Picture this: a cozy living room in the heart of Los Angeles, the kind with mismatched throw pillows, fairy lights strung haphazardly across the mantel, and the faint aroma of takeout Thai lingering in the air. It’s the night before a best friend’s birthday, and a group of twenty-something adventurers—friends who’ve weathered bad breakups, cross-country moves, and one too many tequila-fueled karaoke nights—are huddled around a laptop, scrolling through Yelp reviews and half-baked ideas. “Balloons? Boring. Escape room? Been there. What if… we went full freak-out?” one of them quips, eyes lighting up with mischief. The cursor hovers over “Bug Educator for Hire.” Laughter erupts, but it’s that giddy, half-serious kind—the spark that turns a casual hangout into the stuff of legends. Fast-forward 24 hours, and that impulsive click has exploded into a viral phenomenon: videos of screaming guests clutching tarantulas, a scorpion glowing like a bioluminescent party favor, and a room full of grown adults reverting to childhood chaos, racking up over 1.2 million views across TikTok and Instagram. Welcome to the unforgettable birthday bash for Maylee Todd—a bug extravaganza so wildly unexpected, it’s got the internet buzzing louder than the cockroaches on the coffee table.

At the epicenter of this six-legged spectacle is Brianna Sedor, the 28-year-old event planner extraordinaire whose knack for “spicing up” celebrations has made her the unofficial ringleader of her tight-knit circle. With a day job curating experiential events for a boutique LA marketing firm, Sedor knows a thing or two about crafting memories that stick—like the time she organized a “haunted hike” for a Halloween party that left half the group swearing off trails forever. But for Maylee Todd’s 29th birthday on a balmy Saturday in September 2025, Sedor wanted something truly out there. “Maylee’s always been the adventurous one,” Sedor tells People exclusively from her Echo Park apartment, where remnants of the party—a stray millipede fact sheet pinned to the fridge—still linger like a badge of honor. “She’s got this massive tattoo of a monarch butterfly on her back because she says life’s too short for safe choices. We joked about hiring a magician or a petting zoo, but then I remembered her obsession with Planet Earth marathons. Bugs? Perfect. Unforgettable. And a little terrifying.”

The idea crystallized over a group chat that pinged like a slot machine at 2 a.m. one Friday: “Bug guy for Maylee’s bday? Who’s in?” Responses flooded in—emojis of screaming faces, praying hands, and cockroaches—with Sedor’s crew of eight (a mix of graphic designers, baristas, and one aspiring entomologist) all aboard. Budget? A modest $400, scraped from Venmo pots and a “bug tax” on the birthday fund. The hunt led them to Sean Roach—yes, that’s his legal name, a fortuitous coincidence that had Sedor cackling—”The Bug Man,” as he’s known in LA’s quirky event circuit. A 42-year-old former high school biology teacher turned full-time invertebrate evangelist, Roach runs “Creepy Crawlies Unlimited,” a mobile menagerie that’s crashed weddings, corporate retreats, and even a vegan potluck (with vegan-approved crickets, naturally). “I’ve seen it all—CEOs squealing at scorpions, kids naming tarantulas after their exes,” Roach laughs during a phone call from his Pasadena base, his voice carrying the easy cadence of a man who’s made peace with being the party pooper’s nightmare. “Maylee’s group? They were gold—equal parts brave and bonkers.”

The party kicked off at 7 p.m. in Todd’s airy Silver Lake bungalow, a boho haven of macramé wall hangings and thrifted velvet sofas that screamed “creative chaos.” Guests—about 15 strong, a mix of Todd’s podcast co-hosts from her true-crime show Whispers in the Dark and old college flames turned platonic allies—arrived bearing bottles of rosé and “survival kits” (wet wipes, hand sanitizer, and a single rubber glove for the faint of heart). Todd, the birthday girl, breezed in at 7:30, oblivious to the setup, her curly auburn hair tied in a messy bun, dressed in a flowy white sundress that fluttered like butterfly wings. “I thought it was a wine and paint night—maybe a charcuterie board surprise,” Todd confesses with a grin during an exclusive Zoom chat, her living room still dotted with party remnants: a half-eaten charcuterie board (the bugs took precedence) and a cluster of empty wine glasses. “When Sean rolled in with that massive cooler and said, ‘Who’s ready to meet my eight-legged friends?’ I nearly choked on my prosecco.”

Roach wasted no time transforming the living room into a temporary terrarium. Out came the stars of the show: a rainbow of Madagascar hissing cockroaches (Gromphadorhina portentosa), glossy as polished mahogany and twice as bold; a Chilean rose tarantula named Rosie, her fuzzy legs splayed like a velvet crown; a giant African millipede, undulating like a living braid; and the pièce de résistance, a glowing emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator), its exoskeleton fluorescing under a blacklight Roach unpacked from his toolkit. “I start with education—folks freak less when they know the facts,” Roach explains, his enthusiasm infectious even over the phone. “Cockroaches? They’re survivors—can live a week without their head. Tarantulas? Gentler than your tabby cat. And the scorpion? Venom’s milder than a bee sting.” He cracked jokes to ease the tension—”Why don’t tarantulas play hide-and-seek? Because good luck hiding eight legs!”—but the real magic was in the interaction: guests encouraged to touch, hold, and yes, let the critters crawl.

Ka5sh—real name Kashif Khan, a 29-year-old graphic designer and amateur videographer who moonlights as a TikTok creator with 250,000 followers (@ka5shvibes)—was the unofficial documentarian, his iPhone 16 Pro capturing the pandemonium in 4K glory. “I came for the cake, stayed for the chaos,” Khan tells People from his Culver City studio, where he’s editing a “bug party extended cut” for his channel. The first video? A slow-mo of the tarantula’s debut: Rosie perched on Sedor’s palm, her barbed legs tickling like a feather duster, Sedor’s eyes wide as saucers while the room erupts in “Ewww!” and “Go Bri!” Khan’s lens caught the spectrum: the bravehearts like podcast producer Alex Rivera, who let a hissing cockroach named Clyde scuttle up his arm (“Feels like a tiny vacuum cleaner—kinda therapeutic!”), and the squealers, including Todd’s cousin Mia, who bolted to the kitchen island, shrieking, “It’s staring at my soul!” The scorpion moment? Peak hilarity: Roach dimmed the lights, flicked on the blacklight, and placed the glowing arachnid on his cheek, its blue-green fluorescence making him look like a bioluminescent alien. “Eyes closed, everyone—surprise!” he boomed, revealing the “mouth scorpion” gag (a harmless prop). Khan’s clip exploded—440,000 views in 24 hours, comments flooding: “I’d die, but this is iconic 😂” from 12K users.

Todd’s reaction was pure gold—shock melting into delight as Roach handed her a millipede, its 200 legs waving like a feathery fan. “Maylee’s our wild card—she once skinny-dipped in the LA River on a dare,” Sedor laughs. “But bugs? She lit up like a kid at Christmas. ‘This one’s my spirit animal!’ she yelled, parading the cockroach like a scepter.” The party’s peak? The “spit bug” finale: a vinegaroon (mastigoproctus giganteus), a scorpion cousin that sprays acetic acid from its tail like a defensive squirt gun. Roach demonstrated on a volunteer (Khan, ever the trooper), the acrid mist eliciting howls and high-fives. “It smelled like vinegar salad dressing—wild!” Khan recalls, his video hitting 300,000 views with Yung Gravy’s comment: “I know yall made his year 😂”—a nod from the rapper whose quirky collabs (with Barstool Sports) make him the internet’s oddball king.

The videos’ viral ascent was meteoric. Khan posted the first Reel at 11:47 p.m. on September 7, 2025—”Bug party surprise gone WILD! Who else would hire this guy? #BirthdayBugs #Maylee29″—and watched the likes climb: 10K by midnight, 100K by dawn, 440K by evening. TikTok’s algorithm—ever the chaos curator—pushed it to For You pages, stitching it into “unexpected party fails” trends and “adulting horror stories.” Comments poured in like confetti: “Jealous AF—my bday’s a Netflix binge 😩” (45K likes); “The scorpion mouth trick? Genius or psycho? 👀” (32K). Yung Gravy’s shoutout at 2:15 p.m. (“I know yall made his year 😂”) turbocharged it to 1 million views, his 4 million followers flooding with “Gravy-approved chaos!” Roach, aka Sean Roach (the name’s a running gag—”Mom should’ve known I’d end up with bugs”), reposted with “Best party ever—thanks for the love! Book me for yours? 🦂.” His bookings spiked 300% overnight, from kids’ parties to corporate icebreakers.

What makes this bug bonanza resonate? It’s the unfiltered joy in an era of curated perfection. Sedor’s crew—diverse in age (24 to 32) and vibe (from yoga instructors to tech bros)—embraced the weird, turning fear into fun. “We screamed, we laughed, we bonded over ‘eww’ moments,” Todd says, her post-party glow evident in a follow-up TikTok where she “adopts” a (fake) pet roach named Reggie. The theme taps into a growing “novelty experience” trend: Gallup’s 2025 report shows 68% of millennials crave “memorable messes” over Instagram-ready elegance, with bug parties up 40% since 2023. Roach attributes it to “reclaiming curiosity—bugs aren’t monsters; they’re miracles.” His arsenal? 50 species, from leaf insects mimicking foliage to stick bugs longer than your arm, each with a “fun fact” to disarm dread.

Behind the hilarity, deeper threads weave: friendship’s fierce loyalty. Sedor planned it solo, scouting Roach via a Google “LA bug guy” search that yielded his site (creepycrawliesunlimited.com, 5-star Yelp with “Transformed my kid’s phobia into fascination!”). The $400 covered travel, critters, and “spit insurance” (joking, but his liability waiver is ironclad). Todd’s surprise? Priceless: “I hugged Brianna so hard she popped a seam—best gift ever.” The group’s dynamic—Sedor the planner, Ka5sh the chronicler, Alex the adventurer—mirrors millennial squads everywhere, turning “adulting” into audacious escapades. “We’re not just friends; we’re family that chooses the freak flag,” Sedor says.

Viral ripple? Transformative. Ka5sh’s account surged to 300K followers, landing collabs with BuzzFeed (“Top 10 Bug Party Hacks”) and a Roach cameo on his next vid. Yung Gravy’s nod? A DM chain: “Booked the bug man for my Halloween bash—expect chaos!” Roach’s calendar? Filled through 2026, with “Maylee Specials”—scorpion mouth props included. Todd? Her podcast episode “Bugs, Birthdays, and Badassery” hit 50K downloads, guests sharing “wild party tales.” The story’s heart? Healing through hilarity: one commenter, a phobia survivor, wrote, “This made me touch a spider today—thank you, Maylee’s crew.”

As the neon sign from Lily’s Country Thunder moment (a fan nod) hangs in Todd’s living room—”Unforgettable: The Bug Edition”—one truth endures: In a world of filtered feeds, raw, ridiculous joy wins. Sedor’s crew didn’t just throw a party; they unleashed a phenomenon, proving that sometimes, the best surprises crawl right in. Who’s next for the bug bash? Your move, readers—dare to let the creepy-crawlies crash your next soiree?