It’s a story as old as time. An OC kid grows up living by the beach, learns to surf and comes to love the coastal lifestyle. Then he falls in love, marries and promptly moves to Irvine.
That’s Evan Dorian’s story, more or less. The media professional and pickleball entrepreneur grew up in Newport Beach’s Big Canyon neighborhood and went to high school at Corona del Mar. As a model, surfer and photographer, he enjoyed an enviable lifestyle. Fast-forward a few years, and he lives happily with his wife and young son at Promenade at Irvine Spectrum. He’s also an Irvine true believer. “The live‑work‑play design here has everything we need.”
1. Cafe society
I can meet clients and colleagues of my company, Dorian Media Group, at the office towers and coworking spaces around Spectrum District, but I do most of my work at Promenade Cafe and Market in our apartment community. It’s perfect, with plenty of space and great food. A lot of residents work from there, have meals there and hang out. It’s a spot where you connect with people in the community.
2. Pickleball passion
We love pickleball. We play at Los Olivos Park. It’s super close and has dedicated courts. I’ll play with my wife, Brittany, and our son, Hudson, who is 3, or I have a game with someone waiting. I have a company called Rad Pickleball, selling state-of-the-art paddles and cool clothing. So we are invested in the sport.
3. Trail time
It’s a quick walk from our place to the park. We can also walk on trails around the entire community. The Los Olivos Trail connects to San Diego Creek Trail and makes a cool little loop. It’s a nice walk. You get about 5,000 steps in, and we do that quite a bit. And our trails connect to the entire Irvine bike trail system – even past Laguna Altura to Laguna Wilderness.
4. Spectrum spotlight
We can walk on the San Diego Creek Trail to get to Spectrum Center, or it takes a couple of minutes to drive there. We love Javier’s and go there a lot. Our son loves the Spectrum Carousel, though he’s not ready for the Giant Wheel yet!
5. All access
We spend time at the pool, the gym and all of the other amazing amenities, and we love that we can walk everywhere in the neighborhood. We also love that Promenade offers easy access to everything else in Irvine and OC. Laguna Canyon is just over the ridge, so it’s a quick drive to Anneliese, our son’s preschool, and into Laguna Beach, where Brittany is from. I can go that way to surf at El Moro or Crystal Cove. On the 405,I can get to the beach in Newport in a few minutes. For us, it’s the best of all OC worlds.
