Stept Studios has launched Stept X, an experiential division focused on creating immersive real-world experiences designed to live far beyond the moment itself. Producing live events, brand activations, screenings, retail experiences, and large-scale stunts paired with cinematic storytelling and content production, Stept X expands the studio’s integrated offering as brands increasingly look to connect with audiences in physical spaces.
“We are seeing almost every partner we work with get excited about connecting with their audience in real life,” said Meredith Rodriguez, president of Stept Studios. “I think the rise of AI has reminded everyone how important real experiences are.”
For Stept, the move into experiential is less a pivot and more a return to its roots. Some 15-plus years ago, the company began by hosting grassroots community film events centered around winter sports, bringing audiences together through shared physical experiences and storytelling. Since then, Stept has evolved into an award-winning creative and production studio known for cinematic work across sports, entertainment, and branded storytelling with leading athletes and global brands. Now, with the launch of Stept X, the company is channeling that same community-driven energy back into the real world.
Stept X formalizes years of experiential work already being developed across the company, from live activations and cultural moments to special projects designed to exist simultaneously as physical experiences and digital content.
Leading Stept X is Anna Blake who came aboard Stept Studios late last year as sr. director of experiential & brand strategy. Blake has over 15 years of marketing and partnership experience spanning entertainment, technology, and live experiences for major brands. Prior to joining Stept, she most recently served at Paramount, where she helped spearhead the Nickelodeon rebrand and brought it to life through high-impact activations at the Super Bowl, Comic-Con, VidCon, and MLB events nationwide. Blake is a Children’s & Family Emmy Award-winning marketer for Nickelodeon brand refresh work (“The Splat Is Back”).
Stept X is already underway with a growing slate of collaborations and activations. Recent work includes a partnership with Moon Pay and the X Games integrating a live brand activation directly into broadcast moments, as well as a series of retail launch experiences created alongside long-time partner Salomon and past projects with Got Milk, Gold Bond and CB2.
The common thread across every project is a content-first philosophy: experiences designed not only to be attended, but captured, shared, and amplified across platforms and audiences.
Rather than treating experiential and content as separate disciplines, Stept X leverages the company’s full creative ecosystem, combining experiential strategy and production with in-house creative development, studio resources, equipment rentals, editorial, VFX, sound, and postproduction through Stept’s integrated infrastructure.
“Our production teams are already built for the field and trained in experiential workflows,” Rodriguez added. “When you combine that with our studios, rentals, and post pipeline, we’re able to deliver a level of integration and efficiency that’s hard to match.”
As the lines between physical and digital storytelling continue to blur, Stept X positions Stept Studios at the intersection of culture, content, and experience, where real-world moments become storytelling platforms, and storytelling extends the life of every experience far beyond the event itself.
