Tucson Vibes & Creative Hustle Brian Dahl, The Guy Who Dances on Congress

💃 How Brian Dahl became “The Guy Who Dances on Congress” and turned a memorable local presence into a recognizable Tucson brand.

⚡ The story behind Brian’s growing creative hustle, from nightlife energy and public visibility to merchandise, collaborations, and new business ideas.

🤝 Why collaboration is at the center of his success, including partnerships with Tucson Gallery, local artists, Jaimes Pizza, and Brick Box Brewery.

🌵 How supporting local goes beyond networking, and why showing up, building trust, and forming real relationships matters in Tucson’s creative community.

🧃 The creative process behind his branded energy drink, including how a simple idea became a local collaboration years in the making.

🎨 How Brian approaches branding with authenticity, using curiosity, personality, and memorable design to make people want to know more.

💼 Practical advice for creatives and entrepreneurs, especially the importance of keeping a steady financial foundation while building a passion project.

🛤️ Why long-term vision matters, even when the path is not perfectly straight and success requires flexibility along the way.

📍 Why Tucson is such a big part of Brian’s identity and strategy, from local collaborations to using Instagram as a city-focused platform for growth.

🚀 A reminder that small ideas can grow into something much bigger when you stay open, stay visible, and keep moving.

Tucson Vibes, Big Energy, and a Brand Built in Motion

Some brands are built in boardrooms. Others are built out in the world, one day at a time. In this episode of Meet the Artist, Tom Heath sits down with Brian Dahl, better known around Tucson as The Guy Who Dances on Congress, for a conversation about how a simple, memorable idea can grow into something much larger.

What begins as a story about dancing quickly opens into a wider discussion about identity, creativity, and the work of turning personal energy into a recognizable public brand. Brian shares how his presence in Tucson nightlife and community spaces became more than a moment or a nickname. Over time it became a platform, one that now connects him to local collaborations, products, events, and opportunities that continue to expand in new directions.

The conversation gives listeners a closer look at how Brian has shaped a brand that feels both playful and intentional. His work is not presented as a polished overnight success story. Instead, the episode reveals something more useful and more honest: a creative path built through consistency, local visibility, strong relationships, and a willingness to keep moving when new doors open.

From a Dance Floor Identity to a Tucson Creative Brand

A major focus of the episode is how Brian transformed a personal trait, his love of movement, performance, and connection, into a local brand people instantly recognize. “The Guy Who Dances on Congress” is more than a catchy name. It is an example of how a person can turn a vibe, a habit, or a public persona into something with real business potential.

Brian talks about how people first began noticing him while dancing at Hotel Congress, and how that visibility gradually turned into recognition. From there, the name stuck, the identity became stronger, and the brand started to evolve beyond nightlife into merchandise, collaborations, and broader creative projects. The episode makes clear that this growth did not come from chasing trends. It came from understanding what people already remembered about him and leaning into it.

That idea is one of the strongest takeaways from the conversation. Brian did not build his brand by trying to be everything to everyone. He built it by being distinct, memorable, and unmistakably himself. The result is a brand that feels rooted in Tucson and powered by personality, movement, and connection.

A Conversation About Momentum, Visibility, and Saying Yes

At its heart, this episode is about momentum. Brian’s journey shows what can happen when someone stays visible, keeps building, and remains open to the next right opportunity. The path is not presented as linear, and that is part of what makes the conversation relatable. The episode suggests that creative success often comes less from following a perfectly straight plan and more from continuing to move with intention.

Listeners come away with a strong sense of Brian not only as a performer or personality, but as a thoughtful local creative who understands how brands grow in the real world. Through dancing, design, collaborations, and community presence, he has built something memorable in Tucson by combining authenticity with action.

For anyone interested in local art, entrepreneurship, branding, or creative collaboration, this episode offers both inspiration and practical perspective. It is a story about turning presence into possibility, community into momentum, and a recognizable identity into a growing Tucson brand.

Tom Heath
Welcome back as we talk to another fabulous artist here in our community. Uh, this is a collaboration between Lifelong Streetcar and the Tucson Gallery, and we call it Meet the Artist. We’ve got a returning guest today, Brian Dahl. Welcome back. Brian. Thank you. This is, uh, first time in the studio, right?

Brian Dahl
First time in the studio?

Tom Heath
Yeah. Last time was we were at the proper shops.

Brian Dahl
We were at the proper shops? Yes.

Tom Heath
Yeah. Uh, where I was crudely doing my own videoing. And, uh, now we have this fabulous space where James makes it all pretty. Yes. Uh, well, I know when we talked, I think it ended up being a two part episode because we really got into not only your creative side, but a lot of your your history and how you got to where you were.

And it’s a pretty inspirational story. I don’t really want to relive that today. Um, but I do want to make sure people know that they can check that out.

Brian Dahl
What episode is that?

Tom Heath
I have.

Brian Dahl
No idea. It’s this one, right? And you guys can insert that, right? Yeah.

Tom Heath
Ignore everything. You just say. There will be nothing above his finger on our on our edit.

Brian Dahl
Uh, he thinks I already got him so.

Tom Heath
Many more skills than I have. I don’t have these skills. Uh, so moving on to not get me in any more trouble. Um, anyway, I want to have you back because you were doing all kinds of collaborations in the new space where, you know, you obviously with the Tucson Gallery, um, you’ve had your own brand for years, and then in the proper shops, you had your own shop, and now you have your own shop, but it’s really kind of integrated into the Tucson galleries.

How’s that going?

Brian Dahl
It’s going awesome. We’ve been there now six months or just hitting six months, and it’s actually a very beautiful spot. They redid and fixed to collaborate all these artists even more than we had in proper shops.

Tom Heath
Yeah, it was definitely a definitely a bigger space and a larger footprint and in more opportunities and bigger art to I think that was the one of the nice things was the space allows us to get in larger paintings, sculptures, things that weren’t only in their.

Brian Dahl
All mediums, I think is, you know, there’s even lights and other things you would be shocked to see.

Tom Heath
Yeah. And I do think we need to give a little background on what, uh, te GW doc means.

Brian Dahl
The guy who dances on Congress.

Tom Heath
You gotta get back on the mic there.

Brian Dahl
Oops. I just broke.

Tom Heath
It. That’s right.

Tom Heath
Just leave that out there. We don’t need that.

Brian Dahl
We’re okay. You see, I break things when I come in. It’s usually my butt breaking them, not my arm. So the guy guy who dances on Congress and. And this because I went dancing at a nightclub to talk to a friend who we talked business. And I started moving, and people started recognizing me. And I was the guy who danced dances on Congress, at the Hotel Congress.

Tom Heath
So as what I understand now is that you are still out and about dancing, but really as a, as a an add on with the DJ to kind of get the crowd going.

Brian Dahl
Yes. So more of a hype or go go dancer type person who gets involved with the crowd and make sure they’re into it and want to dance.

Tom Heath
And are you in any cages to, as you say, go, girl. Do you get any cages?

Brian Dahl
Um, there is has not been a cage. I’ve been on blocks before. Woodblocks or other things. Stages. But no, no cages yet. I’ve been. I asked for a cage at one point and they want to give it to me, so. All right, well, we’ll.

Tom Heath
We’ll have to see if we can figure that out.

Brian Dahl
Maybe in Tucson Gallery, we can have a cage that comes out.

Tom Heath
I don’t think.

Brian Dahl
So.

Tom Heath
Um, but keep moving on. There are other things that won’t get me into trouble again. Um, the thing that I was always impressed with you at proper shops and carrying in now is your ability to collaborate, because you seem to know a lot of creative people in Tucson. I mean, how do you how does that come about?

Brian Dahl
Just what I’ve learned. The number one of my number one things is networking and supporting local. If you support, they’ll support back

Brian Dahl
and true support, not just say, oh, hi, I’m here. Can you help me go and buy stuff from them for a while? Make sure you’re actually supporting. Make sure their stuff is actually good so you know they’re going to be around for a while. Just don’t try to do a cloud that’s with someone who you don’t know. Talk to them.

Become friends with them. Make it a real relationship.

Tom Heath
How do you meet them? I mean, like, how do you know all these people?

Brian Dahl
I go to their events. I just being in Tucson and going and walking around and talking to people. You’d be surprised who you would meet just out and saying hi and being nice and smiling. Yeah.

Tom Heath
I always think they they pop up in crazy places too. Like at Jaimes Pizza, you have a.

Brian Dahl
I have a pizza at Jaimes Pizza and then that’s.

Tom Heath
It. Is that branding or do you get money from them or.

Brian Dahl
That’s just branding. That was branding. That was all branding because we were it was very we were both very new still, and we needed to help each other build our brands.

Tom Heath
Okay. And then, um, you’re also, you know,

Tom Heath
it’s more of a collab, but you’re more you’re more doing like wholesaling with some really good artists in town as well too, right?

Brian Dahl
Yeah. Joseph, PA is a great Tucson, uh, designer. Um, he does they do fantastic work. Um, I have three of their shirts currently in the Tucson gallery. Everyone should come check out because he does, uh, Tucson Tales. It’s a great series of random things that happen in Tucson and only Tucson. People would get.

Tom Heath
Excuse me. Yeah, I the shirts are fun because they’re they’re like neon color. They’re very they’re very.

Brian Dahl
They’re very pop and, uh, pop.

Tom Heath
Yeah. And they, they, they highlight the things like the dinosaurs and the.

Brian Dahl
Snakes or the javelina or downtown Tucson or whatever it that, that current event is.

Tom Heath
It’s it’s kind of like, I don’t know, like touristy info for two sodas because you kind of have to know about these elements, like if you’re just coming to Tucson, some of which on the shirts aren’t going to be like, oh, okay, that resonates Tucson for me. But if you know a little about Tucson, these shirts are really fun.

Brian Dahl
Yes, they are, but ironically, the out-of-towners love them because they’re bright and they have whatever animal or something that reminds them, oh, I don’t know what that means, but that’s fun.

Tom Heath
Oh, so they’re getting it.

Brian Dahl
They’re getting it anyways. And it says Tucson usually on somewhere on it.

Tom Heath
Well, I think the biggest, the biggest collaboration that I want to chat with you about and is this, this, this energy drink that you came up with and if, if you’re.

Brian Dahl
Oh, I didn’t come up with it. Let’s just make that clear. Okay. Uh, Brick Box Brewery came up with it, but I, uh, was I was able to partner up with them.

Tom Heath
And if you’re if you’re listening, uh, here he’s he’s, like, showcasing it for the video. So you got to check out the video to see him modeling it like like Vanna White. So you work with BritBox and and and so they like, tell me about this conversation. How does this go? At what point do you say, hey, I should have an energy drink for myself?

Brian Dahl
Shortly after I got my pizza, I realized I need to. I wanted to get more collabs and more things that go with my brand. Since I don’t drink a soda or an energy drink would be perfect for me because I have a lot of energy or I have to have a lot of energy.

Tom Heath
I’ve seen you sleep and standing up, so I mean.

Brian Dahl
That’s energy though. I’m storing my energy. I wanted to sleep here. They wouldn’t let me.

Tom Heath
So energy drink comes and comes about and then and then brick boxes, uh.

Brian Dahl
They just they they, um. So this didn’t happen overnight. I talked to them about 3 or 4 years ago to start the conversations.

Tom Heath
Oh, wow. I didn’t realize that.

Brian Dahl
Yeah. So this was like, right when I got my pizza, that’s when I started talking to them, realizing, okay, there is capabilities of branding with other local businesses.

Tom Heath
You’ve had your pizza for three years.

Brian Dahl
Um, almost 2 to 3. Oh my gosh, you know, my proper shop. We were in there. That’s true. Yeah that’s true. So it’s like two and a half.

Tom Heath
Sorry. I just had that mind jump for a moment there. I was like, wait a minute. That’s that’s that’s a long time. We’ve known each other a while now.

Brian Dahl
Yeah. Brick and mortar. We’ve actually been now for over.

Tom Heath
Almost four.

Brian Dahl
Years. Four years now? Almost. Yeah.

Tom Heath
Yeah. Wow. Anyway, so you’re you’re you’re you’re trying to figure out how to spread the brand. Energy drink seems like a natural fit for you.

Brian Dahl
So. Yeah. And I always drink energy drink. So why not have one? I can I don’t have to pay someone else for.

Tom Heath
And then then they. But like, they can the design. Like how does how does all this come together?

Speaker 3
I asked an artist.

Brian Dahl
Uh, Carney k so he owned. He owns cream design and print, uh, to make. I asked for a few things, and then this is what he came up with. I had him put his, uh, name on there, And then there’s a couple secrets in the can. Two that I hadn’t put. There’s for Tucson references. There’s Gates Pass and then that there’s two extra bricks on the wall.

That’s when the can came out is when, um, brick box adds a brick in their, um, building. They have a wall each year there. Um, another year older. Oh, so this is an anniversary kind of a tribute to them.

Tom Heath
Okay. And now this is something you are. Um. This isn’t like the pizza for branding. I mean, this is something.

Brian Dahl
This is something I they what happened was after the 20 or 30 time asking about, um, an energy drink because they have their own energy drink at their shop, just, um, through the tap they brew. So I was asking for technically just a flavor, but they said, let’s go with branding you and doing a whole thing for you.

Tom Heath
So this is your your your mix.

Brian Dahl
This this is their they mixed it for me. But this is what I asked for, okay. For the flavoring. Nice. So they always start with agave base. And then I asked for a prickly pear. And they said to bring it to make it really pop. They added some citrus. Okay.

Tom Heath
Yeah it’s flavorful. And I’ve seen you on your Instagram. I mean people are are trying it. I love how you just sort of have these first, first reaction shots of it. It’s, uh.

Brian Dahl
You know, they’re expecting it like aftertaste. And like most energy drinks, you taste everything. There’s just a few key ingredients in here. There’s not a bunch of ingredients like other ones.

Tom Heath
Yeah, I and I, I think I told I said this story when we, when we talked last time, but when I first met you and, and I’ve told you this. So I’m not going to be like hurting your feelings. You’re very unassuming. And I was really confused by your brand. Like, I didn’t understand it. And obviously now I, I really kind of embrace it and get a sense of what you’re doing.

Um, but in essence, I mean, you’ve taken a passion of yours and just some,

Tom Heath
like, a loose associations and you’ll be able to put it into a very profitable and successful business.

Brian Dahl
Thank you.

Tom Heath
Uh, like, what if I’m an entrepreneur out there and I’ve got a passion or I’ve got a skill set? I mean, what are steps? Like, how do they sell?

Brian Dahl
First thing is you. You build your small your your passion around your daytime job. You know that money is always affecting. So have a daytime job. I work at a school also. I work still at a school. I haven’t quit that job even if being in the store for um, four years now, three years, I still have a at least over a part time job out of school, physical labor.

Tom Heath
Kind of keep the money flowing.

Brian Dahl
Keep the money flowing to pay the bills, and then whatever I do there is great because I can keep just building and I push how business I want, how I want to, not how I have to make this money. I have to make this money and doing the business that way, it’s going to take a lot longer and you’re going to make decisions you don’t really want to make.

If you if you can.

Tom Heath
Okay. So create a financial. Well, you could win the lottery.

Brian Dahl
Yeah, or have a great backer. I mean, you can have great backers. It’s great. Do it that way. Just have a great business plan. But a lot of business, you’re going to have to pivot a lot. I pivoted. I keep pivoting. I have ideas where I’m going, but in the middle I’m very open.

Tom Heath
Mhm. Mhm. Yeah. Well actually no. What does that mean. What do you mean you’re in the middle. You’re open.

Brian Dahl
So I have goals for ten years down. Right. I have them written down in my book, my personal book that I don’t show anyone. Um can.

Tom Heath
We.

Brian Dahl
See it? Yeah. Did you see this black book?

Brian Dahl
Um, so I have these goals because if you put it out there, it will happen. It’s just a matter of when. But there’s stuff that pops up that, oh, let’s do this energy drink. Who knows where it’ll take me, but let’s go for it.

Tom Heath
Okay. So. So this hasn’t taken you off of your ten year goal. You’re just not quite sure how this fits into your ten year.

Brian Dahl
Yeah. And it. Everything fits. You just have to keep your eyes open.

Tom Heath
Yeah. Well, I can tell you and you know this, but with the Tucson gallery and the trolley tours and even the studio where we’re recording this, none of this was was part of a plan. This was this was a reaction to a situation.

Brian Dahl
You never thought you would have. The guy who dances in Congress working with you.

Tom Heath
Heavens, no. I mean, if he had told me that, I would’ve been like, there’s no possible.

Speaker 3
Way I’m not doing this or anything.

Tom Heath
And again, if you were just listening, he is now twerking. So you’re going to have to see this video. Um, but yeah, I think it’s just very interesting how how these things come about out of out of, I guess what you’re saying, being flexible in the middle and being open to the opportunity.

Brian Dahl
And organic to an extent.

Tom Heath
Yeah, I get that. So but I.

Brian Dahl
I also go out looking for these people. If I see someone online that I, oh, I want to meet. I’ll kind of watch the internet, see where they’re at, what events they go to, and go to those events and try to meet them.

Tom Heath
Interesting. Yeah, I meant to bring this up earlier, but I. Are you still working with the Democratic Party on a collaboration?

Brian Dahl
Uh, not currently, but we did have one. That went down. We had a party meet the candidates and then I did a t shirt.

Tom Heath
Okay. And you had your branding on it too, right?

Speaker 3
I had my branding.

Brian Dahl
And it was about to get out the vote. Let’s register people to vote.

Tom Heath
So that’s that’s what it was. I thought I’d seen something like that. And I thought it was just, again, a unique way to put you out there because everyone that sees it, they’re always like, what does t w w AOC? What does that mean?

Brian Dahl
And that’s the whole point though, because people will ask.

Tom Heath
Exactly. And we then explain and they’re like when they say they’re like, you’re out on the street, no hotel Congress and kind of give them the story. But it really it’s it’s a lot of times when you’re trying to explain your business to someone, people shut you out almost immediately because like, yeah, yeah, whatever.

And this, they’re very intrigued. Like, wait a minute, tell me you did what? Yeah. How?

Brian Dahl
When I, um, this weekend was actually kind of funny because they’re like, oh, I like your dark shirt. And this lady’s like, I dance too. I have a dance studio, and she’s like, um, Antonio, Tony Ray, one of the.

Tom Heath
Let’s just take a step back.

Brian Dahl
I got excited.

Tom Heath
Well, no, let’s just take a step back because the dare shirt. So it looks like that old.

Speaker 3
The.

Brian Dahl
Old dare. So it’s the.

Tom Heath
Dare campaign, which was, uh.

Brian Dahl
Drug up something, something, something.

Tom Heath
So it was a drug awareness program from, like, the 1980s or 90s or something.

Brian Dahl
Correct.

Tom Heath
And it had the D.a.r.e., the dare on it. And you kind of rebranded that.

Brian Dahl
To dance acceptance,

Brian Dahl
uh, respect, encouragement.

Tom Heath
So that you were you were you repurposed.

Brian Dahl
It repurposed.

Tom Heath
So when people see it, they’ve got that.

Speaker 3
They they.

Brian Dahl
They get there at first and then they read it and they’re like, oh.

Tom Heath
This is a little nostalgia. But then it’s it’s updated. So anyway, now so then.

Brian Dahl
So this lady saw it and loved it and it’s like, oh my gosh I want this for. And I’m like, okay. And she’s Tony or one of the guys at the gallery. He’s like, you guys have to have a dance off. And she has a beautiful dress and she does a ply and I’m.

Speaker 3
Talking at her.

Brian Dahl
Yeah.

Tom Heath
Where do we find this video?

Brian Dahl
Tony Ray has it so you can play it on here? Well.

Tom Heath
We’ll have to. We’ll have to find that video. Um, and how do people find you? Where? Where do they track you down?

Brian Dahl
I have my website. The guy who dances on Congress.

Tom Heath
Com that was available. Honey, you didn’t.

Brian Dahl
Or TG doc. Com. I got that too. And then I also, um, on Instagram is the best way. Um, but I respond on everything.

Tom Heath
Do you do Facebook and that type of thing?

Brian Dahl
I have Facebook to the guy who dances on Congress. I have I technically have TikTok, but I don’t use it. But I have it.

Tom Heath
It kind of surprises me. You seem like the the TikTok sort of audience.

Brian Dahl
So if I wanted to go worldwide, I’d be using TikTok more because that just blows up. You don’t can’t really say Tucson. I want to blow up in Tucson. With Instagram, I can focus the, uh, the the.

Tom Heath
Like the spotlight.

Brian Dahl
Yeah. Or kind of like people in Tucson are going to see it because of the hashtags and like the people who are sharing it. And it’s more of a local base. You can get.

Tom Heath
It. Yeah. I see you on your Instagram. And I got to tell you, sometimes it annoys me. The things you do on your phone that takes me, like an entire computer to put together. But, uh, any upcoming events? I mean, people can find you. You start dancing, right? People can see I.

Brian Dahl
Still dancing 3 to 4 nights a week.

Tom Heath
Don’t worry.

Brian Dahl
Typically out Fridays are, uh, press play rooftop with mellow hype. Usually, um, Saturdays are late nights with cars around at hotel Congress. Yeah. Uh, Friday nights, playground. Okay. Uh, Saturdays hotel Congress. Okay.

Tom Heath
And then do you post on Instagram, where are you going to be?

Brian Dahl
Yeah. Every weekend.

Tom Heath
Okay. So somebody wants to have a a dance dance off.

Brian Dahl
Yeah. They can dance off. I don’t like dance offs, but I will know. All right. Now I just like people dancing and being in their own element. Okay.

Tom Heath
All right. Well, Brian, all very creative, young man. Um, energy. I think an energy drink is very appropriate because even though I joke, you really do have a tremendous amount of energy in the way you, uh, you go about attacking things here in life. I appreciate your time today. I know you’re busy, so, um, just appreciate that and we’ll just stay in touch.

Whatever the next major collaboration as you got.

Brian Dahl
Thank you. There are a few coming, but I always like to surprise people.

Tom Heath
Yeah, we’ll be surprised. So our guest today is Brian Dahl, and I want to thank you for joining us here on another episode of Meet the Artist, where we are collaborating with the Tucson Gallery. Life along the street, car just out there sharing what’s going on in the artistic world. And if you’re new to life along the street car, head over to our website, Life Along the Streetcar.

Or you can see all of our past episodes with audio video information about us and our book. Each week we have the pleasure of listening to Ryan Hood as we enter and exit our show. And, you know, our our our productions are really done behind the scenes with James Portis. He’s our executive producer. And every title you could possibly have other than host is James, because I’m the host, I’m Tom, and that’s all that I do.

Um, but I hope you tune in every week for another episode of Lifelong Street Car. And until next time, stay curious. Tucson.