Nick Shackelford and James Van Elswyk hosted Geek Out San Diego 2022 at Belmont Park in Mission Beach. Talks ran in a bright room with GeekOut projected on the wall, and the evenings moved out to a terrace facing the ocean.

A cup for what you came to talk about

A framed sign asked guests to pick a cup based on what they were there for that weekend, so they could find like-minded people. Each stack carried a topic, from SEO and Strategy to Just Here To Party. Black sweatshirts printed with the GeekOut logo sat folded in piles, and guests roasted marshmallows over a fire table.

Marquee letters spelling GEEK OUT on an empty terrace, backlit by the sun, with palm trees behind
Folded black sweatshirts printed with a pink, yellow and blue GeekOut logo
Two women posing beside lit GEEK OUT marquee letters on a terrace at sunset
Guests holding marshmallows on long sticks over a fire table filled with lava rocks
Framed Pick a cup sign between stacks of cups labeled SEO, Strategy, Social Media and Just Here To Party
Balloon garland in yellow, orange, pink, purple and blue along a terrace railing above the beach

Lit GEEK OUT letters at sunset

Lit GEEK OUT marquee letters stood on the terrace above the beach, beside screens printed GeekOut San Diego 2022. In a lounge hung with red velvet curtains, guests gathered around a square fire pit. The food came with name cards: guacamole and salsa rojo in stone bowls on dark velvet, and cauliflower ceviche on a blue velvet display trimmed with purple orchids.

Guests in silhouette at dusk around lit GEEK OUT letters under string lights, with the ocean behind
Cauliflower Ceviche with a name card on a blue velvet display decorated with purple orchids
Four guests with drinks around a square fire pit beside a tufted sofa and red velvet curtains
GEEK OUT marquee letters at sunset on a terrace overlooking the beach and palm trees
A smiling woman in a cream jacket beside a table of black GeekOut sweatshirts on a sunny terrace
Stone bowls of guacamole, salsa rojo and shredded lettuce with name cards on a dark velvet tablecloth

We planned Geek Out San Diego 2021 the year before, in a brick hall with trees growing indoors. The series also went to Geek Out Ukraine, where performers in mirrored robot suits took the stage.