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Chris Sarchet Bell On His Journey To Building The Biggest U18 Event Brand In The Uk

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Chris Sarchet Bell is one of the few entrepreneurs who are proving that you can have a good time without alcohol. In 2014, he founded Shutdown events as a response to the market gap in providing entertainment for 14-17 years olds. 6 years later, he has taken that business sky-level and transformed it into the biggest U18s events brand in the whole of the UK.

Starting Small

Shutdown Events was established in 2014 in Chris’ home town, Burnley. Before venturing into the day-time event space, Shutdown had previous experience in the events/nightlife industry from hosting their over 18 events.

“We decided to try and tackle the younger market to be able to get interest from a young audience,” Chris says. “Then, once they came of age, we would be able to pass them on to our over 18s brand, Grenade.”

Shutdown quickly made a name for itself in Burnley and soon started to attract clientele from out of the town and further.

“With each event, more and more people were talking about us. Within 6 months, we branched into a second area and by month 8, we were in another 4 cities.”

It was at this stage the Shutdown team realised they had created something special.

Building a Legacy on Connection

The resounding success that Shutdown Events currently enjoys did not happen by accident. In fact, it was the result of persistent effort and never taking no for an answer.

“ I never give up,” Chris shares. “It took me 4 years before I made a penny. No matter what hurdles have been thrown at me over the last 6 years I always get back up and keep going and my determination is exactly why I am where I am today.”

Crushing Goals

Within the first 2 years, Shutdown became the UK’s largest leading U18 brand. Now, Chris and his team tour the country every couple of months, hosting events from Scotland to as far down as Newquay. Shutdown has now hosted events across 10+ cities nationwide.

“We bring together some of the biggest names in the music industry, originally we used to bring PA’s from some of the most popular reality tv shows, paint & foam parties and Co2 & confetti parties. But now, it’s all about putting on that indoor festival vibe, the biggest acts/djs we can get our hands on, huge production, including pyros, screens, streamers, and transforming venues with a huge themes, nobody is doing it like Shutdown now and that’s why our social media is constantly growing. We keep getting requests from more and more clients across the country asking us to come to a town/city near them. Because of this, Shutdown is continuing to grow and build such a high in-demand brand on a weekly basis.”

Chris has big plans and an ambitious vision for the future and growth of Shutdown Events.

“Success to me is brand recognition, hearing great feedback, being able to look after my family,” Chris says.

“ Now more than ever, the music, live events and concerts scene is bigger and more in demand than ever before, especially with the younger generation. We offer the “night of your life” for 14 – 17-year-olds before they are legally allowed to go out to events. Over the next few years, I would like to think we will be touring across 15 cities nationwide.”

Michelle has been a part of the journey ever since Bigtime Daily started. As a strong learner and passionate writer, she contributes her editing skills for the news agency. She also jots down intellectual pieces from categories such as science and health.

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Lifestyle

Derik Fay: The Quiet Architect of Impact-First Entrepreneurship

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In an era where noise often overshadows results, Derik Fay is quietly shaping a different kind of legacy — one built not on showmanship, but on undeniable substance. For more than two decades, Fay has engineered the rise of over 30 companies across industries as diverse as real estate, technology, healthcare, and entertainment. Yet his name rarely leads headlines — not because he hasn’t earned it, but because he never needed it to validate his success.

Growing up in Rhode Island, Fay learned early that the world rarely hands out opportunity; it must be seized, created, and multiplied. While many of his peers pursued traditional paths, he took a risk that would define the rest of his life: at just 22, he founded 3F Management, a venture firm with an entirely different mission — to build companies that would outlast trends, outperform markets, and, most importantly, out-impact their competition.

Instead of obsessing over short-term wins, Fay approached entrepreneurship like a craftsman. Much like Henry Ford, who famously said, “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business,” Fay built companies that weren’t just profitable — they were purposeful. Every venture was designed to create real, sustainable value, both for shareholders and for the communities they served.

Through his relentless focus on structure and leadership, Fay’s ecosystem of businesses now touches thousands of lives daily — from employees finding new opportunities to entrepreneurs gaining the mentorship they never had before. But unlike typical moguls who boast about headcounts, Fay views every job created as a ripple in a larger mission: empowering individuals to write better futures for themselves.

Where others have scaled fast and crashed harder, Fay’s model thrives on foundations few are patient enough to build anymore. His method is slower, smarter, and almost surgical: find what others overlook, fix what others fear, and grow what others abandoned too early. It’s this principle that led him to not just build companies — but to resurrect them, reimagine them, and sometimes even walk away if the mission no longer aligned with the impact he envisioned.

Fay’s philosophy extends far beyond boardrooms. Philanthropy isn’t a checkbox at the end of his success story — it’s embedded into the way he scales. His ventures are built with giving back written into their DNA, from local community initiatives to broader mentorship platforms that help emerging entrepreneurs get their first real shot at success. His life’s work is proof that wealth and generosity are not mutually exclusive — they are, in fact, essential partners.

Today, while newer generations of entrepreneurs hustle for likes and magazine covers, Fay’s name is whispered in rooms where real power moves. His reputation — built quietly but relentlessly — is that of a man who delivers, builds, and elevates without the need for public validation.

In a business world increasingly built on spectacle, Derik Fay reminds us that the most lasting legacies are forged not in the glare of the spotlight, but in the thousands of lives changed quietly along the way.

For more insights into Derik Fay’s ventures and philanthropic efforts, visit www.derikfay.com and follow him on Instagram @derikfay

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