Jayden Fleming, popularly known as “Flemmy” or “Flemmdoggydogg,” is a creative director, party promoter, host, and brand strategist.
Fleming has placed himself at the center of the Wichita party scene with his ability to market to his target audience as a promoter and deliver an entertaining and engaging performance as the MC. Two of Wichita’s most popular events for young people are Afterdark, a lively event that encourages people to bring out their best outfits, and R&B Escape, a more relaxed Monday night event created by DJ Fluid, a friend of Fleming’s, held at Enigma Lounge, are both hosted by Fleming.
“R&B escape is literally what we call it, an escape because it’s Monday. On Monday, people usually didn’t want to go to work, so it’s an opportunity to go out, have a drink, and hear R&B jams,” said Fleming. “AfterDark, though, is where you can show an outfit off, bring your girl. If you come single, you’re going to see some of the best people the city has to offer, so that’s when you hear a live band and enjoy a packed crowd.”
Fleming takes an untraditional approach to set the right mood for his events by interacting with the crowd, encouraging them to mix, mingle, and dance, a technique he learned while in Dallas.
“I noticed they had a host who would talk on the mic to say go get a drink and hype up the crowd, and then I came back to Wichita and was like, man, we don’t have none of that and thought to myself, ‘I can do it,’” said Fleming.
Fleming and his team are working to build a culture out of what they call no man’s land. His clothing brand Mars Mansion released a t-shirt on 316-day last year, with the slogan, “Middle of Somewhere” because when he asked people about Wichita, they often said it was in the middle of the map; and it’s literally the middle of nowhere.
Growing up in Wichita, Fleming always had the desire to move away to expand his horizon and creativity. He felt Wichita lacked a real sense of culture, and he often looked at other cities to find out what was trending.
“When I moved to Kansas City and Dallas, I just made it a point to soak up the culture and the older I got, the more I realized like, dang, I didn’t have any of these opportunities, growing up, so I want to bring it back home and show people it’s different ways to have fun and get fly,” said Fleming.
In need of a kidney transplant, Fleming returned to Wichita to receive the surgery and recover in 2016 and stumbled across the opportunity to host a party for New Year’s eve. Having already had a goal of disk jockeying, Fleming approached DJ Fluid, a popular DJ in Wichita and friend of his, about an opportunity for them to MC and DJ together.
The two have great chemistry and are often booked for parties as a pair. In addition to parties, the two work weddings, private parties, and even had the opportunity to open for Gucci Mane in Kansas City.
When he’s not preparing for an upcoming event, Fleming researches creative ideas for his set or the artists he works with. As a brand strategist, Fleming helps local artists with their marketing and design plans to reach a bigger audience.
“The past couple of weeks, it’s been me running around trying to find props for music videos or location scouting for a music video. Or, I’m watching documentaries all day trying to figure out what to bring to the next party, or watch a versus to figure out what songs will get the crowd hype,” said Fleming.
Fleming hopes that his work can help give Wichita more exposure and become a tour stop for prominent artists or eventually land a professional sports team.
Fleming enjoys mentoring the up-and-coming promoters in Wichita about how best to market and host an event. He’s passionate about helping shape the next wave of young creatives in Wichita and give them something to build off.