While attending the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 1999, I began my hospitality career working the velvet ropes as a bar and nightclub doorman.  Helping college acquaintances out off and on in a nightclub district in St. Louis, Missouri, a former baseball teammate saw me and recruited me to "get on board with him" at a venue owned by Bar Management Group (a large hospitality company out of New York City and Charlotte, North Carolina).  They opened countless operations in cities all over the United States.  Although I did travel moderately, St. Louis is where I ran one of the wildest venues in the Midwest during that time, which was a place called "Bar St Louis."  We met everyone per se --from celebrities to sports figures--- and pulled just about every insane stunt imaginable.  As much as I enjoyed the company, I wanted more.   Reluctant about going out on my own, I left BMG in 2003 because I felt I could do it better on my own. 

I went back to bartending on the weekends at a popular brewery so I could focus the weeks on my own projects.  It was about this time around March 2004, when I met my future nightclub business partners.    They had just opened a swank steak house and martini venue called The Pepper Lounge and were looking to build a Sunday night.   With the help of a fellow friend —David Hines, aka DJ BIG D--we built and maintained one of the hottest nights in the city for almost two years.  Every celebrity, athlete, and "who's who" started arriving on Sunday nights.  It was an unprecedented upscale Sunday night in downtown St Louis.  We knew we had something good here and yet again, after two years, we all wanted more. 

In 2006, our group decided to partner up with a local steakhouse to design, build, and manage a high volume patio bar next door to Busch Stadium, named The Outfield at Mike Shannon's.   The place was a monster success as we met our expectations and the Cardinals won the World Series that year. 

In spring 2007, the group moved forward and opened an upscale nightclub named MIST.  It was located at the Lake of the Ozarks inside the Lodge of the Four Seasons.   In 2007, my partners formed a parent company called Lounge Concepts.   During that same time, my partners had been developing other projects with other partners, named Mandarin and Lumen.   They also went on to build El Borracho, which was formerly known as Nectar (an upscale bottle service venue in St. Louis).   The management brand soon became my partners company, Lounge Concepts, with my partners controlling most of the interest in the portfolio.   In March 2011, we sold MIST, and my former business partners pursued building a new a restaurant concept in West St. Louis County named Circle 7 Ranch.  

Since 1999 I have spent majority of my time throwing parties, developing events, training people, consulting, helping others, creating new sales tactics, building new and polishing old events, and finding new ways to keep bars and nightclubs busy.   I had mastered most aspects of the nightclub and bar business by 2003, which was why I left a large group like BMG and took my skills to do something on my own.   These skills range from but are not limited to: PR, marketing, branding, advertising, social media management and strategy, client development and management, bar and nightclub (long and short term) sales structure and design, long term relationship building for marketing and management, liquor and beer taster, strategic partnership development, government and law enforcement relationship management,  sales personnel training, management training, leadership development and training, bar and nightclub concept development, sound and music programming, managing financial operations, cost management, event management and production, sales & strategic calendar planning, as well as bar safety and nightclub security consulting.

In 2007, my network led to an opportunity creating a company that helped companies brand themselves through a green initiative I had created.   Furthermore, it brought advertisers, marketers, and sponsors together for one purpose and allowed them to concurrently launch a green initiative.   That company has now evolved even further finding a unique niche in the world of business development, branding, and marketing.

In 2008, I consulted with a five star restaurant in an attempt to broker a deal involving them expanding from South America to the United States. 

Since 2008, I have been creating a program to revolutionize how owners approach hospitality safety and security.  This program will launching April 2019, it's called C.A.L.M. Bar Safety.  

In 2010, I co-founded "The Bartenders Brawl" with two other nightlife entrepreneurs in St. Louis.  The Bartenders Brawl is an MMA and Kickboxing event involving true novice hospitality professionals who are trained by professional athletes.   Each city we have had trainers who are former reality TV stars from TUF from Spike TV,  BJJ world champions, Olympic wrestlers and coaches, UFC and Bellator competitors, pro-kickboxers and boxers, and other high profile trainers to get these hospitality professionals prepared.   In summer 2013, the event was picked up by a TV production company for further development.  As of 2019, my partners and I have shelved it because we don't have time for it.  Perhaps we will pick it back up soon, who knows?   

In 2012, I was contracted to develop business for the UMMAF and indirectly the IMMAF.   I was asked to primarily introduce potential marketing partners to the UMMAF and IMMAF as each group stays busy in the pursuit to unify Mixed Martial Arts around the globe.   This kicked off when both groups hosted the first ever MMA World Championships, held in Las Vegas during UFC Fan Week in July 2014.  Going full steam ahead and with support from around the globe, the World Championships have been in Bahrain recently with probably over 80+ countries involved.

From 2010-2013, when my arthritis cooperated with me, I trained Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with my brother Bryan Guidry www.guidrytraining.com .  My brother Bryan is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Rodrigo Vaghi, who received his black belt from Rickson Gracie.  Six or so knee scopes, a torn right PCL, 7 PRP injections in my left knee, a bulging disc, four torn shoulders, chronic arthritis in my hands and the "big four"...I'm done with that for now.  Also giving up weights in 2013, now I train by myself and focus on strength training through primarily body weight movements.  But if you are interested in fitness and in the St. Louis area, my brother is well versed in: Jiu Jitsu, boxing, kickboxing, MMA (as a former undefeated amateur MMA fighter), wrestling (as a former collegiate wrestler), Judo as a former judo competitor, and thus you should swing by as he owns North Broadway Brazilian Jiu Jitsu located on "The Hill" in St. Louis, Missouri.  

General Manager

The Outfield at Mike Shannon's

January 2006 – November 2006 

Recruited, trained, and helped design the biggest and hottest venue in 2006---a ballpark patio bar at Busch Stadium----and we won the world series that year
Voted "the place to be scene in St. Louis"--Alive magazine summer 2006

Business Partner

Lounge Concepts

April 2007 – 2014

Two other guys and I have owned, currently own, or have operated multiple high energy nightclubs, restaurants, and event spaces over the past (almost) nine years including: (The Pepper Lounge, Nectar, Mandarin, Lumen, MIST, El Borracho, The Outfield at Mike Shanon's, and now Circle 7 Ranch). I met my business partners in 2004 successfully launching Sunday nights at The Pepper Lounge in '04. I designed, operated, and branded Mike Shannon's in '06.  We partnered up and built MIST in 2007.  I helped re-brand Mandarin Lounge in '08, and have been a part of various development aspects in their other businesses that I didn't or don't own such as:
Develop and maintain thousands of customers a week/month/year
Train and recruit sales managers and natural entertainers
Help employees develop sales through calendar and event planning
Produce multiple high profile events numerous times a month/year
Provide in-house security consulting/training
Coordinate security personally for high profile athletes, models, and celebrities
Help provide employment opportunities for hundreds or maybe thousands of people
Provide outside consulting for other groups

Partner

Peruvian Concepts

December 2007 – December 2009

Peruvian Concepts was formed between myself and a high profile global executive in the efforts of bringing a five star South American restaurant to the United States.   Due to non-disclosure agreements, the name of that restaurant can not be disclosed.

President

Mantra Services Group

December 2008 – 2013

Mantra Services Group was created to bring sponsors, advertisers, and brands together through a green initiative.   Mantra's team is a combination of people including an award winning European design group, a leader in global beverage consulting, and myself.  

Bar, Nightclub, Restaurant, and Event Consultant

(numerous clients from 2004 - 2015)

Business Development & Consulting

January 2011 – Present 

After spending a lifetime entertaining people, building brands, and designing a company in '08 (Europe/USA  I developed countless of high profile relationships around the globe attempting to launch a green marketing and branding initiative through H2O), my business development experience has lead me to other high profile opportunities.

At one point I lead business development for the USA Mixed Martial Arts Federation, or the UMMAF (www.usammakif.org), which is a non-profit organization whose mission is to enable US amateur athletes to achieve sustained competitive excellence, develop character and support the efforts for all amateur Mixed Martial Arts. UMMAF provides the infrastructure to promote and grow MMA in the USA and through international competition. The UMMAF is the national federation for MMA representing the USA as a member of the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF). The IMMAF is the international governing body for MMA, non-profit and democratic, founded from within the MMA community for the MMA Community. UMMAF is focused on supporting Mixed Martial Arts athletes in World Class Competition by providing an infrastructure of State, Regional National and International events developed to help athletes excel.

I have spent almost twenty years in the hospitality business, excelling in most categories.  I am an expert in leading people and building internal sales systems.  My roles within Lounge Concepts were but not limited to: a crucial position within our own company, teaching and leading people, organizing people and venues, acting as a strategic communication pipeline within a large company while managing numerous brands, recruiting employees, helping manage numerous brands and marketing campaigns, leader in business development, social, traditional, and experiential marketing, developed many managers and leaders, expert in event management, planning, production, social media planning & brand building, sales & calendar planning and execution, outside and inside sales, building email marketing campaigns, and retaining clients.