“I really need to clone myself because I want to make every idea a reality,” she says. 

Andrea is an unusual mix of practical professional, analytical thinker and imaginative creator. 

The Darwin businesswoman saw a gap in the market for an event management company to operate in the sport, active recreation, health and wellbeing space. She filled it. 

She saw the need for a personal aid that made life easier, safer, cleaner and more comfortable. She pondered over it, then created it. 

She took her love of storytelling to create a quirky children’s story. She wrote it, then sold it to a book publisher. 

She took her journalism roots and set up an outlet for her inquisitive mind. She conceived it, then created another business. 

And she has built her empire of businesses in just five years. 

In 2021, she co-founded Bask Event Management. The business name is quintessentially Territorian – a bask is the collective name for a group of crocodiles. 

Andrea bought out her partners and transformed the small, part-time startup generating $6500 in its first year into a thriving six-figure business. 

Bask is now the NT’s No 1 sport, active recreation, health and wellbeing event management business. 

Based in Darwin, with an office on the Gold Coast, the business works across the NT and Queensland, counting the NT City2Surf, Darwin Mother’s Day Classic, Henley on Todd Boat Regatta, the multi-nation Oceania Athletics Championships, Gold Coast Marathon and the multi-discipline Pan Pacific Masters Games among its clients. 

Involvement with these significant and successful events recently led to an invitation to submit an expression of interest for work on the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. 

“I absolutely love working in the sport and health space,” Andrea says. 

“While we are happy to take on any type and size event, mass participation events are a particular favourite. There are so many moving parts that make them a challenge. It’s really satisfying when all of the elements come together to successfully deliver an event that people have enjoyed or where their endurance has been tested.” 

While scaling Bask, Andrea simultaneously pursued creative ventures. She authored the children’s book The Goat and the Holey Coat, which has been accepted for publication by Pegasus Publishing in the UK. The book, which is a “silly, fun story”, will be on shelves by Christmas. 

In addition, Andrea conceived, trademarked and patented an innovative, handy and problem-solving product known as MyBestie, which is undergoing final testing ahead of a manufacturing release date. 

“It’s been a bugbear of mine that your bag usually ends up on the floor when you’re eating in a café or restaurant,” she said. 

“The same thing happens when you’re in a public toilet if the hook on the back of the door is missing or broken. You can hang the bag around your neck or keep it in your lap but, both of those options are so uncomfortable. You can imagine how many millions of bacteria and pathogens are on the floor of a public toilet. 

“In boutique changerooms there’s also never enough hooks to hang up the clothes you’re wearing, the clothes you brought in, the ones you’re going to buy, the ones you’ve decided against and the ones you haven’t decided on. Your bag ends up on the floor again. 

“I decided that instead of getting annoyed, I should find a solution.” 

MyBestie was the answer – a suction cup with a cleat hook to allow vertical and horizontal hanging. It’s designed for temporary use and small enough to fit in your palm. 

The mother of two also established a media company, securing contracts with an award-winning local magazine and the NT Government. 

Her ability to excel across multiple fields is partially due to her varied professional background in the public and private sectors. 

She is a former journalist who worked in the US, UK and Australia after honing her skills in the NT. She also worked in the media team for Hillary Clinton’s Senate Campaign in 2000. 

Andrea later returned to Australia where she became a political media and policy advisor, senior public servant and media manager in private organisations across the NT and Queensland. 

“I don’t regret the move away from big corporations,” she says. 

“I always wanted to be successful, to flex my creative brain and to be my own boss, so I’m living the dream.” TQ 

CONTACT 

Bask Event Management 

www.baskeventmanagement.com.au 

www.andreaallen.com.au 

Darwin Office: 

Level 5, 66 Smith St, Darwin 

(08) 7937 1328 

info@baskeventmanagement.com.au 

Gold Coast Office: 

2 Twenty Fourth Ave, Palm Beach 

0401 119 467 

info@baskeventmanagement.com.au