Today we’d like to introduce you to Haydee.
Hi Haydee, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
HH’s Rockstar Lifestyle started from my deep love and passion for live music, and the realization that I didn’t just want to attend shows — I wanted to be part of creating them.
I’ve always gravitated toward metal, rock, punk, and other alternative subcultures (such as EDM — Trance, Hard Techno, Acid, Dubstep, Drum & Bass, etc.), but my path into the music industry hasn’t been traditional. I started gaining experience wherever and in any way I could: from working in nightlife and live events, learning marketing and social media, networking with artists and other industry professionals, even starting to take my own musical talent seriously, and eventually working front-of-house and admissions for major events in New York City.
The more experience I gained behind the scenes, the more I realized I wanted to build something of my own. In December 2025, I launched HH’s Rockstar Lifestyle as a platform that could bring together everything I was passionate about — live music, event production, underground music promotion, marketing, media, content creation, and alternative culture.
From there, I stopped waiting for someone to give me a chance to enter the industry and started creating my own opportunities. I began producing independent local metal shows in NYC, working directly with bands and venues on booking, promotion, ticketing, Run-Of-Show, and D.O.S. operations. At the same time, I continued gaining hands-on experience working larger events and festivals and learning how the industry operates from multiple sides.
HH’s Rockstar Lifestyle is still growing, and so am I. I’m very much in the building stage of my career, but that’s part of what makes this chapter exciting. I’m creating the kind of career I always wanted while building a platform that can eventually create opportunities for other artists and people in the alternative music community too! <3
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road at all. One of my biggest challenges has been breaking into an industry where so many opportunities come through relationships, internal referrals, and previous experience (and to be completely honest, gatekeeping is a big thing too hahah!). When you’re new, it can feel like you need experience to get the opportunity, but you need to come across the opportunity to get the experience — or create it yourself!
I’ve had to become extremely resourceful and think outside the box. I’ve worked different jobs while pursuing music, taken opportunities that weren’t necessarily glamorous just to learn another side of the business, reached out to countless people, and built relationships one connection at a time. I’ve also had shows and projects where things changed unexpectedly — venues closing, lineup changes, financial risks, last-minute problems — and those experiences taught me just as much as the successful ones.
Producing independent shows especially taught me that there is a huge difference between loving music and running a music business. You have to think about budgets, ticket sales, marketing, venue relationships, artist communication, scheduling, production, and the audience experience simultaneously.
There have absolutely been moments where I questioned whether I should take a more conventional path. But every time I work a great event, watch a crowd connect with an artist, or see something I helped organize actually come to life, I remember why I chose this. The obstacles have made me more adaptable and much more determined to build something sustainable rather than simply chase the image of working in music.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
HH’s Rockstar Lifestyle is an independent music and entertainment brand I founded to combine my passion for heavy music, event production, artist promotion, marketing and alternative culture. The brand is rooted especially in the underground metal music scene, with the goal of creating authentic, memorable experiences while giving independent artists more opportunities to connect with the community / audience.
One of the biggest parts of HHRL is local show production and street team. I handle the process from concept to execution — booking and communicating with artists, coordinating with venues, creating promotional materials and content to market the event, managing ticketing and schedules (R.O.S.), and overseeing Day-Of-Show operations. I’ve produced events such as Metal Overdose at The Bunker in LIC (Queens) and Ritual of Ruin at Lucky 13 Saloon (Brooklyn), and I’m continuing to develop new projects and expand the brand.
I also bring my background in digital marketing and content creation to the brand, creating promotional graphics, short-form video content, show recaps, and social media campaigns. I’m interested in expanding further into music marketing, promotion, and press and artist relations as the brand grows.
What sets HH’s Rockstar Lifestyle apart is that it comes from someone who is genuinely a part of the community I’m creating for. I’m not approaching Alt. music as a trend or simply as a business opportunity. I actually go to these shows, work them, genuinely support artists from the heart, understand the culture, and deeply love this world with all my being. I’ve experienced the industry from different angles — as a fan, creator, artist / singer, promoter, marketer, merch seller and live-event worker — and all of those perspectives influence how I build my brand.
What I’m most proud of is watching something that began as a long-term goal — and even a dream — turn into something tangible. Every successful event, artist relationship, new connection, and person who discovers HH’s Rockstar Lifestyle represents another step toward what I ultimately want it to become: a recognizable platform and community within independent Metal, Rock, and Alt. Music.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Something I don’t always talk about when discussing my professional journey is how much of it I’ve had to build while simultaneously battling things internally. I live with Borderline Personality Disorder and Tourette’s Syndrome, and navigating my mental health while trying to establish myself professionally has made this journey anything but conventional.
There have been periods where simply functioning felt difficult, while at the same time I was trying to work, go to school, network, produce events, build a business and figure out my future. Tourette’s has also meant learning how to exist confidently in professional and social environments where people may notice or misunderstand my tics before they understand me as a person. Those experiences have made me much more aware of how quickly people can judge someone for “being different.”
I’ve also spent a lot of my life feeling pressure to fit into society’s idea of what adulthood and success are supposed to look like — follow the traditional path, find a “normal” career, look a certain way, behave a certain way and build a life that makes sense to everyone else (to fit societal standards / “norms”). The older I get, the more I realize that forcing myself into a version of life that was never meant for me was making me miserable and even not wanting to live.
HH’s Rockstar Lifestyle represents the opposite of that. It represents FREEDOM, choosing to build a life around the things that genuinely make me feel alive: music, creativity, self-expression, live events and community. I’m still figuring things out, and there are days when my mental health makes that significantly harder. I don’t want to portray entrepreneurship as some perfect story where believing in yourself suddenly makes every struggle disappear.
What I am proud of is that I’ve continued creating and transmuting my pain into art despite all of those struggles. I hope that as HHRL grows, my story can also remind people — especially those living with mental health conditions, neurological differences, or simply feeling like they don’t fit society’s “traditional” mold — that success does not have to look the same for everyone. It’s all made up. You can build something meaningful without becoming a completely different person first. I’d rather create a life that authentically feels like mine than spend it trying to live one that other people decided I was supposed to want. 🙂
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hhrockstarlifestyle.my.canva.site/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hhrockstarlifestyle
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haydeesofi
- Twitter: https://x.com/hhrockstarlife?s=11
