Why creators are taking the reins on event hosting

You’ve heard of celebrity meet and greets. Welcome to the era of the creator meet-and-greet.

In the last year, creators across industries have taken it upon themselves to get out into the world and engage with their fandoms IRL, ranging from podcast tapings to book tours and run clubs.

“It feels like it has grown exponentially, the amount of creators wanting to put on these events,” Sophie Crowther, global talent partnerships director for creator agency Billion Dollar Boy, told us.

For creators, in-person events open up the opportunity to diversify and meet their audiences in a more controlled, less algorithmically dependent environment—and potentially create a new revenue stream. Attendees, meanwhile, get the opportunity to not only engage with their favorite creators, but also with fellow fans who share common interests.

As the internet grows more saturated and, at times, overwhelming, and as creators and fans alike seek offline interactions, marketers said creator-led IRL events may only continue to grow in popularity in 2026.

“The early pioneers in the market are very much seriously thinking about what this looks like in the next year,” John Hu, CEO and co-founder of creator platform Stan, told us.

Reversing the formula

Abe Santos, partner and head of sports and outdoor lifestyle at Underscore Talent, said that while creators have historically relied on brands to put on events, he’s been inspired in his work to flip that idea around. Some of Santos’s clients include creators like Claire Kittle, wife of 49ers tight end George Kittle and host of the House of Sport & Sisterhood (HOSS) Tailgate Tour, and Tyler Bergantino, who’s known online for his viral “Tall Tour” meetups.

“The idea was helping them to build and expand their own brand, and not having this idea that they always needed to have brands involved,” Santos said.

Brands might not be hosting, but Santos said they’re eager to get involved. Kittle’s tailgate events have drawn brand sponsorship inquiries, he said, as well as larger inquiries about creator-level partnerships with Kittle. “What’s been cool about what she’s doing is it’s bringing out more of her personality and brands are super attracted to that,” Santos said.

Brand interest and ticket sales from the Tailgate Tour have allowed Kittle to build up her revenue streams as a creator. Bergantino’s Tall Tour, which is free to the public, has attracted thousands of attendees, Santos said, and brands have provided title sponsorships and giveaways.

This year, Santos said, both creators plan to scale and broaden their events, with nearly double the amount of HOSS events and new singles meetups for Bergantino’s audience planned. Santos said he’s helping launch a series of run clubs, and exploring the possibility of branded community events around marathons with creator Lizzie Ramey.

Nice to meet you

Ultimately, Santos said, creator-hosted events are “community first and brand second,” meaning there are opportunities for fans to get closer with the creators and communities that resonate with them. As the Tall Tour has grown in popularity and attracted media attention, Santos said attendees are becoming more central to Bergantino’s content. For Kittle, he said, some fans have flown in from across the country for the chance to attend a HOSS event.

When creator Elyse Myers released her book, That’s a Great Question, I’d Love to Tell You, last October, a tour was an opportunity for her to meet some of her millions of followers as much as it was to promote her work, Linnea Toney, partner and manager at Underscore Talent, told us.

“As a creator, you create in a vacuum a lot of times, and you’re not meeting these people,” Toney said. “When you get to meet them, you see the greater purpose.”

The tour was the first time Myers had done in-person events, and Toney said its success has inspired ideas for future IRL opportunities. Onstage Q&A and VIP experiences proved to be very conducive to UGC and social content, she said, as were in-person connections among fans.

“We had people in line for the meet and greet…who hadn’t known each other 30 minutes before, and they decided to do a book club,” she said. “You’re getting introduced to people around you who are really there with an open mind and looking to connect with people in real life.”

Building the brand

Not every creator has the time, money, or resources to put on an event, so some agencies are stepping in. Billion Dollar Boy recently created its Your Community IRL initiative, in which creators applied for a $3,500 grant to host in-person events with their followers, Crowther said; creator Alexis Barber was named the winner in December. The agency is planning to host additional initiatives in New York and LA, as well as potentially some smaller cities where there are “burgeoning creator hubs,” she said, like Austin and Atlanta.

“Lots of creators are still just one person,” Crowther said. “And they are limited in terms of resources and time.”

But not every event needs to be a big, branded ordeal to make an impact. Hu said his agency’s creator meetups, called Stan Sessions, are kept intentionally unbranded to provide an unfiltered environment that, for some fans and creators, serves as an antidote to other aspects of the industry.

“Everything else,” he said, “has been eaten alive by capitalism.”