Gigs From The Vault: Not Your Usual Valentine’s Day….

To kick things off  for my Adventures in Gig World series, it seems fitting to share the story from one of my last true gigs before COVID hit. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into on this blistering cold Valentine’s Day. The scenario was hilarious. It was quick, easy, and came with a nice paycheck. And it was quite the act of public service to the people of New York City….

Holidays are prime time for landing gigs. Not only are there tons of events, but fellow gig workers don’t always want to spend special days at “the office,” meaning more openings to be filled.

Sure enough, I easily booked a Valentine’s Day gig that would involve handing out branded goodies to the people of New York to promote the launch of a new movie.

Or at least that’s what I thought…

Handing out promotional items on the street is type of gig known as “street team.”  People, such as myself, love free, and curbside giveaways are usually easy peasy. Plus, once you hand out all the swag, you usually get to  leave early while getting paid for the full scheduled shift.

February 14^th, I diligently bundled up and braced the frigid New York winter to the meeting locale to collect the giveaways. I  got off the train, walked two blocks, and found myself outside a boujee sex store with the same name as the movie I thought I was promoting.

SHIT! Did I type in the wrong address?!

I was furiously reading the email when I heard a, “Are you Katie? I think we are working together tonight.” I looked up to see a man with a “theatre kid” aura who hardly looked old enough to enter the shop. Turns out I was in fact at the right locale.

We went inside, and an exquisitely beautiful woman who was furiously helping the Valentine’s rush yelled,  “I’ll be right with you!!!!”  5 minutes later, she dashed over with the “swag” along with a big fuzzy heart designed for photo opportunities. You see, great photos leads to satisfied clients. They want happy pedestrians holding up the respective product with enthusiasm. It at least creates the illusion that the marketing campaign was a success.

I opened up the bag to see exactly what we were handing out:

bags full of condoms.

What had I gotten myself into?

The woman’s instructions weren’t hard to follow: “Hand out all the products, maybe in Times Square, maybe in Bryant Park… Oh or Union Square! Just remember… don’t give the products out to anyone under 18!”

I grabbed the bags with images of provocative women on them, flung the heart around my shoulder, and headed back into the cold. “This will all be over in 3 hours.”

We hopped on the uptown 2 train and a group of squawking teenage boys filed on behind us. Uh oh. They spied the risqué bags and proceeded to ask what inside. I said, “I’ll tell  you when you’re older”, which sent them into a testosterone-fueled excitement as they erupted in high fives, “bros” and “dudes.”

Times Square was teeming with tourists and fellow gig workers alike. After 10 good photos, the hard part would be over.

Work mode= activated.

I strategically eyed couples, knowing they would be the best candidates for posing with a giant heart while graciously receiving anti-baby makers. People agreed to take the photos. I’m not sure if it’s because they wanted the precious memory or because they felt sorry for me. Either way, mission accomplished.

The name of the game was “hand these out as quickly as possible.” The sooner the “swag” was gone, the sooner I could go home and crack open that $5 bottle of Trader Joe’s red wine. We headed to the other instructed locales and ended up in the West Village where people were spilling out of the bars for Valentine’s Day fun.

I couldn’t have dreamed of a better target audience for the condom giveaway: slightly inebriated herds of seemingly single men on Valentine’s Day.

As a veteran gig worker, I wasn’t too phased by the task at hand. I said goodbye to being self-conscious years ago. My coworker wasn’t as comfortable. I took the lead and our bags were empty in no time. We headed back to the shop 90 minutes before our shift was scheduled to be over. “It was such as success and we ran out of product!” And then I headed home.

What I learned about humanity

Sex sells. No one wants fliers, people are skeptical of free drinks and products, but nearly everyone wanted the free condoms. I felt oddly better handing out something that wouldn’t go straight into the garbage bin.

What I learned about myself

“You can’t take yourself too seriously” and “it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks” are two lessons  that are easy to preach, but harder to embody. After doing more than 200 gigs, I can genuinely say that I believe both statements. 22 year old Katie would have been anxious,  embarrassed, and outrageously self-conscious at the prospect of handing out condoms on the street. 26 year old Katie laughed out loud at the task at hand and hit the streets without a care in the world.

Another day, another gig.