EP 37 Shadow Shorts #1

Shadow Shorts #1 is out now! Recorded at BRC in 2025 participants were challenged to explain BM‘s impact in 5 minutes or less. Each Shadow Short is one person’s story, please enjoy this short story of how Burning Man has impacted and influenced people over time.

This  episode features Liz, who reflects on her seventeen-year history with  Burning Man. The conversation highlights how the event serves as a sacred, collaborative space that fosters human connection, gender fluidity, and a deep appreciation for limitless artistic creation. Liz explains that the festival’s demanding environment taught her essential infrastructure skills and environmental mindfulness, which eventually empowered her to live independently in the Minnesota woods. Her story illustrates the transformative personal impact of the gathering, emphasizing that the enduring "home vibe" and like-minded community are what draw participants back year after year.

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Transcript

Before we start, I would like to ask your help to do two things. First, tell a friend or two who you think might like the show. And second, please rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The more reviews the show gets, the more likely it will even appear in search results. Thank you, and now on to the show. 

They make the trek out to Burning Man for a week and a day. After a lot of work, oh, there's a lot of play. Party party drama drama drama. b****, b****, b****. Year after year, they come back to scratch that itch. They all say their lives have been changed. After many years, lives have been rearranged. That changes what this show is all about. You'll see the impact. of burning up and out. So sit back, relax, and cancel all your plans. These are the stories about the shadow of the man. 

Hello and welcome to the Shadow of the Man Show. I am your host, That Andy. This is a Shadow Shorts episode recorded at Burning Man 2025. You can tell because of the background sounds. Okay, I have to apologize in advance for the variable sound quality. The microphones are quite sensitive and it picked up some noise from handling and occasionally the speakers allowed the microphone to drift away while speaking. Uh the sound might be more variable than the studio recordings, but the stories are fantastic. Please enjoy.

My name is Liz. Sometimes I go by Elizabeth on the player. I am originally from Minneapolis. I lived in LA for 25 years and I just moved back into the woods of Minnesota. So I live in central Minnesota. Uh this is my 17th year burning. I just can't even imagine. And it's been a really um sacred space for me obviously. I mean I've done it every different way, right? Like I did a fire conclave. I've come alone. I brought a guy. Oops, that was a mistake. I've I am in bus camp now. But what is amazing to me is the collaborative nature and the happiness of people. Now that it's getting more and more international, it's so exciting because in my camp, which is the bus camp or Hoverlandia or whatever, they, you know, there's French and Spanish and everything and all the romance sounds and it's just wonderful and everybody's vibing and every taking care of each other,

but also not too, you know, like it's a it's and the celebration of a builder. Celebration of a builder is where the probably the strongest impact for me

um is just to be able to see what people have created. without any limitations and putting it up in this scale. I mean, look at the troll. Like, I've seen 40 of those around the world, but it looks beautiful here in the ply.

What you said? 17 years going like uh So, how has this impacted your life? Like, you know,

so I feel like I know that I it's a it definitely has a home vibe because I know I can come here and I know what to expect even though it changes every time. The people are always kind and nice and opening, welcoming, and the the it's the collaborative nature and the like-mindedness of everybody and everybody's you have to be strong like if you're a woman you have to be strong and if you're a man you have to like embrace your feminine side.

Oh yeah.

You know what I mean? And it's this wonderful like yinyang of just people and and Yeah. So so it's impacted it that way.

So you've been here 17 years. Do you still go with the same group of people or is

No, I mean I mean a very like I saw I just saw some really my burner family. I saw them yesterday and brought them presents and It was beautiful and and yeah uh yeah so um and also the influence I guess would also be like leave no trays for example I mean sounds so simple it's harder to practice in real life but I actually do it I'll pick up that little s*** or the little wood pick wood pick

toothpick

tooth toothpick yeah like it shreds or something it's like you know you just pick it up because there it is it's moop so I find that yeah the simplicity of that and then also water Um, yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. That's awesome.

All right. We still have two minutes left. Two minutes. But you don't have to usually very longwinded.

I mean, most people like if you get me started on Burning Man, I've gone talked for two hours.

You know, going for 17 years is like why, you know, like what what keeps you coming back?

The people.

Yeah.

Yeah. The people. And also like I like living hard.

Uhhuh.

And I live hard. Like I I cut stack. I split that I'm always dealing with wood where I live, right? Like I kind of split. I live alone in the woods and so like to me this is very familiar in a weird way.

And then you see people who like being taken care of and that's funny.

Yeah.

And sweet, you know what I mean? Like it's

come here for the people. It's just like like meeting new people or meeting old friends or

All of it.

Yeah.

Cuz there's a vibe, right? There's not that I mean Yeah. There's 70,000 people, but compared to the world, we're all like a lot more like each other than not.

Oh, yeah.

Which is really miraculous. That's a lot of people to like mine did. It's certainly nice to tune out of the world right now and I'm enjoying that for sure. I I I have done that and whatever, you know, power. I think infrastructure the impact on me also is infrastructure. So, I've been able to go into the woods because I've learned about infrastructure so hard from Burning Man.

What happened first? Like you going into the woods or Burning Man?

Oh, Burning Man.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Does that inspired you to go into the woods?

Well, I live I live in the place my grandma and grandpa built.

Oh,

so you know what I mean.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Like 50 years ago and stuff like that. So, but yeah, for sure it was helpful. Let me know, you know.

Mhm.

Um, okay. Well, I think that's good. Thank you so much for asking my opinion.

Thank you for taking the shadow choice challenge.

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Thank you for listening to this latest show. We have to make another Don't worry, for next month we already have one in the can. Very soon you'll be listening to a new shadow of the man.