The guy pictured above eating a hamburger at Little Mike's is Ryan Drake. By day, he's a "Social Media Specialist" for Big Wing – the in-house digital ad agency for The Oklahoman. By night, he's a local 1990s dance party DJ, podcaster, event promoter, open mic comic, out-of-work radio host and all-around weasel who does an excellent job wiggling his way into social and creative circles only to burn bridges, connections and friendships so he can dance over what remains with little glow sticks and eggplant emojis at The Speakeasy.
Wow. That was a bit intense. Ryan – my adopted son turned disappointing former son – and I have some history. More on that later...
Over the weekend, Ryan and his BFF Malory Craft hosted an event called OKC Tinder Live at TLO's former Tuesday night trivia venue – The 51st Speakeasy. I guess the gist is that millennials venture out of their safe space, show their Tinder profile to an audience, and then watch with delight as a big name celebrity panel of local musicians and open mic comics roast it. Sounds very 2015, doesn't it?
Here's a tweet from the show: