substances to have the party of your life.
We have provided an essential option for those in recovery and for everyone who values a safe night out. We removed all the usual issues associated with booze and delivered the highest-energy parties I have ever experienced.
As I expand on below, our impact went beyond what some may imagine. We created transformational experiences for people who enjoyed their first sober party, which inspired a healthier path for them to explore what balance means for them to support their mental health. The impact of our events had a ripple effect that lasted way beyond that one night of Xstatic highs and a hangover-free morning.
The fundamental challenge
As much as I have tried over the years to build financial sustainability through ticket sales, sponsorship and grants, its proven not to be feasible with rising costs, the nature of how resource-intensive events are and the unique challenges sober events face.
Covid certainly did not help. But there is a reality that there is never enough money to pay a team to ensure nobody burns out in the process of delivering the events. As a mental health NFP, I had to draw the line reflecting on how my own mental health has been negatively impacted. It's simply not value-aligned to continue.
The culture of last-minute ticket buying makes every event a stressful affair. You never know if you will cover your costs until the day before the event, and that’s typically without revenue to even pay me. Let alone a team. The limited market size also makes it hard to work in Australia, where they have been more successful overseas. You cannot run a business like this.
The funding challenge
The vision for Xstatic, which drove me not to give up, was always far greater than just delivering events in Sydney, our social impact strategy was about providing this option across Australia and bringing the concept to schools as an early intervention approach to support better mental health.
For this to happen, we need start-up funding to employ the team and invest in marketing to expand the offering and build the brand to the point we can become attractive to sponsors and partners. We may have been early, but the time is now for an offering like this to be successful.
However, funding for initiatives like Xstatic is sadly not available. Mental health-related funding goes into recovery rather than prevention as much as we do provide an important option to help people on their recovery journey.
The funding we did attract for Wonderland was directly related to CBD activation post-COVID. To be honest, Grant funding that helps cover the cost of the event does not help as it does not support business sustainability, rather becoming more of an admin headache.
The reality is alcohol is central to the business model of venues and events, both through the drink volumes consumed and the associated sponsorship. At sober events, people may have 1 or 2 experiential drinks, and while the alcohol-free drink brands are growing in number, they typically don’t have sponsorship dollars. Sober events have to rely almost exclusively on ticket sales, yet selling sober in the current culture is a challenge, not to mention the ticket sales risk as people buy at the last minute.
Why it's a serious mental health and society problem
The challenge we face is not unique, and it's sad to see all sober event organisers struggle to support their own mental health, by being stretched too thin and often not being able to pay themselves. It was sad to see Untoxicated, which runs sober social events and communities around Australia, close its doors in recent weeks for the same reasons.
So, how do we break the dependency and addiction to alcohol when it's in every venue and social occasion?
Where do people who are on the recovery journey go to socialise without temptation?
Where do people go to socialise to enjoy authentic ‘connection’ and safe environments to dance and party?
How do we shift the culture to encourage greater moderation and not normalise overconsumption?
When we consider the cost of alcohol on society and the economy, estimated at nearly 67 billion (National Drug Research Institute 2017/18) - these are important questions to be addressed. Domestic violence, lack of consent, sexual assault, aggression and debilitating addiction are just a few of the terrible consequences of our booze-dependent culture.
Can we not socialise without alcohol? I feel this is a very sad reflection of our culture.
The Xstatic Solution to this problem
This is why I created the Xstatic concept, aiming to address the challenges sober events face in attracting new people, creating the coolest parties and leading by example with epic party footage showing people sober really can be cool and fun. Encouraging people to give it a go. It has never been about promoting sobriety rather an invitation for a night off and to help people explore what balance means for them.
We have many stories of people coming to our events, which has inspired a new healthy life path for them. It is an important stepping stone to explore other sober events and experiences, connect with new communities and, in some cases, leave their boozy friend's circles behind.
In this way, we aimed to lead and grow the movement, wave the flag and actively play a role in changing the party culture to be more healthy, fun, connected and safe.
As we become more disconnected as a society and mental health problems appear to grow, alcohol-free options and fun experiences to connect authentically are essential.
What I have experienced in our events shows what's possible without the drugs - it's truly beautiful! Much to outsiders' disbelief, there is no compromise in the party, in fact, the dance floor energy is higher, there is more genuine connection and more conversation, and it's a safe space for anyone to let loose, dance and party. I share this perspective from having been in the party and festival scene for many years. I have seen it all.
The impact our events had on people’s mental health was more than just avoiding the hangover and relieving anxiety.
When someone comes to our events for the first time, often being their first sober party, they have a transformational life experience. They step into the fear and social anxiety and discover they can have the best night without depending on booze.
In fact, their mind is completely blown by experiencing something they never imagined was possible. They feel the energy of the party rise, they sense the natural joy from everyone, and they feel the natural high that is available from within. It's a new life experience.
This makes them question their dependency on booze and drugs, inspiring their journey to explore what balance means for them.
We have created transformational experiences for many who realised the potential to have fun and enjoy a natural high, helping them find the balance with how they choose to consume, supporting better mental health. This can help someone break a dependency they have on alcohol and other drugs. As well as support people on their recovery journey. There is life beyond the booze.
Our vision to bring inspiring and educational talks to schools about the opportunity to party sober and then actually co-create the Xstatic concept with students would be incredibly powerful. It would open young minds and help them navigate the culture of alcohol and drugs with a knowing they don’t actually need to consume anything to have the time of their life.
Not the end of the story
This is not the end of Xstatic, but rather the end of this chapter.
I will continue to advocate for funding for sober events and support others in the movement.
I feel my time is better applied to leading, inspiring, consulting and advocating rather than burning myself out from running events.
There are many who continue to run sober events, whether through low-cost options or with incredible tenacity and purpose.
I hope the day will come when more funding is available from the government. Or I meet philanthropists who resonate with the mission.
And don’t despair, there are still many fantastic sober events to enjoy. Our friends at Lovefest have created an event calendar of sober events in Sydney. Check out the festival events they have coming up.
Let's keep dancing and showing the way.
Jasper Vallance
