Co-Founder & CEO
Matt Hardage
15 years in branding, marketing, & media, including a decade running his own full-service firm. Leads strategy, brand, & client relationships.
Culture, Built for Real Moments.
Event Dept. is a Miami-based turnkey experiential marketing & event management company founded by Matt Hardage, Justin Humble, and Nate Smith. We exist so growth-stage & established brands can plan, fund, produce, and run real-world experiences with 1 accountable senior team.
01 / Point of View
Not Impressions. Presence.
Culture doesn't happen in a feed. It happens in person, with real people, in a real place, & at a real time. We turn the culture you've built into real moments people show up for & talk about after.
For years, we watched brands get caught between two incomplete options: creative shops that delivered slide decks without knowing what a permit or generator costs, and event production vendors that could set up staging but did not understand brand equity, unit economics, or customer retention.
We built Event Dept. to close that gap permanently. By bringing brand strategy (Matt Hardage), field operations (Justin Humble), & sponsorship and commercial revenue (Nate Smith) together at the founder level, our clients get a turnkey event department where the strategy survives event day.
Mission & Vision
Mission: Turn a brand's culture into disciplined, high-energy physical moments that build community & measurable commercial return.
Vision: Set the standard for how modern D2C, CPG, wellness, & travel brands show up in the real world.
02 / The Founders
3 Founders. Every Account.
Co-Founder & COO
Justin Humble
Runs operations from plan to event day. Has sold out wellness retreats in Switzerland, Panama, & Greece, and produces the Keep Going Half Marathon.
Co-Founder & CCO
Nate Smith
Turns events into revenue. Leads sales, marketing, and sponsorship, building the partnerships & packages that fund each experience before the doors open.
03 / Headquarters & Reach
Based in Miami. Operating Everywhere Your Audience Gathers.
Miami, FL
Headquartered in Miami, we operate across the country's most active year-round cultural calendar, from Miami Art Week, Formula 1, & wellness festivals to waterfront properties and design district spaces.
United States & Abroad
Our founders produce activations, races, owned events, & multi-day retreats across major US markets (New York, Los Angeles, Austin, Chicago, & Nashville) and international destinations including Switzerland, Panama, & Greece.
Apply / Start an Engagement
Let's Build Something Real.
We're selective about the brands we take on. Tell us about yours. If there's a fit, we'll reply within 2 business days to set up an intro call.