As new, cutting-edge festivals are constantly springing up around the world every year, the competition to be unique and desirable is more fierce than ever. While most of use festivals as a portal to escape from reality for a few days, there are people who work night and day from months and sometimes years at a time to make sure attendees enjoy a mere 48-72 hours of pure bliss.
The Groove Cruise is noted as one of the more predominately diverse and most-desired “floating festivals”, as it's successfully been running since 2004 and constantly expanding to new locations across the globe. The festival is a true example of what it means to be an accomplished events as the boats keep getting bigger and the parties keep getting crazier.
Credit: The Groove Cruise
So who are the brains behind the longest running floating festival? Meet Rafi Leibowitz, the marketing director that oversees all things fun for The Groove Cruise. He's been with the company since 2012, working his way up from intern to director, and is one of the most beloved and well known faces on the boat.
Rafi is one of the most determined players in the industry and takes what he does seriously, all with good fun. The opportunity to work with The Groove Cruise fell into his lap after meeting with founder Jason Beukema,
I had no intention of getting into this line of work, I studied marketing in college and I was always involved in promoting events…I was introduced to Jason right around then and we instantly hit it off! I was literally working out of a spare bedroom five to six days a week and we were doing 1 Groove Cruise a year. I've been with the company almost five years now!
Photo Credit: The Groove Cruise
Rafi's perseverance also helped him define his own success and find his niche within the EDM industry but it hasn't always been a smooth road for him,
I think at times in the music industry there is a lot of frustration and one of my biggest frustrations was working with people who weren't as driven as I was or focused and trustworthy.
I've had my fair share of encounters of working with people who have really let me down…I like being surrounded by like minded people and that's why I love working for this company… We definitely work pretty hard but we play as equally hard and we have fun with what we do!
Groove Cruise has in part been so successful the past few years due to a strong team behind the event and while there are other obvious players in the game (Holy Ship, Mad Decent Boat Party) there are distinguishing factors that allow Groove Cruise to stand out against it's competitors,
First thing that I think sets Groove Cruise apart from any festival is the attendees themselves. This grew organically over the years it started out as just a small group of friends on a cruise ship and then it grew each year with more and more people. You still have a lot of those same people coming on the Groove Cruise year after year.
Also just the experience, it isn't a concert where you go see DJs, it isn't a vacation – it really is just a place to go party with your friends! There's great energy, great music and it's about the people that go…obviously it's about the music as well, we book slightly different artists than our competitors in the market with more trance and techno and underground music. Obviously we branch out to the EDM world as well.
This year we have a special guest on board, which we haven't announced yet, which is an artist we have been trying to book for a long time now and one of my personal favorite DJs!
With the hype surrounding the event, it's important to keep the good times rolling and a stable future for Groove Cruise – which falls onto Rafi's plate as head of marketing. New ideas to keep people coming on board are always on the top of his mind,
What we've been working on for awhile now is international expansion. We want to take our brand overseas, whether it's Europe, Asia or Australia that would be an immediate future goal… that is something that I've been working on for awhile now and I think we can definitely do it.
We've also just announced that for our Miami cruise in January, we are using the biggest boat we've ever used which is also really exciting…we are really trying to stay ahead of the game!
photo by Veranmiky
Rafi truly enjoys his work not only being able to work for one of the most desired brands in the industry, but for the love the people themselves.
The people on Groove Cruise are the craziest bunch of people you'll ever meet! These people are the craziest, most fun-loving, outgoing, wild (but in the coolest way possible) group ever. The average age is 25-40, so you get a much more professional crowd. These people are amazing, amazing people!
Copyright: Jook G Photography
The energy is what sets Groove Cruise apart and obviously the music and it's non-stop 24 hours of fun.
Convinced yet? Limited cabins are available, hurry and book yours soon!
