1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,320
Halston Valencia, welcome to the Thank God for Bitcoin podcast.

2
00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:14,800
Thank you. I'm so excited to be here.

3
00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:20,980
So this is this has been somewhat of a long time coming. We you know, it's been a few weeks since we first chatted.

4
00:00:21,660 --> 00:00:25,900
Again, I'll just let people just let you introduce yourself and then we'll kind of go from there.

5
00:00:25,900 --> 00:00:52,500
Yeah, so my name is Halston Valencia. I work in marketing for Adam O'Brien, who is a CEO and founder of the Bitcoin Well. He also co-founded GetBase, which is a medium production company in the Bitcoin space. And yeah, Jordan and I got connected probably about a month ago over Twitter, but I had actually been following this podcast for a little bit by that point. So full circle moment. And yeah, just so excited to be here.

6
00:00:52,500 --> 00:01:16,280
Yeah, that was wild. So you had this tweet thread that went absolutely insane. I just checked the numbers on it. 529,000 impressions. Staggering. So again, that's kind of when I reached out to you and then found out that you were a fan of the podcast. So let's just start there. How in the world did you find the podcast and what was your initial level of interest there?

7
00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:24,000
yeah so the podcast was actually introduced to me by my boyfriend who found the podcast through a

8
00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:29,440
friend who was wearing a thank god for bitcoin t-shirt no way yeah it's crazy story so i guess

9
00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:34,960
he was at the santa monica like bitcoin okay yeah that outdoor event that they do and she met this

10
00:01:34,960 --> 00:01:40,280
guy i think his name is ryan who was wearing no way shout out to ryan let's yeah ryan from newport

11
00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:46,000
which i'm from newport so like small way yeah so ryan i guess was wearing the t-shirt and my

12
00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:50,340
boyfriend went up to him and was like, Hey, I love your t-shirt. And they chatted it up.

13
00:01:50,420 --> 00:01:54,660
So funny. Yeah. Then I, that's how I learned about the podcast, started listening to it. And then

14
00:01:54,660 --> 00:02:00,020
they actually, I think both were at that Saddleback church event. Um, no way. Yeah. Recently. Yeah.

15
00:02:00,460 --> 00:02:05,160
So that's how I heard about it and have been great. Okay. Now again, we're going to get a

16
00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:09,620
little bit personal here. So was your boyfriend a Bitcoin when you guys met or was this like,

17
00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:15,060
did you precede him or did he precede you in Bitcoin? Yeah, no, he, he's been a Bitcoiner,

18
00:02:15,060 --> 00:02:16,060
I think for a while.

19
00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:22,600
I don't know the exact time period, but yeah, he's been into it for a while, and we've been

20
00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:25,060
kind of on this journey together, so it's been great.

21
00:02:25,620 --> 00:02:28,560
Now, we're going to talk about kind of what you're up to now.

22
00:02:28,700 --> 00:02:30,800
Is he still based in California, or is he...

23
00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:31,280
He is.

24
00:02:31,500 --> 00:02:31,840
He is.

25
00:02:31,940 --> 00:02:32,080
Okay.

26
00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:32,840
He's a long distance.

27
00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:38,040
He's back in OC, so we're doing long distance, and it's a little brutal, but actually, I'll

28
00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:40,620
be in California next week, so super sweet to go.

29
00:02:40,780 --> 00:02:40,940
Cool.

30
00:02:40,940 --> 00:02:46,780
My wife and I were long distance for, I mean, well, properly long distance dating for a year.

31
00:02:46,940 --> 00:02:48,560
So we know how that goes.

32
00:02:49,540 --> 00:02:49,880
But okay.

33
00:02:50,020 --> 00:02:53,180
So again, we want to hear, you know, you're here on the podcast.

34
00:02:53,340 --> 00:02:55,420
I want to hear your Jesus pilling moment.

35
00:02:55,580 --> 00:02:57,240
So, you know, you're a believer.

36
00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:00,020
This is just, I was super, you know, surprised and encouraged.

37
00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:03,420
Obviously on this tweet, if you haven't seen it, let me just pull it up here.

38
00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:04,360
I've got it.

39
00:03:05,420 --> 00:03:06,940
Your big viral tweet.

40
00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:07,600
Let's see.

41
00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:10,900
You've got on your, I don't know what the name, what do you call this thing?

42
00:03:10,940 --> 00:03:17,140
that is on your, uh, that you're wearing this red, the sash, the sash. Yeah. You've got this

43
00:03:17,140 --> 00:03:21,820
giant cross on there, which is awesome. Yeah. I know. I love that as he does that, you can kind

44
00:03:21,820 --> 00:03:27,280
of make it super personalized, but that's so cool. My faith is a huge part of who I am and,

45
00:03:27,700 --> 00:03:30,780
you know, I wouldn't be anything without Christ and his redemption. So I thought it was super

46
00:03:30,780 --> 00:03:38,160
important to make that note on my, on my graduation day. But yeah, so I started going to church when

47
00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:44,820
I was four years old. I was raised by a single mother. So my mom kind of was raised like in a

48
00:03:44,820 --> 00:03:51,160
Hispanic household. So very Catholic. Yeah, they went to Catholic church pretty much every week.

49
00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:57,040
And then she, you know, as an adult got older and realized like Catholicism never really

50
00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:02,740
felt right to her. So then she separated from my dad, my parents separated. And she realized when

51
00:04:02,740 --> 00:04:07,820
I was four, like, I can't do this without God. And so she started taking me to church when I was

52
00:04:07,820 --> 00:04:13,420
four. And then I ever since like grew up in church, but you know how it goes. Like I went

53
00:04:13,420 --> 00:04:19,880
to all the Christian camps. I went to Christian schools. Yeah. Yeah. I was super involved and

54
00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:26,400
I kind of just, it became like very repetitive and I just, it didn't feel like it was my own

55
00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:37,420
faith at the time until about probably high school. I realized like I am so lukewarm. I'm not really

56
00:04:37,420 --> 00:04:44,180
bold in my faith. And this all just feels like it's just not my own. It feels like I'm doing

57
00:04:44,180 --> 00:04:47,780
this because this is just how it's always been for my whole life. And I was kind of in this

58
00:04:47,780 --> 00:04:50,840
like Orange County bubble. I don't know if you've, I mean, you've been to Orange County.

59
00:04:50,940 --> 00:04:51,560
Yeah, a little bit.

60
00:04:51,940 --> 00:04:58,640
It's beautiful, but it's such a bubble sometimes. And there's tons of churches. So I realized it

61
00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:02,900
was about my, I want to say either junior or senior year of high school, starting to get pretty rough.

62
00:05:02,900 --> 00:05:05,620
and I was like, I need God.

63
00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:07,560
Like I can't do this anyone without God.

64
00:05:08,140 --> 00:05:10,280
And so I started going to a new church,

65
00:05:10,500 --> 00:05:12,780
started going to a new high school group.

66
00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:16,180
Shout out Compass Valley Church in Aliso.

67
00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,000
Yeah, Pastor Rod, that was his name.

68
00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:22,860
He had such a strong impact in my life

69
00:05:22,860 --> 00:05:26,180
because he was the one that really inspired us

70
00:05:26,180 --> 00:05:29,160
and encouraged us to not just be lukewarm,

71
00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:30,820
but to be on fire for God.

72
00:05:30,820 --> 00:05:36,520
and it was during that time where I started like really taking my faith seriously and kind of like

73
00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:42,520
rededicated my life to God because I had um accepted Christ I think as a kid probably about

74
00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:50,880
five or six but I think it takes living um living a few more years in life to act to really fully

75
00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:56,160
understand it because I think when you're little you just at least for me I just didn't want to go

76
00:05:56,160 --> 00:06:04,760
to hell. And so, yeah, it took some years of struggles and understanding how good God is and

77
00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:12,260
how sinful I was to fully understand the gospel. And so, yeah, I was about, I want to say about 17,

78
00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:18,700
18, when I rededicated my life to God and decided no more of living in this lukewarm environment,

79
00:06:18,860 --> 00:06:25,320
no more of just going through the motions. I want to actually go out and spread the good news. And

80
00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:31,180
yeah, that was kind of my moment. And then I got to college and that was like such a shock in and

81
00:06:31,180 --> 00:06:36,140
of itself because I had gone to a Christian high school, was kind of in this like very sheltered

82
00:06:36,140 --> 00:06:40,640
environment. And then... Wait, are you suggesting that USC is not a sheltered Christian environment?

83
00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:49,040
Yeah, totally. So, you know, then, you know, college brought up upon its own set of challenges.

84
00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:54,520
And I think I really leaned on to God, you know, even more in college than I did in high school.

85
00:06:54,520 --> 00:07:04,880
And, you know, there was temptation everywhere. I mean, it's such a secular environment. And, um, but yeah, that, that was kind of my, my Adam calls it the white pill moment.

86
00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:24,500
Let's go. Um, so what is your, uh, okay. I mean, a little bit. So where, where was your mom? Like, you know, as you're in the later years of high school, I have a very similar story, uh, you know, my faith in high school, but so like, as that's going on, it kind of, where's your mom at? Like, what's, what's, what is she thinking about this? Is she kind of, again, there's a stereotype.

87
00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:29,040
about Latina moms, you know, where like they're kind of, they're kind of all up in your business.

88
00:07:29,180 --> 00:07:33,940
You know, we lived in Uruguay for seven years. Uruguayans aren't your typical Latinas in some,

89
00:07:34,060 --> 00:07:40,560
you know, in that like very expressive, open, louder way. But, you know, what was your mom's

90
00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:44,780
role in all of this? What did she think? No, I think the stereotype is there for a reason,

91
00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:51,500
right? It's very, very real. Yeah, she was adamant about, you know, taking me to church and

92
00:07:51,500 --> 00:07:57,240
ensuring that I was always in a youth group and attending small groups and try, she always

93
00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:02,740
provided to, you know, put me in like a sound Christian school, sound Christian church,

94
00:08:02,740 --> 00:08:06,680
and always paid for me to go to these camps. And so she was really hoping that, you know,

95
00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:10,480
I would have that, that breaking point. And I think she had been praying a lot for me. And

96
00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:14,600
obviously as a single mom, she was working a lot. So there was only so much she could do

97
00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:21,800
to, to raise me well. And I think, um, you know, she was wise in that area and knew that it would

98
00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:25,200
be best to keep me in that Christian environment. And I couldn't be more grateful for that.

99
00:08:25,300 --> 00:08:31,480
But yeah, as, as a Latina mom, she was, she was always a little, a little hard on me, but, um,

100
00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:36,840
you know, and then my dad's Brazilian, his, his whole side of our family. Yeah. So it's just like

101
00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:41,500
chaos sometimes, but love it. Wouldn't trade it for anything else.

102
00:08:41,500 --> 00:08:46,660
man that is a lot of latin passion going on there uh my pastor is brazilian so uh

103
00:08:46,660 --> 00:08:52,260
so do you ever get chased with the chancleta and she ever you know can you imagine

104
00:08:52,260 --> 00:08:57,540
yeah i mean when i was little it was like a joke but like she can like whip it up pretty quickly

105
00:08:57,540 --> 00:09:03,060
like i don't know how like like this woman like never played sports but like when it comes to the

106
00:09:03,060 --> 00:09:10,660
chancla so athletic that is hilarious okay so uh real quick so this is a random question how old

107
00:09:10,660 --> 00:09:15,840
are you? I'm 23. 23. Okay. For some reason, I thought I remembered 19, but again, I was like,

108
00:09:15,900 --> 00:09:20,840
did you graduate early or what? No, 23. Okay. You're good. Okay. So when you're in college,

109
00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:27,180
were there, I know there's some like, there's like Reformed University Fellowship, I think is

110
00:09:27,180 --> 00:09:31,600
like one on-campus ministry that is pretty common within California. Were there other,

111
00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:36,280
like, were there some things on campus that you found, some organizations on campus there at USC

112
00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:40,380
that you found helpful or was it just more getting involved with the local church or something along

113
00:09:40,380 --> 00:09:47,720
those lines? Yeah, there was one ministry that was pretty popular called Crew. Crew, yeah. Yeah,

114
00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:52,840
Crew was pretty popular. I only attended like a handful of crimes, but yeah, I was more so

115
00:09:52,840 --> 00:09:59,020
involved in my local church. And I went to Mariners in Orange County for years and loved it there,

116
00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:03,700
loved that college ministry that they had. I mean, it was pretty big. I want to say like about 100

117
00:10:03,700 --> 00:10:09,940
to 150. And now their entire young adults program has grown probably five times that.

118
00:10:09,940 --> 00:10:17,940
And so I found that getting involved in my local church was far more beneficial for me than attending like the university ones.

119
00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:22,680
I think too, part of that was some of the university ones were like secretly LDS.

120
00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:23,640
Oh, really?

121
00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:27,000
It was like very, very undercover.

122
00:10:27,380 --> 00:10:29,940
Like they didn't have like their-

123
00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:31,460
Little badges and stuff.

124
00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:32,720
Yeah, their badge or outfit.

125
00:10:32,820 --> 00:10:33,760
It was like low key.

126
00:10:34,220 --> 00:10:38,400
And so I didn't realize until like probably the second time that this was like, you know, Church of Latter-day Saints.

127
00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:39,460
It is, man.

128
00:10:39,460 --> 00:10:41,480
It is something that I've noticed this a lot.

129
00:10:41,580 --> 00:10:43,780
I found on, I think it was on Facebook.

130
00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:45,320
My boomerism is showing.

131
00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:50,260
But I was on Facebook and found there's some group that was like doing paid ads.

132
00:10:50,540 --> 00:10:53,040
And it sounds just normal evangelical.

133
00:10:53,620 --> 00:10:56,280
And then you start to just realize like, wait, this sounds weird.

134
00:10:56,380 --> 00:10:59,880
And then just some of the language, you're like, oh, this is a secret little Mormon.

135
00:11:00,100 --> 00:11:02,520
They're like, this is a secret little, they don't want to call themselves Mormons anymore.

136
00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:04,560
But that's totally what this is.

137
00:11:04,900 --> 00:11:06,320
I think I've seen those ads.

138
00:11:06,420 --> 00:11:06,580
Yeah.

139
00:11:07,260 --> 00:11:07,760
So, okay.

140
00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:12,980
So what was, I mean, again, there's, there's a lot that's said, a lot that's been said about

141
00:11:12,980 --> 00:11:14,700
there kind of being like a Gen Z.

142
00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:16,040
Who's younger than Gen Z?

143
00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:17,040
There's another one.

144
00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:17,620
What are they called?

145
00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:18,540
Gen Alpha.

146
00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:19,320
Gen Alpha.

147
00:11:19,420 --> 00:11:19,560
Okay.

148
00:11:19,660 --> 00:11:25,400
So like there's been a lot of discussion I've heard online about there, there being like

149
00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:31,760
a greater receptivity among like Gen Alpha and maybe some Gen Z, like two spiritual things.

150
00:11:31,980 --> 00:11:36,420
We've gone through like a period where we like secularism was rampant and I'm sure,

151
00:11:36,420 --> 00:11:40,660
you know, in, at a public school in California or is USC private? I guess it's private.

152
00:11:40,740 --> 00:11:44,280
Private. Yeah. Private. Yeah. But still in California, I'm imagining you can find any,

153
00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:48,540
any, you know, wild thing under the sun in terms of, uh, things that people were into on campus,

154
00:11:48,540 --> 00:11:52,600
but like, did, you know, I don't know what was kind of, what was kind of your impression

155
00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:57,520
of maybe, you know, what is your impression of your, your generation and, you know, throughout

156
00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:02,540
your time at USC, was it something where you kind of sensed there was like an increasing

157
00:12:02,540 --> 00:12:07,020
spiritual hunger or spiritual, you know, willingness to consider spiritual things? Or

158
00:12:07,020 --> 00:12:13,100
would you say it's still kind of maybe not as much? I think, you know, with schools like USC

159
00:12:13,100 --> 00:12:20,080
and UCLA, all these big schools in California, I would say majority of the student population is

160
00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:25,880
desperate to be on the right side of politics. And when I say right, I mean like the left.

161
00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:31,740
Yeah. The correct or, you know, the cool side of things. Yeah, the correct. Yeah. Not literally,

162
00:12:31,740 --> 00:12:38,940
like Republican, but, um, I think in my experience, I unfortunately didn't really feel like there was

163
00:12:38,940 --> 00:12:47,100
a ton of peers or people in my classes that were, um, believers or, or even really curious. But

164
00:12:47,100 --> 00:12:51,740
I did find that the ones that did make the effort to go to these groups like crew

165
00:12:51,740 --> 00:12:55,280
were super passionate. I mean, they were desperate to just seek Jesus.

166
00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:59,580
So it was kind of just like two opposite ends of the stick. There wasn't really like a

167
00:12:59,580 --> 00:13:06,240
ground. My wife was an English major. And so I don't know if you had any friends who were English

168
00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:12,280
majors, but she was in just very, very dark places, some of these classes and some of the

169
00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:17,320
things that they're talking about. And so again, she saw very clearly, she had some friends who

170
00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:22,860
were Christians and it was kind of like you would either go, you either lean into being a Christian,

171
00:13:23,560 --> 00:13:29,020
endure all the scorn, just stay strong and continue to just basically be unapologetic,

172
00:13:29,020 --> 00:13:34,500
or you would just conform and just fold like a cheap chair and do that.

173
00:13:34,580 --> 00:13:36,120
She just basically kind of experienced both.

174
00:13:36,980 --> 00:13:41,080
But yeah, I can just imagine that being in the fire,

175
00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:47,620
being put into the fire is going to have one of two very different consequences, I guess.

176
00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:54,860
I'm so encouraged to hear that it was more of your local church than it was a college ministry

177
00:13:54,860 --> 00:13:59,860
because it's just such a, again, there's lots of things that can happen in churches and people can

178
00:13:59,860 --> 00:14:05,740
have bad experiences, but when, when church is done well, and when, when you have like solid

179
00:14:05,740 --> 00:14:10,360
people, like there is nothing like it on earth. Like there, there's not any kind of college thing

180
00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:15,060
that can, that can even hold a candle to it in my opinion, just because, you know, so much of,

181
00:14:15,140 --> 00:14:20,500
of, I think a lot of the, so much of the temptation is, you know, among younger people

182
00:14:20,500 --> 00:14:26,180
and even among older people is just to kind of stay with your own, uh, people of your own age

183
00:14:26,180 --> 00:14:32,380
or your own culture, uh, and not have to deal with the difficulties and the, some of the

184
00:14:32,380 --> 00:14:37,140
inconveniences of having a multi-generational church and some of this kind of stuff. And yet

185
00:14:37,140 --> 00:14:43,320
it is such a blessing when you have a church where there is multiple ages represented, multiple

186
00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:51,060
stages of life represented. And I just think for so many people, they just miss out on that. So

187
00:14:51,060 --> 00:14:55,060
again, just to hear that you were in a good church situation, did you have some of that

188
00:14:55,060 --> 00:14:58,660
dynamic within the church, some multi-generationalism or was it?

189
00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:09,661
Definitely Yeah I think my home church was you know Mariner Church if to those watching if you don know it kind of like a more I wouldn say it a mega church but it a pretty big church

190
00:15:09,661 --> 00:15:15,661
I mean, it's pretty well known in Orange County in L.A. And there's, yeah, it's multi-generational.

191
00:15:16,081 --> 00:15:25,661
I think in L.A. that the reason why I didn't really attend church to consistently in L.A. was because most of the churches were like probably 18 to 25.

192
00:15:25,661 --> 00:15:31,841
range. And so it felt like a church that was just made specifically for college students.

193
00:15:32,321 --> 00:15:38,161
And like, I, you know, I enjoyed one or two services, but I really preferred the multi-generational

194
00:15:38,161 --> 00:15:42,581
church that I was attending. And yeah, I think like what you said, like it's, there's something

195
00:15:42,581 --> 00:15:47,501
super valuable and beneficial to having like the older generation kind of mentor, the younger one.

196
00:15:47,501 --> 00:15:53,121
And I think that's really important, especially in the faith. And as we're, you know, young kids

197
00:15:53,121 --> 00:16:00,041
trying to figure it out and grow. I think that's critical. Yeah. Okay. So let's, thank you for

198
00:16:00,041 --> 00:16:04,341
sharing that first of all. But let's hear your, let's hear your, your orange pill moment here.

199
00:16:04,421 --> 00:16:07,121
Like how did this, how did this happen? You mentioned, it might've been before we were on

200
00:16:07,121 --> 00:16:10,621
the call, but you mentioned, you know, that you're, you have a boyfriend who's also into Bitcoin,

201
00:16:10,621 --> 00:16:16,941
but how did you come to, you know, hear about Bitcoin? Yeah. Yeah. So, okay. So let's, let's

202
00:16:16,941 --> 00:16:25,301
run it back. So I was a business economics major in undergrad and my senior year, I had a professor

203
00:16:25,301 --> 00:16:31,081
who recommended the book Broken Money by Lynn Alden. Let's go. Okay. Yeah. But it was, and I

204
00:16:31,081 --> 00:16:38,641
mentioned this on, on, on coin stories, but it was very subtle. There was like some fear behind

205
00:16:38,641 --> 00:16:46,601
like recommending it, which was now looking back to like, yeah. Yeah. Like, like fear as a

206
00:16:46,601 --> 00:16:51,201
professor. He was like, Hey guys, so there's this book. And you just like quickly like went,

207
00:16:51,421 --> 00:16:56,801
like glided right past it, you know, like anyway, like personal ref like recommendation. I think you

208
00:16:56,801 --> 00:17:03,101
guys should read this. And I really respected this man. And so I read it. And I think the first time

209
00:17:03,101 --> 00:17:08,201
I read it, I was like, Whoa, okay, this is kind of interesting. And then it took me reading it,

210
00:17:08,201 --> 00:17:14,441
me reading it a second time for it to really click. Um, but in, you know, during that process,

211
00:17:14,441 --> 00:17:20,181
I kind of forgot about bitcoin and was just like okay you know focus on my studies my senior year

212
00:17:20,181 --> 00:17:25,561
excuse me sorry to interrupt you how long ago was this this this was my senior year

213
00:17:25,561 --> 00:17:32,841
uh last year okay last year yeah yeah because I graduated in 24 I guess this was in the fall

214
00:17:32,841 --> 00:17:37,281
of 23 it was right about it was when the book came out I remember so okay would have been fall

215
00:17:37,281 --> 00:17:43,561
of 23 cool um was when I read it and then kind of forgot about it and then I read it a second time

216
00:17:43,561 --> 00:17:48,601
in 24. And that's when it like really clicked. And I was like, okay, whoa, this is so interesting.

217
00:17:49,101 --> 00:17:54,421
And then, um, yeah, I kind of just got really intrigued, started reading. Um, you know,

218
00:17:54,421 --> 00:17:59,301
like I read Saifedean's books and then found a bunch of podcasts. I found Natalie Brunel,

219
00:17:59,301 --> 00:18:05,941
uh, D'Vac Maller's and, you know, all these big names and just immersed myself into this world.

220
00:18:06,161 --> 00:18:13,101
And then, um, earlier this year in January, uh, I was finishing up my graduate program at USC

221
00:18:13,101 --> 00:18:16,161
and I started simultaneously working full time.

222
00:18:16,681 --> 00:18:19,461
And I was like really feeling the pain

223
00:18:19,461 --> 00:18:21,081
of the broken financial system.

224
00:18:21,741 --> 00:18:23,981
And so, you know, six months into the job,

225
00:18:24,101 --> 00:18:27,301
I made a decision to start looking for a job in this space

226
00:18:27,301 --> 00:18:31,241
and decided I wanted to be a part of the movement

227
00:18:31,241 --> 00:18:34,021
that I think is going to change the world.

228
00:18:34,641 --> 00:18:36,821
And so that, yeah, that was kind of my orange pill story.

229
00:18:36,921 --> 00:18:38,801
So then I resigned from that marketing job

230
00:18:38,801 --> 00:18:41,721
and now working for Adam and Bitcoin Well.

231
00:18:42,141 --> 00:18:42,921
Shout out to Adam.

232
00:18:43,101 --> 00:18:49,581
Shout out to Bitcoin. Well, yeah. Well, cool. Okay. So then you mentioned your boyfriend was,

233
00:18:49,661 --> 00:18:54,181
is also a Bitcoiner. So this was, what was his story? How did he get involved?

234
00:18:55,521 --> 00:19:00,021
That's a good question. His story, I think is kind of similar. I think he kind of

235
00:19:00,021 --> 00:19:05,281
discovered Bitcoin after college. He's a couple, almost two years older than me. So he,

236
00:19:05,281 --> 00:19:12,841
he graduated before I did, but he, I think he had a family member. I believe that was a Bitcoiner.

237
00:19:13,101 --> 00:19:17,201
And then, and you know, if my boyfriend's listening, I hope I'm getting this story right.

238
00:19:17,201 --> 00:19:25,001
But, um, yeah, I think it was a family member that was a bit pointer and then like mentioned it.

239
00:19:25,161 --> 00:19:30,201
Um, our internet connection is kind of poor.

240
00:19:30,301 --> 00:19:30,961
Can you hear me?

241
00:19:32,501 --> 00:19:34,381
Some technical difficulties.

242
00:19:36,341 --> 00:19:37,261
There we go.

243
00:19:37,581 --> 00:19:37,901
Hey.

244
00:19:38,441 --> 00:19:39,221
Oh my gosh.

245
00:19:39,241 --> 00:19:39,881
Can you hear me?

246
00:19:39,961 --> 00:19:40,461
I can.

247
00:19:40,581 --> 00:19:41,101
No worries at all.

248
00:19:41,121 --> 00:19:41,301
Okay.

249
00:19:41,341 --> 00:19:42,141
I don't know what happened.

250
00:19:42,141 --> 00:19:43,541
And it just, everything disconnected.

251
00:19:43,981 --> 00:19:44,581
Oh, no.

252
00:19:45,321 --> 00:19:45,581
Yeah.

253
00:19:45,601 --> 00:19:46,681
Is it still live?

254
00:19:46,821 --> 00:19:47,021
Yeah.

255
00:19:47,241 --> 00:19:47,881
We're still live.

256
00:19:48,001 --> 00:19:48,441
We're still gone.

257
00:19:49,001 --> 00:19:52,261
Just everyone had to stare at me for the last five minutes, but no worry.

258
00:19:53,201 --> 00:19:54,401
I'm not sure what happened.

259
00:19:54,481 --> 00:19:55,821
Sorry, everyone, for having to stare at George.

260
00:19:56,561 --> 00:19:57,001
Yeah, no.

261
00:19:57,281 --> 00:19:57,861
So, all right.

262
00:19:57,881 --> 00:19:58,361
Where were we?

263
00:19:58,401 --> 00:20:00,781
We were discussing, you were talking about your boyfriend.

264
00:20:01,061 --> 00:20:01,341
Yes.

265
00:20:01,401 --> 00:20:01,601
Yes.

266
00:20:01,761 --> 00:20:03,241
So his Bitcoin story.

267
00:20:03,241 --> 00:20:09,521
So I believe he had a family member who was into Bitcoin and helped orange pill him.

268
00:20:09,521 --> 00:20:34,321
I don't know what that conversation was like, but, um, yeah, that's kind of what I know. And then he actually has a cousin who works for, uh, Robert Breedlove. So kind of a coin family. Yeah. Yeah. Which I actually just found out like more recently. Um, but yeah, that, that's his story and loves that. I found that this podcast through him and Ryan's t-shirt.

269
00:20:35,121 --> 00:20:35,681
So wild.

270
00:20:35,761 --> 00:20:39,361
Yeah, because obviously Robert was one of the authors of Thank God for Bitcoin and is an

271
00:20:39,361 --> 00:20:40,181
investor in TGFB.

272
00:20:40,481 --> 00:20:42,881
So it's a wild, wild story.

273
00:20:43,361 --> 00:20:46,821
Okay, so you guys have Bitcoin in common.

274
00:20:47,921 --> 00:20:49,181
This is, I'm trying to think what else we have.

275
00:20:49,461 --> 00:20:53,261
So obviously you post this thread, you out yourself as a Bitcoiner.

276
00:20:54,541 --> 00:20:58,121
What, I mean, the response is, I mean, just from my side of things, insane.

277
00:20:58,121 --> 00:21:05,741
I mean, 529,000, 539, however much it is, over 500,000 impressions on a thread.

278
00:21:05,921 --> 00:21:07,821
I'm sure this was you were not expecting.

279
00:21:08,581 --> 00:21:09,021
No.

280
00:21:09,141 --> 00:21:10,081
Anything with magnitude.

281
00:21:10,081 --> 00:21:12,341
I was expecting like 15, 20 likes.

282
00:21:14,041 --> 00:21:15,701
So you're not a plant.

283
00:21:15,821 --> 00:21:17,281
You're not like a fed plant.

284
00:21:17,461 --> 00:21:18,301
Is that what you're saying?

285
00:21:18,461 --> 00:21:19,121
This isn't...

286
00:21:19,121 --> 00:21:23,081
The CIA is not trying to...

287
00:21:23,081 --> 00:21:24,781
This is not a PSYOP.

288
00:21:24,941 --> 00:21:26,521
You're raising your level of prominence.

289
00:21:26,581 --> 00:21:26,981
Okay, good.

290
00:21:26,981 --> 00:21:27,541
I'm glad to hear that.

291
00:21:27,541 --> 00:21:32,661
I think I had like maybe like a hundred followers when I tweeted that.

292
00:21:33,101 --> 00:21:36,261
So yeah, I was not expecting that response.

293
00:21:36,941 --> 00:21:42,201
Yeah, you've increased about over 5,000 followers and, you know, been on with a friend of the program.

294
00:21:42,321 --> 00:21:45,881
Not really, but we do know Natalie, Natalie Brunel.

295
00:21:46,041 --> 00:21:47,201
So I've been on Coin Stories with her.

296
00:21:48,281 --> 00:21:50,921
But yeah, so I mean, this is your profile is kind of blown up.

297
00:21:51,041 --> 00:21:52,861
What are some of the other podcasts you've been on?

298
00:21:53,321 --> 00:21:54,541
I remember seeing a couple of...

299
00:21:54,541 --> 00:21:55,401
on coin stories.

300
00:21:55,801 --> 00:21:58,041
And then I did a live stream recently

301
00:21:58,041 --> 00:22:00,001
with Tim Kotzman just for,

302
00:22:00,441 --> 00:22:02,081
what was it?

303
00:22:02,121 --> 00:22:03,361
The Bitcoin Treasuries.

304
00:22:03,881 --> 00:22:04,221
That's right.

305
00:22:04,441 --> 00:22:05,321
Visual conference.

306
00:22:05,461 --> 00:22:06,901
And then he has the Unconference

307
00:22:06,901 --> 00:22:07,761
coming up in New York.

308
00:22:07,761 --> 00:22:11,901
And I recently filmed with Bitcoin Journeys.

309
00:22:12,021 --> 00:22:13,241
That one hasn't come out yet though.

310
00:22:13,321 --> 00:22:14,361
Okay, cool.

311
00:22:14,381 --> 00:22:15,301
And then now here,

312
00:22:15,501 --> 00:22:16,181
thank God for Bitcoin.

313
00:22:16,561 --> 00:22:17,001
Love it.

314
00:22:17,161 --> 00:22:18,361
Man, here we are at the pinnacle.

315
00:22:20,481 --> 00:22:21,121
It is.

316
00:22:21,121 --> 00:22:22,821
The peak in terms of importance.

317
00:22:22,821 --> 00:22:28,941
so okay so where so you're working for bitcoin well right now you're doing your your adam's

318
00:22:28,941 --> 00:22:33,681
assistant um i mean is what else are you working on are there other you know other than your your

319
00:22:33,681 --> 00:22:37,721
day-to-day stuff not that you need to if you're not working on other stuff but are there you know

320
00:22:37,721 --> 00:22:42,221
future going projects that you're you've got you know an iron in the fire or is this something where

321
00:22:42,221 --> 00:22:45,741
right now you're just trying to get your your feet under you with adam and and you know learning

322
00:22:45,741 --> 00:22:52,141
and working on that role yeah i think you know my main priority is working for adam and all of his

323
00:22:52,141 --> 00:22:56,321
his marketing needs. And we're really trying to grow that brand. And we just launched a show

324
00:22:56,321 --> 00:23:01,921
yesterday called the Adam O'Brien show, uh, where we're, we're focusing on Gen Z and we're focusing

325
00:23:01,921 --> 00:23:07,581
on helping them understand Bitcoin, financial markets, economics, true tool freedom. And like

326
00:23:07,581 --> 00:23:12,301
our mission is to inspire the next generation to reclaim their freedom. That's our main goal.

327
00:23:12,301 --> 00:23:18,461
And so that's been kind of the priority right now. Um, but I think, you know, weekends, I like

328
00:23:18,461 --> 00:23:25,221
to focus on passion projects and focus on things that I'm super interested in and I think will

329
00:23:25,221 --> 00:23:30,361
help the next generation. So yeah, I have some exciting things in the works, but.

330
00:23:31,121 --> 00:23:31,621
Let's go.

331
00:23:32,161 --> 00:23:33,661
Yeah. Yeah.

332
00:23:33,961 --> 00:23:38,341
We won't ask. We won't ask. We'll wait and be patient, but we're looking forward to hearing

333
00:23:38,341 --> 00:23:45,021
about those. So, all right. So we do have, I put out a little bat signal or a little Halston

334
00:23:45,021 --> 00:23:50,301
signal on Twitter to basically ask people if they had questions for you. We do have one. Let me share

335
00:23:50,301 --> 00:23:55,921
this. So this is Ryan Finley, who's one of the co-hosts to the Unknown Pod that we record.

336
00:23:56,821 --> 00:24:01,461
Ryan has this question for you. So what are the biggest barriers? This goes along with what you're

337
00:24:01,461 --> 00:24:06,501
talking about with your work with Bitcoin. Well, what are the biggest barriers that you're seeing

338
00:24:06,501 --> 00:24:12,381
with Gen Z and keeping them from saving more? Is it discipline, lack of financial education,

339
00:24:12,381 --> 00:24:17,241
high time preference. I'll just add another couple. Overwhelming student debt.

340
00:24:17,921 --> 00:24:18,141
Yeah.

341
00:24:18,661 --> 00:24:23,001
Just not being able to get jobs that are making money. And then what's kind of the response

342
00:24:23,001 --> 00:24:26,481
you've had from talking about Bitcoin with your peers? So I guess we'll stick with the first

343
00:24:26,481 --> 00:24:31,721
couple up there and then we can go to the second one. I think biggest barrier, I mean, for me,

344
00:24:31,821 --> 00:24:36,581
I just graduated and to be frank, I did go to private university. So I'm right there. I got

345
00:24:36,581 --> 00:24:42,261
student debt and my boyfriend does too. Most of our friends have student debt. So it's

346
00:24:42,261 --> 00:24:48,021
unfortunate because we were we were sold this lie that if you went to college and you know well okay

347
00:24:48,021 --> 00:24:53,181
let's start with we were encouraged at the ripe age of 17 to take out massive amounts of loans

348
00:24:53,181 --> 00:24:59,941
to fund an education that doesn't actually teach real world skills these universities are centers

349
00:24:59,941 --> 00:25:07,501
for uh i mean they're centers for ideology really secular ideology and and i think you know if i

350
00:25:07,501 --> 00:25:14,681
knew then what I know now, I would do everything so differently. But yeah, I think one of the

351
00:25:14,681 --> 00:25:20,681
biggest barriers is student debt. It's jobs are not, wages are not keeping up with inflation and

352
00:25:20,681 --> 00:25:24,321
how expensive everything's gotten. I mean, it's the reason I'm in Austin, to be frank.

353
00:25:24,461 --> 00:25:26,181
Okay. Yeah. I was going to ask you that. Okay.

354
00:25:26,181 --> 00:25:32,301
Yeah. So LA and Southern California has gotten way too expensive. And even in Austin,

355
00:25:32,381 --> 00:25:36,981
the locals are telling me the rent here has gotten very expensive. And as a Californian,

356
00:25:36,981 --> 00:25:41,381
I think it's cheap, but I guess to the local that this is not normal.

357
00:25:41,861 --> 00:25:44,701
But rent, you know, we're spending Gen Z.

358
00:25:44,841 --> 00:25:48,761
I think I saw a stat the other day spends 51% of their paycheck on rent.

359
00:25:49,361 --> 00:25:54,361
And so when you're living paycheck to paycheck, it's I don't even think it's about discipline anymore.

360
00:25:54,361 --> 00:25:59,361
It's just you simply are struggling to make ends meet as is.

361
00:25:59,361 --> 00:26:24,221
And then when you do have some extra, you know, money to spend on on entertainment, that's probably what you're going to do. It's high time preference. You're not you're not thinking about long term. You're not thinking about the future. And I actually think that the more people, the more Gen Zers and millennials that get into Bitcoin and start to see hope, I think the more we'll see people really start to want to to start a family.

362
00:26:24,221 --> 00:26:28,041
Because right now, I think a lot of Gen Z, they're not interested in starting a family.

363
00:26:28,341 --> 00:26:31,681
And I don't think it's that they're not genuinely interested.

364
00:26:31,821 --> 00:26:35,081
I think it's that there's not a way to start a family.

365
00:26:35,281 --> 00:26:36,761
It's gotten simply too expensive.

366
00:26:37,041 --> 00:26:40,981
And we could even go on a whole tangent on health care and how expensive that is.

367
00:26:41,141 --> 00:26:44,341
And so it's just a big, broken system.

368
00:26:44,981 --> 00:26:49,321
And yeah, I think I'm forgetting what the second part of that question was.

369
00:26:49,481 --> 00:26:49,781
But I think.

370
00:26:49,941 --> 00:26:50,021
Yeah.

371
00:26:50,321 --> 00:26:51,561
Well, yeah, we'll stick here.

372
00:26:51,641 --> 00:26:52,381
We'll stick here for a second.

373
00:26:52,381 --> 00:26:58,061
I do think, I mean, one of the things, so yeah, when we, when we live for, uh, in Uruguay for,

374
00:26:58,201 --> 00:27:04,441
for almost seven years and I mean, there, what it felt like when I, when I got into Bitcoin while we

375
00:27:04,441 --> 00:27:09,201
were there and then just coming back to the States, like really what it felt like, I felt like I'd

376
00:27:09,201 --> 00:27:14,061
traveled through time. I was like, I I've seen the future of like kind of where the United States is

377
00:27:14,061 --> 00:27:18,501
going. Uh, and one of the things that was common there was it was totally common to live for people

378
00:27:18,501 --> 00:27:22,501
to live with their parents till they're in their late thirties, uh, you know, and get married in

379
00:27:22,501 --> 00:27:26,741
your late thirties, early forties, and then kind of move out. And because, I mean, the whole time

380
00:27:26,741 --> 00:27:31,981
real estate was so expensive relative to, to your wages and stuff like that. It was just very

381
00:27:31,981 --> 00:27:37,181
difficult to, to get to a place where you can afford to live on your own. Uh, and then, you

382
00:27:37,181 --> 00:27:40,401
know, people wait longer to get married because they want to be settled in their career. They

383
00:27:40,401 --> 00:27:45,161
want to have actually, you know, resources. Uh, and so it really was something that was,

384
00:27:45,161 --> 00:27:51,341
very difficult and has this delayed, you know, this prolonged adolescence in a lot of ways.

385
00:27:51,521 --> 00:27:57,001
And so, yeah, I can totally, totally see that, you know, totally see that being something that

386
00:27:57,001 --> 00:28:03,161
is going to happen. It's going to be more common here as people reckon with, again, to your point,

387
00:28:03,281 --> 00:28:06,241
it's cool to hear you own up to it. Like, you know, you made the decision to go to college,

388
00:28:06,341 --> 00:28:09,781
like, you know, nobody twisted your arm, but it's still, I just remember the time,

389
00:28:09,861 --> 00:28:13,621
the first time I found out that student loan debt is the only kind of debt that you can't

390
00:28:13,621 --> 00:28:20,361
clear bankruptcy with. And it's just staggering that at 17 years old, you can be shackled with

391
00:28:20,361 --> 00:28:25,101
hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debt. You can't even legally fight in a war. You can't

392
00:28:25,101 --> 00:28:30,981
legally own a gun. You can't legally drink, but you can legally take out crippling lifetime levels

393
00:28:30,981 --> 00:28:38,161
of debt. It's so offensive on a lot of ways. The other side of the question, let's go back to that.

394
00:28:38,241 --> 00:28:43,021
Where was it here? Here we go. The other side of that question was, what's the response you've had

395
00:28:43,021 --> 00:28:44,381
and talking to your peers about Bitcoin?

396
00:28:45,841 --> 00:28:47,921
Yeah, I think right now it's difficult

397
00:28:47,921 --> 00:28:50,561
because a lot of my peers still categorize it as crypto.

398
00:28:51,081 --> 00:28:54,461
And so they see it as like, you know, number go up

399
00:28:54,461 --> 00:28:55,661
and that's all they care about.

400
00:28:56,321 --> 00:28:58,981
But it's hard to like sit down,

401
00:28:59,021 --> 00:29:00,701
like you have to really be intentional

402
00:29:00,701 --> 00:29:01,801
about sitting down with someone

403
00:29:01,801 --> 00:29:04,361
and explaining like the entire broken system.

404
00:29:04,481 --> 00:29:06,961
I think that's kind of the initial step

405
00:29:06,961 --> 00:29:09,141
that's the hardest is helping them understand

406
00:29:09,141 --> 00:29:12,061
because it's humbling because, you know,

407
00:29:12,061 --> 00:29:18,941
you spend four years studying economics and business and finance and then all to realize, like, we haven't even been taught the truth.

408
00:29:19,121 --> 00:29:28,201
It's so ironic because I feel like Bitcoin taught me more about sound money than years of lectures, of economic lectures ever did.

409
00:29:28,701 --> 00:29:35,461
You know, you're not really taught about the consequences of monetary debasement or why we have the Fed.

410
00:29:35,461 --> 00:29:41,481
And, you know, it's almost like they like when I was in college, at least like my economics professors were thankful for the Fed.

411
00:29:41,481 --> 00:29:44,981
And, you know, it's a whole different world.

412
00:29:46,381 --> 00:29:55,541
So is the exception this professor who recommended, what's the broken money?

413
00:29:56,061 --> 00:30:02,521
Definitely. Yeah, I think, you know, I never got to take any of Nick Batia's classes, but I hear he's phenomenal.

414
00:30:02,521 --> 00:30:18,942
But yeah I think this professor was the exception And even then like I think there was a fear of somebody ratting him out and coming after him And I think universities are deliberately designed this way to produce

415
00:30:18,942 --> 00:30:23,482
employees and into a system that is feeding itself rather than the individual.

416
00:30:24,322 --> 00:30:28,362
So have you talked to him after the fact? I imagine he's a big, is he like a proper

417
00:30:28,362 --> 00:30:32,022
Bitcoiner or is he, where's he at? I'm not sure. I've reached out to him,

418
00:30:32,022 --> 00:30:34,142
but I didn't get an email response back.

419
00:30:34,282 --> 00:30:35,302
So I'm not sure.

420
00:30:35,522 --> 00:30:38,282
But yeah, if he happens to be watching,

421
00:30:38,562 --> 00:30:41,022
I would love to, you know,

422
00:30:41,242 --> 00:30:42,522
have a conversation with him.

423
00:30:42,682 --> 00:30:45,542
But I think when you're a proper Bitcoiner,

424
00:30:45,622 --> 00:30:46,482
you're bold about it.

425
00:30:46,542 --> 00:30:47,942
You know, the same way that I try to be bold

426
00:30:47,942 --> 00:30:48,642
about my faith,

427
00:30:48,722 --> 00:30:50,342
I'm also bold about the orange pill

428
00:30:50,342 --> 00:30:52,262
and helping people understand

429
00:30:52,262 --> 00:30:55,242
why they are experiencing such pain in this system.

430
00:30:55,722 --> 00:30:55,902
Yeah.

431
00:30:56,482 --> 00:30:58,922
Yeah, man, it is one of these things.

432
00:30:59,002 --> 00:31:00,422
I mean, do you think that,

433
00:31:00,422 --> 00:31:15,062
I mean, and you're, again, to follow up on the question about you, your conversation with your peers, do you think like unit bias is a real obstacle for, you know, for younger people who are just getting in, who, again, who don't have a lot of expenditure income to necessarily put into, you know, into something like Bitcoin?

434
00:31:15,242 --> 00:31:23,382
Is it, you know, the fact that people are like, oh, I can only buy, you know, one one hundredth or, you know, like 0.0001 Bitcoin or something like that.

435
00:31:23,482 --> 00:31:25,242
Do you feel like that is a harmful thing?

436
00:31:25,822 --> 00:31:27,342
I do feel like that's part of it.

437
00:31:27,342 --> 00:31:43,422
I also think that like, you know, in my college, my undergrad education, we were I mean, we were really encouraged to invest in the S&P 500 and, you know, the stock market and, you know, all that and high says.

438
00:31:43,682 --> 00:31:50,722
So I think it's just when you've been taught something for so long, even in high school, I remember in my economics high school class, like we were taught the same thing.

439
00:31:50,722 --> 00:32:07,722
And so I think, you know, you hear something like Bitcoin and your initial response is just to be skeptical. And so I think, you know, yeah, I think it's just you've been taught something for so long that you're like, oh, you can just buy like a small portion. You don't have to buy a whole coin that doesn't really like click to them.

440
00:32:07,722 --> 00:32:33,122
Yeah, there are so many people. Again, it's just one of the things where it can, the same type of thing that can happen in Christian circles where you can get so, you can be so insular in Christian circles where you just spend all your time listening to Christian podcasts and listening to sermons, all this kind of stuff. And there's just so much, you build up like this level of knowledge and information. There's so many things that just get second nature to you that for other people just are not understood.

441
00:32:33,122 --> 00:32:38,642
And so this question of you don't have to buy a whole Bitcoin, I run into people who think that all the time.

442
00:32:38,802 --> 00:32:41,702
It is people for like, hey, I don't have $100,000.

443
00:32:42,042 --> 00:32:44,002
It's like, dude, you can buy $10 with Bitcoin.

444
00:32:45,862 --> 00:32:51,882
So what is your, you know, I guess, you know, moving along here, what is your experience in Austin been like?

445
00:32:52,662 --> 00:32:56,042
Yeah, I mean, I mean, I'll say it's so different from California.

446
00:32:56,242 --> 00:32:56,822
That's for sure.

447
00:32:57,222 --> 00:32:58,302
What are the biggest differences?

448
00:32:59,202 --> 00:32:59,962
Biggest difference?

449
00:32:59,962 --> 00:33:02,762
I think just life here is a little slower in general.

450
00:33:03,122 --> 00:33:09,442
LA is a little bit, I used to think LA was slow, but now compared to Austin, I know, I think Austin

451
00:33:09,442 --> 00:33:14,422
is a little bit slower pace. You're like seven out of 10 people I meet work, work remote from home.

452
00:33:14,662 --> 00:33:18,682
So it's just like a very relaxed lifestyle, which, you know, I work remote too. So I've been enjoying,

453
00:33:18,782 --> 00:33:24,142
but I think biggest thing is I just miss the ocean, miss the beach. Um, but yeah, Austin,

454
00:33:24,262 --> 00:33:29,222
everyone has been so, so friendly. And I got to go to the park the other day, the Bitcoin park.

455
00:33:29,222 --> 00:33:30,262
Oh, cool. Let's go.

456
00:33:30,422 --> 00:33:47,202
Shout out Jack Lesser. Yeah. He's the GOAT and he's been running that with Rod and they're killing it out there. And so, yeah, I love the Bitcoin community here. It's super strong. And I was wearing a Bitcoin hat the other day and had like 10 people compliment it. So that would have never happened in LA.

457
00:33:48,122 --> 00:33:49,222
That's awesome. Yeah.

458
00:33:49,322 --> 00:33:53,522
Man. Yeah. So, I mean, I'm guessing, so you just moved there a month ago, a couple months ago?

459
00:33:54,102 --> 00:33:56,002
It was probably about three weeks ago.

460
00:33:56,402 --> 00:33:58,502
Three weeks ago. Okay. So Marty would have already been gone by then.

461
00:33:58,502 --> 00:34:04,762
marty marty moved away yeah um man so many good shout out to let's see shout to parker lewis

462
00:34:04,762 --> 00:34:09,782
shout to paul miller friends of the program uh man who else is there matt snow have you met matt

463
00:34:09,782 --> 00:34:16,342
yet no i don't think oh matt's the man matt uh he was working for um trammell venture partners

464
00:34:16,342 --> 00:34:22,581
uh and then he plays at the from tvp okay cool zach young shout out okay i don't know i'm not

465
00:34:22,581 --> 00:34:25,982
i'm not familiar with him uh matt plays the guitar so a lot of times at the meetups matt

466
00:34:25,982 --> 00:34:31,302
will play like the national anthem on his on his little kid yeah he's the man but yeah it's so many

467
00:34:31,302 --> 00:34:35,862
so many good people in austin um i'm just trying to think have there been i mean have you been to

468
00:34:35,862 --> 00:34:42,042
any meetups yet yeah i've only been to the um the event at bitcoin park the other day but other than

469
00:34:42,042 --> 00:34:49,142
that haven't um haven't been to any like bitcoin meetups uh i was planning on going to to lit devs

470
00:34:49,142 --> 00:34:55,442
this week they do the the lit devs and bit devs but couldn't make it um what is lit devs i think

471
00:34:55,442 --> 00:35:00,822
that's the one where they focus on like all things lightning related oh okay got it but i got to go

472
00:35:00,822 --> 00:35:06,902
to abdc the the design one that was so fun that would have been paul i think paul paul leads that

473
00:35:06,902 --> 00:35:15,362
um i'm pretty sure hill so yeah yeah paul yeah paul paul um yeah i know i know saheel too but

474
00:35:15,362 --> 00:35:19,382
yeah i think i think paul i know he shared the i saw him tweet about it the other day i don't know

475
00:35:19,382 --> 00:35:24,722
if he was actually there but okay um yeah paul's paul's a great guy fellow fellow believer as well

476
00:35:25,542 --> 00:35:26,081
Oh, nice.

477
00:35:26,482 --> 00:35:26,682
Yeah.

478
00:35:26,982 --> 00:35:27,202
Okay.

479
00:35:27,322 --> 00:35:28,581
So, I mean, other things.

480
00:35:28,762 --> 00:35:30,162
What else is going on?

481
00:35:30,202 --> 00:35:33,342
I guess, you know, in terms of things that you're reading, things that you're thinking

482
00:35:33,342 --> 00:35:37,802
about in the Bitcoin space, you know, what's been at top of mind for you the last, I guess,

483
00:35:37,842 --> 00:35:38,742
maybe the last month or so?

484
00:35:39,322 --> 00:35:39,522
Yeah.

485
00:35:39,561 --> 00:35:44,642
I think top of mind has been like, I've gotten a lot of great feedback on, well, one, they

486
00:35:44,642 --> 00:35:46,962
don't really see like a lot of women in this space.

487
00:35:46,962 --> 00:35:48,942
And so that's kind of been, you know, something.

488
00:35:49,362 --> 00:35:50,022
Wait, what?

489
00:35:50,142 --> 00:35:51,602
You're telling me this for the first time?

490
00:35:53,042 --> 00:35:53,442
Yeah.

491
00:35:54,722 --> 00:36:01,782
Gotten lots of messages saying that people are excited to see more girls in this space.

492
00:36:01,902 --> 00:36:03,022
I don't know how to take that.

493
00:36:03,262 --> 00:36:04,662
Sometimes there's creeps.

494
00:36:05,002 --> 00:36:09,061
I was going to say, I was like, RIP your DMs.

495
00:36:09,382 --> 00:36:12,302
When your thread went viral, you pour thick.

496
00:36:12,522 --> 00:36:13,542
Yeah, it was.

497
00:36:13,842 --> 00:36:15,522
Some of them were really disturbing.

498
00:36:15,642 --> 00:36:16,842
I had to close the DMs.

499
00:36:16,962 --> 00:36:19,282
And then I opened them back up now.

500
00:36:19,282 --> 00:36:22,742
But yeah, for a while, it was like asking for feet pics.

501
00:36:23,202 --> 00:36:24,581
Oh my gosh.

502
00:36:24,722 --> 00:36:25,822
No way.

503
00:36:25,962 --> 00:36:26,182
Yeah.

504
00:36:26,502 --> 00:36:38,002
But, you know, from the non-creeps, I've gotten lots of great feedback and they love to see the younger generation get involved in Bitcoin and try to progress this movement.

505
00:36:38,002 --> 00:36:52,362
And I think that's kind of something that's been like top of mind for me is like, how can we get more Gen Zers and the next generation to even to be interested in this and understand like all of the flaws in the system?

506
00:36:52,362 --> 00:36:55,061
because, you know, I look at all of my peers,

507
00:36:55,142 --> 00:36:57,022
I look at my graduating class and it's like,

508
00:36:57,042 --> 00:37:00,862
maybe one person understands Bitcoin like wholeheartedly.

509
00:37:01,081 --> 00:37:02,342
You know, and I think this is so sad

510
00:37:02,342 --> 00:37:03,702
because this is such an opportunity.

511
00:37:04,222 --> 00:37:05,362
You know, the boomers had real estate.

512
00:37:05,482 --> 00:37:06,522
I think we have Bitcoin.

513
00:37:07,081 --> 00:37:10,122
And so I would hate to see my loved ones

514
00:37:10,122 --> 00:37:12,322
and my closest friends miss out on

515
00:37:12,322 --> 00:37:14,942
what's gonna change the world.

516
00:37:15,102 --> 00:37:17,902
And I think I really see this as a moral economic movement.

517
00:37:17,902 --> 00:37:20,902
So yeah, that's really what's been top of mind

518
00:37:20,902 --> 00:37:23,502
and just happy to be working with Adam

519
00:37:23,502 --> 00:37:24,622
and on the new show

520
00:37:24,622 --> 00:37:27,002
to try and help that movement and that message.

521
00:37:27,442 --> 00:37:28,442
What's the name of the new show?

522
00:37:28,962 --> 00:37:30,081
The Adam O'Brien Show.

523
00:37:30,362 --> 00:37:31,362
It was started yesterday.

524
00:37:31,482 --> 00:37:34,502
Every Thursday, we'll be live at 6 p.m. Eastern.

525
00:37:35,222 --> 00:37:37,202
Is there, I mean, who are you guys,

526
00:37:37,322 --> 00:37:39,362
what kind of, are you guys patterning the show off

527
00:37:39,362 --> 00:37:42,042
of like something else that's out in normie world?

528
00:37:42,502 --> 00:37:44,222
What kind of, what style is it?

529
00:37:44,502 --> 00:37:45,642
No, we just do it.

530
00:37:45,702 --> 00:37:47,362
So every week we'll focus on a topic.

531
00:37:47,522 --> 00:37:48,862
This past, yesterday we did

532
00:37:48,862 --> 00:37:50,902
how Bitcoin fixes time preference.

533
00:37:51,122 --> 00:37:53,182
And so we'll just provide

534
00:37:53,182 --> 00:37:54,882
like some really interesting,

535
00:37:55,102 --> 00:37:56,022
staggering stats.

536
00:37:56,242 --> 00:37:58,822
And then he kind of just talks about,

537
00:37:58,822 --> 00:38:00,422
you know, his thoughts

538
00:38:00,422 --> 00:38:02,882
and how Bitcoin changes things.

539
00:38:02,962 --> 00:38:04,542
And his goal really is to help

540
00:38:04,542 --> 00:38:05,982
the next generation question things

541
00:38:05,982 --> 00:38:06,822
and think more critically.

542
00:38:07,522 --> 00:38:09,061
And so, yeah,

543
00:38:09,081 --> 00:38:10,302
that's what we'll be doing every week.

544
00:38:10,342 --> 00:38:11,422
We'll have a new topic and...

545
00:38:13,422 --> 00:38:14,122
Cool.

546
00:38:14,382 --> 00:38:15,302
Go free to subscribe.

547
00:38:16,262 --> 00:38:16,642
Love it.

548
00:38:16,762 --> 00:38:17,402
Go follow them.

549
00:38:17,402 --> 00:38:20,602
Is there a specific Twitter handle for the show itself or no?

550
00:38:20,722 --> 00:38:24,782
No, just Adam O'Brien underscore is his handle.

551
00:38:24,942 --> 00:38:27,002
And then on YouTube, it's just the Adam O'Brien show.

552
00:38:27,182 --> 00:38:27,382
Cool.

553
00:38:28,162 --> 00:38:28,362
Yeah.

554
00:38:28,482 --> 00:38:29,462
I mean, somebody else.

555
00:38:29,581 --> 00:38:30,782
Have you met Ella Huff yet?

556
00:38:31,382 --> 00:38:31,942
I have.

557
00:38:32,022 --> 00:38:32,702
I love her.

558
00:38:32,962 --> 00:38:33,462
She's great.

559
00:38:33,962 --> 00:38:34,122
Yeah.

560
00:38:34,142 --> 00:38:35,022
How did you guys meet?

561
00:38:35,542 --> 00:38:38,702
We, I think it was just she reached out.

562
00:38:38,902 --> 00:38:40,722
She messaged me.

563
00:38:41,142 --> 00:38:41,762
Yeah, there she is.

564
00:38:41,802 --> 00:38:42,202
Love her.

565
00:38:42,702 --> 00:38:47,002
Well, actually, so we'll be at BTC in D.C.

566
00:38:47,002 --> 00:38:48,522
and we'll hang this together.

567
00:38:48,742 --> 00:38:50,061
Yeah, a Genie channel

568
00:38:50,061 --> 00:38:53,782
moderated by John Balcom,

569
00:38:53,902 --> 00:38:54,662
I think is his last name.

570
00:38:54,662 --> 00:38:55,282
Okay, yeah.

571
00:38:56,002 --> 00:38:57,422
But yeah, she just reached out

572
00:38:57,422 --> 00:39:00,581
and then I saw what she was doing

573
00:39:00,581 --> 00:39:01,982
at the Cornell Bitcoin Club

574
00:39:01,982 --> 00:39:04,382
and was super intrigued in her research

575
00:39:04,382 --> 00:39:05,142
and her paper.

576
00:39:05,342 --> 00:39:06,682
I would love to read the whole paper,

577
00:39:06,902 --> 00:39:07,542
her whole thesis.

578
00:39:08,581 --> 00:39:09,982
But yeah, that's how we got connected.

579
00:39:10,502 --> 00:39:10,962
That's great.

580
00:39:11,122 --> 00:39:11,902
Ella's great.

581
00:39:11,982 --> 00:39:13,922
Her mom, Lisa, is great as well.

582
00:39:14,402 --> 00:39:16,642
I'm in a philosophy class with Ella.

583
00:39:16,642 --> 00:39:21,982
There's like this Bitcoin philosophy class that I think there's not, there's like, I think there's like 12 or 15 of us in there.

584
00:39:22,022 --> 00:39:22,542
There's not a ton.

585
00:39:23,002 --> 00:39:29,542
But we ended up in there, just, you know, found each other in there and, you know, hung out at the Vegas conference.

586
00:39:29,882 --> 00:39:30,522
Oh, awesome.

587
00:39:30,782 --> 00:39:32,222
But yeah, it's been super encouraging.

588
00:39:32,362 --> 00:39:38,522
I mean, she's just somebody else who is just like going hardcore in the paint, trying to help Gen Z understand Bitcoin.

589
00:39:38,802 --> 00:39:39,502
She is.

590
00:39:39,762 --> 00:39:43,182
And she's killing it now with, I guess, a strategy starting soon.

591
00:39:43,302 --> 00:39:43,942
Oh, my gosh.

592
00:39:44,061 --> 00:39:44,842
Yeah, that was wild.

593
00:39:44,842 --> 00:39:46,222
Brilliant on their part.

594
00:39:46,222 --> 00:39:52,482
get on the ground floor of Ella's career because, yeah, there's few people. I mean,

595
00:39:52,502 --> 00:39:55,802
she just is a go-getter to the end of the week. She is, yeah.

596
00:39:56,962 --> 00:40:00,802
But, okay, so beyond that, I'm just trying to think. So that's what you're working on.

597
00:40:01,942 --> 00:40:08,682
I mean, where is Bitcoin well at these days? It's been a while. I mean, I've seen them with

598
00:40:08,682 --> 00:40:12,262
like Adam's Post and stuff like that. Are they still, they're operating in the United States?

599
00:40:12,262 --> 00:40:18,002
they're they're based out of canada um they're in edmonton i believe is where the headquarters

600
00:40:18,002 --> 00:40:23,322
are at and that's kind of where uh adam works from but he's doing a lot of traveling he's going

601
00:40:23,322 --> 00:40:29,242
to be at quite a few conferences coming up so now he's kind of doing the remote thing um and i think

602
00:40:29,242 --> 00:40:36,262
they're they're trying to become more of a remote company so i guess we'll see i i did hear i don't

603
00:40:36,262 --> 00:40:40,882
know if i can say this but i did hear he wants to open another office um in another part of canada

604
00:40:40,882 --> 00:40:42,722
But yeah, still Canadian company.

605
00:40:43,502 --> 00:40:44,581
Love Bitcoin well.

606
00:40:44,782 --> 00:40:46,262
I buy Bitcoin from them.

607
00:40:46,502 --> 00:40:47,282
And yeah.

608
00:40:47,442 --> 00:40:47,642
Cool.

609
00:40:47,902 --> 00:40:48,422
Self-couple.

610
00:40:48,561 --> 00:40:48,581
I love it.

611
00:40:48,581 --> 00:40:49,102
It's fee, right?

612
00:40:49,602 --> 00:40:49,842
Yep.

613
00:40:50,382 --> 00:40:50,902
Man, yeah.

614
00:40:50,982 --> 00:40:56,081
Again, there's very few companies that you can just like full-throatedly recommend,

615
00:40:56,262 --> 00:40:59,302
but I've never heard any bad thing about them whatsoever.

616
00:40:59,962 --> 00:41:00,061
Yeah.

617
00:41:00,242 --> 00:41:02,922
I mean, Adam's been in Bitcoin since 2012 or 2013.

618
00:41:03,302 --> 00:41:03,581
Yeah.

619
00:41:03,581 --> 00:41:07,442
I remember all of his stories about running money,

620
00:41:07,442 --> 00:41:14,002
flying across the country with lots of cash in order to be able to load up Bitcoin ATMs.

621
00:41:14,202 --> 00:41:19,722
Yeah, you got some wild stories. Yeah. He's the most debanked man in Canada. Yeah. You cannot have

622
00:41:19,722 --> 00:41:23,542
a bank account. Yeah. Yeah. Go find that video. He just posted a video about the other day. It was

623
00:41:23,542 --> 00:41:29,122
really good. So what are some of the other things? I mean, are there, when you speak to either,

624
00:41:29,322 --> 00:41:33,402
depending on who they are, what are some of the arguments that you found? I mean, again,

625
00:41:33,402 --> 00:41:41,282
And a lot of us, having success orange-pilling people happens fewer and farther between than we would all like.

626
00:41:41,282 --> 00:41:50,462
But have there been specific arguments or specific issues that when you talk about those things, you find people being more receptive than other things?

627
00:41:51,702 --> 00:42:00,081
Yeah, I think what works for me is I had a friend the other day I met at a health and wellness event who happens to do marketing for Coinbase.

628
00:42:00,722 --> 00:42:01,282
Oh, no way.

629
00:42:01,322 --> 00:42:02,802
Yeah, it was totally random.

630
00:42:02,802 --> 00:42:05,822
I think it was a God thing, but she was asking me about Bitcoin.

631
00:42:05,942 --> 00:42:07,061
She was like kind of lost.

632
00:42:07,182 --> 00:42:12,462
Like she works more so on their like digital marketing and social media sector.

633
00:42:12,622 --> 00:42:16,502
So she doesn't really have to like understand Bitcoin too well.

634
00:42:16,642 --> 00:42:22,202
But she, yeah, she understands crypto, but has never really done studying on Bitcoin.

635
00:42:22,561 --> 00:42:23,742
And so she was asking me about it.

636
00:42:23,862 --> 00:42:30,242
And the way I explained it to her was crypto, like you take, you know, say whatever random

637
00:42:30,242 --> 00:42:32,542
token, like they have a paid marketing team.

638
00:42:32,542 --> 00:42:38,142
They have people like you who are out here advertising these coins, advertising all of these altcoins.

639
00:42:38,602 --> 00:42:39,942
There's no supply cap.

640
00:42:40,102 --> 00:42:43,362
And there's not really like it's not as verifiable.

641
00:42:43,362 --> 00:42:48,922
And so I think what worked with her is she was super intrigued when I told her there's a 21 million supply cap.

642
00:42:49,122 --> 00:42:50,182
There's no CEO.

643
00:42:50,642 --> 00:42:52,061
There's no corporate office.

644
00:42:52,342 --> 00:42:53,602
There's no employees.

645
00:42:54,122 --> 00:43:00,762
A network of people that are coming together to work together and follow these set of rules.

646
00:43:00,762 --> 00:43:07,722
and and and i think helping her understand that was key um she's kind of been on her own bitcoin

647
00:43:07,722 --> 00:43:12,842
journey now this was about two weeks ago um and so she's she's been we've kind of been chatting

648
00:43:12,842 --> 00:43:20,402
texting back and forth and um yeah she she's been really interesting and interested in uncovering

649
00:43:20,402 --> 00:43:25,722
the truth behind like the fed and and just the broken system that we're in and like oh my gosh

650
00:43:25,722 --> 00:43:29,822
is you know are they encouraging us to take out student debt like is this intentional

651
00:43:29,822 --> 00:43:34,942
like why is it that we can we can do that and now be in six figures of debt but you know you can't

652
00:43:35,742 --> 00:43:41,542
can't drink till you're 21 like it's they're preparing you know it's like it's so ironic

653
00:43:41,542 --> 00:43:46,602
you graduate with an economics degree or a finance degree and you've already failed on day one after

654
00:43:46,602 --> 00:43:52,162
graduation you already have all this debt you're already not on the right track and so i i personally

655
00:43:52,162 --> 00:43:58,602
think that's by deliberate design and it's it's breeding employees not not free thinkers yeah

656
00:43:58,602 --> 00:44:01,202
100%. So that was in Austin you guys met?

657
00:44:01,742 --> 00:44:01,982
Yeah.

658
00:44:02,182 --> 00:44:02,382
Okay.

659
00:44:02,622 --> 00:44:07,342
Yeah, we met at a health and wellness event, and she happens to work for Coinbase Marketing.

660
00:44:07,662 --> 00:44:08,882
So very interesting.

661
00:44:09,002 --> 00:44:09,081
Wow.

662
00:44:10,061 --> 00:44:11,902
Yeah. Okay. So we have another question for you here.

663
00:44:12,222 --> 00:44:13,262
We have somebody else.

664
00:44:13,422 --> 00:44:15,142
So this is actually, this is my buddy, JD.

665
00:44:15,362 --> 00:44:18,081
JD is behind the account Cyberpunk Cinema.

666
00:44:18,322 --> 00:44:24,202
He's worked in a long time, worked in Hollywood, worked in producing some of the most well-known shows in the world.

667
00:44:24,202 --> 00:44:29,522
and done a bunch of ad work for Apple, Toyota, a bunch of companies.

668
00:44:29,982 --> 00:44:32,042
But he has this question for you.

669
00:44:32,862 --> 00:44:33,581
Here we go.

670
00:44:34,102 --> 00:44:36,662
So, and again, you can agree or disagree with this,

671
00:44:36,822 --> 00:44:40,262
but Gen Z has grown up with a different mental paradigm than the rest of the world.

672
00:44:40,602 --> 00:44:43,182
What would you say are the biggest markers of the Gen Z paradigm?

673
00:44:43,702 --> 00:44:45,022
And how does this make it,

674
00:44:45,162 --> 00:44:48,342
and does this make it easier or harder for your generation to understand Bitcoin?

675
00:44:50,142 --> 00:44:50,962
Yeah, wow.

676
00:44:51,042 --> 00:44:52,722
There's a lot to say on that front.

677
00:44:52,722 --> 00:44:59,522
I think, and I feel like I can say this because I'm a part of Gen Z, our generation is soft.

678
00:44:59,522 --> 00:45:02,282
Like very, very soft.

679
00:45:02,282 --> 00:45:06,442
Everything has become about me, me, me, me, me, the individual.

680
00:45:06,442 --> 00:45:23,962
And I think we can see that by you know you look at cities like LA and New York and like when I was in university last year there was a protest left and right and people throwing like fireworks at like you know our beautiful university buildings

681
00:45:23,962 --> 00:45:32,742
and everything has become so, I don't know, it's become so distorted. And I think this generation,

682
00:45:32,923 --> 00:45:40,023
unfortunately, has become so brainwashed with, you know, media and just following, you know,

683
00:45:40,383 --> 00:45:46,202
the things that are so far from the truth. And I think it's tough because I think when a majority

684
00:45:46,202 --> 00:45:51,602
of people think like that and they're, you know, I think at the core, these are just people that

685
00:45:51,602 --> 00:45:56,363
need Christ. They don't have a community. They don't have a relationship with God or any other

686
00:45:56,363 --> 00:45:59,702
spiritual being, if you will, something that they believe in. They don't have that.

687
00:45:59,702 --> 00:46:07,403
And so they look towards secular things like, you know, you could say like the LGBTQ plus community,

688
00:46:07,543 --> 00:46:12,543
or maybe they look for like a very niche, like gaming community, or they're looking for these

689
00:46:12,543 --> 00:46:15,543
things to just feel like they're- Wrapped their identity around, yeah.

690
00:46:15,903 --> 00:46:21,442
Yeah. There's such a lack of identity in Christ, I think, ultimately, for the entire world,

691
00:46:21,442 --> 00:46:44,843
I think that's fair to say. But specifically with my generation, there's a lack of identity in anything. And so I think that becomes an issue because then, you know, if you're, you know, if you are questioning the system and you think differently than a majority of the university, you're not likely to be inquisitive or to be obsessed with curiosity. You just want to follow the crowd.

692
00:46:44,843 --> 00:46:55,782
And so I think that's the biggest struggle because if a majority of people are against Bitcoin, you know, my generation, Gen Z, they're not going to be interested in something that goes against the norm.

693
00:46:56,462 --> 00:46:58,742
And so I think that's the biggest struggle.

694
00:46:58,982 --> 00:47:04,903
Thankfully, here in Texas, I feel like it's a more receptive community, especially within Gen Z and millennials.

695
00:47:04,903 --> 00:47:12,222
But, you know, back home in L.A., it was challenging for sure because, you know, everyone just sees Bitcoin as crypto.

696
00:47:12,222 --> 00:47:14,923
So, and yeah, that's all.

697
00:47:15,762 --> 00:47:20,262
Was it, was it something, I mean, what was, this is a whole, I'm sure we could go, this

698
00:47:20,262 --> 00:47:21,082
could go a lot of ways too.

699
00:47:21,082 --> 00:47:26,823
But so you were, you were in college during the, I don't know what's the YouTube approved

700
00:47:26,823 --> 00:47:31,782
way to describe this, but the Rona event, you know, you were, you were in college for

701
00:47:31,782 --> 00:47:31,903
that.

702
00:47:31,982 --> 00:47:37,442
What was, I mean, I just, I just seeing from afar, I mean, it just seemed like, I mean,

703
00:47:37,462 --> 00:47:41,102
the amount of pressure, the amount of fear, the amount of, you know, all of these things.

704
00:47:41,102 --> 00:47:45,643
uh I mean what was that like and do you think that I mean what do you do you think that that

705
00:47:45,643 --> 00:47:52,222
is something I mean do you do you look at that as like a Gen Z uh Gen Z 9-11 moment in terms of

706
00:47:52,222 --> 00:47:56,282
like the effect that it had in a lot of ways or you know how do you yeah what do you think about

707
00:47:56,282 --> 00:48:02,082
that definitely I yeah that's that's our yeah like I wasn't born I was born after 9-11 so yeah

708
00:48:02,082 --> 00:48:09,282
you could say this was our our our event but um my senior year of high school um I actually didn't

709
00:48:09,282 --> 00:48:14,282
have like a graduation because that's when COVID started. And then my, you know, going into that

710
00:48:14,282 --> 00:48:19,683
fall should have been my first year of college, which I did do. It was all online. I didn't go

711
00:48:19,683 --> 00:48:23,482
in person. All the universities, at least in California, were completely shut down.

712
00:48:24,143 --> 00:48:31,262
And so, yeah, I didn't, I think that was a, it was, it was a crazy moment. It was like an

713
00:48:31,262 --> 00:48:35,343
inflection point. I think the world just completely flipped upside down. When I got to college,

714
00:48:35,343 --> 00:48:37,242
I remember feeling so weird.

715
00:48:37,383 --> 00:48:39,462
I felt like everyone was just so different.

716
00:48:39,643 --> 00:48:41,363
People forgot how to socialize.

717
00:48:42,802 --> 00:48:50,482
Like it became like wrong to ask a question, you know, like, and so, yeah, I mean, I think,

718
00:48:50,523 --> 00:48:53,543
you know, the Rona, I don't want to get us banned on YouTube, but.

719
00:48:54,782 --> 00:48:57,602
We're not going to be losing a lot of money, even if we did get demonetized.

720
00:48:57,602 --> 00:48:59,282
So don't worry about it.

721
00:48:59,922 --> 00:49:03,782
You know, the thing that happened in 2020, I think it really changed the world.

722
00:49:03,782 --> 00:49:14,802
And specifically, I think it hurt Gen Z in a lot of ways because I think we came out of it so different and few stood their ground and remain true to their morals.

723
00:49:15,002 --> 00:49:18,942
But I think after that is when we really saw like the decline in humanity.

724
00:49:19,222 --> 00:49:23,183
And you saw all these people protesting and just, you know, you look at that.

725
00:49:23,183 --> 00:49:52,123
And I remember it was, I think it was last year or the year before in college, I was at school and there was a protest and they were like barricading the doors to the lecture halls. And it was like, you look at something like that, I was like, I don't think that would have happened, you know, five to 10 years ago would have been like so different. You would have been, you know, kicked off campus and you can't do stuff like that. And now we live in a world where that's completely acceptable and it's encouraged. Like I had professors that were like, class is canceled. We're going to the protest.

726
00:49:52,123 --> 00:50:08,383
Yeah. And yeah, it's insane. Gosh, man. Yeah. And again, I'm sure I'm sure. Yeah. The California, California schools, that would be even a more, I mean, just a different level of different level of challenge than, you know, some of the the more red state colleges.

727
00:50:08,383 --> 00:50:13,722
I'm sure, again, it's not that it's not an issue because those people, you know, people who share those beliefs are still on those campuses, especially.

728
00:50:14,482 --> 00:50:17,183
But, yeah, I can just imagine the difficulty.

729
00:50:17,702 --> 00:50:27,183
And I really do feel like it's like they – some of those, like the, you know, left wing, you know, and just like fear mongering that went on.

730
00:50:27,282 --> 00:50:31,302
Like they might have won the battle, but they are by far losing the war.

731
00:50:31,302 --> 00:50:36,442
Uh, it can just be just the, again, you can, you can win through force and oppression in

732
00:50:36,442 --> 00:50:41,563
the short term, but it's going to be short lived, especially when the, the, you know,

733
00:50:41,582 --> 00:50:46,302
the, the curtain gets pulled back on, on just how wrong and how ridiculous a lot of this

734
00:50:46,302 --> 00:50:46,802
stuff was.

735
00:50:46,802 --> 00:50:51,663
I think they've done irreparable harm to their, uh, to the attractiveness of some of their,

736
00:50:51,742 --> 00:50:57,063
uh, to the, to their movement in large part because of how they reacted during those years.

737
00:50:57,063 --> 00:51:01,922
which again it's like again you never would choose to go through that again none of us would ever

738
00:51:01,922 --> 00:51:08,403
choose to endure it but listen if the consequence is that you know a lot of people get their get

739
00:51:08,403 --> 00:51:14,082
woken up to and are now now it's like this reverse there's almost like this this pushback where

740
00:51:14,082 --> 00:51:18,863
I mean again you saw it with Trump you saw with a lot of you know like with Trump being elected a

741
00:51:18,863 --> 00:51:23,282
lot of things there are people who would never ever have voted Republican would never have voted for

742
00:51:23,282 --> 00:51:27,683
Donald Trump, uh, four years before that, who were willing to consider it just because of how

743
00:51:27,683 --> 00:51:35,302
insane things got, uh, in some of the places where they were. So, uh, yeah, it, it, yeah, I, I do love

744
00:51:35,302 --> 00:51:41,082
to see that. I think in LA though, it got worse. Like people just got worse. I remember like one

745
00:51:41,082 --> 00:51:46,482
of my last weeks in California, the amount of times I heard this phrase is just absurd, but I

746
00:51:46,482 --> 00:51:51,222
was at a coffee shop and there was like a homeless person outside the coffee shop. And I told the

747
00:51:51,222 --> 00:51:56,663
barista something about the homeless person that I was, you know, expressing some, some fear. And

748
00:51:56,663 --> 00:52:02,403
the barista says, well, we shouldn't classify them as homeless. Like, it was just like, you're walking

749
00:52:02,403 --> 00:52:05,922
on eggshells and it's like, how am I supposed to tell this person about Bitcoin? If I can't even

750
00:52:05,922 --> 00:52:10,343
say, like, what am I supposed to say? Like person of questionable housing status? Like it would,

751
00:52:10,602 --> 00:52:13,323
like, I don't know what to say. I don't know what to tell you. Like this.

752
00:52:13,563 --> 00:52:19,623
Potentially unhoused person. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's just, yeah. It, it's gotten so bad in California.

753
00:52:19,623 --> 00:52:39,163
Yeah, we, man, we were, we were talking about this and it wasn't super recently. It was probably a couple months ago, but just talking about how, I mean, part of, part of the problem with a lot of what's, I mean, a lot of the, the left's approach to, to language is the purpose of language is to enable efficient communication between people.

754
00:52:39,163 --> 00:52:52,942
Like it's designed to be a neighbor loving innovation because, again, we have common terms that allow us to communicate in efficient ways without needing to take the time to explain every single thing.

755
00:52:52,942 --> 00:53:08,683
And now, like when you, when like now language for this whole humongous segment of the country who views language as this tool of self-expression and they, they basically turn language rather than being something that's outward and others focused, they turn it to it.

756
00:53:08,683 --> 00:53:14,183
So it's focused on them and then they get, they get offended over every little infraction.

757
00:53:14,183 --> 00:53:22,782
You know, there's now all these grammatical sins that you can commit for which there is no grammatical salvation and redemption.

758
00:53:23,063 --> 00:53:27,323
Like, it's just like, if you sin against me, then you're canceled forever.

759
00:53:27,563 --> 00:53:29,602
I'm going to work to destroy your life.

760
00:53:30,222 --> 00:53:36,683
And so it is really this really depressing and, again, just impossible way to live ultimately.

761
00:53:36,782 --> 00:53:37,462
And it's exhausting.

762
00:53:37,702 --> 00:53:42,383
And I think that's kind of what you're expressing is it is exhausting to live this way.

763
00:53:42,383 --> 00:54:10,383
It was pretty exhausting. And I think, you know, that's why discovering Bitcoin did wonders for me because it, you know, revealed a community where people actually think critically. And I was just like longing for that. Like my final year of college, I don't feel like I really had any peers that could think on their own. Like everything was just like, well, if this doesn't fit the narrative, then I'm not going to say that I believe in it or will I question it.

764
00:54:10,383 --> 00:54:14,643
And so, um, and you know, and that's part of the reason why I'm in Texas too. Like, I think

765
00:54:14,643 --> 00:54:22,982
a lot, a lot of people here are more open to having like, you know, a normal discussion without any,

766
00:54:22,982 --> 00:54:29,363
uh, fears of, of, of backlash or, or being canceled. Um, whereas in LA, like you just

767
00:54:29,363 --> 00:54:35,043
can't have those conversations. It really, it really is something, it really is something that

768
00:54:35,043 --> 00:54:42,462
you like the, the consequences of living for long periods of time in an environment like that,

769
00:54:42,462 --> 00:54:48,203
it is so it's unhealthy. It really is. Cause you, it changes you like the, the culture that you're

770
00:54:48,203 --> 00:54:53,422
in really, it really does. It can't, there's your culture can promote freedom and it can,

771
00:54:53,563 --> 00:54:58,843
can promote growth and, and, you know, subsidize, which subsidizes other healthy,

772
00:54:58,843 --> 00:55:05,363
you know, healthy, uh, interactions or it can do the opposite of that. And, uh, yeah, I, I, I,

773
00:55:05,502 --> 00:55:09,883
again, good on you for, for going to find a bastion of sanity, uh, where you can, you don't

774
00:55:09,883 --> 00:55:14,843
have to be afraid of getting canceled over, you know, using the wrong word. Uh, well, so, I mean,

775
00:55:14,843 --> 00:55:18,863
I guess we're, we're coming up here on, on an hour. Um, again, if you, if you had somebody,

776
00:55:19,123 --> 00:55:22,363
you know, what would be some of your, your recommendations or something, you know, if

777
00:55:22,363 --> 00:55:26,402
somebody, if you've got people who are listening, I think the, the vast majority, we, we do have

778
00:55:26,402 --> 00:55:30,742
some Gen Z folks. In fact, again, we can talk about this after the podcast. Again, I don't know

779
00:55:30,742 --> 00:55:35,482
if you're going to be at BitBlockBoom, which is going to be the Bitcoin conference in Fort Worth

780
00:55:35,482 --> 00:55:43,143
in early April. But we are, it's Gary, the Bitcoin boomer, does lots of, it's a great conference,

781
00:55:43,222 --> 00:55:48,782
one of the best Bitcoin conferences. We're going to be doing a TGFB event in the day leading up to

782
00:55:48,782 --> 00:55:53,922
that event. And if you're around, if you're around, we'd love to have to do a panel with you.

783
00:55:53,922 --> 00:55:57,082
and I got two other Gen Z folks

784
00:55:57,082 --> 00:55:58,843
who I'd love to have on the panel

785
00:55:58,843 --> 00:56:00,902
that are friends of two of Ryan's kids,

786
00:56:00,982 --> 00:56:01,563
Ryan Finley,

787
00:56:02,082 --> 00:56:03,762
Moses, who's a programmer,

788
00:56:03,902 --> 00:56:06,683
helped Marty build out their,

789
00:56:07,262 --> 00:56:08,683
yeah, build the opportunity costs

790
00:56:08,683 --> 00:56:10,582
and then his other brother, Elijah,

791
00:56:11,323 --> 00:56:12,962
has been making some of the videos.

792
00:56:13,063 --> 00:56:15,023
I saw you share one of the videos,

793
00:56:15,123 --> 00:56:15,762
the gold standard.

794
00:56:15,883 --> 00:56:18,402
He just made one of those for Marty as well for TFTC.

795
00:56:19,123 --> 00:56:20,902
Would love to have you guys come on and talk about

796
00:56:20,902 --> 00:56:21,502
and do a panel

797
00:56:21,502 --> 00:56:22,823
and just kind of talk about your experiences

798
00:56:22,823 --> 00:56:25,683
and just give some hope to Gen Z.

799
00:56:25,922 --> 00:56:27,982
And again, this is something that, you know,

800
00:56:28,043 --> 00:56:31,402
I really think that especially like Christians,

801
00:56:31,843 --> 00:56:34,703
it can be a place where we can shine in this respect

802
00:56:34,703 --> 00:56:38,843
where again, we have this multi-generational appreciation

803
00:56:38,843 --> 00:56:41,922
rather than multi-generational frustration with each other

804
00:56:41,922 --> 00:56:44,343
where we're just constantly pitting the generations

805
00:56:44,343 --> 00:56:44,863
against each other.

806
00:56:45,002 --> 00:56:47,282
I do see this kind of positive interaction with Bitcoin,

807
00:56:47,422 --> 00:56:49,143
which is one of my favorite things about the community.

808
00:56:49,722 --> 00:56:52,343
But I really think this is something that, you know,

809
00:56:52,343 --> 00:56:56,962
we can, especially as Christians, we can, we can do this well and, and, you know, be a, be an example

810
00:56:56,962 --> 00:57:01,823
and a model in this way. So we can talk about the specifics of that later, but, uh, but for maybe for

811
00:57:01,823 --> 00:57:05,203
somebody as a takeaway from this, what would be something that you'd, you'd want to leave them

812
00:57:05,203 --> 00:57:09,623
with, um, you know, about Bitcoin, about your faith, uh, maybe something you're, you're thinking

813
00:57:09,623 --> 00:57:13,982
about and have been reflecting on in that respect. Um, you know, what's something that you'd want to

814
00:57:13,982 --> 00:57:20,123
leave people with? Yeah. I'd say, you know, don't so many people in my generation who, you know,

815
00:57:20,123 --> 00:57:23,883
don't really have a relationship with God say like, oh, I'll do the whole God thing when I'm old.

816
00:57:24,863 --> 00:57:30,183
Yeah, I've heard that countless times. And I, you know, my encouragement to you is my life has been

817
00:57:30,183 --> 00:57:35,643
completely changed since I started really leaning on God and spending time with him and, you know,

818
00:57:35,802 --> 00:57:41,102
diving into the word. I think I always say like the Bible is his love letter to us and it's a

819
00:57:41,102 --> 00:57:46,543
guide for life. And I think if you are just going about life with no like North Star, you're bound

820
00:57:46,543 --> 00:57:51,302
to get lost and feel unfulfilled. And so I think that true identity comes from Christ. That would

821
00:57:51,302 --> 00:57:58,502
be my number one encouragement is find God and put your identity in him. And when it comes to

822
00:57:58,502 --> 00:58:03,422
Bitcoin, I think outside of Bitcoin, like I said this on Coin Stories and I'll say it again,

823
00:58:03,762 --> 00:58:08,343
learn like your freedom depends on it. And I think being obsessed with curiosity will do you wonders

824
00:58:08,343 --> 00:58:14,502
and especially in a time of AI and we have all the tools and abundant knowledge online free for the

825
00:58:14,502 --> 00:58:19,402
most part, like just learn every day, learn something new, uh, listen to a podcast. And,

826
00:58:19,543 --> 00:58:25,102
but I think ultimately like at the end of the day, following God and developing a true relationship

827
00:58:25,102 --> 00:58:30,222
with him is, is critical to, to living a, uh, fulfilling and successful life.

828
00:58:30,982 --> 00:58:34,383
Amen. Yeah. And that is, that is one of these things where I do think we can,

829
00:58:34,902 --> 00:58:38,482
especially as Christians in the space, like we can be, we can be super exuberant about Bitcoin.

830
00:58:38,482 --> 00:58:42,002
And I think, I think rightfully so, right. Cause we can, we can, you know, it's, it's,

831
00:58:42,002 --> 00:58:45,582
it's not impossible, but it's one of the things where we can more easily see it as,

832
00:58:45,823 --> 00:58:52,462
as again, a very good tool, uh, in working towards a larger end. Uh, and, and I do think that is one

833
00:58:52,462 --> 00:58:55,902
of the, I think it's one of the roles that it's one of the reasons why God has put us here is

834
00:58:55,902 --> 00:59:03,123
because it is easy to just maximize Bitcoin, uh, as if it is a means as if it is an end of itself

835
00:59:03,123 --> 00:59:07,762
rather than a means to an end. Yeah. And so again, I think you were seeing, I mean, I just,

836
00:59:07,762 --> 00:59:14,302
I've seen, I mean, dozens, like dozens of people for whom Bitcoin was an on-ramp to,

837
00:59:14,502 --> 00:59:20,742
you know, to other spiritual discussion. And so again, sister, it's great to have you as another,

838
00:59:20,843 --> 00:59:26,742
you know, another soldier in the trenches to help people who are in that situation. So Halston,

839
00:59:26,843 --> 00:59:29,843
thank you so much. I really appreciate you. And hopefully this will not be the last,

840
00:59:29,982 --> 00:59:32,582
your last appearance. We'll have you back very soon.

841
00:59:32,883 --> 00:59:36,323
Well, thank you for having me. I love to see what you guys are doing on this podcast.

842
00:59:36,323 --> 00:59:41,962
awesome and again thank you so much halston we'll we'll have you back and again thank you to all of

843
00:59:41,962 --> 00:59:45,222
you guys who are listening and watching uh if you're sitting here if you're watching this on

844
00:59:45,222 --> 00:59:50,383
youtube like and subscribe it's a way that we can help uh more people find the content go follow

845
00:59:50,383 --> 00:59:55,843
halston on social media you can see her uh twitter handle is right there below her name uh and then

846
00:59:55,843 --> 01:00:00,683
if you're watching this on twitter like us follow share all the anything small things like that add

847
01:00:00,683 --> 01:00:05,462
up and make a big difference so we're grateful for you and we'll be back on the next episode of

848
01:00:05,462 --> 01:00:06,363
the Thank God for Bitcoin podcast.