CONNOR LIM

Time to run it back. 😤Excited to announce we’ve raised a $7M seed round led by Elysian Park Ventures, with participation from KB Partners, APEX, and a bunch of amazing friends. Fun story, nine years ago Pete was one of the first investors in STEEZY. Evan and I were these two young kids struggling to raise barely $250K. Vince, who had written us the first angel check, brought us down to the OC where we walked into the Activision offices to meet a potential angel investor. At the time, Evan and I were atrocious at pitching, super nervous, and just so inexperienced. The pitch went for about 10 minutes before Pete said, “I’m in. You guys remind me of myself when I was younger.” I remember the sigh of relief I took and then looking up and to the right at a whiteboard. On it was this crazy sprawling org chart for what became the Overwatch League. I can’t remember if it was me or Evan, but one of us said, “BTW, one day we also want to launch a pro dance league!” Pete just laughed and said, “Yeah, I don’t know about that, this stuff’s pretty hard.” Anyway, that’s a long way of saying thanks for believing in the vision since day one. We’re proud to have had, and continue to have, you in our corner. It’s not going to be easy, but the funding’s going to help. Let’s get to work. 🫡🚀

Soooo that was crazy…lol, 100M views in 10 days…lines around the block. 🤯 I can’t say enough about the team for making this a reality. Thank you to the pro teams for not just believing, but for truly coming together, dedicating your time, and putting your reputations on the line to build a league for all of us. One day, kids will grow up saying their dream is to be a professional competition dancer in the IDL, and that will be because of the groundwork we’re laying now. Since launch, it’s only gotten crazier. We’re hiring, bringing on new partners, and planning six more events all at the same time. It’s chaotic, exhausting, and exciting all at once. See you all at the start of the 2026 season. Six cities, six teams, one champion. More info coming soon 😉

Hot off the press!!! 🗞️🚨 @evanczhou @__connorlim chat with @billboard about #STEEZYstudio. [full article linked in bio]

@idl.global 🌎🏆 SZN 1 | STOP 1 | NYC 🗽 Im gonna fully un-humble brag about the @idl.global team for a sec. as they say, “if you can make it in NY, you can make it anywhere”. The team didn’t sleep for the past 2 weeks…everyone came home sick and feverish, some of our staff didn’t even have time to eat for 12+ hours. Everyone was so stressed, each person doing the job of 2-3 people, trying to make sure this event would be a success. Brains and bodies were sacrificed, but it was worth it. We sold out the Hammerstein ballroom, there was a line down a whole block, and we had 30+ million views in the 1st week. If this first event is any indication of how this season is going to go, I’m pretty sure we passed the NYC survival test. I’m so proud of everyone who put this event together. But the grind doesn’t stop here. 1 down, 5 more stops to go around the world. ✈️ VANCOUVER IN T-16 DAYS!!!

Thank you NY City! I couldn’t have asked for a crazier season opener. 🙏🏻 Vancouver, you’re next. Let’s see if @brotherhoodcrew_ can defend their lead 😤

It’s Connor’s birthday today. 35, according to our nanny who allegedly is also a Chinese fortune teller, this is your frkin year. 35 years of life lived and hard work is apparently supposed to pay off this year. Well, I believe it, but not because of any stars or planetary arrangements, because of who you are as a person. You give a lot of frkin f*cks about everything you do, and I know your dedication and extreme chalant-ness will be why you will win at life. You change the world with the same ferocity that you play with gwennie. You speak as passionately with your team about game plans as you do when you order a bacon egg and cheese at a bodega. You study and learn to the nth degree everything about starting a company the same way you read the instruction manual to our air fryer, cover to cover. You’re dedicated, diligent, and absolutely insane. And that’s why I, we, all love you. Thank you for being you, and for having the audacity to believe you can make an impact on this world. I know you’ve made the biggest impact on mine. Me and gwennie are so proud of you.

bts of the amazingly done merch shoot for our @idl.global New York Capsule. Really proud of the team for their execution of all of this. The way that the samples were finished literally an hour before the shoot and couriered to set for the first look is insane. No one knows the chaos behind the production looking at the clean perfection of the finished products. Can’t wait to be back in NYC tomorrow ♡ Creative genius (director designer and more): @nic_scarlett Producer: @joshwjang Photographer: @_danamgreen Videographer: @_chang.e Gaffer: @samthedp Models: @jalenrsands @michaelbxrt Socials: @wuzimik Production: @reedartdepartment @jeffstaple

I’ve been in LA so long that some people forget I actually grew up out here. New York is where I first fell in love with dance. Trolling bboy.org forums trying to learn every move I could. Looking for anywhere around Flushing with a clean floor and just enough space to practice. (Shout out FBC for a safe space every Friday.) Something about coming back here to start it all off feels crazy to me. 13 year old Connor would be losing his mind at the idea of a dance event at this scale happening at Hammerstein, one of the most iconic venues in New York. The NY Series is going to be loud, electric, and all up in your face. See you there. May 2. Oh and btw… it’ll be my birthday weekend. So buy a ticket, come say hi, and witness history 🫡

A month ago, we were able to take Gwennie to Taiwan for the first time. Taiwan’s a special place. It feels like a time capsule. No matter how many years go by, every time I go back it feels familiar. A place where my grandparents were born, where I think of black and white photos of my mom as a child, and a language and culture I connect to so deeply and yet not at all. Watching Gwennie experience Taiwan made me think about all this life lived across four generations and two worlds. Our parents’ childhoods, their dreams of coming to America, and that future realized in our children. The last time Tiff and I were in Taiwan was a reflective moment in my life. We had gotten married two weeks prior, and with the new year coming, it felt like something needed to be reset. I had spent my 20s with such a singular focus, and I was pretty certain that season was ending. Taiwan is this magical place for wandering and renewal. A place where past, present, and future feel intertwined. We spent almost a month there walking the old steps of Jiufen, watching people write their dreams onto prayer cards. We built old and new friendships, trying to find clarity through connection and a renewed sense of purpose. I left last time feeling heavy, but something shifted. I finally knew what needed to come next, just not exactly how. This year has been more than I could have ever asked for. Watching the IDL come to life and getting to watch Gwennie wobble around, form sentences, and start to test the world with such strong curiosity. I’m watching these dreams become reality, and I’m just lucky to be here. I’m no longer searching, and for the first time in a long time, my vision has never been clearer. I can’t wait for 2026. Happy New Year.

Bouncing around city to city meeting the local dance communities has been super motivating. Funny how regardless of the cultures and all our differences, we all at the end of the day just really love to move around to some music and all have the same dreams, one way or another. Lots of work ahead🫡

For a long time, people have asked us for merch. But outside of some company gear, I’ve always been hesitant. For dancers, what you wear is almost as important as how you move. I’ve always had a deep respect for those who actually build fashion brands. Slapping a logo on a tee felt lazy. I’ve always said, entire companies exist just to do merch right. If we can’t put our full effort into it, why do it at all? When I first met @jeffstaple . We talked about the vision for the IDL and he got it instantly. No surprise, he’s no stranger to culture. Naturally, we started talking about his journey with Staple and eventually landed on the question I always get: “Why don’t you make merch?” I shared my thoughts, and he told me about his design team at RAD, his squad of insanely talented designers who specialize in making intentional, high-quality pieces. From there, we went deep. The RAD team spent time studying dance, pulling references from our history, our styles, our movement. We had long conversations about how dancers express identity through clothing and what it would look like to finally bridge the gap between streetwear and dance in a way that felt real. Every detail in this capsule reflects that process. The stitching, the silhouettes, the energy. We dreamed of something that truly represents the world we come from. This is the first capsule of the IDL. It’s been a long time coming and I hope you all like it.

Life lately