Dustin Zick

What is your job and its responsibilities?
I am the Milwaukee Social Media Manager for Marcus Hotels & Resorts, which makes me the voice of all of their Milwaukee properties online. That includes their three hotels (The Pfister, InterContinental Milwaukee and the Hilton Milwaukee City Center) along with all of the great restaurants and bars within (Mason Street Grill, Kil@wat, Blu, Miller Time Pub & Grill, CLEAR and more).

I’m responsible for making sure the content for all of those properties and outlets is up to date across social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more.  I work with the staff at each location to educate them in the importance of Social Media. I’m the guy tweeting back to you if you mention any of our hotels on Twitter, responding to your Facebook posts and more.

How would you rate Milwaukee as a place to work and do business?
I would have to rate it “very high” in terms of how good of a city this is to work and do business.

One of my favorite things about Milwaukee is how accessible it is to people who want to succeed. What I mean by that is, here, in Milwaukee, if you really want to make a difference, make your name known, start a business or just generally have an impact on the community – you have to try, put your heart and soul into it, and you’ll almost definitely accomplish something. If you bust your butt, it will pay off. This city is the perfect size for that.

Whereas if you go to Chicago, or LA, or NYC, you could spend your entire life working your ass off and nobody may ever know your name – that environment is so big, you’re more likely to get washed away than to make a name for yourself. Milwaukee is different, the community here is open, everybody knows somebody who knows somebody else. If you put the effort into it, if you network, if you really care about something – you’ll see it happen.

Do you see this as a good city for young people?
Totally, and for many of the same reasons I listed above as a place to do business. It’s just so accessible, affordable, and active. From the Brewers, to Summerfest, to organizations like NEWaukee, Radio Milwaukee and more – there’s just so much to do, and so many great, young people leading the charge with developing more great things to do.

I think this city is on the cusp of great change, and, not all that unexpectedly, it’s us “young people” that are leading the charge.

What neighborhood do you live in and what do you like about it?
I live in Bay View, where I’ve been for almost 3 years now. I’m about a block away from Humboldt Park, which is probably my favorite place in the city. I love how much there is to do in my neighborhood in any season along with all the great restaurants and bars that continue to pop up.

There are a lot of awesome houses in Bay View, too. When I was a kid, my dad and I used to walk around Waukesha and look at different houses, pointing out what we liked most and least about them. We both shared an affinity for huge, open-air porches. There are a lot of gorgeous houses with awesome porches in Bay View. I hope to own one of those someday.

What is your favorite Milwaukee event?
Naturally, since I’m such a huge fan of Humboldt Park, I love Chill on the Hill. Free music on summer nights? You really can’t beat that. I love taking the dog down to the park, kicking back, enjoying a beer with friends and seeing the insane amount of people that turn out for it every week.

What is your favorite Milwaukee building?
So this is a tie – if only because of a working bias. I love equally both The Pfister Hotel and The Oriental Theatre.

Even if I didn’t work for Marcus, I’d still love The Pfister Hotel – it’s absolutely gorgeous. If you haven’t been inside, go inside, you owe it to yourself. Walk up to the second floor of the lobby and look at all of the historical pictures. It’s insane how that building looked when it opened in 1893, and what has and has not changed in the 120 years since.  Plus it’s really cool to be able to go behind the scenes and see the inner workings of such a well-oiled machine.

And the Oriental Theatre – well, how could you not love that place? The main theatre is absolutely mesmerizing, and the lobby is damn impressive as well.