GREATEST: Saintwoods
Nathan Gannage and Zach Macklovitch are Saintwoods, a Montreal-based lifestyle brand that has built a business ecosystem including nightclubs, restaurants, apparel and vodka.
The last time I saw the Saintwoods guys was at Paris Fashion Week in June 2019. Their Hôtel Bourbon function magnetized a packed crowd around the front door. Inside, Skepta could be spotted leaning casually against a wall near the back of the room. At one point, Swae Lee burst in with a seven-deep entourage, surveyed the room, then retreated into the more private recesses of the bar’s basement level. Naturally, Montreal’s hometown hero A-Trak was on the decks. Nike designers Nate Jobe and Jarrett Reynolds rested on red leather sofas, drinks in hand.
Saintwoods was effectively the first to introduce university-going 20-somethings from Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal to the electronic music scene. I’ve always said, “Montreal is like a little slice of Europe in Canada.” Two major universities make it a city with a young and thriving nightlife, and the fact that the drinking age is 18 contributes toward Montreal’s reputation as a party town. University is typically when you experience a lot of things for the first time, and for me, my first year opened up my eyes to electronic music. Acts like the aforementioned A-Trak, Fake Blood, Boys Noize and others were being booked in Montreal via Saintwoods. For students like myself, the duo became gatekeepers of Montreal’s nightlife, curating the soundtrack of a generation. Starting as a music blog, Saintwoods developed a reputation for nightlife curation after Gannage started to dip his toes into booking artists that ranged from Skrillex to Avicii to Kid Cudi.
Steady growth built Nate and Zach’s company into a full hospitality business that includes nightclubs Apt. 200 and École Privée in Montreal, in addition to pop-ups that Saintwoods regularly holds at events like Miami Art Basel and Paris Fashion Week. Under the Saintwoods brand, the duo also operates a new eponymous vodka company, plus their own clothing line that is sold through outlets like Holt Renfrew, HBX and A Ma Maniére.
With Gannage in LA working on a West Coast Saintwoods expansion, Macklovitch in his home base of Montreal, and myself in Berlin, I caught up with the Saintwoods guys over the phone.
How important has word of mouth been to you guys? I feel like people are more likely to go to a party or an event that is recommended organically. Like if your friend tells you about a cool party, you're probably going to go rather than if you see a Facebook ad or a flyer on the street.
Zach Macklovitch: One of our partners, Ray, always had this three-source rule: “You need to find it yourself. You need to see it yourself. Then you need to see someone you respect talking about it.” If those things happen, you'll believe in it.
Nate Gannage: I think that word of mouth is still the strongest promotion possible; I don't think there's anything that can beat that. It's paramount to any other form of marketing and it's been a really big pillar of our business from the beginning.
ZM: When it comes to word of mouth, I find that a nightlife context is the last true place where people interact without a digital filter. In a club, everything you're seeing is tangible. It's real. Whether that be the fashion you're looking at, the music you're listening to, the girl you're meeting, whatever it might be. It's happening in the real world. And I find it, especially in nightlife, hard to have the digital world replace that.
This is an idea that YesJulz [event organizer] put me on to. She's always talking about curating vibes. How do you guys accomplish that? What is the key to creating a party atmosphere?
NG: I’ve learned from the old Studio 54 documentaries and the bouncers at historic nightclubs that you want a mix of everything. You want 20% of everything. When everyone looks the same, you're not learning anything; you're not getting put on to any new music, art or culture. I think that checking your ego at the door goes a long way in just being there to have fun and enjoy yourself—not watching or worrying about what other people are doing.
When everyone looks the same, you’re not learning anything; you’re not getting put on to any new music, art or culture. I think that checking your ego at the door goes a long way in just being there to have fun and enjoy yourself—not watching or worrying about what other people are doing.”
Nathan Gannage
How do you find a daily rhythm? You guys don’t work nine-to-fives. What is your daily routine and how do you find a rhythm that works for you?
ZM: It's something I'm trying to get better at but I don't really see myself with time off, if that makes sense. I'm blessed to have my cousin A-Trak as a great mentor to me. I saw a quote from him saying, “If I could tell something to my younger self [I’d say], ‘Don't work all the time. Enjoy it a little bit.’”
NG: I look at it as a very good problem to have. I think there are a lot of people who have had it a lot worse in the world. It means I just have to work a little harder sometimes. I'll be watching a show trying to relax, then I’ll see something that gives me a reference, put it in my phone and the next thing I know, I've been working for an hour. I love this shit and I wouldn't change it.
There are a ton of multi-hyphenate creatives these days, just tying into the modern notion of someone who is a DJ, stylist, creative director and photographer. Is it better to be a jack of all trades, or a master of one?
ZM: I always make the joke that I'm actually not very good at anything. I'm not a particular expert in any one subject. I think myself and Nate's gift or goal is having a wide range of interests and our level of competitiveness. We aren't illustrators. We're not designers. We're not great bartenders. Neither of us cook very often.
NG: You need five revenue streams to live in a major city nowadays. It's just that the cost of living is kind of fucked. We never had a real skillset. I was always struggling to figure out, “Okay, what is my advantage over other people?” I don't think it's one way or another. I think it's just finding out what you’re truly best at and using those advantages to propel yourself for your career or whatever it may be.
In a way, partying and work are kind of synonymous for you guys. Have you ever experienced a burnout situation, or got too caught up in all the fun?
ZM: We go out, but we also go to bed and wake up early to get to work regardless. I hope people aren't surprised to hear this but myself and Nate, as much as we go out and drink and smoke joints and stuff, we're not doing hard drugs.
NG: Our responsibilities are just as important as having fun, and I think that comes with getting older and being more mature and having more responsibilities on your plate. But as Zach mentioned, both of us are pretty strong-willed and I don't think you can really be in the nightlife industry—or at least be that successful in the nightlife industry—if you do take it too far. Even when I was throwing events in college, I always had to do so much shit. I didn't have time to think about partying. My worst nights were the nights that I was throwing the craziest party for everybody else in Montreal. When the main act is on at 2 a.m., maybe I’ll have like one drink and get to be like, “Okay, that was cool.”
The floors are shaking, the ceiling is being pulled down and we’re all just watching, crossing our fingers, enjoying the experience that we were able to offer the people who were there that night.
Zach Macklovitch
Last question: I'm dying to hear a totally unhinged party story. Was there ever a party where shit just really hit the fan?
ZM: I think we have a couple examples that were really next level. The last fashion week party you brought up at Hôtel Bourbon was insane because we had these amazing artists and models, etc. hanging out without any VIPs, no bracelets, no ropes—just good people having fun in a dope environment. The most recent Basel week was pretty insane too, from the floor collapsing to a yacht pulling up and jamming with us during our main event. It just felt beautifully chaotic and random and I loved that…
There was also that time Heron Preston fell through the roof of our old office. And the time we had a slammed club and Travis Scott was literally hanging from our ceiling’s sprinkler system performing with, like, 200 kids moshing in front of him. The floors are shaking, the ceiling is being pulled down and we’re all just watching, crossing our fingers, enjoying the experience that we were able to offer the people who were there that night. In retrospect, it’s pretty much always chaotic, but I’m blessed to say that we get to live an exciting lifestyle. When you’ve thrown parties for this long, the shit’s hit the fan so many times that you just roll with the punches and keep it moving.
INTERVIEW: CHRIS DANFORTH
PHOTOGRAPHY: SCOTT PILGRIM