Dre Ramirez is 35. She\u2019s a fifth-generation Angeleno who lives in Downtown LA. After working in marketing for a decade building large-scale campaigns for brands that most people would recognize, one day, she realized she was spending eight months at a time behind a laptop. Her life was consumed with her art, and although she loved the career that she had built for herself, she was lonely. She hadn\u2019t realized how isolating her work was or how quiet her life had become.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, I need to reach out and make friends,\u201d Ramirez shared. \u201cI just spent the last 10 years building a career and building experiences for all these people, and I somehow lost me in all of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Posting on social media was already a big part of her job in content production. So, she figured, as embarrassing as it was, why not post looking for friends?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was kind of humiliating those first few hours,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause I openly admitted that I was very lonely.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Dre Ramirez is the founder of Not Staying In, a women-led social club designed for ages 21 and older.<\/p>\n
(Not Staying In\/Submitted)<\/p>\n
When she started on her journey to make new connections by posting on TikTok on July 17, 2025, she had about 200 followers. She assumed her request for pals would be sent to her immediate friends. Instead, her post reached thousands, and of women showed up in her comments who were feeling the exact same way. Her post turned into a group chat, which turned into women actually going out, which resulted in Ramirez producing real events.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt happened so instantaneously,\u201d she explained. \u201cIt was insane. One day, I\u2019m by myself, bored out of my mind, and then that weekend, I\u2019m surrounded by 100 women, and we\u2019re taking over the dance floor. It was completely unexpected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over time, as the groups of women went out, Ramirez started making observations. The crowds of women drew a lot of attention. People would approach them and sometimes those people would be questionable characters, \u201cpeople pursuing us for all the wrong things,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Ramirez and her new friends decided to throw their own parties in their own spaces.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started thinking, I have all my experience in experiential marketing, I can do this,\u201d she shared. \u201cI can make this happen. I was also that person who now had the platform. So, I did it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramirez launched Not Staying In, a 21+ women-led social club that now consists of single and married members ranging from 21 to 44. It is LGBTQ+ inclusive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019ve learned is that when women are allowed to let their guard down, that\u2019s when friendship actually gets to form,\u201d she relayed. \u201cThat\u2019s when we get to be ourselves because the reality is that the moment we step out of our doors, our guard is up 24\/7. It\u2019s hard to be ourselves and to connect with people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCreating this third space is so needed right now,\u201d she continued. \u201cPeople feel, especially after 2020, so alone. I have had such a passion for making this come to life. I\u2019m hoping that it can build into something more permanent than just one night.\u201d<\/p>\n