Talking with EDM Maniac, Koco Nikki shares her journey from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, the place she has solid a path as a pacesetter within the nightlife and hospitality industries. A double alumna of UNLV, Nikki’s profession spans roles with TAO Group, Virgin Resort, and large-scale Insomniac festivals. As co-founder of Elation Occasions, she helped form the underground digital music scene whereas prioritizing security and inclusivity.
As we speak, as a Lecturer at UNLV and a key determine at Zouk Group, Nikki shouldn’t be solely advancing her personal profession however actively mentoring the subsequent technology of individuals within the business, pushing for a extra inclusive, collaborative, and empowering future for all in nightlife and hospitality.
Maniac Journal: Give us a rundown of your private background, your profession, and the important thing moments alongside the way in which.
Nikki: I’m initially from Los Angeles. I moved to Vegas just a little over a decade in the past, initially to flee the excessive value of residing and heavy visitors. However it looks like they each adopted me right here! I’m a double alumna of the College of Nevada, Las Vegas, the place I earned my Bachelor’s and Grasp’s levels in Hospitality Administration and Administration.
Music and hospitality have at all times performed a major function in my life, as they create significant relationships and experiences. All through my profession, I’ve had the chance to work throughout numerous areas within the nightlife and leisure business. I labored for TAO Group in VIP promotions and advertising and marketing, and later joined the workforce at Virgin Resort, working artist relations for a seaside membership. I’m additionally lucky to have and nonetheless work large-scale Insomniac festivals, akin to Dreamstate and EDC.
Certainly one of my achievements is that in 2018-2019, I co-founded and co-owned Elation Occasions, a start-up dwell music occasions firm. We created, marketed, and produced a number of dwell music occasions, beginning with trance, then added Hardstyle and Techno/Home to the combination. Our occasions averaged between 400 and 600 folks per present the primary 12 months, and we produced shut to twenty exhibits. I additionally created a partnership with Insomniac Occasions to convey “Dreamstate” branded exhibits to off-strip areas, leading to a thriving underground dwell music tradition.
At the moment, as my big-girl job, I function a Lecturer within the Meals and Beverage and Occasions division inside the William F. Harrah Faculty of Hospitality at UNLV. Through the weekends, I proceed my ardour and involvement in hospitality and visitor expertise with Zouk Group in Resorts World Las Vegas, managing VIP hospitality and curating memorable experiences for my company.
Maniac Journal: Your profession within the nightlife business is inspiring. What have been a number of the most important turning factors that helped you break by?
Nikki: Working within the nightlife and leisure business has positively been an thrilling journey. With every passing 12 months, I discover myself reflecting on the challenges I confronted and the expansion that has adopted. After all, there have been challenges, however each pushed me to change into extra resilient and extra enthusiastic about what I do. And for that, I’m deeply grateful. I’ve additionally been lucky to have had mentors, managers, and colleagues who believed in me and opened doorways alongside the way in which. Their assist performed a major function in serving to me get to the place I’m at this time.
Maniac Journal: How have you ever navigated the challenges of a male-dominated business, and what steps have you ever taken to make sure girls’s voices and views are represented?
I needed to be taught to be assertive and set boundaries. These days, after I see a feminine coming into the business, I make it not solely some extent to uplift them by providing assist and recommendation, but additionally to push them in direction of alternatives which will come up. Making a safer, extra inclusive setting has additionally change into a prime precedence for me. The nightlife business has carried a stigma of harassment and unsafe situations, and it’s time we actively work to alter that stereotype.
Maniac Journal: For girls aiming for management positions in industries that aren’t at all times numerous, what recommendation would you give to assist overcome obstacles and construct a strong assist system?
Nikki: The journey shouldn’t be going to be straightforward. Know your price and keep resilient. There will likely be moments when your contributions will go unnoticed, and you’ll really feel missed. However don’t let that shake your confidence. Be compassionate and converse up for these round you, no matter their function. There will likely be others that also really feel shy and are intimidated to face up for themselves. Above all, maintain your integrity and be actual. In an business stuffed with distractions and noise, staying grounded in your values and ethics, and being real will set you aside.
Maniac Journal: The Las Vegas nightlife scene has seen quite a lot of change through the years. How do you see girls contributing to this transformation, and what do you suppose the long run holds for ladies leaders within the scene?
Nikki: Las Vegas is welcoming totally different sides of leisure, along with nightlife within the metropolis: sporting occasions, live shows, and so on. As extra girls step into high-level management roles, they’re shaking the male-dominated business. I foresee girls turning into trendsetters, reshaping the tradition in direction of being extra inclusive and creating secure but memorable experiences.
Maniac Journal: Trying again at your journey, what achievements are you most happy with, particularly when it comes to paving the way in which for ladies within the nightlife and hospitality industries?
Nikki: I nonetheless look again proudly on my time with Elation Occasions—we have been centered on creating unforgettable experiences for the underground digital music scene in Las Vegas. Our occasions had prioritized security, inclusivity, and neighborhood, providing not solely memorable moments but additionally significant progress alternatives for these desperate to study dwell music occasion coordination.
As we speak, I’m grateful to have a voice as a university-level Lecturer. My aim is to positively form the subsequent technology of business leaders, encouraging them to steer with integrity and respect for his or her neighborhood.
Maniac Journal: Trying forward, how do you hope to empower or mentor the subsequent technology of girls in nightlife? What modifications would you prefer to see within the business as extra girls step into management roles?
Nikki: I completely really feel mentorship performs an essential function in anybody’s profession. I hope to be the type of mentor I as soon as wanted: somebody who not solely listens and provides steerage, however somebody who, with out ego, connects rising younger girls with alternatives that may assist their profession progress.
The Las Vegas nightlife is surreal and iconic, however additionally it is prepared for an evolution. I’d like to see extra girls step into government management roles, akin to VP of Leisure or Director of Operations, not solely main with intention but additionally shaping future technique and operations. I hope the nightlife business turns into extra collaborative than aggressive and extra ingenious than company.
