I began this newsletter over five years ago as a way to memorialize my thoughts as they pertain to fashion. Having just recently exited my business, Carson Street Clothiers, I was at a crossroads: eager to take on new projects, I needed a way to generate leads. Hadouken was the perfect catalyst.
With its original purpose fulfilled, around three years ago, I began exploring different topics. Consumer culture, politics, branding, personal allegories — anything about which I felt passionate enough to put into long form, really. Truth be told, and many of you know this, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has been the burning passion in my life for quite some time, but I was hesitant to explore these topics in my newsletter. I was fearful that I would lose subscribers, that the content would not resonate with my audience.
Over the last year, I began experimenting with exploring crypto more head-on. Sure, I sprinkled breadcrumbs here and there in previous newsletters (mostly in the form of hyperlinks that go largely unclicked — come on, guys! You know how much time I spend to find the perfect references?!), but it was only recently that I began publishing meatier takes. I wrote about broad concepts like digital scarcity and Web3 branding as well as more specific subjects like NBA Topshot and abridged presentations I had given on the metaverse before such term was a part of our vernacular some years ago.
The most amazing part about this is that you, the Hadouken Gang, have proven to be an incredibly consistent bunch: open rates and engagement for my crypto-related musings are nearly identical to those that speak to this newsletter’s original purpose (fashion). Further, as was the case during the 2017 Bull Market, more and more of my friends, family and colleagues who are not crypto-native are becoming more and more interested in the matter. My evangelism has touched them in some way over the years, and they consistently come to me with 101-style questions: how do I buy Bitcoin? what is Ethereum? should I buy [insert random shitcoin]? what are stable coins? can you explain Defi? what is yield farming? why do NFTs have value? where is the metaverse going? why do you have 🦇 🔊 in your social handles? trunzo.eth — the hell is that?
With that, I’d like to continue moving in that direction and to go a little deeper — I’d like to engage with you on the topic of crypto more directly. That’s why I am hosting my first ever IG Live Ask Me Anything this coming Thursday (April 22, 2021) at 6:30 p.m. EST. (I’d prefer to host it in Decentraland, but I suspect the majority of you are not yet users. Let me know if you join, I’d be happy to give you a tour sometime!)
I have no specific format in mind, and I will not follow any sort of script. What we cover will be entirely up to you. So stop by, I’d love to hear from you!