EP 70 Shadow Shorts #12

Shadow Shorts #12 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.

The guest, a twenty-year veteran of the desert gathering, describes Black Rock City as a transformative crucible that provides a sense of radical acceptance and belonging for those who feel like outsiders in traditional society. While acknowledging the harsh physical environment and the "scars" left behind, the conversation highlights how the ethos of the community extends globally through regional events, fostering a "world of imagination" that persists long after the fire goes out. They discuss the enduring human connections and the personal growth that emerge from the beautiful, difficult, and "fabulously weird" culture of the Burn.

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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. All right. All right. My name is Dame Nipples Dangerance

the first. I'm originally from Canada, but I accidentally went to Burning Man in 2005 and kind of never left the country.

Wow.

I've been here for 20 years this year. And honestly, I think the best thing that Burning Man had to influence my life was teaching me that it's not where you're from. that states whether or not there's something wrong with you. Sometimes you're just in the wrong place. I come from a small town. I was raised Catholic and I spent my entire life being told I was the problem.

Mhm.

And now I fully agree that I am the problem. But that is not a bad thing.

That's right. Yeah.

I'm not other people's problems,

but I fully embrace the beautiful weird phoenix. that this place has burned out of me and grown again and again.

Oh yeah.

And we all know this year.

Oh, it's challenge people.

It's a year.

Mhm. But like a feelings coming from the flame. Now

we have today, Thursday, it's like what beautiful day.

Burning in does not give you the burn you want.

It gives you the one you need. That does not necessarily mean it is easy. But if you're listening, you're going to grow from it

and you will come out the other side. stronger every single time.

That's beautiful.

Thank you.

So, uh, so what have you taken home from Burning Man?

Even worse, Burning Man just never left you. Like, you got to the play and just

Who I am here is who I am at home. What I've taken home from here is scars, probably inappropriate coping mechanisms and friendships that will last a lifetime sometimes, whether you want them to or not.

So, is that what keeps you coming back? The people, don't get me wrong, the art is beautiful, the experience is b beautiful. Um, the location sucks ass and is legitimately trying to murder you every day. But if you can get past,

but if you can get past that part,

uh, it's the people,

it's the stories that I hear. It's the places I get to learn about through the eyes of people I never would have met if it wasn't for this absolutely beautiful Never Neverland of Wonderland.

Oh yeah.

World of imagination.

Also the acceptance.

Yeah. You will never feel more beautiful, more loved, more just accepted for who you are. If what you are and what you are expressing is good and is not bringing harm to anyone else, there will be a line of people behind you to

congratulate you on being you.

That's right.

In all of those fabulously weird Do you do any like regional events or anything?

I do. Um I have done a few. I was part of Bonox for many years which is the LA region.

Um I've done Reno decompression. I do San Francisco decompression. Um I'm part of SPS or Sack Valley Spark in Sacramento where I live now. And we do an event called Afterglow. Um which is not a sanctioned regional but it is ours. Um, and honestly, I love it all. I think after 20 years, probably one of my favorite things is experiencing regionals in other places because it is people who have come here and fallen in love with the ethos and the culture and the people and have such a deep desire to share that with the rest of the world that they have taken a piece of home and brought it to wherever they are to show to other people.

Yeah. Yeah. Are there like reg that you'd want to go like travel around the world. We like nowhere in Spain.

I've actually really really wanted to go. Um there's a burn. There was a burn um in Israel. Um of course.

Midburn.

Midburn got kaibosed due to politics.

Yeah.

Um but I have hope that

one day things will find

Yeah.

I'd love to say peace but at least balance again.

Oh yeah.

Um and hopefully one day they will bring that back. But honestly, I would love to do um more of the international burns. Um the Africa burn sounds absolutely amazing.

Um we have a teeny tiny one um in my from where I'm from in Edmonton, Alberta

called Afterburn.

Oh yeah, after.

It's a little cold up there.

Um but yeah, it's just it's every one of them has a little bit different flavor and it's beautiful.

Well, thank you very much. This has been a wonderful Thank you.

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. email to shadowofthemanodcast@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 appreciated. Thank you and see you soon for a new episode of The shadow of the man.

We have to make another one. So, got to go. Don't worry. For next month, we already listening to a new Shadow of the Man.