Hello Steemians Or Steemocastrians (I'll get to this later) it's nice to join this online community so let me introduce myself...
My name is Andrew, but everyone calls me Greenie (it's an Australian thing, not a angry-Hulk thing). I've collected 32 years of experience in this world and I currently live with my girlfriend in a converted 24 square metre (260 square feet) shipping container in a complex for students and refugees (most from Eritrea, but some from Syria) in Amsterdam North, just 50m metres away from a 6 story high Anne Frank mural by Eduardo Kobra and 100metres from a Cold-War-era Soviet submarine that's been docked and lifeless for a decade.
*Apologies in advance for my poor formatting. I'm new to this.
Outside the containers on my birthday
My girlfriend peering over at the Cold War relic
How I discovered Steemit
I was introduced to Steemit by a good friend @pkatera. Pon and I were introduced by a mutual friend while we were both living in New York City about 6 years ago. I turned up to our "blind date" "blind drunk" because at my previous meet up I failed to pace myself with the American "beer + shot combo." Despite this embarassing start Pon accepted me as a friend and we went on to have some fun times in New York City; I taught Pon how to Snowboard for the first time (I'm a Cert II CASI Snowboard Instructor) and Pon built my website for the entrepreneurial interviews magazine I launched through Kickstarter which I almost raised $20K USD for but didn't hit my target (this was a blessing in disguise).
Here's Pon (in the striped shirt in the middle) myself on the far right and some other friends celebrating my birthday on the rooftop of the Chinatown apartment I lived in. The building was part of a noodle factory!
Back when I was a snowboarding instructor in Australia ;)
This was the magazine I tried to launch
After I left NYC at the tail end of 2013 and returned to Sydney Australia I have only seen Pon once but we chat online occasionally. From the moment we met I admired Pon's outlook on the world, his travel stories, and his insights into this world of technology. So about a month ago I called him out of the blue and he told me he was now the designer for Steemit. Knowing that I have a history in making content (I worked for VICE Media Inc in NYC, was the marketing manager for Network A, and now have my own advertsing agency that just specializes in helping businesses and brands with Instagram) he suggested that I give it a look.
*This was my first article for VICE. It was the most popular story on the homepage for Christmas Day 2011. Here's the article.*
I was immediately impressed with the concept, especially the idea that quality content is rewarded, and tastemakers have taste not just beauty, which, is what irks me about working with Instagram--Instagram influencers are not the people society should be celebrating and awarding with prestige or profile.
Maybe I'm too far down the utopian path but I would love to see people profit from talent rather than from advertising revenue. Marinate on that for a moment. Look at all the free content we've all made for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc just so they could monetize it. Now think about all those funny or insightful accounts you follow, and how they sometimes slide in a "paid post" to "pay the bills" well if this steemit model takes off then content creators could potentially be able to make the content they desire without concern of offending their sponsors.
I love riding my bike (but I'm not into cycling), I love surfing but I suck at it, I'm a goofy uncle to two kids, a son to two amazing parents whom adopted me at 6 weeks of age, a younger brother to the most gentle giant in the world.
My fam on the edge of a dam!
I'm a bachelor of bullshiting grad (Marketing at UNSW), an Alumni from The Centre for Sustianability Leadership. And most happily, I'm the husband-to-be for the smartest, most fun, gorgeous, and caring person I've ever met. The saying is "You know when you know" and for me it's true.
She gave me a small chocolate as a surprise to cheer me up after eye surgery 3>
And here are some weird things about me; I was once on a weird Japanese challenge gameshow and won an eating challenge with my partner.
This is us being announced as "winners" just after we ate things that were still moving...
I have fractured my pelvis in two spots while snowboarding...and broke my back.
I co-own a pub in my home town of Newcastle with some mates (the collective noun for people from Newcastle is Novocastrians hence my reference earlier).
This is The Family Hotel in Newcastle AUS. Photo from [Hunter Hunter](https://www.hunterhunter.com.au/newcastle/the-family).
I've been the celebrant for 2 weddings MCed 5 and DJed at least 40.
Two dear friends and the "reverend" in Napa US
I've travelled to 30 or so countries and have averaged 3 months of travel per year since becoming self employed in the end of 2013.
Earlier this month I visited Lisbon, Portugal for the first time & loved it.
As Paul Kelly once said "I can order sandwiches in 7 different languages" (and say a few more things in English, Dutch, German, Swedish, Spanish, French and Indonesian). Speaking of food I'm a vegetarian, and a vegan at home (I really enjoy cooking).
The Dutch Weed Burger Joint has the best vegan "comfort" food anywhere. I dare meat-eaters to try it.
I studied fashion design for a year, and I really enjoy shipping for vintage clothes. My record for holding my breath is 3.20. I enjoy yoga and meditation but I fail to have a routine. I have written in a journal twice a day every day for the last 2 years (this has made me a happier person). In 2005 I coordinated a snowboarding competition 600km from the nearest mountain which didn't even have snow on it.
*Look very very closely and you'll see my doodle somewhere in this shoot by Spencer Tunick*
I used to DJ a lot and still do a monthly show on Red Light Radio (listen to my most recent show here). I have supported acts like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, A-Trak, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and I once played on the main stage to 10000 people just after midnight on New Years Eve then finished my set to drive three hours to Melbourne to then fly to Sydney to then open the main stage for another festival.
Beneath Al Gore is yours truly
I shoot photos on a Nikon 35Ti because it's a beautiful camera and I enjoy not being able to "capture the moment...again".
One shot, no editing
This year I've learnt how to make tempeh, laundry detergent from ash, and pickle vegetables but I still want to learn how to make a permaculture veggie garden, get to a point where our rubbish bin is rarely used, and our trips to the supermarket are infrequent. If you're into this sort of stuff and ever in Amsterdam be sure to visit Mediamatic.
And some personal ones: I am never stop making puns and "dad-jokes" for example
yesterday my girlfriend was reading the description of a hotel to me and said "and it comes with a seaview" my response was "Lets got all out and get the A-view".
Ha. No. But to me the 9 jokes that fall flat are worth the one joke that makes someone I care about laugh.
I'm a left-leaning libertarian. Do your own test here. This wasn't a surprise for me, however, the older I get the more I have moved away from authoritarianism (not that I was a Stallinist) and towards Anarchism. Since I started teaching English to refugees earlier this year and I've heard their stories I've lost faith in the humanity of our states so I feel we need to take some of the control back.
You're likely to see me posting on Steemit about: Circular Economy (the concept of designing products and services for waste-free living by striving to maintain the most value in a product through each of it's phases);
*Circular Vs Linear Economy - Photo cred*
I'll also post about new or old music that I think people should know about; some travel posts; inspirational innovations where technology is being used for a greater benefit not just to seek a profit; reviews of books I'm reading; links to art shows and whatever else I find relevant for forward thinkers like Steemians.
This has been my book of the year. Photo credit
Things that upset or frustrate me
Pollution and the exploitation of nature. Wasted resources. Privilege and inequality but not heavy handed capping of personal aspiration. Racism, Sexism, and generally inequality of opportunity. I am a feminist and I try to be aware of my behavior which negatively impacts women, and step in when other men are unaware of their negative impacts, not doing so makes you compliant. Politics and bureaucracy on both Left & Right. Corporations that prioritize profit above people or place.
My hope is that humanity is on a positive trajectory, one where culture is important not nationality. We will have societies in which people can dream as big as they want but have the opportunity to take their first few steps with their neighbor. That technology, avarice, and empathy will combine to see human consumption patterns change and consumerism become an ancient and obviously redundant concept. And I feel like for us to get there that we will need blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
If you've made it this far then you might have found something interesting, offensive, or absurd so be sure to tell me about what you've noticed by leaving a comment.
Thanks for your time. See you on Steemit.
Cheers,
Greenie
