Events
UPCOMING EVENTS
BE FREE STORIES NIGHT AT LULULEMON STUDIO CITY
*FIRST 50 PEOPLE WILL RECEIVE A SMALL GIFT
AND THE FIRST 25 PEOPLE WILL RECEIVE A BIG GIFT*
It's time to kick off pride right with some good ol' fashion BE FREE STORIES! This is our first lululemon event in a long time and we are so excited to partner with this community again!!
Event will be held on June 3rd, 2023 at 12PM at lululemon in Studio City. The day will start off with an All-Levels Dance Cardio class taught by Renato! Come ready to sweat and let loose! We will also be joined by special guests Casey Anderson, lululemon yoga ambassador, who will lead a stretch movement after dance class and DJ Shai, lululemon train ambassador, who will be providing us with fun beats all day.
After the sweat portion of the event, we will transition the day into a Be Free Stories panel, hosted by Brian Terada, where you will get to hear from our amazing LGBTQ+ speakers. Be Free Stories is a community built to create a safe space for everyone to be their true selves and to hear stories from others to help us all love and understand poeple who may be different from ourselves.
Panel of Speakers:
RICKY JAIME (He/Him) son of an empowering mother, grew up in Miami, FL. He then moved to LA to pursue his career as an energetic dancer and fitness enthusiast. Ricky aims to move through life with resilience, hoping to always better himself and share his light with everyone he meets.
ASHLEY YODER (She/Her) is an administrative professional, working for a music company the last 8 1/2 years. She is a Southern California native but spent her formative years in southern New Jersey. She has previously spoken on a National Coming Out Day panel for her company’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group. She loves music, dancing (unprofessionally) and all things queer! She is a baddass living in LA with her beautiful wife and two daughters!
CHRIS CONNER (He/She/They) originally from Kentucky, Chris received his BFA in Acting from Boston University. An avid athlete growing up, Chris retired from the arts to begin a career in fitness. He worked for fitness brands SoulCycle, TruFusion and CycleBar where he was not only a Lead Instructor but also the corporate team's Apparel and Merchandise Specialist. After 7 years with CycleBar, Chris joined the lululemon family in Denver, CO before transferring to Los Angeles where he is current Assistant Manager of Guest Experience at the Beverly Hills store. When he's not at the store, you can find Chris rock climbing, hitting the Red Room at Barry's Bootcamp, at El Matador beach or coaching people through a gut reset while incorporating anti-inflammatory foods.
First 50 guests who come and check in with us will be receiving a fun gift bag provided by lululemon and the FIRST 25 will be receiving a little extra something in their gift bags which will be revealed at the end of the event!
Water and light snacks are to be provided.
Event end time: 3pm
Disclaimer *Film Notice* - there will be light capturing of event through video. Nothing intrusive or "in your face" just an overall shot of feel of event and energy. lululemon is not associated with usage- it will be property of Brian and Renato's. Attendees will need to sign a film waiver upon entering space.
PAST EVENTS
BRIAN'S DECADE OF FREEDOM
Join me as I celebrate an entire decade of being OUT of the closet. I will be sharing my coming out story, and I've invited some friends of mine to share as well. Jonny Liu has been a friend and mentor of mine for over 13 years, and who has hosted many Be Free events at his coffee shop (Mantra, in Azusa, CA). Kai Carlton is an incredible friend of mine who has shared at Be Free before. I always enjoy gaining so much wisdom and hope from how Kai speaks and tells his story.
BRIAN'S BIRTHDAY BE FREE STORIES NIGHT
Join me (in person for the private event at my house) or on the livestream at twitch.tv/brianteradababy! I have asked a few of my friends to share their story :)
BRIAN'S BIRTHDAY
BE FREE STORIES NIGHT AT MANTRA COFFEE
Come join us for the first 100% open to the public Be Free Stories Night in three years! We will be hearing some coming out stories from Aaron Ramos, Charles Ochoa, Frankie Velasquez, and Ashley Bujanowski Wallace.
PAST EVENTS
BE FREE STORIES NIGHT - SPONSORED BY CHAPSTICK
Join us for an evening of storytelling and some awesome people in the LGBTQ+ Community to celebrate National Coming Out Day!
Join the livestream here at 7pm PST
Here are our speakers this evening:
David Simmons
The vocal genius David Simmons! David has been a long time friend of ours and will be sharing with us from his home in Mexico.
Taylor Blake
Jesus lover, "mildly funny", lesbian. Full time roadie, living in a 16ft camper wit hehr girlfriend and their dogs
Kai Carlton
Lead singer of the mudspitterz and incredibly hard working creative and dreamer, Kai shared his story with his two years ago and he's back we can't wait to hear more.
BE FREE STORIES NIGHT WITH PORTLAND GEAR
For the third year in a row, we are collaborating with Portland Gear for Be Free Stories Night. Our friends at Portland Gear constantly support us and we are so happy to continue this partnership of freedom! See below for details:
When: Sunday, June 13th at 6:00 PM PST
Where: The event will be live streamed on Twitch. Click here to join!
Who: We will be hearing Be Free Stories from the following awesome people:
BE FREE STORIES NIGHT X PORTLAND GEAR
Barb Bloom-Groshong is a professor at the University of Portland teaching Business law, Leadership skills, Cross Cultural Organizational Behavior and Human Resources Management. She will be sharing her story of finding freedom with us and from what we have heard, it sounds like it will be an incredible story. Another fun fact, Barb is Marcus Harvey (the Founder of Portland Gear)'s aunt!
Luke Wesley Pearson's special date is March 11th of this year because, as you can read in his instagram bio, he is TRANS AND PROUD! Luke is authentically living his truth with his beautiful wife in Portland. As a vegan LGBT+ advocate, he's quite literally living the dream. We can't wait to hear his story of finding freedom in all of who he is, and sharing that with the world.
Brian Terada is the founder of Be Free. After coming out his senior year of college, he found that there were more safe people to come out to than he had previously realized, and set out to find a way to help others find these safe people to come out to. Thus, he created the Be Free brand, because Be Free means you are a safe person to come out to. After five years of running Be Free Stories Nights, we're excited to have him share his story of freedom!
NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY 2020
Join us on October 11th for National Coming Out Day!
We are celebrating with lululemon and AT&T!
You're invited to join us via zoom for an online HIIT workout and meditation led by Stephanie Jameson and lululemon!
Where: Zoom
When: 10AM-11AM
THEN
AT&T is hosting our Be Free Pop-Up!!!
Where: Agency Coffee on Melrose in West Hollywood, CA
When: 12PM-5PM
What: Shop Be Free Merch, meet Brian Terada, our Founder, grab some coffee, enjoy the Be Free Community and celebrate National Coming Out Day!
PAST EVENTS
New Abbey and Be Free are teaming up together to celebrate PRIDE! Through this virtual event, we will hear Be Free Stories from incredible people in our community, and anyone from any where in the world can join! Be Free creates spaces for people to share their coming out stories so we can all better love and understand people who are different from ourselves.
We're so excited for the long awaited collaboration between New Abbey and Be Free, and it is finally here! Can't wait to celebrate with you!!
YOU are invited to Be Free At Home!
Sunday, May 17th, DURING QUARANTINE!! Join us and others from around the country and WORLD to hear some Be Free Stories and just "get together" with some other Be Free'ers in this crazy time.
Featuring Be Free Stories From:
Yuki Avocado from Tokyo, Japan
Chris Chandler from Austin, TX
Leslie Hayter from Portland, OR
Brian Terada is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Be Free at Home 2.0
Time: May 17, 2020 05:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84008757305?pwd=cG5lM3hrT0Rsdi9oSHB2U01pUlBrUT09
YOU are invited to Be Free Stories Night Quarantine Edition!
Sunday, May 3rd, DURING QUARANTINE!! Join us and others from around the country, and possibly around the WORLD to hear some Be Free Stories and just "get together" with some other Be Free'ers in this crazy time.
Featuring Be Free Stories From:
Kim Anderson from Los Angeles, CA
Ryan Lewis from Philadelphia, PA (and Be Free Philly)
Shannon Hayter from Portland, OR
Be Free Stories Night (Quarantine Edition)
Time: May 3, 2020 05:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Lululemon Americana x Give Strength x Be Free
Sunday, February 9th, 9:15AM
FREE Yoga/HIIT workout from 9:15AM - 10:00 AM
Be Free Stories from 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM from Annmarie McClelland, Andy Lalwani, and Jasmin Al-Masri
lululemon x Three House Yoga: Be Free Stories Night
Sunday Sept. 29th | 8:00p
Durham, North Carolina
www.tiny.cc/befreeRDU
JUNE 2019 PRIDE EVENTS
May 19th, Be Free Crossfit Resistance x lululemon Pasadena Stories Night! 7:00 PM at Crossfit Resistance in Pasadena, CA. Featuring stories from Tara Turner Potts, Mike Enriquez, Pao Sison, and Sarah Nolan
May 25th, Be Free San Diego lululemon Stories Night at Communal Coffee with Lululemon San Diego
June 6th, Be Free x The Giving Keys Stories Night, At The Giving Keys Headquarters in Downtown Los Angeles at 6:30 PM
June 9th, Be Free x lululemon Glendale Stories Night! 7:00PM at lululemon at the Americana in Glendale, CA!
June 13th, Be Free Portland Gear Stories Night celebrating PRIDE, at the Portland Gear Store front in Downtown Portland, OR at 7:00PM
June 22nd, Be Free lululemon Orange County Stories Night, Irvine Spectrum Center! Mark your calendars and details TBD!
BE FREE PHILLY PRIDE EVENTS
The dates will be June 2nd, June 9th, June 16th, June 23rd at SAXBY's Coffee shops in Philly. Follow @befreephilly to stay updated on the rest of the details for each night!
Be Free Stories Brunch- lululemon Americana Brunch
*Celebrating International Women's Day*
Hosted by: Lululemon Americana Glendale
When: Friday, March 8th, 9:00AM-10:00AM
Where: lululemon at the Americana, Glendale, CA
What: All genders are welcome to this woman empowerment themed Be Free lululemon brunch to celebrate International Woman's Day! We will hear stories from Ashely Shinick (Assistant Store Manager at lululemon), Stephanie Jameson (local business owner of GiveSweat and lululemon Ambassador), and then the floor will be open for anyone to share their Be Free Stories, especially as they pertain to Women Empowerment.
PAST EVENTS
Be Free Stories Night- Philadelphia
Hosted by: Ryan Lewis, Nick Swanson, Amy Sullivan, Saxby's Coffee, lululemon
When: Feb 10th, 2019 from 7:00PM-9:00 PM
Where: Saxbys UPenn 4000 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
What: Coffee, Refreshments, and Be Free Stories
RSVP HERE:
https://splashthat.com/
Be Free Stories Night Philadelphia Part 2!
Hosted by: Ryan Lewis, Nick Swanson, Amy Sullivan, lululemon
When: Feb 11th, 2019 8:15-9:30
Where: lululemon suburban square 41 St. Georges Rd. Ardmore, PA
RSVP HERE:
https://splashthat.com/
Be Free Stories Night- Ambrose Cafe (Pasadena)
Be Free Stories Night- Vol. 12
Hosted by: Mantra Coffee Company
When: December 2nd, 2018 from 7:00PM-9:00PM
Where: Mantra Coffee Company
615 N San Gabriel Ave. Azusa, CA 91702
What: Coffee, Refreshments, and stories
Why: Well, because we believe sharing our stories is the most powerful way to better understand one another, love one another, and help each another be free.
Be Free Stories Night- Pasadena Lululemon
Hosted by: Lululemon Pasadena
Guest Speakers:
Danielle McCleery
Tara Turner
Martha Hoang
When: Sept 23rd, 2018 from 7:00PM-9:00PM
Where: Lululemon Pasadena Store
What: Coffee, Refreshments, stories from Brian Terada, Danielle McCleery (Soulcycle Instructor), and Tara Turner (lululemon, Crossfit coach)
Why: Well, because we believe sharing our stories is the most powerful way to better understand one another, love one another, and help each another be free.
Be Free Stories Night- Philadelphia
RSVP: https://befreephiladelphia.splashthat.com/
Hosted by: Saxby Coffee, UPENN, lululemon
When: August 19th, 2018 from 7:00PM-9:00PM
Where: Saxbys UPenn 4000 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
What: Coffee, Refreshments, stories from Brian Terada, Ryan Lewis (Soulcycle Instructor) and Cain Leathers (Cafe Executive Officer)
Why: Well, because we believe sharing our stories is the most powerful way to better understand one another, love one another, and help each another be free!
RSVP: https://befreephiladelphia.splashthat.com/
Be Free Stories Night- SMASHBOX IN VENICE!!
Hosted by SMASHBOX COSMETICS
When: June 28th, 2018 from 7:00PM-9:00PM
Where: SMASHBOX STORE!
1335 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice, CA 90291
What: 20% OFF EVERYTHING IN THE STORE and the first 15 people to show up will get a goodie bag of BE FREE and smashbox products! Then From 7-9 we will have our Stories Night!!
Why: Well, because we believe sharing our stories is the most powerful way to better understand one another, love one another, and help each another be free!
Be Free Stories Night- TAGS WEHO!!
Hosted by TAGS Boutique!
When: June 8th, 2018 from 7:00PM-9:00PM
Where: Tags Boutique - 8570 W Sunset Blvd West Hollywood, CA 90069
What: From 4-7, TAGS is hosting a happy hour in the store with drinks and refreshments, along with 30% OFF EVERYTHING IN THE STORE! From 7-9 we will have our Stories Night!!
TAGS is also donating 10% of sales for Pride Weekend to Be Free!! What an amazing store!!
Why: Well, because we believe sharing our stories is the most powerful way to better understand one another, love one another, and help each another Be Free!
Be Free Stories Night- Glendale!
Hosted by Jacoby Breaux
When: March18th, 2018 from 7:00PM-9:00PM
Where: Glendale, CA at a home residence- please contact us for address! We will also be giving the address to everyone who RSVP’s via the facebook event
What: Be Free people gathering together to listen to and share their Be Free Stories
Why: Well, because we believe sharing our stories is the most powerful way to better understand one another, love one another, and help each another Be Free!
Be Free Stories Night- Oakland!
Hosted by Asa Dillard and Crystal Reed
When: February 18th, 2018 from 7:00PM-9:00PM
Where: Oakland, CA at a home residence- please contact us for address! We will also be giving the address to everyone who RSVP’s via the facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/201105720448395/
What: Be Free people gathering together to listen to and share their Be Free Stories
Why: Well, because we believe sharing our stories is the most powerful way to better understand one another, love one another, and help each another Be Free!
BE FREE BIRTHDAY PARTY!!
SEPTEMBER 22, 2017 AT 7PM
AT MANTRA COFFEE COMPANY
This Friday is our first birthday party!! 🎂 Come celebrate the ever growing community of people who put love above all else by listening to and sharing each other's stories. Live music 🎶 , BE FREE people, coffee ☕️, treats 🍩, photo booth, and drinks afterwards🍻!!
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BE FREE STORIES NIGHT VOL. 3
JULY 23RD, 2017 AT 7PM
PORTLAND, OR
A NIGHT TO GATHER TOGETHER AND SHARE STORIES OF HOPE AND FREEDOM.
PLEASE CONTACT US FOR THE ADDRESS OF THE EVENT.
BE FREE STORIES NIGHT VOL. 2
JUNE 4TH, 2017 AT 7PM
GLENDORA, CA
A NIGHT TO GATHER TOGETHER AND SHARE STORIES OF HOPE AND FREEDOM WITH SPECIAL GUESTS, SAMI BARRON, CONNOR SMITH, AND ALEX MILLS!
PLEASE CONTACT US FOR THE ADDRESS OF THE EVENT.
BE FREE STORIES NIGHT
MARCH 16TH, 2017
A NIGHT TO GATHER TOGETHER AND SHARE STORIES OF HOPE AND FREEDOM WITH SPECIAL GUEST, KEVIN GARCIA!