By Truly Toronto

I’ve always thought that life is an adventure, so when SDTC asked me to try a speed dating event, I thought it sounded like fun and went for it. Did I meet the man of my dreams? No, but speed dating has experienced a refreshing change for the better with FastLife.

Upon arrival my friend and I encountered a film crew. Huh. Apparently the event was being filmed for a reality series called Love Inc., based on the lives of the hosts, founders and married couple Justin and Annabelle.

Okay, I said life was an adventure, didn’t I? Some of the FastLife events are filmed for this reality show and some aren’t—if you’ve wanted to try your luck being on reality TV, check out the FastLife site and get to one of these events for free.

The event itself was held at the Bartender Training Institute, with 10 individual bar stations where the girls were placed and the guys rotated around. We took turns making drinks and playing bartender. There was a definite bar fly quality to the crowd, more the clubbing types than the anti-social IT and engineering nerds one worries will be at a speed dating event. In the words of the hosts, “We aren’t here to marry people, we just want everyone to have a good time”.

It was a good time-even if there weren’t any romantic connections for me. It was like being at a bar but removing all the people not there to pick up. Conversations were naturally limited as the activity of making the drinks took up most of the time and attention from the actual “date”, although I managed to have one real conversation with someone about authors. He was, consequently, the only guy I checked off “yes” to on my dating card. Not that we’ve contacted each other since the event.

If you’re looking for an alternative way to meet some attractive single people, FastLife makes speed dating fun, boozy and light-hearted. Or if you just want a warm up to a night out, FastLife provides an exclusive, invitation-only venue and activity to connect singles. There’s as much chance of meeting someone there as any other method, so I wouldn’t go there expecting anything more than a fun few hours, and perhaps a hook up. I’m pretty sure a group of the daters from our event did head out to a bar together afterward, so I bet there were some love connections—if even just for the evening.

To register for FastLife’s Cocktail Creation event or other speed-dating events with FastLife, visit their website at FastLife.ca.