‘Our Story’
Music festivals changed my life. Now I want to change them.
If you’ve never been to a festival that may sound a little ridiculous. If you have, you know exactly what I mean. It’s not just about the over-the-top outfits, the Instagram photo-ops, or the burn-the-house down crazy parties. Festivals have taught me to love myself, my peers, my community, and the world around me. I owe so much happiness and many of the best relationships in my life to music festivals.
Let me give you a little backstory…
When I was four years old, I lost 70% of my hearing in both ears due to a pre-existing condition and an untimely collision with the kitchen table. For as long as I can remember, I’ve used hearing aids on a daily basis just to keep up with the world around me.
My hearing loss is termed “high-frequency,” meaning I have trouble detecting high pitched sounds. Difficulty discerning high frequency sounds makes it exceptionally hard to hear song lyrics, which often made me feel like I was missing out on a key part of many musical events. It’s hard to participate with your friends when you can’t sing along. But a loud bass drop? Well…that’s a low frequency sound, and that’s made all the difference.
Flash-back to Ultra Music Festival 2013
I was a senior in high school when I made the last minute decision to join the 155,000+ attendees at Ultra which was still located in Miami’s breathtaking Bayfront Park. For those unfamiliar, Ultra Music Festival is one of the marquee festival events in the United States, considered a must-attend by any dance music aficionado.
From the moment I entered the festival grounds, I knew I was where I was meant to be. There was no way I could miss the positive energy or the loud bass booming off of the towering Intercontinental Hotel that served as a backdrop to many of the stages. It was perfect, and I felt at home. It was there, between the city skyline and the Miami oceanfront that my life radically and unexpectedly changed trajectories.
In the years since, I’ve made it a priority to attend a diverse blend of music festivals — Firefly, Ultra, Gov Ball NYC, Okeechobee, Meadows, EZOO, Moonrise, and most recently EDC Orlando. These festivals have been an enduring source of connectedness, lasting friendships, and so many new experiences. I knew that I wanted to give back to this community that I’d discovered, I just didn’t yet know how.
Flash-forward to Ultra 2018.
It was my third time returning to the grounds where my journey originated. However, this time was different. There were three stand-out occurrences over the next three days that helped me begin to realize how I could finally give back. First, security told me my bag was too big. They confiscated it and I was left frantically trying to stuff all my belongings into my friend’s tiny CamelBak (sorry Alberto). Second, the hour long water lines caused me to miss the artist I was most excited to see. Third, several friends had iPhones stolen by professional pickpockets, who come prepared to slice flimsy bags and spot unguarded pockets.
Inspired by these three unfortunate incidents, I made it my mission to find a solution to the most common festival related problems. We began to research, conceptualize, engineer, and finally, we began to build. We interviewed hundreds of people to fully understand how they experience festivals, how they think about theft, how they think about water, and recorded absolutely everything. We went through prototype after prototype, never truly satisfied in our relentless pursuit of a perfect product. We hired the design team that did the Burton Ski&Snowboard bag line, who took this bag from “good” to “great” to “oh-my-god-amazing”. We visited factories all over the world to make sure that they could bring this dream to life, with rigorous quality standards applied every step of the way.
And let me tell you, we’ve built the best damn festival bag that’s ever existed. It’s called the Lunchbox — because our Lunchbox family wants you to make sure you have everything you need to be safe, hydrated, and lookin’ 💯 all festival long (just like your lunchbox as a kid).
What does it really mean to be part of the Lunchbox family?
It’s that outstretched hand to someone you’ve never met, before making room for them to dance with you. It’s being curious enough to ask where people come from, and where they’re going. It’s being welcoming to everyone, regardless of size, shape, or where they come from. It’s saying yes to new experiences, and taking the lessons of an incredible music environment beyond the festival gates and out into the world.
By starting Lunchbox we are spreading our vision of what festivals should be like. No more theft, no more choosing between hydration and FOMO, and no more being stuck with the same old generic backpack.
Thank you for taking the time to understand our commitment to a better festival future. We’re thrilled to announce that Lunchbox officially launches on Kickstarter mid-December 2018. We’re giving our early supporters the best festival bag on the market for 40% off (first 24 hours only)! Stay updated on our progress and find out when you can get your own Lunchbox by subscribing to updates on our launch schedule here.
We couldn’t do this without you — your support means everything to us.
Much love,
Tom Worcester
Lunchbox Founder / Director of Good Vibes
