R-J Vida and Thomas Barthmus founded The Production Crew with a desire to merge their independently successful businesses in a way that would allow them to expand and meet the growing needs of their current and future clients. At the time, R-J was the hottest DJ on the west coast, and Thomas’ Bayshore Productions business was exploding; The Production Crew has become one of the most trusted event production and audiovisual company in Florida.
R-J VIDA, Founder
R-J’s passion for events began as a teenager; his love for music and technology merged as he began to DJ small events outside of New York City. In 1999, R-J relocated to Tampa, FL to finish high school, and made his mark on the area as one of the youngest and most popular wedding DJs in the industry. His clean, fiery ambition and huge success led to corporate clients and events at venues like Don CeSar Resort, The Ritz Carlton and the Marriot Waterside.
By the time R-J graduated from USF with a degree in Communication and Performance Arts he had realized that the number of events he could manage at one time limited his business. However successful this venture was, it didn’t fulfill R-J’s ambition. He began exploring business models that would feed his passion for the event industry, and allow him to expand on the value he provided clients.
THOMAS BARTHMUS, Founder
Thomas spent his spare time in college as an Emcee and Disc Jockey; a graduate of USF with a degree in Communications led Thomas to a position with Cox radio as the promotions coordinator where he produced over 200 live broadcasts and events. Thomas transitioned to work with PrimeCo where he he planned and executed over 400 hundred special events and handled sponsorships with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
It wasn’t until 2002 that Thomas realized he was ready to take his years of experience in the event industry and take them to the next level with the creation of his own company. Bayshore Productions has worked with clients such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Verizon, the New York Yankees, the Orlando Magic, Busch Gardens, Green Iguana, St Jospeh’s Hospital, Coast Dental, and Captain Morgan.
