( ENSPIRE Feature ) Founders of Ticket2Events, Sean Koski and Brian Kelly, Pivot From Event Planning to Magazine Creation With Eternal Traveler
ENSPIRE Contributor: Keegan Kerns
The arrival of COVID-19 has challenged all of us in each facet of our life, changing the way we approach tasks such as school, work, and family. For Sean Koski and Brian Kelly, this challenge came in the form of adapting to the new business landscape and following their own dreams despite the new difficulties. As celebrity event planners, Sean Koski (@seankoskii) and Brian Kelly (@officialbriankelly) are no strangers to the unexpected! Sean and Brian, the owners of Ticket2Events, are event planners who’ve created experiences that you may have noticed from one of their many features in places like Page Six!, Life & Style, or Bravo TV. Unfortunately, with the arrival of the pandemic, they had to consider their options and desires as the world and need for event planning changed significantly. However, their creative abilities allowed them to find a new arena to channel their creative energy.
Initially, Sean and Brian took their anticipated losses from COVID-19 and pivoted from planning for others to making their own dreams come true. On their quest for adventure, the two documented the protocol of travel through the pandemic, created a ton of content, and even had a quick moment on The Ellen Show through a viral Tik Tok along the way! As they continued to travel across the world during this normally restrictive time, they decided to put their traveling advice and content to good use and start the now Eternal Traveler Magazine, an online place for travelers to read from contributors who, too, travel in style like Sean Koski and Brian Kelly.
We were able to talk to Sean Koski and Brian Kelly about their unique journey, from their initial struggle with the pandemic to their inspiration for starting Eternal Traveler Magazine.
As COVID hit, how did you guys initially react to shutdowns, both commercially and emotionally, and was it easy to move on to a new project so quickly?
COVID impacted so many people at once—it was the first time everyone was invited to an experience without any invitation needed! Commercially, we made a choice to hone our digital skills before getting back to basics as we have only recently in the later part of 2021! Emotionally, we could’ve decided to focus on the pain that was around us, but just as we’ve planned wakes before, we knew that holding our heads up high and processing the situation like the problem solvers we are would ultimately help us to prevail. So with our newly developed digital skills, we took a stab at a series of digital events and enjoyed some fun in the sun, too.
What inspired you to make Eternal Traveler Magazine?
Our inspiration to make Eternal Traveler Magazine continues to evolve, so it’s hard to say exactly what inspired us to make the magazine. With the limited time of engagement any social share has, we needed to find a way to truly, authentically capture readers while simultaneously giving them the opportunity to experience something special, too. We also saw a niche opportunity during COVID. The hospitality industry was suffering a lot, but it was still operating. A lot of people didn’t know if they should or could travel, stay at a hotel, have a “staycation”, et cetera. So, at first we were highlighting local destinations and showcasing the safety precautions that each place was implementing. Since then, it has bloomed into a worldwide endeavor. Through the additional content, places, and people that we saw, we thought it would be a waste not to expand our content and showcase through our digital magazine!
We also brought along some of our friends with every trip to help reach a wider audience through their social reach—for instance, Kristen Taekman from Bravo TV’s The Real Housewives of New York City and our partner LeeAnne Locken from The Real Housewives of Dallas, who is a contributor and partner to the digital magazine, our travel companion, and friend!
Read Sean and Brian’s full interview in our Entertainment and Gift Guide Issue! Get your print or digital copy here.
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