I was a paying member of Events & Adventures for approximately four years and volunteered as a host for roughly three of those years. I invested a significant amount of time, money, and effort into the Phoenix club, so this review is not based on one disappointing event or a brief interaction. It reflects years of firsthand experience with the membership, events, local management, and upper management.

To be fair, I met some wonderful people through the club and formed relationships that I value. However, those positive experiences came from the members themselves—not from the company's leadership. Over time, I watched the organization become increasingly dysfunctional, retaliatory, and disconnected from the people paying its substantial membership fees.

One of my biggest concerns was the behavior of an upper-level manager who took control during a period of leadership turnover. Her management style came across to me as a power trip. Constructive criticism was not treated as an opportunity to improve the club; it was treated as disloyalty. After I raised legitimate concerns about how the club was being managed, I was removed from the volunteer host position I had held for approximately three years. Whatever explanation the company may now attach to that decision, the timing and surrounding circumstances made it appear retaliatory.

Her hostility toward our former local manager also appeared intensely personal. The former manager was well liked by many members and had built genuine relationships within the club. When she later attended an event, upper management responded by canceling the club's recurring game night. In my opinion, that effectively punished paying members because management disliked one former employee. Rather than separating a personal dispute from the interests of the club, leadership allowed what appeared to be a petty vendetta to interfere with events members had already paid to access.

From what I observed, this manager seemed more focused on demonstrating authority and diminishing her predecessor than on operating a successful social club. Her conduct appeared driven by personal hostility and insecurity about the former manager's positive relationships with members. Paying customers should not lose events or be placed in the middle of management's personal grudges.

This was not an isolated management problem. Host meetings were canceled at the last minute after volunteers had already rearranged their schedules or traveled to attend. Events were removed or changed with inadequate communication. Leadership turnover was constant, and decisions often seemed arbitrary. Volunteers who donated their time were treated as disposable rather than as people helping keep the local club functioning.

My most serious concern, however, involves the company's handling of safety complaints.

I personally submitted statements and complaints to the owner on behalf of multiple women who alleged sexual assault, rape, or other serious sexual misconduct involving the same club member. I am not claiming that I personally witnessed those incidents or that I am in a position to determine criminal guilt. What I can state firsthand is that the women's allegations were communicated to me, I forwarded their accounts to the owner, and I retain the related correspondence.

The owner's response was essentially that their statements were not sufficient evidence for him to act. I found that response deeply troubling for a company that markets itself as a safe way for singles to meet people.

Even more concerning, the owner later made public statements on his podcast suggesting that the company had never received complaints or accusations of that nature. I cannot reconcile that public claim with the complaints I personally submitted to him. Whether he believed the allegations were proven is a separate issue. Saying or implying that no such allegations were ever reported is inconsistent with my direct experience and the written communications I retain.

My criticism is not that the owner was required to declare anyone guilty based solely on an allegation. My criticism is that multiple serious reports deserved a responsible, transparent safety response—not dismissal followed by a public portrayal that such reports had never been made. Prospective members deserve to know how the company actually responds when women bring serious safety concerns to its attention.

I also believe the sales presentation is misleading about the financial value of membership. Prospective members are told that the club receives group discounts on activities and that these discounts help justify the extremely high membership fees. In practice, I observed events for which members were charged more than the publicly available or direct cost of participating.

Based on the prices I compared, the club appeared to add a markup to individual events rather than simply passing along a group discount. That means members may pay thousands of dollars for membership and then pay additional event prices that include a profit margin for the company. Anyone considering joining should ask for specific examples of actual retail prices, the club's negotiated prices, and the amounts charged to members. Do not rely on a vague promise of "group discounts."

The business model felt predatory to me: a high-pressure sales presentation, an exorbitant long-term membership cost, additional charges for events, questionable pricing transparency, and limited accountability once the contract is signed. The social possibilities are emphasized during the sales process, but the organizational dysfunction, management retaliation, event markups, and handling of safety complaints are not.

There are good people in the club, and members can absolutely build friendships. But those friendships do not excuse the conduct of the company running it. In my experience, the value came almost entirely from the other members, while the company collected substantial fees, marked up activities, tolerated chaotic leadership, retaliated against criticism, and failed to handle serious safety allegations in a manner I considered responsible.

Based on my four years as a member and three years volunteering as a host, I cannot recommend Events & Adventures. Anyone considering joining should carefully read the entire contract, investigate cancellation and refund provisions, compare event prices independently, ask exactly what safety screening is performed, and demand clear answers about how misconduct complaints are investigated before paying anything.

I was looking for a diverse group.

Thus was extremely fun. Very safe. Chris Sitton was a great host.

1/31/2023

TO: The Corporate Resolution Department of Events & Adventures
FROM: Gwen Peltier, Minneapolis E&A member
RE: Total E&A Refund Requested/Downgrade Proposal Rejected (Jan 19TH)

I am rejecting your downgrade proposal; I want a total refund. I do not trust Nate, or some of the other members I have met. I was assured these events were safe places with members who had integrity and moral character. I do not feel safe at these events and I want my 2775.00 refunded. I am not interested in a downgrade in membership, because I will still be dealing with the same members and people. This organization, or at least the Minneapolis branch, is not what it was sold to me as. E&A, may need to check and monitor if a group of people have hacked their site, and are misrepresenting the true E&A, or attend some of these events to check on these hosts and members. As requested, I have listed my reasons in more detail below.

When I called in to your resolution department, they said they recorded my entire conversation to make notes to forward it to you. Apparently you didn't receive the recording, or I wasn't detailed enough. So, I will type out my grievances. This way I will have a copy of what has been sent to you, since I don't have a copy of the recording. I will be forwarding this to American Express as part of my dispute.

I signed up for a two-year contract with Events and Adventures on November 18th after a high-pressured sales call, that lasted for 90 minutes. I was told during that sales call that if I didn't sign up then, I would never be able to sign up in the future as they don't do second calls. I paid 2775.00 for a 24-month contract, with unlimited freeze months. By doing this I saved 700.00 off the regular price.

I shared with Fran (the saleswoman) that I had walked through something very evil and it's taken me a long time to rebuild my trust in people. So, I needed an organization and venue that felt safe, and she assured me that background checks were run on every one, everyone was interviewed, and so that E&A is supposed to be a very safe venue, fun way to meet men and new people, and have adventures together. (Basically, a dating service with a high price tag for safety)

I attended five events. My first event was at a brewery; 7 people attended, 4 of them were coupled up. This event was hosted by Kristin.

My second event was Whirly Ball; probably about 24 people attended, 12 of them were coupled up. As I was on the Whirly ball court, I saw a man named Patrick, swap my beer with another beer. I didn't go back to that glass of beer when I returned to the waiting area, I purchased a new beer and never put it down. I did not report this event to Nate or approach Patrick as I didn't know who I could trust. This event was hosted by Nate. I decided to try a couple of more events to determine who I should approach and see if anything else happened.

My third event was Festivus, a spoof on Seinfeld with a meatloaf dinner hosted by Nate at Nate's house. I brought my own bottle of wine to have at the event. While getting my dinner in the kitchen my wine bottle disappeared from the table I was seated at in the front room. I went back to the kitchen to see if someone had moved it, and I couldn't find it. (Because of what happed at Whirly ball, I took my wine glass with me to the kitchen while I dished up my food), so not finding my wine bottle, I returned to the front room with my wine glass, sat down and ate and finished the glass of wine I did have. Upon returning my dirty dishes to kitchen thirty minutes later, my wine bottle was now sitting in the kitchen on the side of the stove. (Since it had been missing for over thirty minutes, and not in the kitchen when I went back to check, I left it there, and didn't drink anymore of it.) I didn't see who took my wine bottle, or who placed it in the kitchen. Patrick was also at this event. I never spoke to him. I never watched Seinfeld to see what a real Festivus party was, but this event was stupid and it centered around a flagpole without a flag. Approximately 14 people attended this event, six of them were coupled up. Because the front room was very small, I was corned by a man, don't remember his name, who talked nonstop to me, like he was trying to elicit some type of reaction, and Nate was sitting on the couch behind me recording it with his phone? As soon as their stupid Festivus presentation was over, I left.
What a total waste of time and money. I didn't report what happened with my wine bottle to Nate, or ask him why he was recording me with his phone. Again, I didn't know who moved my wine, without asking me, why it was missing before reappearing in the kitchen, who was involved or who to trust. This event was hosted by Nate and made me feel very uncomfortable. I went home and cancelled all the E&A events that I signed up for that Nate was hosting, since he had been at the two events I had encountered alcohol mishaps. At my first event at the brewery, I was told to sign up for every event that Nate cooked at, as he was an awesome chef. Festivus was catered meatloaf, and I cancelled the other events he was hosting, as I was determined not to return to his home. (Maybe some of the other hosts need to attend Nate's small events to see what is going on.

My fourth event was a Football Game watching event held at a bar called JJ's and it was not hosted by Nate, it was hosted by a man named Scott D. About 12 people attended. Patrick showed up, I never spoke to him, and he was seated at the end of our table, I made sure he never got near my drink or my food.

Up to this point, the events I attended were small, and as a new member to E&A I was told that this is a good way to start to meet people, I elected to attend this event because I like football, it wasn't hosted by Nate, and I wanted to see if any new people or people more my age attended.

One of the discussions I had with the sales person was the fact that I am 60 and most of the pictures she showed me on the website during her sales presentation, most of the people looked younger than the age group I was interested in. She assured me that there were plenty of members in my age group.

At this point, I had attended four small events, and to my disappointment it was the same group of people rotating through the four events. I paid 145.00 to sign up for the New Year's Eve party, as it was touted as an event that had 200 people in 2021, and I wanted to see if the large event attracted more "new" people that I had not met, more people in my age group, and if it was an improvement from the smaller gatherings.

The New Year's Eve party had a James Bond theme, along with games and entertainment that were supposed to be part of the cost. When I went online right before the party to check directions, if you wanted to play Texas Hold'Em' or wanted tickets for the raffle and roulette, it was now listed as an additional charge; the add on price boxes were not part of the original sign up.

So, my 5th and last event, was the New Year's Eve party. It was very disappointing. There were approximately 75 people there, most of them being people who had attended the small events I was at, and any new people, came with dates. The majority of the group was 15-25 years younger than me.
If this event is touted as their biggest and best event of the year, where were all the members? Where are all the people 50+? The prizes that were supposed to be so fabulous were credits for future events.
And Nate didn't even take the time read and reward the names of the 8 raffle winners. He said he would post it, why? The prizes were part of the evening. How long does it take to read off 8 names? Our entry fee only gave each of us 2 tickets into the roulette game. You could win candy or event credits. I signed up to play Texas Hold'Em, when I checked the website to make sure I had the right directions, it was an additional 10.00$. Nate signed me in when I arrived. I asked him what I needed to do for Texas Hold'Em, and he said he would find the players prior to the game and give them what they needed. The evening started with dinner, after dinner I went to the bathroom. Upon returning, the Texas Hold'Em table had started, I approached Nate, told him again I had signed up, and what did I need to do to sit down at the table. He said I was not on the list and wasn't going to let me play. I squabbled with him, said I paid the extra$10.00 online, and I was playing. The very first hand, I wound up with two pair, and went all in with a player named Sean. He claimed he had a straight, and beat me, he took my chips but never flipped his cards up. I believe he was cheating with the help of the dealer.

I met a woman about my age coming out of the bathroom. Her name was Renee, and she was about my age. We started talking about the ages of the members, she told me most of the other bigger events, the 4th of July party, Memorial Day camping adventures and other big events were mostly attended by younger members and they were mostly big drink-a- thons. She started saying that she met her boyfriend who she introduced me to back at the table through E&A, and they had been dating for about a year. She said that there were people 50+ in more of a premium type group. She said I would need to get on Facebook to find them. When I signed up, I discussed with Fran my salesperson, that because of what I had walked through I was not on Facebook. She assured me that I could be a member even if I wasn't a social media person. She did say that a lot of the information gets posted on Facebook groups, but that if I checked the website, and reached out to the hosts and hostesses I could get by without it.
For what I paid for this event it was a big disappointment. I left at 11:30 before the New Year's Eve toast at midnight.

The new form of sex trafficking involves victims who have been unknowingly micro-chipped and hypnotized during a sleep study, then in conjunction with date rape drugs, and short-term memory drugs, they can be victimized and not realize it. They may notice a loss of time unaccounted for, parts of their body may feel like they had sex, even though they don't recall having sex. Events of time may be foggy, or they can regain "total consciousness" in a place they don't remember going to. I believe that Nate, Patrick, and many other members who attended the events I did, are part of this trafficking network.

I do not trust Nate, or some of the other members I have met. I was assured these events were safe places with members who had integrity and moral character. I do not feel safe at these events and I want my 2775.00 refunded. I am not interested in a downgrade in membership, because I will still be dealing with the same members and people. This organization, or at least the Minneapolis branch, is not what it was sold to me as. E&A, may need to check and monitor if a group of people have hacked their site, and are misrepresenting the true E&A.

I will not be corresponding with you anymore; I am turning this over to the proper protection agencies, American Express, and the better business bureau.

Gwen Peltier