Belly-Up! is Creating Space in Nightlife for the Chub Community

1st October 2024 John Hernandez

We are always on the lookout for unique spaces and parties catering to our community which is why when we saw Belly-Up! come across our social media feeds we knew we needed to reach out for more information.

Created by the team at 2Bears Tavern Group, Belly-Up! is a new party in Chicago catering to the chub, gainer, bloater, encourager, chaser and admirer community, a part of our community that is woefully underserved.

We sat down with Mark Robertson of the 2Bears Tavern Group to get all the information on this exciting new party, the next of which is taking place October 5^th. Read on for all the exciting details!

John Hernandez (JH): What makes your event unique to other bear events in your city?

Mark Robertson (MR): Belly Up! is different than a “bear event” in that we are entirely focused on the chub, gainer, bloater, encourager, chaser and their admirers community. This is a part of the community that has not often found spaces and events focused on them and their interests. This creates a unique space and vibe that is intentionally curated to be a judgement free zone for our communities to meet other folks and engage in real life without the fear and anxiety that often accompanies bar events and traditional party spaces. Of course all are welcome at Belly Up! (so long as they respect the belly!), but the party is not what would be seen as a bear event in the traditional sense because our focus is on a very specific community of chubs, gainers, bloaters, encouragers and chasers.

JH: What led you to create it? Tell me about the team behind it?

MR: At 2Bears Tavern Group and Jackhammer our goal is to curate spaces that offer folks the opportunity to be themselves so when considering new ideas for parties and events the lack of parties tailored to the chub/chaser and gainer/encourager was very apparent. Our team, myself, my husband Mike Sullivan, our Director of Music and Video Production Robert Ratola and our resident DJ Jesse Mercado all have close friends who are part of these communities, so we knew that they lacked spaces to feel more comfortable and freer to be themselves. From this we built Belly Up! by talking to our community of folks and considering what kind of party would be get them out in real life, which can be a challenge in a post-COVID world sometimes. Our team produces parties and events under the Hanky Code Productions and Ashland Arms Records monikers and consists of our crew of music and video producers, DJs/VJs, graphic designers, photographers and videographers and lighting techs.

JH: How often does Belly-Up take place? What is its home bar?

MR: Belly Up! is the first Saturday of every month and the party happens at Jackhammer and it’s subterranean “sister bar” The Hole in Chicago. We run from 9pm to 5am!

JH: What is the general vibe of the party and what kind of crowd attends?

MR: The vibe of Belly Up! is fun, relaxed, and sexy AF! Jackhammer and The Hole are large multi-level spaces so there is a bit of a “choose your own adventure” element to Belly Up! Anything from feeding a connection brownies or cookies to rubbing some sexy bellies to dancing their *sses off to some amazing music to a whole lot more happen at Belly Up! The crowd is a very diverse group of chubs, gainers, bloaters, encouragers, chasers and their admirers. The space and the crowd lend themselves to being very supportive to those who may be new to the world of chubs, gainers, bloaters, encouragers, and chasers so that everyone can find their level of fun and excitement.

JH: What is your history and background in nightlife?

MR: My husband and I have been in the bar/club business for almost 15 years, and today operate five LGTBQ+ spaces in Chicago in addition to the Hanky Code Productions and Ashland Arms Records brands. Our earliest foray into building parties and programming was The SoFo Tap and the creation of Chicago’s premier bear bar with events like Grrr, DILF, Otter and NerdBear Tivia. We believe in working with our team and listening to our communities to drive spaces, events and programming that build communities rather than being “just another bar” and this means we are constantly changing, evolving, and working on new ideas to keep things exciting.

JH: When are the upcoming events? Any DJs, gogos or entertainers to mention?

MR: The next Belly Up! will be October 5 from 9pm-5am at Jackhammer and The Hole. We’ll have DJ Jesse Mercado (@chicagojes on IG and https://soundcloud.com/djjessemercado), DJ Tacy McKenzie (@santavibes100 on IG) and DJ Robert Ratola (@robertratola on IG and https://soundcloud.com/hanky-code-productions).

Hosts rotate and are every growing but some of the folks involved include:

Coop Mythos (@burlryunicorn); Chad Mathew (@chadmatthewz); Mikey Fleming (@gingerbearbulk); and Mike Blaylock (@mikeybee_85)

JH: Anything else you’d like to mention?

MR: Belly Up! is all about having fun and letting go of inhibitions to find that place where you can just have fun…forget the outside world and just dive into the night.

JH: Sounds like my type of party! I cant wait to check it out next time I am in Chicago. Thanks for joining me Mark and continued success with Belly-Up!

MR: Thank you!