Ep. 102: Special Community Episode! Featuring feelings and memories from across the Boys Club World

[00:00] This is Boys Club fan mail from Nicole in Boston. My favorite Boys Club moment is every week listening to a new pod episode. The draft tweets, the feelings check-ins, Natasha and Dina, you make us feel less alone, less confused, and give us the context, the confidence, the inspiration, the energy to keep on building together. Boys Club, we love you. Thank you. [00:24] Welcome to the Feelings Check-in, a feelings first look at the news of the week. [00:30] topics everyone's talking about. I'm Natasha Hoskins. I'm Dina Burke. And this is Boys Club. Wait, is it just Boys Club? It's just Boys Club. The Boys Club podcast? No. No. [00:42] Just boy stuff. [00:43] Hi. Hi. How's it going? Good. I feel like it's been a while since we've done this for some reason. You've been on your courthouse beat. Okay. [00:51] courthouse beat and then we did the blake episode which just felt like hanging out with blake didn't really feel like filming yeah we haven't done a podcast in a while a normal podcast it's nice to be back [01:03] This is also not going to be a normal podcast. We're doing something fun for our 102nd episode. Ish. Ish, maybe. Who's to say? We have something special for you all, which is... [01:17] Our community, you all, listeners, friends, Boys Club members have sent in... [01:23] little treats, little audio treats about what they love about Boys Club, what Boys Club means to them, fun Boys Club memories. And it is...

[01:33] A heartwarming time. Chills. Chills. I got chills listening to them. Me too. They're so sweet. I will say, if you're a new listener, and this is your first episode, and you have no idea what Boys Club is, and maybe you just stumbled upon this on... [01:51] Spotify, I don't know how you may have discovered this, but [01:55] Probably not the best episode to start with. Yeah, I would say this is pretty inside baseball. I will say if you're just like looking for a hug, an audio hug, and you just need to tune into that, this would be the episode for you. If you're looking to celebrate Thanksgiving early. [02:13] and just practice some gratitude. [02:16] This is also a way... We should have kept this for the Thanksgiving week. We are clowns. We cannot get it together on this. Okay. Yeah, it is a gratitude. I feel gratitude. I think there's a lot of people who send in voice memos that feel gratitude and... [02:30] And it's really beautiful. So this is what is going to happen. We're going to listen to one or two. And then you and I are going to share some feelings. And then we're going to listen to some more voice memos from the community. Oh, also... [02:44] I read somewhere that 75% of people who listen to your podcast do not subscribe to your podcast, which is upsetting because subscribers are very important for this podcast. So if you listen, if you enjoy it, if you like it, [03:02] Just hit that...

[03:03] Hit that follow. Hit that subscribe. Wow, she came in with a stat. She came in with some hard numbers. A stat. I heard a stat. [03:09] I actually heard it. I didn't read it, to be honest. No worries. That's fine. TBH. So please do that. It means a lot. Stick around. [03:39] go to kraken.com backslash boys club, sign up in just a few minutes and see what crypto can be. [03:56] - Okay, here is one of my favorite Boys Club moments, memories. So I'm in my full Boys Club fit. [04:07] travel fit. [04:08] the hoodie and the sweatpants, heading to Austin for, I don't know, one of the several Austin conferences that existed. [04:17] this year and [04:20] I remember telling another Boys Club member that all I wanted was just to [04:26] be recognized. [04:28] in this outfit. [04:30] Granted, I'm in Denver, which is not [04:32] this huge

[04:34] cool city in that for this to happen. [04:37] Anyway, so my flight ends up getting delayed. All flights in Denver are just grounded for like six or seven hours. I go to a bar. [04:45] have a couple cocktails [04:47] Finally, we're boarding and I think it's like 1:00 AM at this point. I am a shell of a human being and I'm standing in [04:58] the [05:01] jetway and right behind me I hear someone quietly say, [05:07] Are you excited for the hoedown? [05:09] and I literally [05:11] found another boy that I've never met before, and my dream came true, and it was a very overwhelming moment. I'm sure I handled it with like zero chill. But now I've hung out with this lovely human several times out about town. [05:27] So, [05:27] That was... [05:29] Just a dream come true. [05:30] These are so fun. I can't tell if they're so fun because my entire personality is a boys club or if the average listener will love it. Who's to say? We're here now, so we might as well just commit to the bit. I guess we're going to talk about some feelings, some personal feelings. And I think one thing that's come up for me in listening to these is they feel like such, and you all are going to hear more... [05:53] coming soon, but they feel like such true expressions of boys club. Like there's fun in there. There's funny moments. There's like, [06:00] meet you at the hoedown. But then there's like, I got my job or I helped somebody get a job or I feel a sense of belonging or I've met my internet friends. And like, there's a real well-rounded,

[06:12] woman that is being represented here. And that feels so true to Boys Club and something that I talk about all the time and something that when I'm talking to people, [06:21] anybody or pitching boys club. That's sort of what I talk about is that there's this really fun, ambitious person that's been attracted to boys club. And I talk about this like persona of who she is. And then to see that really represented here. [06:36] In the voice moments that came in... [06:38] Just felt like really nice validation of that. Yeah, I agree. I saw, shout out to Ted on TikTok. She's got a great TikTok channel there. And she, I don't know, coined the term, the in-between woman who... [06:53] where there's like two poles of... [06:55] of a woman that you could maybe be in the world. Of course, this is super broad strokes, like whatever, take it for what it is. But on one side, you have [07:04] like hot mass woman. [07:06] that is partying a mess. [07:09] that type of persona and then on the other side of the spectrum you have the [07:15] Girlboss. [07:16] Blowouts and Blazers. Blowouts and Blazers and that type of woman. [07:21] And I think what Boys Club has been effective at is, [07:26] Speaking to and... [07:28] And what the community is really defined by is this idea of like the in-between woman who is [07:34] is really ambitious and who wants to do really excellent work and who has big [07:41] ideas and dreams for

[07:43] her career or the impact that she wants to make on the world. Maybe it's not career, but it's impact oriented. And she's serious about that and in pursuit of that, but not at the expense of having a good time. [07:54] And I think that is, I like we, I think that that's how we identify. I think that that's how we've defined the voice around Boys Club. But it's really nice. And it's really gratifying to hear it reflected back in these voice memos where you hear that balance come through really naturally without being forced, where it's like, I'm going to go and party at the hoedown. But I'm also going to get up at seven in the morning and make my meeting that [08:20] is really important to me. And so that's there and it's really fun. It's really fun. I totally agree. And I think the other part of it that's really nice is, so there's the community side of Boys Club and then the media side of Boys Club. And those two things are sort of concentric circles where there's so much overlap and one wouldn't exist without the other and they're married. And that's what makes Boys Club really special. As two people who are, [08:48] are building the media company and something that [08:51] is much more fragile than the community because it's newer and it's business and there's all these things about it. And it's a startup. It's, [08:59] What we're thinking about every day is how the media business works. [09:03] grows, how we sustain it, how we make it less fragile, how we make it the foundation of it just really strong so that we can do all these other things that we really want to do. And I spend all my days thinking about that and working on that. And I'm,

[09:18] It's really nice to have a moment where I'm listening to all these people. And if voice club was just what it is today, if we closed up shop and said like, good job, we did it. [09:31] it would still mean a lot in the world and it would still be really meaningful to people and have brought something special into the world. And, [09:40] it's just a really good reminder of that. And I feel like, [09:44] When I'm thinking about podcast growth and newsletter subscribers and getting speakers for brand new and doing all these things that feel like, wow, this is like... [09:53] hard and it's we have so much more work to do to get to the place that i think we want to be [09:59] Totally. And confronted with that. [10:02] Every day and love doing that work. It's not like I don't want to be doing that work, but it's really present and it's really easy in that moment. [10:10] when you're [10:11] sending out pitches and, and pushing on the boundary of what boys club is and trying to get it to another place to, you know, [10:18] forget what's here and to forget that there's something that already exists that's really special and [10:26] That means something to people. And... [10:28] That is a really nice feeling. It's a really, really nice feeling to be reminded of that. Yeah. [10:34] *sigh* [10:35] I have another feeling. [10:36] But it's a full pivot. [10:39] Oh, let's pivot. Let's go. But I don't know. Maybe we don't want to talk about this. No, I think so. [10:43] I mean, I have no idea, but... You're like, I'm in for whatever, wherever we're going. Wherever we're going, I'm here. I'm there. You mentioned Brand New. We have not yet talked about Brand New on this podcast. Yeah, we're excellent marketers.

[10:58] Okay, let me explain Brand New. We're so excited about it. We're thinking about it all the time. Basically, Brand New is our one-day summit that is alongside South by Southwest in March in Austin. [11:11] So you may be thinking to yourself, I have been to Austin already so many times this past year. Guess why are these ladies absolutely obsessed with Austin? We're not. We aren't. But guess what? You're coming again. You're getting on a plane to Austin, Texas one more time. Get your cowboy boots locked and loaded. It's time to LFG. [11:41] This technology that we all know and sometimes love called cryptocurrency. Crypto technology. And Web3. It's anti-currency. It's not currency. [11:52] Web3. It's the new internet. It's digital culture. The consumer internet and... [11:58] All of these emerging technologies that we see in crypto, certainly, definitely Web3, a little hints of AI that is defining this moment that we're in right now. And we're all designing this new era of the Internet together. And, you know, we've always had a thesis at Voice Club that we have a real opportunity to create a new Internet with a new set of values at the helm with all the tools that we have now. And we want to get a bunch of smart people in the room together talking about that. [12:28] We have gone to every single crypto conference that has ever existed in the past two years. We've gone to all of them and they're all so fun and so great and really catered to a conversation that is by developers and for developers to talk about the infrastructure, to talk about builders and building and layer ones and layer twos. And that's totally appropriate and needs to happen.

[12:58] of crypto and web three that is underserved and that we feel a call to shepherd. And we have chosen the very hard path to do that at a place that is not crypto native in going to South by Southwest to do this work. But it feels like if we were to just have this summit alongside ECC or at ConsenSys or at some other crypto conference, we'd just be talking to ourselves. And we're not [13:28] So here's the vision of Brand New. It's 250 people, invite or application only. And we're going to have half the room be the best thinkers, builders, marketers, investors who are working in consumer crypto and the new internet. [13:42] coming talking about how they're using this technology to build more interesting products, to have new and novel brands, and to provide some type of new experience for consumers. [13:54] because of this tooling. And then the other half of the room be trad marketers, agency folks, web two brands, heritage brands that are at South by Southwest that are curious and maybe even a little skeptical of what, [14:09] what is possible with this quote unquote new internet we keep talking about and want to, [14:14] share their insights and their priorities and what their business is thinking about and learn and be informed about what's happening in [14:22] at the very edges of what's possible. That's the vision. [14:26] It's going to be at the proper hotel. It's going to be very chic. It's going to be very boys club. So we're thinking about every little detail. I spent about three and a half hours on Pinterest looking at

[14:35] lanyard alternatives the other day. So you can expect that we're in the weeds on the details. And we're really excited about it. So that's coming. Applications will be opening at the end of this month. If you're a Voice Club member already, you do not need to apply there. You can skip the line. Members get priority treatment, priority access. There's also going to be a very special discounted, deeply discounted price for Voice Club members. So you both get to skip the [15:05] you will have to apply. [15:06] to come and join us. And that's really not for us to be weird gatekeeper-y exclusive types. It's because we have limited space. [15:15] So we really want to make sure that the people that are coming... [15:19] our intention [15:21] aligned and that we're able to balance the room with the right group of folks. So you had a feeling about brand new? Yeah, the feeling that I had about brand new. I was listening to the Hard Fork podcast this morning on my run. And if you are familiar with the Hard Fork podcast, you know that these are two very traditional tech companies. [15:39] journalists who [15:42] talk about tech news, big tech news, I'd say a lot of the conversation is [15:47] recently has been unsurprisingly about AI and the, [15:51] One of the dudes hates, I mean, I think they both hate crypto at this point, but one of the dudes, Casey Newton, really hates crypto. And as I was just on my run just now, they were talking about ApeFest story. [16:04] and just ragging just it was an opportunity for them to do their favorite thing in the world which is to rag on crypto

[16:10] Like just lean right in to how bad it is and how scammy it is and how all the people in crypto and painting it with a huge... [16:21] like single brush that everyone in crypto is just, [16:25] money hungry and scammy and it's all a big joke basically and [16:30] It's hard to listen to. It's really hard to listen to because I respect those dudes and I respect their podcast. And I think that it does so much good work to make the tech industry generally really accessible. And they do a really good job. [16:40] Good job at that. But it's so hard to listen to them continue to be so wrong about the intentions of so many people that I know and that we work with in crypto. And I think part of why... [16:53] that is happening is because they're covering the worst stories that are coming out of crypto. They're covering ApeFest, they're covering SPF, like those were the two things that they pulled into their argument about why crypto sucks so much and why the whole industry is a joke. And I guess [17:12] on one hand was like really upsetting and disappointing to hear and to listen to and was like this sucks so much and on the flip side of that i'm like that's why i'm so excited about brand new is because i think that it's our opportunity to show a different face of crypto that [17:30] is [17:31] not this weird money hungry scammy thing but it's actually deeply creative the people are very well intentioned and are trying to build an internet that's more equitable and just and creative and ownable and all of these things that i know that we're all and probably listeners are really excited about and that side of crypto has not been shown to web to or to quote unquote trad like journalists or

[17:58] brands as much as the bad stories have been getting coverage. And so I think that that's why I really want to brand new. I'm really bullish about it is because I think that there's an opportunity right now to confront and to say, hey, we have gotten a lot of things wrong. [18:16] And to take stock of like what... [18:19] we've gotten wrong and what has gone wrong and to say and despite all that we're still have a lot of conviction because of the the builders that are in the room so that's a rant but that's how i'm feeling breach breach oh i really love that i would love to have the hard fork guys on [18:37] And be like, let's hash it out. Let's hash it out. Let's hash it out. Yeah, I totally agree. I'm really excited about it. I'm thinking about it. [18:44] Every single day. So if there are people that you all want to hear from, [18:51] And we're... [18:52] Blue sky. Big. Think big. [18:55] that you want to hear from, send us a DM and tell us who you think would be interesting. And we would love to hear from you on what you want to know and who you think [19:05] needs to be there. Applications and tickets for members will be going in line at the end of this month. And more information as well on initial speakers and partners who are working with us on it. And we're really excited. So we're going to listen to a few more voice memos. Hopefully it's just brightens your day as much as it did mine. [19:24] It really... [19:25] warmed my heart in a way I truly can't express. Me too. I feel like I can't find the right words for it. But I just want to say thank you, first of all, to everyone who sent a divorce memo. So,

[19:35] I love you. [20:05] Crypto trading involves risk of loss. Cryptocurrency services are provided to U.S. and U.S. territory customers by Payward Ventures, Inc. PVI, DBA, Kraken. [20:17] Hi, this is Riley from North Carolina. And though I haven't been able to attend any Boys Club events this year, I found a home in the Discord where I was able to meet incredible partners like Evan from Disco and Misha from MailChain. [20:35] who have truly enriched my experience this year. So thank you, Boys Club, and thank you to the Discord. [20:44] Long time listener, first time caller. This is Rachel, lololol, calling from New York. Boys Club memories, so many. I think a really special one was in February of 2022, we had that... [20:58] I think it was the first sponsored event boys club had had at the Georgia room. Then morning after everyone came over to my apartment and we just sat on the floor and we ate fringles and,

[21:07] We were debriefing the night. And I think we just had this moment where, like, should we quit our jobs? Like... [21:13] should we just go for this? And... [21:15] I did end up quitting my job, I think, like, I don't know, maybe a couple weeks later, and I started working in Web3. [21:22] Yeah, it was just like, it just felt like such a special moment in time. And [21:26] It felt like there's just so much energy, so much momentum, and so much excitement about Boys Club. [21:31] And at that party, it just felt like, [21:34] the first time [21:35] We're all looking at each other being like, wait, we have found like the cool people in crypto. We have found people like us. [21:41] And like, this is going to, this is going to be something, this is going to go somewhere. [21:45] And yeah, the momentum has never really stopped, but I just feel like that's just been like a common thread. [21:50] for everyone who's been in Boys Club, it's been like, I've found my people. [21:53] I found in this industry that is so weird, [21:57] We have found [21:58] each other. [22:00] And I love it. Anyway, love you. Bye. [22:03] I love the Boys Club community because it has reminded me that showing up as [22:08] myself is the best I can do for the world. I feel like everybody operates in such who they are and their strengths and that's really celebrated and I feel like it's made me have this renewed... [22:20] like hope in that if we gather around [22:23] one another and uplift one another. [22:25] Truly anything is possible. And I love the pod. All of the versions. [22:30] My name is Kelly Greer. I have a ton of fond memories at Boys Club and one that sticks out is connecting with a UCLA student in the Discord. Shout out Sarah.

[22:42] We chatted on the phone about her career aspirations and goals and [22:48] She recently landed her first internship at a CryptoVC, and I'm super pumped for her and love being a part of a community that supports each other. [22:58] My name is Parker and one of my favorite Boys Club memories was at ECC in Paris. [23:08] at the Anon Ball. [23:10] where there was a... [23:12] based science [23:13] smoking room. And me, Dina, Natasha, and Kelly Greer, [23:19] taught a developer [23:21] how to smoke a cigarette, as well as how to make a banger tweet. [23:30] And that was a very special moment. [23:33] Hey guys, it's Mish. [23:35] And I'm from Detroit. [23:37] And I'm here to talk about my favorite Boys Club memory. [23:41] it was super hard to narrow down on [23:45] a significant memory from VoiceGlog. [23:47] So many and I love the community, I love everyone. It's literally the sisterhood that I've never had. [23:55] I can just go on and on. [23:57] Oh, gosh. OK, so narrowing down on one memory, [24:01] I would say that through Boys Club I was able to find my [24:05] very, very, very first Web3 job. And shout out to Sam Flanagan. [24:11] for [24:12] introduce me to Goddaller which is where I'm currently working

[24:17] And yeah, it's my first WHIP3 job and I'm super excited and [24:22] I just... [24:23] I'm so thankful. [24:24] Honestly, like I'm so-- [24:25] So thankful. [24:28] I... [24:29] I love everyone, I love the community. [24:31] And I don't know, my storytelling right now is [24:36] Not the greatest. [24:37] but-- [24:37] I gotta say that through Boys Club I [24:40] Not only have I met like-- [24:42] literally lifelong friends and people I talk to every single day and some of like the [24:47] deepest connections that I've [24:50] I've ever had. [24:52] Actually... [24:53] um... [24:53] Well, [24:55] It's getting really deep. [24:56] Um... [24:57] But yeah. [24:58] Bye. [24:59] My first foot three job is through Boys Club and I'm super thankful and I hope this [25:04] recording works. This is my 53rd recording. [25:09] This is [25:10] KS from Brooklyn. [25:13] And I really love Boys Club. [25:16] It's about 100 times cooler than me, but still welcomes me in. [25:21] 100% every time. [25:24] Keeps me up on things I don't run into on my day-to-day and the podcast is amazing. [25:29] Just... [25:29] the right sweet little treat. [25:32] - Okay. [25:32] to keep me in the loop, lighten up my day, and make me laugh on my commute home. And my dream is actually to one day be on the pod, be a guest. And this is a literal dream that I've had. [25:44] while I've slept at night. [25:46] I'm not sure.

[25:47] And while I haven't been brave enough to make a career change yet, I know that the boys will be... [25:53] welcoming me with open arms when I'm ready. [25:56] So, bad day is coming. [25:58] Love you, Boys Club. [26:00] Hi everyone, it's Layla and my story is about how I got to go to the Taylor Swift Arrows Tour because of Boys Club. So last year after East Denver 2023, I was chatting in the Denver channel and I instantly vibed with this girl named Jill. We DM'd and planned to meet for brunch. The rest is history. We had such an instant connection and I don't think we would have otherwise met if not for Boys Club. [26:30] for the upcoming concert that summer, and it just so happened to be on my actual birthday. She offered it to me, and I had one of my best birthdays ever that July 15th. [26:41] So thanks, Boys Club. Then we both ended up working on Boys Club DAO together, and it was so fun because we were in the same city. Also, because of the DAO, I met Mish, and the three of us have become fast friends. We roomed together at Permissionless and had so much fun. Honestly, just so grateful for everyone I've met because of this community. Too many names to shout out, but you know who you are. Dina and Natasha, so grateful for you and how you show up for us every day, [27:11] to the amazing babes I've worked with in the Dow. Also, skincare channel besties, I love you.

[27:19] Hey, it's Liv, or Livester, as I'm known in Discord, and here are some ways that Boys Club has changed my life for the better. [27:27] So first and foremost, I met one of my closest friends. [27:31] Nicole Tremaglio through Boys Club in the Discord. [27:35] We just randomly set up a video call and ended up talking for hours and then have been friends ever since. And we hang out in... [27:43] IRL because we live close to each other. And it's been truly a gift. [27:49] to... [27:51] grow and succeed and support each other in this industry [27:55] I can't even describe how important that is to me. [27:59] And the next one is... [28:02] listening to the podcast episode with Leighton, and as a result, [28:07] checking out Pool Together. [28:09] Pulled Together has... [28:10] been like, [28:12] become like a family to me. They've embraced me so much and working and contributing to their DAO has been [28:19] So I'm so glad that that happened. And... [28:23] Finally, finding out that Joe Lubin is a diehard boys club stan at a consensus work meeting. And that was life changing because I realized that this thing that I've [28:37] Been in for... [28:40] you know, a while now. Um, [28:42] - Thank you. [28:43] has had such an impact that like the most... [28:48] You know, like literally the founders of Ethereum are like aware and –

[28:53] supporting us and rooting us on and that [28:56] is pretty incredible. [28:57] Um... [28:59] it kind of like [29:01] hit me how [29:02] important. [29:03] what we're doing is. So yeah, that's some ways that Boys Club has changed my life. [29:09] and I think you've changed a lot of lives. So thank you. [29:13] There it is. That's Boys Club. We have two podcasts, two online, where we talk about internet culture and this podcast where we report on some Web3 or emerging tech story and then talk about our feelings, the feelings check-in. So thank you for listening. Please like, subscribe, share, send to your friends. Anything else? That's it. Thank you so much.