Name: Pirate Beachbum

Country: USA

How did you first get into Bitcoin?

One of the software developers who worked for my company tried to explain it to me in 2011-12. He was building mining machines and was super hyped on it just like people are today. He orange pilled me over the years until I finally bought some Bitcoin in 2014. I remember him and another employee laughing at me saying I bought it way too high. I honestly felt like an idiot. The market of course tanked, and I decided to keep my Bitcoin even if it went to zero. I think I made the right decision.

How did you come up with your alias and why don’t you use your real name?

Long ago I was in the action sports industry. I worked for a magazine that flew me around the world to cover beautiful beach destinations and professional competitions. During this time I was lucky enough to travel the Caribbean extensively where I really got into pirate history and rum. People would ask me what I did for a living, and I would tell them I was a professional beach bum. When I set up my twitter account, Pirate Beachbum seemed like the perfect alias.

I choose not to use my real name for privacy and because I am no one special nor do I want to be. After years of working on the back end of social network type sites, I saw how personal information was used and abused. The same friend who got me into Bitcoin was a cypherpunk hacker type. He scared the shit out of me and schooled me on OPSEC. I ditched all personal information on social media over a decade ago. I suggest everyone do the same.

Are there similarities between surfing culture and Bitcoin culture?

There are definitely similarities between the surfing and the Bitcoin world. Surfing has always been counter culture. Bitcoin is also very anti establishment. The whole anarchist thing has always been part of the action sports vibe. Fuck authority! We make our own rules! Sounds like most Bitcoiners you know right? The major difference I would say is that Bitcoiners are probably the smartest people I have ever met. I can’t say that for surfers.

What does it mean to be a taco pleb and what is the origin of the term?

Back in 2017-18 Bitcoin twitter or what we previously called crypto twitter was a wasteland of influencers who controlled the dialogue. If you were a nobody like myself, your voice was never heard or taken seriously. A lot of the influencers were very arrogant and often went unchecked. A handful of us decided that was not acceptable and started clapping back.

At first we called ourselves plebs, because that is basically what we were – scrub nobody’s! It was also the antonym to what influencers are. This seemed to resonate with a lot of regular everyday folks and more people started calling themselves plebs and joining the ranks.

During this time a lot of people were really getting into the carnivore diet thing. It was this cultish lord of the flies vibe where influencers were hosting steak dinners and charging people a ransom to join. One day we decided to clown this mentality and I put a fake tweet that thanked everyone for attending the Taco Carnivore Satoshi Roundtable. I found a random image of a long table with tacos lined up all around it. People thought it was a real event, and the tweet blew up. Tons of people asked why they had not been invited.

There were several plebs who helped push this phony narrative. I mean who doesn’t like tacos? The whole taco pleb thing basically started as kind of a joke, but it did evolve into something bigger and took on a life of its own. To all you OG plebs and taco plebs, much respect! We have been fighting this same war for years.

What is Pleb Underground?

Over the years I have written many articles and interviews about Bitcoin for various outlets. As time has gone by, many of these outlets either dissolved or evolved into something I did not want to associate with. Everytime this would happen, I was forced to start over again.

I met coinicarus years ago, and he was one of the hosts on a podcast that was blowing up. He was unhappy and wanted to be more independent from corporate Bitcoin companies. There is nothing wrong with people taking money from these companies, but the baggage that comes along with it is not worth it.

We both had a vision of creating a low key pleb site where we could publish our own content and provide a cool venue for other plebs to submit content. Coincarus launched the Pleb Underground podcast with Walton as his host. He also does short clips about trending Bitcoin topics. He is killing it and his subscriptions are blowing up. We also have the pleb underground website where we post articles daily. If you are a pleb looking for a place to contribute, please hit us up.

For me personally, when I heard Citadel21 was coming to an end, I wanted to keep the pleb torch going. Citadel21 has been my favorite Bitcoin outlet to write for. Pleb Underground is the next chapter and will carry on the same pleb spirit and ethos.

Has Bitcoin changed you, and if so, how?

Bitcoin has completely changed my life. I have met some of my closest friends and shared some of the best and worst times of my life. Bitcoin has forced me to learn everything I can about money, financial markets, energy, geopolitical politics, etc. I am still learning and that’s what keeps me here. I do not write for me. I write because it helps me stay on the pulse of Bitcoin. I hate to think who I would be without Bitcoin.

Have you always found it easy to hodl?

I have been HODLing since before I knew what it was. HODLing is a mental game. I tried trading for a bit, and it was way too stressful. The HODL life is the best life and teaches people about mental toughness. There is a certain zen you come to over the years.

What’s your take on trust between bitcoiners? Do you trust anyone, or should no one be trusted?

Bitcoiners tend to trust too easily. It reminds me of religious people who think anyone who calls themself a Christian is a good person. Bitcoin and crypto attract degenerate scammers. Time is your best weapon to determine who people are. I have seen so many people come into this game who were seemingly decent people only to watch them expose themselves as the bad actors they are. Money and greed do crazy things to people.

As for me, I do not trust many people.My circle of friends has gotten smaller over the years. This doesn't mean I have not met some awesome people. I have made lifelong friends through Bitcoin. To me it is about quality versus quantity.

Do you have any regrets from your Bitcoin journey?

I honestly wish I would have bought more Bitcoin back in the day. It always seems more expensive than some magical price point you come up with in your head at the time. When you look back, you kick yourself for being a pussy and not doubling down. With that said, I also get annoyed with myself when I have gotten caught up in FOMO and bought at the top. There is a balance there I am still trying to find. I am not perfect.

Best Bitcoin experience and worst Bitcoin experience?

The best Bitcoin experience has been watching Bitcoin make all time highs over the last few cycles and seeing so many good people’s lives change. Bitcoin literally does equal freedom for many people. When you see someone gain the financial freedom to do whatever they want, it’s a beautiful thing.

My worst experience was getting scammed and losing money from it. As much as it sucked, it taught me alot. We are all greedy to a certain extent. Be wary of anything that sounds too good to be true.

What is the biggest fail you have ever seen in the Bitcoin world?

There are so many fails I have seen over the years. The one that really pops out to me is S2F. The guy who pushed that model really did believe in it. I think he still does. He effectively got in the heads of so many very intelligent people to the point where it became the center of conversation for many of the biggest Bitcoin influencers and podcasters. When his price prediction model blew up, rather than admit he was wrong, he made excuses. Many of the people who drank his koolaid did too. It was not only a fail for him but for all the people who pushed it. When you see something like this implode, you realize everyone is winging it. The weirdest part about this is how people seem to forget about this stuff. All of these people lost their credibility with me.

What do you consider to be the biggest threat to Bitcoin, if anything?

Bitcoiners are the biggest threat to Bitcoin. I have said this for many years. There will be more people from our ranks who turn on Bitcoin. These bad actors come out of the woodwork and expose themselves over time.

Corporate Bitcoiners are also a huge threat to Bitcoin. They have learned to infiltrate the plebs by dangling a few bucks in marketing dollars to motivate popular plebs to shill for them. Be wary of anyone who makes a living working for a Bitcoin company. This is not to say they are bad people. Their incentives are just different from someone who just personally buys and HODLs. Understanding this is very important.

What makes you most optimistic about the future of Bitcoin?

As we are witnessing banks collapse, the case for Bitcoin makes a lot more sense to everyone. Watching Bitcoin go from a small niche to more mainstream over the years has shown me that Bitcoin is not going away. Billions of dollars are being spent on the Bitcoin ecosystem. Every cycle bigger and bigger fish are getting into Bitcoin. Front running these clowns gives me total satisfaction.

Who do you respect in Bitcoin and why?

I could name names but there are way too many. I respect the common plebs out there who log in everyday with no agenda posting memes, writing articles, doing podcasts, orange pilling nocoiners, debating everything under the sun and being the filter for other plebs to seek out the quality signal from the garbage. This is not to say that everyone who works for a Bitcoin company is bad. We need them too. I find a certain humbleness in your everyday hardworking pleb that I respect and relate to.

How do you keep up with what is happening in the Bitcoin world?

Bitcoin twitter and my pleb network of frenz is the best way to know what’s going on with Bitcoin. My texts and notifications blow up anytime Bitcoin farts.

Where is Bitcoin in five years?

I hate price prediction, but I see Bitcoin becoming more mainstream. Unless there is some cataclysmic event, the price should incrementally go up. In the back of my head I do know that should and will are two different outcomes. I would like to think we will see tremendous upside, but I am also prepared for anything.

What advice would you give to someone discovering Bitcoin today?

Do not get caught up thinking that every big follower account knows more than everyone else. I have found that the biggest following accounts often give out the worst advice. Listen to everyone, even people you do not like. Learn the fundamentals of Bitcoin and how to secure your stack. This means get your corn off the exchanges, and come up with a simple system to ensure you do not lose your corn. Do NOT overcomplicate this.

Any last words?

Never think that anyone has your back more than yourself in this game!