Meet Mark Norwood | Metrotham Con Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mark Norwood and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mark, what do you attribute your success to?
Really it’s been by leading with honesty and integrity while setting the tone for the rest of my team. I have 100+ on my team that are a part of Metrotham Con on a volunteer basis and each one of them have bought in because they believe in my vision and I empower them by growing this convention together so everyone feels invested in the process and will reap the rewards once we achieve our ultimate goal.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Metrotham Con started back in 2018 as an idea to open a pop culture themed pub/restaurant. (Metrotham is Metropolis and Gotham mashed together due to my love for DC comics as a youngster) Locations in Chattanooga, TN were few and far between that would accommodate an idea like that, so the next logical step was to evolve it into a multi-fandom pop culture convention with celebrity guests, vendors, live music, kids events, comedy shows, gaming, and so much more. Going into this business venture, I had to completely self teach due to there not being a well of information to pull from and I wanted it to feel different/unique and not a copy and paste version of someone else’s creation. There have been some growing pains along the way and some mistakes made but we always learned from them and course corrected to get to where we are today and this past show in May was by far our most successful, we look forward to a bright future.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Chattanooga is known as the scenic city, so I would start by taking in some of the natural beauty the city has to offer by going on nature hikes, visiting epic waterfalls, and kayaking. Next would be taking in some of the tourist destinations like the aquarium, Tivoli Theater, Rock City, Ruby Falls, and so many other must see spots. Dinner & drinks is next and there is definitely not a shortage in that category from all the local distilleries and Chattanooga Whiskey to the amazing local eateries like Tony’s Pasta, Tupelo Honey, Taco Mamacita just to name a few. We are also centrally located between Atlanta l, Knoxville, and Nashville which is why it’s such a great city to host a pop culture convention.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My incredibly volunteer team of 100+ deserve all the credit in the world for the continued success of Metrotham Con. Without the passion and dedication of each and everyone of them, the convention wouldn’t be possible. They are what sets us a part from other events in the industry and you can feel the family vibe while in attendance because they put their heart and soil into it.

Website: www.metrothamcon.com

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