LtdSMASH DADDY LTD, home

About

Competence first. Then the rest of it, in order.

SMASH DADDY LTD is run by Glen McCarty and Phil Gizzie. Phil built the estate; Glen keeps it running. This page is Phil's story, including the parts he used to hide, because the people we build for have lived some of it too.

Who runs it

Phil and Glen

Phil Gizzie

Phil Gizzie

Founder · Creative director

Twenty years in gay nightlife: promoter, bar owner, DJ and producer. From Somerset, by way of Frome Community College. Now a founder.

Glen McCarty

Build lead

Runs OutOut's infrastructure and leads the build.

The running order

How I got here

I'm from Somerset and went to Frome Community College. This is the rest of it, in order.

  1. 2005–07 · Opera House

    I learned how a big night works.

    My first years in clubland, at Slinky in Bournemouth. From the door to the last record.

  2. 2007–09 · Bar Beyond

    At 24 I had my own bar.

    Bar Beyond in Bournemouth, with a team of six. We ran the Beach Ball, the Pride after-party, a Red Party for World AIDS Day and the South Coast Bears.

    • The Bar Beyond storefront
    • Beach Ball poster, 9 August
    • Pride after-party poster
    • Red Party poster for World AIDS Day
    • South Coast Bears poster
    • Halloween poster
    • Summer 09 closing party poster, 11 October

  3. 2008–14 · BK Presents

    Promoting nights under my own name.

  4. 2011–13 · Bruno Knight

    From the outside it looked like confidence.

    I worked in the adult industry as Bruno Knight. I stage-directed HustlaBall in 2011 and 2012, ran HOTRODS in 2012 and wrote a column for QX Men. I was never happy with my body.

  5. 2014 · The fall

    Over eighteen months I lost eight friends to suicide.

    I appeared in Channel 4's Love for Sale. Crystal took over my life.

    If any of this is close to home: Samaritans 116 123, any time, free. Switchboard 0800 0119 100, the LGBTQ+ support line.

  6. 2014–16 · Prison

    I came home with nothing.

    I was arrested in the US and served time in prison. The conviction is spent. I've been off crystal since 2014.

  7. 2017–19 · Starting again

    A barber's chair and a chauffeur's seat.

    I told my story in Channel 4's Prison Ink. I worked a barber's chair and drove as a chauffeur. In 2018 I did my first recovery programme.

  8. 2019–23 · Peloton

    Seventh UK hire.

    I joined Peloton as its seventh UK hire and became Senior Service Lead across the UK and Germany.

  9. 2023–24 · Losing people, again

    You don't need a perfect past to care whether somebody has a future.

    I live with MS and ADHD. I lost four more friends. On the day I launched, my best friend died, and my relationship ended the same day. I spent a month alone in the flat. Then I opened a laptop and asked an AI to help me build.

    If any of this is close to home: Samaritans 116 123, any time, free. Switchboard 0800 0119 100, the LGBTQ+ support line.

  10. 2024–now · The build

    I'm building what my friends needed and didn't have.

    I set up SMASH DADDY LTD. HOTMESS, OutOut, the radio, the label and the tools all came out of that laptop. I built all of it with AI, starting from no code at all.

Why HOTMESS exists

Care dressed as kink.

Our scene is where a lot of us found ourselves. It's also where we keep losing people. HOTMESS is the app for the nights out. Safety, consent and aftercare sit inside the product, in the same place as the party, so looking after each other is part of going out.

It's for everyone we keep losing, and everyone still here.

If any of this is close to home: Samaritans 116 123, any time, free. Switchboard 0800 0119 100, the LGBTQ+ support line.

Press and TV

On the record

If any of this is close to home: Samaritans 116 123, any time, free. Switchboard 0800 0119 100, the LGBTQ+ support line.

For press and partners

The short version, ready to lift

SMASH DADDY LTD (company number 16923534) is the company behind HOTMESS, OutOut, HOTMESS RADIO, RAW CONVICT RECORDS, HNH MESS and the Smash Daddys audio tools. It is run by Glen McCarty and Phil Gizzie. Phil spent twenty years in gay nightlife as a promoter, bar owner, DJ and producer, then built the estate from a laptop with AI, starting from no code. HOTMESS is nightlife discovery for gay and bisexual men with safety, consent and aftercare built in. The products are live at hotmessldn.com, outout.net and radio.hotmessldn.com.

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