Lon Ballinger
AUTHOR

Lon Ballinger

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Lon Ballinger is an author, entrepreneur, and speaker. Party Boys is his true story of how a dirt-poor family from Canada managed the toughest business on earth in the entertainment capitals of the world.

A quintessential farm boy turned real estate investor and nightclub owner, Lon Ballinger was born in 1950, the third of five children, in Montreal, Canada. In 1973, he had joined his brothers in pursuing careers in the hospitality business. A few later, Lon and his brothers opened their first nightclub: Ballinger’s Danceteria and Videotheque was a groundbreaking club in Cambridge, Ontario.

Within five years they had built a real estate and nightclub empire that changed the entire makeup of Toronto’s commercial real estate and turned the city’s moribund nightlife culture into something exciting.

In 1988, they transformed the renowned Webster Hall in the crime-riddled East Village into a modern nightclub. They owned and operated this large-capacity venue so successfully for the next thirty years that it changed the nightlife culture in the region.

Webster Hall was the first major nightclub to embrace the hip-hop culture in 1992. Lon was also the top-selling disc jockey in the world from 1998 to 2001 with Webster Hall Records as he sold three million CDs (and that was with no major record label support). More than ten of his albums charted on the Billboard Dance Music Charts, which contributed greatly to the burgeoning EDM (electronic dance music) culture.

Webster Hall was by all accounts the first modern nightclub and was known by many as the best nightclub ever created in New York. They hosted large events, dancing, and celebrities such as Madonna, Prince, and Mick Jagger, to name a few. It was an exciting time! Lon was right there at the center of a new era, watching it all happen.

Lon now speaks on the history of an era and shares the secrets he’s learned as a successful businessman and nightclub owner. His talks are entertaining, engaging, and informative.
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