![]() “The craziest part was not realizing when I got my lease in February that I would have to go through all this,” said Brunet, who opened her doors in July. She has gotten by with several online streaming classes and outdoor sessions like at Instabar, but she said owning a gym is still a challenge amid COVID-19. Normally, Brunet could fit up to 14 if not for a 50% capacity limit to ensure social distancing, but she said the smaller classes at least make for more intimate classroom connections. The yoga mats inside the Yoga Parlor at 461 Lafayette Road are spaced six feet apart, making room for five to six students in a room of about 800 square feet. “We could do an Eight Steps to Up Your Bumble Game type of night that includes live music after, where people come out and take awesome selfies, and get to meet other singles.Emma Brunet’s yoga studio in downtown Hampton is a little less crowded than she expected it would be before the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt on its opening earlier this year. “We have this whole environment of great backdrops,” he said. Millette has other ideas brewing as well, like help sessions with professional photographers for people looking to take more flattering shots. Comedy happens June 24 at 6:30 p.m., when Manchester standup Mike Koutrobis performs ($10/ticket). It’s so important to me … and this restaurant is based on being authentically Austin, which claims to be the live music capital of the world.”Īpril Renzella, David Corson, Rob Pagnano, Brad Bosse, Sam Robbins and Amanda McCarthy have all appeared there since Instabar opened in late May. “What is art without music?” Millette asked. Live entertainment is integral to Instabar’s mission. That made our Instagram quite explode, to like 700 views per story.” “The first question is, where is it? We tell them it’s a secret and they can’t know without an invite. ![]() “Social media is all about engagement,” he said. To her surprise, Millette insisted the location would be a mystery right up to opening night. Kingston helmed the crucial Instagram rollout. “We all worked together I just essentially would curate it, but sometimes I would just guide them in a certain area.” “Carmen Fernandez, a friend of mine from Portsmouth, Christian Hardy, a filmmaker, musician and an artist I’ve worked on other projects, Kendall Vocca and Alyssa Pine,” he said. He then recruited artists to create the space. Losing 87 pounds on an all-Mexican food diet a couple of years ago gave Millette the experience to build a menu. “One thing you can get that’s amazing all the time in Texas is a taco, whether you go to a big restaurant or get it out of a truck at 3 in the morning,” Millette said. His old friend Shane Pine liked the idea of using the back of his Hampton restaurant, Shane’s Texas Pit, and he liked the food focus, which Millette hoped would draw the surfer crowd and be true to the Lone Star State. “I thought those two things coming together would be a really cool experience,” he said. Millette hatched a plan to combine it with a focus on his favorite food and bring it home to New Hampshire. I was like, ‘Wow, this is a whole other market.’ These places had tickets that were selling out in minutes.” “They all had individual rooms that were basically built just to take Instagram photos of yourself. “Pop-up museums like Happy Place and Ice Cream Museum, the one made famous on the Kardashians,” Millette said by phone recently. He found the scene ideal for iPhone snapping and uploading.ĭawn Kingston, a photographer who works extensively with influencers and artists like Shawn Mendes, Machine Gun Kelly and Cameron Dallas, told him about an emerging business model focused on the selfie crowd. His work in branding and marketing led Millette to Austin, Texas, last year, where he discovered Rainey Street, an old neighborhood turned nightlife hub brimming with food trailers, bars made of freight containers and other oddities. It’s the brainchild of Scott Millette, a former competitive snowboarder and fight promoter turned filmmaker. Each tableau - there are more than 20, and they change regularly - is a potential scene for selfies, a nod to the notion that an experience is more awesome when shared online. Instabar is a place that exists in equal measure for pleasure and posting, dedicated to the Instagram generation. The festival of senses is about more than a fun night out, though Tex-Mex tacos, local craft beer and margaritas do provide that. Every night, live music flows from a corner stage. Walking into Instabar, one is greeted by a riot of color, light and kitsch: wild graphics, a wall of speakers offered for art, not sound, a hollowed out Winnebago remade as a conversation pit, and positive vibes like “Make today Magic” drawn in funky fonts on the floor.
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