JAVIER MORENO,

South L.A., registered nurse

When Javier Moreno, 39, and his husband, Michael Harnett, moved to L.A. in 2018, they wanted to find other gay friends in their area, but the bar scene proved overwhelming. Therefore, they decided to make their own scene. They created a post on Meetup for a “GAYme night.”

The idea was they would invite 10 random strangers to their home and get to know them over board games and finger food. They pushed the event out to other subgroups on the platform and got 10 people together. (Moreno vetted the attendees beforehand by checking out their social media profiles.)

At that first gathering, the group sat on couches or the floor, ate barbecue meatballs and played Cards Against Humanity and Exploding Kittens.

“We just hung out and ate and chatted,” Moreno says. “It was a little awkward at first, but the board games helped break the ice.”

Through the meetup, Moreno and Harnett met a gay couple with whom they still regularly get dinner.

Moreno and his husband recently moved to a new house, which “isn’t quite group-ready yet.” But when it is, they’re excited to revive their GAYme nights.

Instagram: @morejav

SOFIA BORGES, Highland Park, real estate agent and entrepreneur

Sofia Borges, 37, never considered herself a car person, but that was before she understood the power of her husband’s olive green 1970 Dodge Challenger.

“It’s a people’s car,” Borges says. “People want to talk about it. If my husband ever leaves it uncovered in the driveway, there will be a love note on it the next day.”

In the wake of the pandemic, when Borges’ social life was feeling particularly stagnant, she decided to take advantage of the people magnet parked outside and converted it into a roaming floral pop-up shop called the Flower Thing. She filled the car with tasteful arrangements and set up shop in Highland Park. And it worked.

“The people came,” Borges says. “It became a sort of local happening.”

Borges has befriended a handful of her local clients. The decorated car attracts people with a vibrant aesthetic similar to hers, which leads to easy conversation.

“I guess I’ve gotten more into cars since I started the Flower Thing,” Borges says. “But I’m definitely more into the car people.”

Instagram: @hulahoophouse