This is an opinion editorial by Captain Sidd, a finance writer and explorer of Bitcoin culture.
I want to tell you about a personal transformation that I underwent last year while I crossed the U.S., visiting over 30 Bitcoin meetups around the country. In a little over three months, I covered 11,000 miles of country road on my Harley Davidson and was fortunate to shake thousands of hands.
What I called the “Bitcoin Tour” started with an idea: a great American road trip to see and meet the people who exuded hope during a dark chapter of world history. These people are Bitcoiners, congregating in local bars to share a passion and a way of thinking that’s rare in today’s society.
Images throughout provided by the author
However, as I crossed the country, I noticed that Bitcoiners often share much more than an interest in Bitcoin. While their political alignments, backgrounds and careers could not be more diverse, I found a few distinct traits common in almost every Bitcoiner who I shook hands with:
They share a belief in the power of Bitcoin to shape a better world, and feel a strong desire to participate in that transformationThey are willing to pitch in and help without being askedThey are entrepreneurial, they want to provide value to others in any way they canThey are highly trusting of those close, but very skeptical of those far awayThey value personal responsibility — they know nobody will bail them out, so they have to do the hard work themselvesThey embrace freedom and everything that comes with it: uncertainty, risk, responsibility and rewardAnd they love an intriguing rabbit hole; whether it’s nutrition, business, fitness, history or a foreign culture
I discovered that Bitcoiners get along despite their differences. Once you understand something as complex as Bitcoin and agree on how groundbreaking it is, every difference of opinion seems minor by comparison.
After meeting so many Bitcoiners across the U.S., I felt inspired to create experiences for this kind of person. I wanted to build an adventure, tailored to Bitcoiners.
And I knew just where to start. My new home:
Back In The USSR
What made that tour across America so unique for me was that it was my first time setting foot back on American soil since late 2019. I was born and raised in the Midwest and spent many years on the East Coast.
But as I grew up and entered the workforce, I felt stifled. It was hard to put my finger on it then, but I wanted to break out of an American culture that felt confining and an economic system that seemed to suffocate everyone around me.
I wanted freedom.
Freedom from a nine-to-five grind, freedom from small thinking, freedom from the frustration, anger and stress that I saw in people all around me.
In late 2019, I finally took the plunge; I said my goodbyes and boarded a plane. I traveled to the land of smiles: Thailand. And what I found there changed me in ways I could never have imagined before.
I found a warm and perseverant, yet relaxed culture. I found a backcountry to roam, undisturbed. I found the most sovereign people on Earth; some growing their own food, others working online holding multiple residencies.
I found all of this by accident. I followed a yearning for a different life, not a detailed itinerary.
Over four years in this land, I’ve allowed myself to get lost more times than I can count, and those experiences always led to something magical and unexpected. I let the road or a new friend show me what I could never plan for or find on Tripadvisor.
And now that is what I want to do for other Bitcoiners.
I want to take them into the jungle to meet the people and participate in the experiences that changed my life; from riding the twisty roads of Northern Thailand, to training with Muay Thai champions, to learning from the most sovereign people on Earth.
This is not a journey designed for tourists; it is my life. The life that enabled me to travel to 30 Bitcoin meetups by motorcycle and which gave me a sense of freedom and empowerment which I could not fathom developing if I had stayed in my old environment.
Introducing The Ride Of Passage
I took all of the most impactful experiences I’ve had in this wonderful land and strung them across eight days, spent on motorcycles riding the gorgeous landscapes and terraced rice fields of Northern Thailand.
And I am inviting Bitcoiners to join me for that journey: I call it the ride of passage.
Everything planned was chosen with Bitcoiners in mind; not just their interest in Bitcoin, but their interest in sovereignty, truth and the process of discovery, which all of us go through just to understand Bitcoin.
On the road, the goal is for participants to bond with a band of Bitcoiners who are all equally committed to this adventure as they are. Participants will be expected to support each other, learn from each other and build trust and connection that will last far beyond their short time together on the road.
I have planned for them to meet entrepreneurial self-starters who understand sovereignty in practice, not theory, from internet moguls who live a location-independent lifestyle to hill tribes who use the land, the jungle and their wits to evade capture by the state, both physically and mentally.
Participants will test their personal responsibilities and fortitude through the ancient art of Thai boxing, Muay Thai, as well as the trials inherent in any road trip.
And they will have the chance to discover the opening to many rabbit holes present in this distant culture; ones which can make them reflect on what they know about life back home.
My goal is to take their interests in Bitcoin and show them just how far it can take them into adventure and freedom; just as it’s taken me.
I took noted Bitcoiner Texas Slim on just a tiny slice of this experience, and he can’t wait for more. This gives me confidence that other Bitcoiners can benefit from the chance to experience an inspirationally-sovereign culture for themselves.
This is a guest post by Captain Sidd. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
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