EP 40 Shadow Shorts #2

Shadow Shorts #2 is out now! Recorded at BRC in 2025 participants were challenged to explain BM‘s impact in 5 minutes or less. Meet Jonathan who discusses his transition from a long-time observer to an active participant and first-time volunteer for emergency services. Their dialogue highlights the logistics of radical self-reliance, as Jonathan travels from Hawaii with minimal gear to participate in the event's rituals of renewal and catharsis. Ultimately, the episode illustrates how the culture of the desert gathering influences the "default world" by encouraging practitioners to integrate values like immediacy and leaving no trace into their daily lives.

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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 Bernie 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.

Hi, my name is Jonathan. I'm from Kilo, Kawaii. Uh, this is my fourth year burning. Um, impact influence burning man has on had on me is it's hard to hard to coin. There's so much to it, you know. Um, I followed up for a long time in the default world. And then um I met a buddy at work and um we had some things in common and Captain mentioned that work for Burning Man. And then uh I was shocked and I said, "What do you say?" I work for Bernie man. So I Uh since then I had a thousand questions. We became great friends and he he was a catalyst I needed to get out here to the playa and um it was just the the stars aligned and it's unreal to be here in person after following for so many years.

Yeah. Well, what what how many years ago? You say it's been your fourth year.

Uh this is my fourth year coming to the Burning Man, but I followed it for maybe a decade beforehand.

Yeah. Uh but your first year you came from Hawaii?

Yes.

Wow. I feel cuz I know I'm coming from Hawaii too but like the logistics of it like You know, it's funny. Um, all the time beforehand, I would think about if I were to go to Burning Man, how would I do it? You know,

yeah, duffel bag. I I fit a tent, a sleeping bag, and some other gear, a suitcase with clothing and food. I take the burner bus in I get my water from them. I bring a 5 gallon collapsible container of water I can fill up. And um it's it's uh works out perfect for me just as a solar burner.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. You know, we used to have a Hawaii camp like years ago cuz well the Hawaii regional was called Cap Capilina.

Yeah, I've heard of that. I tried to reach out but it was

it's defunct. We actually were like only the second or third like 501c3 like in the regional network and we we did all sorts of amazing things for years you know but you know we used to have this large camp every Friday we would have like a big luau we have a pig roasting and stuff and we'll do that again but yeah so what keeps you coming back you've been here like four times now

uh just the continued um new experiences and meeting new interesting people and I like the whole ritual of burning man, you know, building up a structure of a man and burning it and it's like a renewal and then there's the the temple burn, you know, which is pretty for a lot of people. It's very cathartic.

Mhm.

So, I like the the whole ritual and cultural aspects of burning.

So, now you've been here four years and I see you're uh you're volunteering when you emergency services. Yeah, this is my first year volunteering. Um, so it's a new experience. uh my way of contributing back to Burning Man.

Yeah. Well, it definitely makes it worth it cuz after like 3 years if you don't do something, it's kind of like been there, done that, you know?

Yeah. And it it gives you new insights and new ways to experience Spider-Man.

Yeah.

Yeah, definitely. So, what are your plans for next year?

Uh I just want to get through this year and then we'll we'll see about next year. But I do hope to return.

Yeah.

Well, they say the weather is supposed to be better tomorrow.

Yeah. I'm hoping that um all the weather will dump what it needs and the rest of the week will be fabulous.

Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Uh anything else? Uh well, how does like Burning Man like impact your life like in the rest of your life? Like how has this changed like over 4 years?

Well, you know, I I

Anything changed in your life?

Nothing drastic, but you know, I do I like to incorporate things like leave, you know, trace and immediiacy and I find that very helpful, you know, like as far as getting things done or accomplishing goals or, you know, just things along that line.

Mhm. Yeah. Awesome.

Cool. Uh, well, thanks for the interview. Thank you very much.

Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this show, please subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you listen. The more reviews the show has, the more likely it will even appear in search results. Also, please tell a friend and share this show with anyone that you think might like it. Word of mouth reaches quite far. especially in the Burning Man community. If you would like to contact us, please send an email to shadowofthemanpodcast@gmail.com. You can also follow Shadow of the Man on social media at Facebook, Instagram, Blue Sky, and YouTube. The links for all of these are available at shadowoftheman.com. Feel free to use any of these social media accounts to provide any feedback you might have. Your thoughts on the show are greatly appreciate it. Thank you and see you soon for a new episode of The Shadow of the Man. 

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