Mere Mortals

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Why is LA actually kind of .... meh?

In Episode #453 of 'Meanderings' Juan & I discuss: meeting cool people in Nashville, experiencing Americana in Alabama, why Juan tortured his fiancée with exercise, yet another disastrous Kyrin dating story, why I need to find the after after parties and my disappointment with Venice Beach.

Huge thanks to Petar the Slav, Dude & Cole McCormick for the support. We really appreciate you!

Timeline:
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:00:50) The BTC/V4V Conference
(00:03:02) V4V Musicians
(00:04:44) I love Dave Jones
(00:05:16) The exciting building blocks
(00:09:36) Juan's challenge/fiancee torment
(00:15:15) Howard Smith Wharves stories
(00:23:35) Boostagram Lounge
(00:30:45) Serendipity of meeting people
(00:33:06) Getting the most out of Veecon
(00:36:33) Communicating in Los Angeles
(00:44:57) LA weather is not idyllic
(00:47:01) Default aggressive
(00:51:00) Summing up LA
(00:52:59) V4V: Time/Talent/Treasure

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[00:00:05] Kyrin Down:

Welcome everyone to another episode of the mere mortals   meanderings.   This is where your 2 favorite mere mortals, Kyrin here in   Los Angeles.   And Juan here in Brisbane. Yeah. And I'm here in Venice Beach. Juan's in Brisbane as you just heard, and this is an episode where   because I am traveling at the traveling   the US. So we'll be going over that. Juan's also been very busy traveling the US so we'll be going over that one's also been very busy getting older,   turning 32. So you'll be telling us a bit about that. And then I really wanna go over the, value for value and and the BTC conference, which I went to. So I'll probably start off with that. We're recording here on the 3rd August 2024.   So that occurred,   exactly a week ago. In fact, it was probably right about this time a week ago that Trump was, speaking at the conference.  

And, man, you could not avoid it. It was the topic on, like,   everyone's lips. Oh my god. Trump's gonna be speaking.   And, you know, I didn't go to the conference at all. We were I went near it because we were kind of just outside of it, a lot of the value for value and music stuff going on.   So   I got to see some of the, you know, barricades, some of the,   you know, secret service cars and all that sort of stuff. But, yeah, for the most part, it was   it was just   silly. It was just silly. It's a and if you look at the speech afterwards, which I haven't done, but I've caught snippets of It's also just like, it's just a politician, guys. It's just it's just gonna say whatever he needs to say to to get your votes. So   not focusing on that, focusing on the value for value and and,   I suppose, the the portions outside of that. It was really, really cool getting together and and meeting just a whole bunch of people. So,   all over the course of that those kind of, like, 3 days, so I flew into Nashville on the Thursday, and I drove out with Dave on Saturday afternoon.  

I got to meet, you know, TJ door full and his his family. I met about his family. Yeah, 3 or 4 of his brothers Dude, that's actually sick, man. That's so sick. Man. And he has just got the most   everything about their family is just so   Dukes of Hazard. It's awesome. It's so it's so Nashville. Everything about them is Nashville Nashville mixed with Florida because that's where they were from. So they've got, like,   you know, even just in their family, they've got some Florida man stories, which is just hilarious. I loved it.   But really, really nice people. You know, TJ picked me up from the   airport, showed me around,   drove me around everywhere. He didn't need to do that. And,   yeah, very, very appreciative of that. So it was like, great start getting into the country and and and, you know, meeting meeting him.  

I then in the evening, went to a,   a concert   with,   Ainsley Costello, Just LOUD. There was, I think, one of, Joe Martin. So these are all kind of value for value   musicians' names that I'm listing off here,   and some of the kinda the bigger ones.   And it was really, really cool there. I got to meet Macintosh   from Satoshi's Plebs who, you know, boost into the show very regularly and and and vice versa for for me.   Once again, like, I had no idea what that dude looked like. And   I had no idea what to expect. So it was really cool just meeting him in person and and and seeing that.   What else? Who else did I meet? I got to meet Oscar Merry and Nick Molster from Fountain in the flesh. Dave Jones arrived a little bit later because he was coming straight from work from Alabama, so he had he had a bit of a drive ahead of him as well.  

Who else did I meet? I met, you know, just random people,   Eric p p,   dirty Jersey whore,   all these like random names that   I kind of know and you might roughly know they're they're all on our leaderboard.   It was just   really fascinating seeing, okay, there's, you know,   we've we've done this so much value for value podcasting 2.0 for, you know, 3 or 4 years now. And just getting to meet them in person really   opened my eyes and made a big difference and go like, yeah, this stuff's real. There's there's people who are investing a lot of time, energy, money   into,   into all of what this is kind of promising, I guess, or,   or, or what what's being created. So   once again, it was that,   that feeling of,   I guess, community   and meeting people in real life.  

Dave Jones is just an awesome human being. I love that guy. And I thought I would.   But it is also cool just meeting him in person be like, alright, he he actually is as cool as I thought he was. And honestly, I told him this. It, you know, it was worth   the whole trip just going to meet him. Just meeting him and spending some time with him and his family   was was awesome.   Yeah. Really, really good fun times. I don't know. Did you have any questions about   the conference or the v for v stuff and music that was going on?  

[00:05:25] Juan Granados:

Well, more so on say, no, I guess the answer would be no, but more and more would be your sentiment towards   what's the state of, what the state of play across v for v and in general, like, it's more like crypto and the idea and the feeling. So I guess when I went to the VCON 2 years ago, for me, it was there was a lot of excitement. Everything was going up. Everyone was really excited.   Yeah. Whether the same sentiment was was kinda shared across people  

[00:05:53] Kyrin Down:

in those 2 sort of events. Yeah. I mean, you know, all of this stuff is kind of   predicated on part on price   for   the emotional side of things. So   there were certainly a lot of pretty happy people at the Bitcoin conference because   they're, you know, they're pretty close to all time highs in terms of of BTC price. So that, you know, I saw a Tesla truck with,   what was it? It's like the Taproot Wizards,   just like really   ugly   pictures   paint painted or plastered on the side of their Tesla, the b BTC logo as well. So just straight up flexing.   So,   you know, there's there's people with wealth and to and to are willing to splurge and show it.  

The   the actual atmosphere.   You know, it's it's one of those ones where   I get, I get the feeling this is kind of my version of being in, in Bitcoin.   But 10 years ago, when it when it was just a, you know, you'd go to   a money   type of conference. And there was just a single Bitcoin booth with Eric Voorhees and Charlie Tram and a couple of the, you know, those types of people.   I get the feeling that was the the similar sort of thing   where it was just where it all in a room opposite the conference,   playing live music, streaming sets,   doing,   I think, pretty   complex   things   in terms of the live streaming and and video and being able to get real time interaction back   from from the audience at home.  

And I think it's just the building blocks of that, you know, it's,   it will still take 5, 10 years, perhaps till it's real easy, and everyone can do it. But, yeah,   I, I think it's powerful. I think it's powerful. And   the just the whole setup that was created for it,   and what the Costellos in particular were doing to to really push this forward.   It it shows   that value for values   affects other people the way it affects me.   So,   yeah, whether when once again, like, technology wise, I don't know.   Bitcoin makes the most sense for me at the moment. It's got the most people, you know, who hold it, who are doing things with it.   But whether it's all on the Lightning Network, whether in the future it's Solana meme coins, whether it's   any and all of the above, but you only see it in fiat terms because it's just hidden behind, you know, the complexities hidden behind a nice smooth interface. Who knows?  

But I still think the core concept remains. And,   yeah, it was it was just awesome. You know, I got to go on another podcasting 2.0 show as a kinda, like, cohost guest with with Dave and,   some of the other people, Dovidas,   from RSS Blue was a it was it was awesome, man. It was really, really fun, and   I didn't necessarily need all of that to give me confidence.   I was already already pretty invested.   But it it doesn't hurt either. It does it does make me go, yeah. There's all these people doing stuff, and and they're real people, and I can see they're serious people as well. They're not they're not all just kinda like, la dee da, like, this is kind of fun, but also doing,   you know, 10 other different things on the side. Now they they they invested a whole lot of effort and energy into this.  



[00:09:23] Juan Granados:

Solidified. Just solidified your your thoughts around the the whole space. Yep.  

[00:09:28] Kyrin Down:

So, yeah, that was that was, I guess, my my kind of impression just of the   of the conference   and v for v. So why don't you give me a little bit of details about your your,   the challenge you did with the with your fiancee now, I guess.   I hope you have proposed. How'd you propose? Was it was it,   Joey level ridiculous   with   the hot air force?  

[00:09:54] Juan Granados:

Not at all. Not at all. Not even close. But it it was just,   in a way, it was with   with with, my daughter, like, just getting her involved in in presenting it. But it was one of those where we knew it was gonna happen. We were just kind of already planning when we're gonna do the wedding and stuff like that. It was more   customary. It's just a process that we were going through. So it wasn't that much behind it. It was more like, let's go and enjoy a weekend away in a really nice place, somewhere else beside Brisbane,   and and do that and then start preparing for the wedding. So, yes.  

I guess that's the the touch point. I talked about this on the monthly goals. We we did a competition did a competition, which was, it was interesting, man. I I think for a long time, I haven't   done anything   like that, like a competition per se. I think I put it down on a couple of, I think it was an annual goal last year to do some sort of comp where the it didn't have to be particularly CrossFit or running or could could just be whatever. And I didn't end up doing it, didn't end up pursuing anything.   And actually this particular opportunity just popped up a few weeks ago. There was a it's a new gym   that, is kinda like the sister gym for the current gym that I go to,   with they've got   kind of same same set set up, but they've got a few more machines, basically.  

And they were doing what they called the Tac 10,   which the the gym's called Tenerife for Fletti Club, and it was a 10 kilometre challenge. And 10 kilometres was   1 kilometre ski erg, 2 kilometre row, 3 kilometer bike erg, and then run 4 kilometers.   That was basically it. Mhmm. And it was in partners. So you could do male partners, female partners, or, you know, mixed   pair. And I was like, oh, you know what? This would be cool. I'm gonna try and sign up me and my partner. I think this would be fun.   Now   just as a how it all went, I think Yeah. Was she happy to be signed up to this? She was she was happy ish enough to be signed up or the fact that he was doing it with me was fair But to give you an idea, I think prior to the actual event,   the longest that she had run before   before like before she has run, you know, certain amount of distances.  

But for the last, let's just say 4 years, I think the longest you'd ever run was 400 meters at best.   So you can imagine what was gonna happen next. So, yeah, the event was fun. It was nicely it was really, really, really, really well   laid out and set up. The people who hosted it are also similarly people who host like   like all like world level   competitions.   So they do the semifinals across the entirety of Australia. So they know how to set up, you know, a competition and stuff like that. So it was really nicely run, laid out.   I think we were heat 4 out of, like, 8 heats,   and it was just fun, man. It was nice being out in the sun, as I mentioned as well. It's starting to warm up here in Australia. Thank gosh. But   we were in the in the sun, man, and it was like   you got you worked up a, a good sweat, like, real quickly, not just from working out, but just from   from the sun itself. So it was all all done outdoors.  

It was what you'd expect from, like, a a competition. You can just move forward.   It it it was it was shared. So what I mentioned of the 1 kilometer skier, again, 2 kilometer row, and 3 kilometer bike, you kinda shared it with your partner, so you went back and forth however you wanted. And so we did that, and I think we kinda finished off those those machines,   not last, but not first. It was somewhere in the middle somewhere in the middle. And, and then the run came, and then it was just like   it it it then became and one of the things I was actually noting, it became   we weren't there. We definitely weren't there to, you know, win. We weren't there to to set a good time. In fact, we actually swapped,   lanes with another couple because they wanted to be in a lane which was, 1, closer to the kids and, 2, out of the sun because the guy was a ginger, and he didn't want to get burnt. We're like, oh, whatever. And it actually said, you know, like, oh, you know, we've gotta make sure afterwards that we, you know, we check-in with each other, make sure you got the right time. Then we were like, oh, don't don't even work. We weren't even checking the times.  

But, yeah. So the run ended up being just like, let's get it done. And it was one of those   feelings where, you know, we'll run from one point to the next point and then we'll walk the next point and then we'll run from here to here.   And so it was really good. But at the end of it, man, it was it was one of those, like, you know, you accomplish it. It was again   a similar experience to when,   me and Manchil completed Kokoda.   It was, you know, we we weren't there to be the winners. We weren't there to, you know, set some sort of pace or expectation. It was more like, we wanna get this done. Like, we wanna compete compete and do this and and complete it. And I think that's what we went and did. And then afterwards How long did it take all up?  

[00:14:30] Kyrin Down:

Hour. 2 hours? Hour and a half?  

[00:14:33] Juan Granados:

No. No. It ended up being   probably   probably   45 minutes, 45 minutes, 15 minutes, something like that. Good job.   Yeah. So it was it was the it was a run that if we'd,   I think if we'd practice running, with my partner, then it might have been even faster. But, yeah, yeah, yeah. 35 minutes all up. Like, 45:45   minutes or 50 minutes all up. Honestly, didn't even check the time, but it was around it was around there. So that was good fun.   Yeah. And then afterwards, man, I guess just continuing on from, you know, the fact that, yes, I am celebrating,   getting a little bit wiser slash older slash more in pain,   as as age takes over. Yeah. We ended up going after that to, you know, get a bit of food. I mentioned that at felons and men, we just got to lay down. So for for those folks who've never been to Brisbane before,   and for those who have and you haven't done this, I recommend you do this. Go to   Howard Smith Wharves.  

Go to where the beanbag section is. There's a little beanbag section that you can sit basically by the river next to a wharf,   and   lie back, order yourself   a drink or a bit of food, and, man, it was a really,   really laid back, really calm, really chilled out environment. We're gonna get a cup couple of salads, sat back, and then I mentioned to you, it was it's starting to get warm enough now that I was starting to bit make a bit of a sweat. So, you know, we we probably sat there for about half an hour, 40 minutes, and then moved on to another location, but it was super relaxing, man. And then after obviously doing that sort of challenge, it was like, ah, yeah. This is well worth it. And then we topped it off with a massage afterwards at a nearby,   select location. So that was awesome. So it was it was really good, Ben. It was really good. The, the birthday was fun. And then we on the actual day, I celebrated it by eating not one,   but 2 meters of pizza.  

2 meters? So we went to yeah. We went to a place called the Riverdurchi's Pizzeria here in Brisbane. Once again, if you haven't gone to it before, I recommend you do. It's not super cheap, but it is very cool and you can get pizza by 25 centimeters, half a meter or 1 meter if you're so keen. So we ended up getting 2 meters of pizza with varying flavors to And and how  

[00:16:45] Kyrin Down:

thin or thicker   are these these pigs?  

[00:16:48] Juan Granados:

So it's 1 meter length. And I'd say in terms of width would be   15 centimeters, 20 centimeters. Yeah. So   pretty finish. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's not like it's not like a meter by a meter. It's not some ridiculous thing. It's it's relatively thin. So,   if you can imagine   sorry. If you got 1 meter of pizza,   I I would say roughly it would feed about 4 people.   You probably get,   4 slices of, like, a normal pizza per 25 centimeters.   So you're getting about 16 slices   in a meter,   kind of equivalent, I guess. Not not exact, but it's like it's like 2 pizzas. It's like 2 pizzas in a meter. Let's just say about that. So we essentially got 4 pizzas for the amount of people that were there. Nice. But the food, food's good, like really high quality, and I loved it. Like it was it was good fun. It was good. It was good to do that as well. That's true. Yeah, man. Otherwise, beyond that from from a birthday perspective, it was just more setting up the annual goals, getting things in progress for what's to come.   Yeah. It was it was   it was celebrated well,   obviously for us. And and I think we we might continue this trend, which we've been doing lately, which is,   whether it's on the on the day or on the weekend where we have a bit more time. We essentially   don't really give each other gifts,   material things, but we give ourselves gifts that are activities. So,   I think I talked about it on the podcast, but for my partners, you know, birthday just gone by. We went on a helicopter ride around Brisbane, and then we had, like, plenty of drinks and just enjoyed ourselves for lunch. Similar. Again, it was just we just did activities. We participated in things. And I think that's the most memorable stuff. At this point in my time, like, getting an extra shirt or an extra pair of pants or some shoes, I guess, good, but   I I can get them whenever I want. That's not super special. And I guess the special piece is the time that people make or the activities that you do that, you know, you'll often remember,  

[00:18:44] Kyrin Down:

for years to come. So it was really good, man. Absolutely. Do you want another Kyron dating story related to the the wolves?  

[00:18:53] Juan Granados:

Go on. Go on.  

[00:18:55] Kyrin Down:

God. And, you know, this will probably just illustrate exactly why I'm single.   So I   I had met this girl,   in real life. And   she went,   she went back to England and then came back to Australia. So it was like, I met her once, and then it was like, 2 months later that we went on the first date.   And, so we went to the the Howard Smith Wharves.   I think I have to pick her up, but I think she's she preferred just meeting there, so we did that.   And, yeah, it was going good. We're sitting exactly where those those bean bags were, had a drink,   and she needed to go to the toilet.  

So I was like, okay, that's cool. I'll just wait here. And, you know, then I'm just, I'm just there, like hanging around   fiddling my thumbs, doing nothing.   And there was a group of, you know, 3, 3 Spanish people in front of me or 3 Colombians, 3 Latinos. I'm pretty sure they were Colombian.   And,   I   was just like, well, you know, I'm I'm kinda bored just waiting for, just whatever.   And so I I started a chat, and then   I can't remember if   the all 3 were there at this at at the moment or if there was just 1 or 2 of them. Anyway,   people left, and so it ended up being me just talking to the girl there in in Spanish.  

And then,   of course, my date comes back, and   she was she was like a just like a shy, shyish English girl, I would say.   And,   you know, I was we were just speaking in Spanish. I was speaking in Spanish to this girl, and then I'm like, oh, okay. Well, you know, my my dates come back. I'll switch to English. And then just so it's not super awkward, I included   I made it like a three way conversation. I was just like, you know, this is this is whatever her name is.   She's she's where are you from? Actually, I didn't even have a name yet. I was just like, well, what was your name? Blah blah blah. Okay. Cool. And then we just kinda continue the date speaking.   And then, man, I I'm pretty sure it was just from that moment on onwards, it just went downhill. I thought I thought the date was going alright. But,   from that moment on onwards, it went downhill. And then she ended up being like, oh, yeah. Okay. I'm I'm just gonna go to the toilet again. I like I'm gonna go home and blah, blah, blah.  

And   I was I was thinking afterwards, I'm like,   okay.   How how bad was that really? You know?   I I feel like I didn't do anything too crazy. It was just me being   I I feel more awkward just sitting there on my own,   twiddling on my thumbs than I do than I would just speaking to someone random. And it did, you know, just happened to be some some Colombians in front of me. But then I went, okay. You know what? I should ask some people about this. And then I'm asking some other friends, and they're like,   yeah.   So basically, you were hitting on this other girl in front of her. I'm like, no. No. No. No. No. That's not what that's not what was happening.  

But now I you know, after looking back, I'm like, okay. Yeah. I could see how it came across as that. So,   I don't know. What what what is what's your opinion? You know, there's more context to give, of course, but just just from what I've given there. Out  

[00:22:08] Juan Granados:

Yeah. Of of  

[00:22:10] Kyrin Down:

bad out of 10.  

[00:22:12] Juan Granados:

I think the only I think the reason it makes it bad out of 10 is because   she didn't really know you   as well. Like, you know, it's very fresh. So   you could you could kind of be like, what the hell is dad doing? I think if it'd been a few days or something like that, then it kind of makes sense. Yeah, then she gets like, oh yeah, that's just what you do. You know, you just interact with others.   I   think   given the freshness in generality, I'd go, unless you've already given off the vibe that you're like a super,   maybe extreme extrovert or something, then perhaps it wasn't the the smartest.  



[00:22:48] Kyrin Down:

I mean, like, the way I met this girl was   at Southbank,   and   she was, you know, I was I was working out with some friends. She was there reading a book with some earphones in or something. And I'm like, I'm gonna talk to her before she leaves.   And she got up to leave, and so I kinda, like, chased her down. And and I was very direct. I was like, hey. I think you're really pretty. I just wanted to,   talk to you for a little bit before you left. And so,   you know, it was it was a pretty full on meeting   her for the first time. So, you know, she should have kind of got got that Should have should have expected what about to come. But yeah. But,  

[00:23:26] Juan Granados:

I mean, fantastic location for for beanbags and ruining dates, though. You know? Oh, absolutely. You're on beanbags and ruined dates? You can't get any better. Can't get any better. Alright. Well, and take us into the boost to gram, man. I think Alright. Let's see some boost to gram. Why don't you avoid the shame?   Absolutely. Let's go into some in some non shame. Now for for those at home, if you don't know what the, Boostagram Lounge is, we we essentially just like to call out, supporters of the show,   people who've been sending through specifically Boostagram. So it's, Satoshis with   messages normally attached to them as well.  

Now, Karen, I'm just having a quick little look from a boost to gram perspective. I'm assuming you've called out the last one from Peter from the 22nd   July.  

[00:24:12] Kyrin Down:

I don't think so, man. I think because it's I think it's been 2 weeks since we've,   since we've got together. So   I think  

[00:24:21] Juan Granados:

the 21st July then.  

[00:24:25] Kyrin Down:

Yeah. I think you need to do the one that's on the, yeah, the 21st.  

[00:24:28] Juan Granados:

Yeah. So Coles. Yeah. Okay. We'll go from there. So we got a couple here then that we haven't read out. 1 on the 25th July, 2,222   Leaf Fountain. That's by Col McCormick.   Says, your words for your mum are beautiful. Your voice voice sounds lighter, so it's clear that you have moved through much emotion. I cannot wait to hang out with you and show you all around. LA, Beacon will be legit.  

[00:24:48] Kyrin Down:

Yeah. Thank thank you, Cole, for that for that message.   And and for those who who don't know and who might be interested,   Cole's father passed away, from cancer, I think it was a couple of days ago now.   And, man, you know, I was I was just sitting here on on, on the couch, and he sends the message. So Cole and I haven't haven't met up yet, and,   he's been in,   where was his family based? Ohio, I think.   I could be wrong on that. He he's been with, obviously, with his his family during that whole tough period. And,   man, I I just started crying, man, just like tears pouring down. And,   yeah, it's   a it's a hard thing. It's a hard thing to to lose a a parent, and, you know, he's even younger than I am. So,   yeah.  

Strength for Cole and, you know, I think he's taking it pretty well, but, hopefully, I get to meet up with him and give him a big hug as well.  

[00:25:48] Juan Granados:

Yeah. I mean, it's   by way of of life, you know, it's kind of both things that sort of happen in in in close proximity for yourself and Cole. So, you know, it's another aspect I guess to to connect over and talk through, but appreciate the sets there. Yes. Thank you, Cole. Cole, very much appreciated.   We got another one as well on the 21st July. This is from   dude, and he sent 22,222¢   Bold. Using fountain. Damn.   Good grief, dude.   Single handed Talking about that. Getting himself a shirt. Yeah. I know right. F PayPal f PayPal and Patreon also advertising is censorship.  

[00:26:23] Kyrin Down:

Yeah. I'm, I'm pretty I'm pretty close to that, man. I'm pretty pretty damn close to that. I think I'm gonna do a,   like, another   if I ever get a a chance to do, like, a solo or a themed episode or something, I'd I'd probably touch more upon this again,   and especially how it relates to   AI. So some some interesting things related to that.   Mhmm. But   what was most kinda, like, just heartening about this is I don't remember the dude, just dude ever boosting him before. So there's still random people coming and finding the the podcast somehow. And,   you know, I think that was big boosts. And Yeah. I think that's probably because I was writing some messages to people using fountain and, you know, that can pop up and show   for other people.  

But, yeah, very much appreciated, my friend. Very, very, very much appreciated.  

[00:27:13] Juan Granados:

Absolutely.   Yeah. That's a huge one.   And then we got Peter.   We've got one there from him, and that was on this 22nd July. The best part about going to Vegas solo is you don't need to suffer the dirty looks of your buddies over your choice of prostitutes. People can be so judgmental sometimes. That's 2,222   sets sent using a fountain. Wow. Thank you, Peter.  

[00:27:34] Kyrin Down:

Well,   my my Vegas trip has indeed not   materialized because I was only gonna go if David could go. And, he's he's just had too much on. So it was going to be in, you know, this coming Monday to Thursday, but instead, I'm I'm just gonna be hanging around to LA. So I'll be doing more,   more touristy things going to a Dodgers game,   seeing the Getty, probably, I'll probably go go to Hollywood as well just to to tick that off.   So just to say you've been so no no filthy,   you know, one one legged prostitutes for me whilst I'm in Vegas, unfortunately. So  

[00:28:11] Juan Granados:

the  

[00:28:13] Kyrin Down:

yourself there. There's yeah. The the only the only prostitutes,   that I I I deal with are the ones who who chat me up in Brazilian supermarkets. Those those the only ones.   I I told that story, didn't I? You did. You did. Yeah. Okay.   But, yeah, I'm gonna   be meeting Peter   in   a week and a half's time. Yeah.   So choose Tuesday week.   Should hopefully be meeting Cole.   I think he he said he might be able to make it back for Vicon, so,   should hopefully be meeting him as well.   And   yeah. Yeah. Those are those are the 2 people I still really want and need to meet   before I before I'm heading back to Brazil.  

And I very good. And the, I've got a couple here from the book reviews, Blue Screen. Should we Yeah. Do you wanna read them out or or just I'll I'll read them out actually for the next book review, but,   that I do personally. But,   yeah. So this this was guy, bit punkfm,   I believe was his handle and his name. And I, I met him at the the v for v concert.   Really,   man, there's there's just people doing some really   weird, wacky, interesting things. That's probably the best way to describe it. So he was actually,   he's real into, like, analog   stuff. So he was   creating a machine   where you could put in basically, imagine a mix tape, so a cassette.  

You put recent music on. So let's just say it's Ainsley Costello   or the Dorfels.   The Dorfels put their music on. They have all the splits and stuff encoded in this cassette tape, and he's creating a   a Walkman or a player   where you can put it in, and it will be essentially a Bitcoin node, and it will stream SATS   using this information. So, you know, all of us digital and using phones at the moment, but he's trying to like recreate it   back in a real analog type format. And do that stuff with CDs   and grammar phones and vinyl and all sorts of crap.   That's very cool, man. So he's he was in a real Yeah, really, really cool, interesting guy.  

And   I still haven't had a chance to check out the bit punk FM. But I believe he started up a podcast to just test some of the stuff out,   and put an episode or 2 out. So, yeah, I I need to need to get on top of that and do that.   Very cool. Very cool. And that and that kind of gets, I guess, into the   the last topic I really wanted to talk about, which was   impressions of the US and the good and bad   ex experiences and the good and bad of the US, I guess, whilst I'm here.   I'll I'll start off with the good because that comes straight to the mind.   There is something about the serendipity   of being in a location where people are congregating,   and   you can just have those kind of spontaneous things. I mentioned in the monthly goals, but meeting coach Bachman   and, you know, this guy is   I've watched so many videos and learned so much from him about handstands in those last 2 years, and then it just turns out he's right around the corner. And I can do a class for   20 or 30   US. It's it's a no brainer. Of course, I'm gonna do that.  

Whereas   if I were to ever meet him   in Australia   or even just anywhere related to Australia,   that could be years if not ever happened because I don't I don't think he does retreats and things like that.   Same with, you know, the Bitpank FM,   a friend that I made.   There is just something about, oh, yeah. You've you're in this place, and there's vibrancy, and you can meet these new people, and they'll be able to help you out with this. And there's, you know, this connection and that connection.   In the hostel I'm here at, I met a German girl called Jess.   She was really lovely.  

You know, funnily enough, very similar backstory to me in terms   of work, travel,   relationships,   very, very similar. You know, I had a bit of a connection with her just talking about these sorts of things.   And she's moving to Barcelona and I'm like, well,   yeah. But, you know, that's cool. I might be in Barcelona next year, just traveling through. So I'll I'll hit you up if I'm around there. And she's like, yeah. Yeah. Please do. So I've got another   friend   who who will be kind of across the globe and a reason for going to Barcelona now.   So the all those sorts of things that I think are   are kind of what make travel   really fun.  

The I didn't expect to meet her. Didn't expect to meet coach Bachman, who who will know what will happen over this this next week or 2. I'm already gonna meet a whole bunch of other random Aussies and Kiwis   at Vicon. That's that's kind of already planned. So yeah. What what what did you kind of take away from from your experience when you came to LA in terms of the the meeting random people? Because you did a lot of that in in in VCON   2022.  

[00:33:19] Juan Granados:

Well,  

[00:33:19] Kyrin Down:

do you mean for Vicon specifically, or do you mean in general LA? Just in general when you were there because you   you you had a bit of extra time as well. Right? You were you,  

[00:33:29] Juan Granados:

Yeah. Correct. I mean, in LA in LA, I I practically stuck to my to myself though. I didn't really connect with anybody. Sure. Like I I stayed at the the in large part when I went to the the US and for that particular trip, it was kind of like a relaxation,   enjoyment. And so I was in LA,   stayed at like a nice hotel by Hollywood, and just relaxed.   A lot of the time, I just spent on my own going,   hiking up to, like, the Hollywood sign   and visiting different areas. I had did a humongous walk. You could probably go back and walk, but I think I've walked, like, one day I walked 20 something kilometers or something like that from the hotel I was in to just explore the area. So,   yeah, it was it was just more more a solitude type trip, which was which is nice. It was actually it was what I wanted in opposite in terms of then from there when I went to V con, it was just   hardcore   interactions and engagements and meeting people. So it was very very different. But from from an LA perspective, there was that. Although, I do have one   one particular interaction LA, it was in the hotel that I was staying where,   talked to a few people and they were having, like,   staycations as you call them, you know, holidays at home. Mhmm.  

And got got to see, I guess, what a maybe not like the high end LA, but, you know, middle high end LA, looks and talks like and stuff like that. And to be fair,   I was like, oh, I don't wanna have too much of that. So it it was much more of a solitude and and that enjoyment for me when I went to LA last time. Sure. Do you have any recommendations for me for getting the most out of Econ while I'm there? So,  

[00:34:59] Kyrin Down:

honestly, I,   you know, there's I know there's talks. I know there's just stuff to do around, but I have zero plans for those 3 days.  

[00:35:09] Juan Granados:

Yeah. To be frank and from what I from what I remember from the first year, it would be   don't even bother   don't even bother trying to go to   multiple,   people's   conversations   and presentations.   It would be just focus on literally 1 or 2. Like, if you really look them and they're like, you know what? This one is the real one that I wanna go to. Mhmm. That's all you do. Like, literally, that's all you do.   And the rest of the time, it's actually better spent just walking around the whatever area, conference areas, because there's just so much other things happening all around.   If you try to go to multiple different,   talks, you just get, like, you just get pulled around too much and you don't get to experience it yourself. So Sure. That for sure. And then   very, very obvious, very, very easy is the after events and making sure you can get yourself into the after after parties, which are the definitely the funniest thing I think on on some of these conferences.  



[00:36:05] Kyrin Down:

Alright. Will do. Will do. Good, sir.   I have already, you know, made some some   virtual friends, and there's there's, like, Discords and things for that. And we're already gonna do, like, a tour of LA on the Thursday beforehand. So, yeah, there's there's stuff   where I'm already starting to meet meet some people, I guess, in that sense. So, yeah, that's, that's that's one thing. Yeah. I think we'll have good fun, man. I think you'll have, plenty plenty of stories. Sure. Sure. Okay. Well, I'll I'll talk about a couple of, like, the negatives, I guess, I've I've seen from the LA,   and not not just LA, the the US in in general.  

I mean, my first four days were really rapid.   You know,   33   in in Nashville,   and then drove down to Alabama with Dave.   I he did all the driving and and just got to spend the night night with him and,   and meet his family. So all of that was was pretty compressed. I didn't really get to explore much, do much, see much.   Alabama   was, well, awesome. The residential areas was so pretty.   The   you know, every house had a porch on it. I all I I was just expecting people, old people to come out and be playing the banjo. You know, it was just kind of American.   The Nat Nashville was exactly how I kind of pictured it would be   just   blasting   music,   lights,   people.  

There was I probably saw   10 separate,   I guess you'd call them   buses where party buses,   where it was just females at   11 am on a Thursday or a Friday.   Just   partying, drinking, making a ruckus in the center of the city. It was it was pretty absurd, man.   So,   Nashville was was kind of how I expected big loud   and a little bit drunk.   And then   LA here.   It's just one of the things I think   I'm   I've realized,   and I've never experienced before is   going to a completely separate culture where I can a 100%   speak the language perfectly. So, obviously, they speak   English here in America,   and I know   more or less their slang, so I know what people are saying.  

But   the   culture and the way people communicate here   has still got me baffled, and I'm still trying to understand   what is going on and why I'm leaving conversations with   the friends of friends   that I   I just don't really   get. I don't I don't understand what's happening. It's almost   it's almost like they're that they're trying to get information from the from it. I'm trying to have fun, and and perhaps that's the the the breaking point.   Maybe it's I'm not showing enough status,   and they   are looking for that kind of status thing.   It's it's just it's it's like I'm just missing something. It's it's and I had this sort of similar experience with the German girl, but it makes complete sense. You know, German German culture is very different,   and they're renowned for you know, it's it's being a bit more difficult to get them to laugh and and to to have that kind of back and forth joking with them.  

And   I guess the weird thing is just I'm here. I can communicate myself,   you know, communicate myself. I can communicate   perfectly what I'm trying to say in terms of thoughts from the brain to the mouth and get it out.   But the communication is still just   lacking. I don't I don't understand this culture here.   I don't know. Did you have feel that at all with Americans at all?   Is this just LA pubs?  

[00:40:03] Juan Granados:

Well, I think always there is part it it definitely, I mean, depends on the   type of people you interact. Once again, in LA, I guess it was nice that I didn't interact with that many people to maybe feel that. Although,   I think I I I get what you are saying. It's depending on the area,   like you just mentioned with   the the lookout for status or for the next step,   where maybe you're coming into it. I did get a little bit of that in some conversations   I I had where it it almost just sort of seemed like   a conversation was happening, but I'm only gonna continue a conversation if it's benefiting me for another purpose. Like, oh, you know, do you do you know any people from this particular club or do you know any people that could could get me into this position? Right? It's more of a transactional conversation as opposed to just   a pure conversation for getting to know people.  

In fact, in LA, maybe I think I've only really had it like   maybe once or twice where I had that conversation, but I do remember actually walking up to the Hollywood sign actually, and   in talking to a couple of people, it felt all very transactional. Like, it was very much,   like, what do you want as opposed to,   talking for for talking sake, I guess. So may maybe it's just an LA thing. I definitely didn't experience that in other areas of the US. So, you know, maybe it's just localized.  

[00:41:20] Kyrin Down:

Yeah. I'm I'm tending more towards it being an LA thing just because   I've also met a couple people here where it's, oh, yeah. Their side gigs   are show business related things.   I wanna be famous. I wanna be an influencer. I wanna be this sort of thing, our model.   So   and and only very briefly. It's not like I'm having d and m's with these people. Just   just, yeah, kind of   what I would   just go into the chat for just just to much like that date scenario where it's just, I'm just gonna talk to these people 5 minutes just for the sake of talking to them.   And I'm not looking for anything from it   other than maybe a joke or a laugh,   was or hearing something more learning something interesting on you.  

Whereas Yeah, I think there might be a bit more   a   Yeah, looking for something and then even just with Dave's friends, you know, these are people he's really friendly with.   And that we're all doing calisthenics. So there's kind of like a joint reason we're all in this place. And it's still just, yeah, I'm still just   just butting up against something. So I'll let you know if I figure out what what what it is that I'm butting up against.  

[00:42:35] Juan Granados:

Yeah. No. That's interesting. That is interesting. I mean yeah. Yeah. It's,  

[00:42:39] Kyrin Down:

And I I probably need to go to somewhere like England   where, once again, that's another culture where they speak English, so the communications there is a 100%,   but   culturally very different.   You know, you'd you'd think maybe I would have experienced this in New Zealand, but   I guess maybe I'm used to it because I'm half Kiwi, and I grew up, you know, knowing my cousins and,   and my grandma and aunties and uncles and things like that. So, yeah, perhaps perhaps that culture. And I think just Australia is so similar to New Zealand and vice versa that   there's there's not that much of that.  

Maybe I'll find out in Canada. Shit. Help. I'm gonna Canada, and I'll I'll meet Peter. So maybe   if random can,   I've I've heard   Toronto.   Someone told me today that everyone in Toronto thinks that   either Drake or The Weeknd, so  

[00:43:31] Juan Granados:

that could be that could be interesting conversations there as well. That's another completely different type of culture then. Yeah. And I mean, obviously obviously,   it's always gonna be different. Right? Cultures in different locations are gonna by by default very different to where you come from. That that's that's to be expected. I think it's a difference though in the what people are trying to get out of conversations that that shifts, I guess, and that satisfies the difference. Whereas,   you know, Brisbane,   you know, Brisbane's getting the 20 32 Olympics. Yeah. It's starting to become,   I guess, a bigger city within Australia, but still, if you come from a lot of other places around the world, it's, you know, it's still like a like a town, like a local town. And so Yeah. Because we just don't have that much touristy stuff, I I feel, from other than the beach Correct. Correct. In south. And maybe maybe there's not an expectation setting. You know, like you when you travel around or where you're, you know, like, oh, yeah, but I'm from Brisbane. You know, there's not not much to that to that effect. Whereas, you know, in LA, it's kind of known for, you know, making it big, becoming, as you say, model famous, whatever.  

And so perhaps that the default there is every   interaction, you know, it's to better yourself. It's you never know who the next person you're gonna talk to puts you into, you know, the next movie,   whereas you don't have that in Brisbane. Like, that's not gonna happen. You'd   be incredibly   lucky or maybe unlucky if you don't want fame that someone's gonna pick you up to do a movie or something like that. I've had a conversation. Like, no way.  

[00:44:56] Kyrin Down:

Sure. Sure.   One other,   yeah, negative thing, I guess, I'd say just experiencing here was has been the,   yeah, I guess I guess the poverty or just the   the the lack of support or   bad decision making. I don't know what you wanna call this, but, yeah, certainly just seeing the amount of homeless people here. And what has surprised me is I thought,   okay, if   LA's got is renowned for having,   I think Dave said there's 60 to 80,000   homeless people in LA.   And   I thought, oh, okay. If, you know, if you've got that many homeless people, it's probably because the weather is just really great, and it makes it possible to live outdoors really easily here.   I've been surprised by   how unideal the weather is. It's okay on some days, but, man, there's been plenty of days where there's been some fog and even in the heart of of, summer here, it's still been cold. I've needed to use a jumper.  

And he tells me that winter is rough, man. The when the wind comes in and just it's biting.   So   that doesn't really make sense why there's so many people here, man. If there's if the weather is actually not that ideal for being for living outdoors.  

[00:46:18] Juan Granados:

Well, you gotta you gotta compare that though. You gotta compare that day to other places in the US when it comes to, you know, winter when it's proper proper cold.  

[00:46:27] Kyrin Down:

Yeah. Sure. But, you know,   go down to to   Mexico where it's yeah. Mexico or or sunny Texas where it's just, you know, I imagine more warmer year in year out. So I don't know that, you know, that that was probably just a bit surprising me. I   assumed that   Venice Beach, California,   it's, you know, sunshine all the time and, and   good times all the times. But now it's even just the weather wise, it's been it's been slightly lacking in,   in my humble opinion,   The   the craziness of some people is is certainly out there. And I guess the default aggressiveness,   you'd you'd love it here. 1 default   default assertive, default aggressive.  

The,   what what should just be a normal interaction,   it can escalate   so quickly. And,   I I actually saw this where,   I was at the beach   doing workouts,   with these bars.   1 of the guys who is a friend of Dave, so therefore a friend of mine,   he basically walks through   a bunch of people who are trying to have a barbecue, and   they were rudely in the middle of the path. He rudely walks through the middle of them. So, you know, both are at fault.   Then they come over and that started talking about, you know,   disrespect,   you're disrespecting us and things like this. And he's being a bit passive aggressive, you know, apologizing saying like, Yeah, you're right. I I apologize for walking through the middle of the pathway. You know, just just kind of that kind of,   response. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then it just blew up. This whole other group got involved.  

A woman got smacked in the face. This kid ran to his bag, and I believe pulled out a gun.   And if it wasn't a gun, it was a taser or something like that. Dave thought it was a gun. I'm I'm already, like, back in the fuck up just going, I want nothing to do with this. I'm getting 40 meters away from all whatever the hell is happening here.   The police get called they and it's just   there's just so many times I've heard people shouting,   whether they're because on drugs   and not in their right mind,   whether they are driving a car the wrong way down a one way street and then a   you know, it's it's like both parties are at at fault. This dude's driving down the wrong way of a one way street. That's he's definitely at fault. The lady walking in the middle of the one way street and seeing a person coming towards her from the opposite direction   and then not just getting out of the way and letting him pass,   but instead stopping in the middle and shouting at him for going   down a wrong   the wrong way over one way street.  

There's just a   simmering of of kind of aggressiveness and violence here, which, I I I can feel I can feel it,   all around. It's not   it's not as dangerous here as I've as I felt in   Guatemala City,   for example.   But I'm also a little bit on edge. I'm also   watching where my stuff is,   and   making sure that I'm steering clear of   people who look like they're   looking for trouble.  

[00:49:44] Juan Granados:

Yeah. I look. I mean, all of that all of that to me sums up as like, yeah. That it does not and I I thought this of the last summer I went there.   It reminds me once again as you're talking about, I'm like,   not a place I would really choose to live.  

[00:50:00] Kyrin Down:

No. No way. No. I'm, I'm very much done with   with this area of LA. I'm going to move to downtown  

[00:50:07] Juan Granados:

for the next week, and I've heard All the best all the best. Yeah. The best with that.  

[00:50:14] Kyrin Down:

I've I've I've my plan is basically,   I'll go out only to, you know, go to the go to the baseball game,   to do a tour.   I intend,   I intend to like   skirt around Skid Row   with nothing on me just just walk out there   and just kind of have a look see and see what it looks like there.   But I basically intend to either only be going to V con, only getting out of that area and staying on the rooftop and training and maybe having a swim.   That's that's all I'm planning on doing, man. Probably the right idea. Yeah, yeah.   But it V con is just   it's in downtown. It's like the crypto.com   arena. So you need to kind of be close.  

So yeah, I think those are the main observations.   I did.   You know, I haven't.   It hasn't been as bad or as good as I thought it'd be here. Honestly, it's probably been okay. The the bad things   I got prepared for of seeing, you know, human poo on the on the corner seeing real poverty,   real   real heartbreak.   And   yes, there are a lot of homeless people, but   it hasn't   felt the same as when I saw really wet   really bad off people in in in   in Latin America. The the poverty is,   yes, there's poverty, but it it doesn't feel as   as raw, I guess, in a sense.  

And then the good aspects have also not been   as good as I thought of would be. The beach, the the sunshine,   The even the food has kind of all just been like, Yeah, it's okay.   It's okay. So,   yeah, it's kind of been   I was I was coming in expecting polar opposites   of of good and bad. And I've I've kind of just come away with   slight good and slight bad, but it it hasn't been as as confronting perhaps as I thought it would be.  

[00:52:20] Juan Granados:

Okay.   But sometimes if it's   middle of the road, it's not too bad, to be honest.  

[00:52:25] Kyrin Down:

Yep. Honestly,   that that I'm I'm kind of okay with just coming here saying this and going, yeah. Alright. That's, that's enough for me. I'd I'd probably don't need to come out this way   anytime in the future.  

[00:52:38] Juan Granados:

Honestly,   that I the the absolute exact   exact feeling I had last time I went to layman. It was   when I went there, I went, you know what? I've come here plenty of times before,   and this is this is the last. This is the last for for a really long time. Unless there's a   particular call out to California in general. I went, Nah, that'll do. Sure. Sure.  

[00:52:59] Kyrin Down:

Alright, man. I think we'll leave it there for today. Just talking about the future stuff. So next week, I'll be writing V con, so I won't be able to join you, but you'll do your   yearly goals, which would be good. The one after that,   I will be flying at the tie at this time as usual. So unless you can do it on a Saturday,   I I won't be able to to join for that one either.  

[00:53:23] Juan Granados:

Yeah. Okay. Usually yeah. No. Usually, I won't be able to do a,   Saturday. So leave with me. I'll probably just do 2. I'll do 2 upsides. So probably from my side effect, I'll be doing my annual goals,   and then there'll be  

[00:53:36] Kyrin Down:

a follow on, I think, learnings when they'll do as well. Yeah. Sure. Okay. Sounds good. Sounds good. And then, I'll be back in Brazil,   and I'll be able to do at least a whole bunch just as normal.   And then probably when I'm traveling again   to,   New Zealand is is when we'll we might just have to   wing it and and see what see what happens.  

[00:53:58] Juan Granados:

Yeah. Absolutely.  

[00:53:59] Kyrin Down:

Alright. Thank you for joining, everyone. Once again, this is a value for value podcast. If you enjoyed it, please help support the show in a couple of different ways. You can help share it with someone.   You can follow us on any other social media as well to get updates for when episodes are released.   If you have any topics, themes that you would like to,   learn about, investigate,   write into us, and once again, via any of the social media platforms is the way to go with that. And then finally, you can help support us monetarily because this does take time, energy, effort, and money to host and put all of these things out. So going to meremodelspodcast.com/support,   and in there, you'll find a couple of different podcasting apps where you can help,   actually boost in and support us during   in within the actual episode and give us a little bit bit of content to talk about as well, like PETA,   like dude, and colded.  

And then finally, there's also a PayPal link where you could,   swing through some PayPalians,   some money,   if you wanna do that as well.  

[00:55:05] Juan Granados:

Dirty fiat.  

[00:55:07] Kyrin Down:

Dirty fiat, indeed. Juan, do you wanna take us out?  

[00:55:12] Juan Granados:

Yes.   Appreciate it once again, folks, for those who stuck around with the live session today. There's a bit of a mix around,   as as normal, but for those who hung around and who are listening, I really do appreciate it. For those at home, once again, if you do wanna support us, there's lots and plenty of ways that you can do that. Karen's already talked it out. One one other thing as well is as we are   Karen's traveling the world and I'm doing plenty of things here back at home, if you wanna hear us talk about any particular topics and things, you know, feel free to reach out as well. And through that message, it does help us out as well. Yep. For now, mere mortalites, hope you're well. Wherever you are in the world, one out. Cowabunga,  

[00:55:47] Kyrin Down:

karen out, dude.  

[00:55:50] Juan Granados:

Good.