Breakfast Clubbing #19
ON this week: Portland/PDX, Edinburgh, Williamsburg, Miami, Mexico City, Manhattan, Cincinnati and Vegas. Newly added: Portland, Maine. And Milan returns.
Hi all,
Welcome to the many new recips of this weekly reminder note - very pleased you’re here. We’re now 750+ folks around the world who enjoy breakfasting with friends. Last week saw 10x get-togethers including first go-rounds in Miami, Edinburgh and Miami. London’s taking this week off but will be back next Weds, and next week we’ll also add Portland (Maine). All of this is happening because somebody raised a hand and said ‘hey, that looks fun. I’m down to give it a try.’ And then they do. And it IS.
Not to mention: it’s productive. I hear stories weekly of new business ideas, partnerships, friend groups and recommendations that come organically out of these moments. Which is the goal, but not the point.
The point? Get together to see what happens when like-minded crew convenes.
I say that to say: if that idea speaks to you, raise a hand. Or share this note with somebody who’d dig the idea. Paris, LA (really, I promise) and others are in the offing. Downtown Brooklyn, The Hamptons, Philly and Austin are coming back from break. Why not your town? A quick reminder of the way we try to do things. The Breakfast Club Esprit de Corps.
Everyone’s invited - especially you. And you can join the group here, too.
Feel free to share, bring friends, colleagues, family, anyone.
No agenda, no required buy-in, no RSVP. And no pitches.
Everyone pays their own way.
Everyone is welcome to subscribe:
Breakfast Club Events Week of August 12th, 2024:
Tuesday, August 20th
Portland, OR
Co-hosted by Scott Crane and Nina Sers
9a @ Proud Mary
Wednesday, August 21st
Edinburgh
Co-Hosted by Rachael Higgins and Lauren Wallett
8:30 @ One Square, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, 1 Festival Square, Edinburgh
Brooklyn (Williamsburg)
Hosted by me, Ben Dietz and a host of regulars
8:30a @ Le Crocodile at The Wythe Hotel
Mexico City
Co-Hosted by Steve Bryant
8am @ Lardo
Miami
Co-Hosted by Jeff Carvalho and Jesse Kirshbaum
8:30a @ Arlo Cafe Wynwood
Thursday, August 22nd:
Manhattan
Co-Hosted by Radhika Malhan and Heidi Hartwig
8:30am @ Eva’s Kitchen on Grand
Cincinnati
Co-Hosted by Theo Erasmus and Emmit Jones (The Rare Beast)
8:30a @ Mom n Em Coffee
Las Vegas
Co-Hosted by Steph Balzer
8a @PublicUs
Breakfast Club Events Upcoming:
* August 27: Portland OR
* August 28: London, Edinburgh, Williamsburg, Miami, Mexico City
* August 29: Portland ME, Manhattan, Las Vegas, Cincinnati
* September 25: Milan
* October 14-17: Camp Cultivate: Mammoth, CA
Last Week Briefly:
Breakfast Club PDX Report ☕ 8.13.24
A few new friends Lena Fridman Erik Wolsky Jack Hansley Lainya Magaña Chase Faulkner Sarah Dillon joined Paul Dillon Jess Gibson and I this week to talk about Portland's disinterest in networking, the east coast's love of networking, why Portland is great for kids and, how Nike and Adidas bolster, insulate and define Portland's creative community driving disparity between the global and (very) local creative work and opportunities. Always a fun time.
See you next week ☕
Breakfast Club London Report: 8.14.24
As Victoria emailed:
“Breakfast Club London was a great group this week featuring Jamie Whyte, Ceinwen Jarvis and Alex Crump-Haill (not pictured). We talked all things purpose and belonging, the power of The Life Brief, sustainability comms, rewilding, The Bear, MSCHF’s Cow Angus and how to save him, life in Singapore, changing definitions of success and much more. Taking a break next week but back the following!”
Breakfast Club Edinburgh Report: 8.14.24
We talked: Joining communities versus starting them, old fashioned paid memberships versus doing business with people you vibe with ✨, the power of in person events, synchronicities, past jobs at the same companies, connection & commonalities between strangers, best coffee shops in Edinburgh ☕️ (The Milkman and Low Down coffee), Must see shows at Fringe (Garry Starr’s Classic Penguins 🐧) Clubbing for networking, New York intensity and kindness, Edinburgh at Christmas🎄, working from hotels versus at home / co-working spaces /coffee shops.
Pictured: Lauren Wallett George Gunn Niki Hutchison Joanna Moska Rachael Higgins
Niki had a good idea about adding the Instagram collaboartion feature to posts so that it shows up on all our profiles (entirely optional as the pics won’t fit everyone’s aesthetic) but we’ve tested it for this week.
Next week: same time, same place cohosted by me, and Rachael Higgins at Sheraton Hotels & Resorts One Square Restaurant
Breakfast Club Williamsburg Report: 8.14.24
At my table we touched on moving from Seattle, pivoting career directions, lapover in marketing, entertainment and hospitality, the company Siberia, being longtime married, artisans in India, designing fashion items, scaling vs sustainability, starting a Substack, the Snaxshot newsletter and Andrea Hernández as a powerhouse, run clubs as dating apps, saying the thing you really mean, being leopard-y, visiting Hirshleifers , the new Noah Lookbook, Beams Plus, being a b-boy, starting a new business, BBLs not working out, EDGLRD, the career of Harmony Korine, Travis Scott watching "Spring Breakers," how to pronounce 032c, Pantone colors, seeing Travis live, Brooklyn Mirage, seeing 100 DJs at Boiler Room, breakfast clubs expansion to Miami, Edinburgh and Portland Maine, banking American Express points, NYC tax credits for film productions, ‘Sunny’ on Apple TV, whether you can trust home robots, "Severance"’s return, the reliability of French Fries at breakfast, Season 3 of "Industry," rewatching "Mad Men," therapists using the tropes of "Inside Out 2," Letterboxd as a daily practice, never starting Tennis, assuming people speak English, Rei Inamoto’s advice for Japan, learning a language functionally, dreaming in Spanish, breakfast club at Eleven Madison Park, Danny Meyer, Shake Shack, Felix tha Housecat vs. Miss Kitten, Sunday dance parties, very important fascia, KEXP and lots more.
The full house this am was Katelyn Wynecoop, Jasmine Takanikos, Gabe Brosbe, Kalil Greenberg, Elliot Aronow, Trixie Ferguson Gray, Natalie Gregory, Luca Vergano, Meredith Howard, Nick Bodor, Zaira Stefani Vallejo, Anne Orchier, Matthew Goldman, allie dietzek, Paul Greenberg, Zachary Mallard, Thomas Cissel, Afamefuna Onyebadi, Ian Edgar, Ishita Sharma, Zach Solomon, Forrest Smith, Leann Abad, Charles Bane III, Amanda Dell, Chaz Mee, Marc Weissman and me.
We do this every Wednesday, and everyone is invited, especially you. Come hang sometime. https://lnkd.in/eyvtRq7Z has all the details.
Breakfast Club Miami Report: 8.14.24
We did it! Breakfast Club Miami's first meet-up is in the books! Breakfast Club is weekly meet-up of creatives for coffee and conversation. Started years ago by my Culture Club Show co-host, Ben Dietz, Breakfast Club is now global with clubs in London, LA, NYC, Edinburgh, Milan, Athens and beyond.
Today with the help of my friend Jesse Kirshbaum, we launched Breakfast Club Miami, joining other creatives in conversation.
Thanks to all in Miami who joined us in getting things started. They were Corey Kamenoff, Joel Linkewer, Emmanuel Shay Omolabi, Anna Bouma, Rene Pereda, Jason Brown, Allison Deutch, Gregory Blanchard, Coker Lucas, Chris 🫶 Adamo, and Vishal Sapra.
We do this every Wednesday, and everyone is invited, especially you. Come hang sometime. https://lnkd.in/eyvtRq7Z has all the details.
Breakfast Club CDMX Report! 8.14.24
Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, Alien Resurrection (really all the Aliens) in anticipation of Alien: Romulus this weekend // derision for Alien vs Predator // the undying appeal of Dungeons & Dragons // The Call of Cthulhu // tabletop RPGS as power fantasies vs survival fantasies // GURPs (real ones know) // moving to Bilbao // the difference between the Basque culture and the rest of Spain // windsurfing in the Yucatan // covid survival strategies for los pueblos quietos // the wealth-building consequences of hotel chains in Mexican towns // the benefits of wearing your shirt inside out // Kriss Kross // satanic panic // anti-immigrant panic // existential panic // accelerator programs in Europe // Chavismo and its discontents // and, en final, how repressed media orgs in Venezuela are using AI avatars to broadcast the news
Today we were four, including the Daniel Meyer, Rafa Jiménez, and Maru M. Iglesias
We do this every Wednesday, and you're very much welcomed and encouraged to join! CDMX whatsapp group
Breakfast Club Cincy Report: 08.15.24
Balmy & intimate!!!! Thanks Stacy Sims and Jeff Kobberdahl for making BC_Cincy a little café à trois. Jeff and I have known & followed each other for years on LinkedIn, but never ever met in real life. What a treat to finally meet a cool person offline for the first time!!!
The three of us went immediately to the deep cuts in the chats department —
50 year old ravers reuniting and raving, bringing back the apprenticeship, helping kids and adults find daily mindful moments through musical prompts, everyone is a creative director now, the role experience plays in critical thought, teaching kids the value of receiving criticism, Art Pharmacy, art and culture as prescriptions from healthcare providers, the state of professional photography with AI in it, the future of ownership, how IRL micro-communities and neighborhoods are beginning to thrive, the marketings "more for less" financial model can suck an egg, email inboxes, publishing books, future venture systems, the little moments of creative brilliance that keep us going... Creative wins and why we keep doing it.
We meet every Thursday morning, at 8:30am, at Mom 'n 'em Coffee in Camp Washington, Cincinnati. Hosted by Theo Erasmus & Emmit Jones + others. All are welcome. Hope to see all of you next week. Bring a friend.
Breakfast Club Vegas Report — 08.15.24
Fall vibes at the Vegas Breakfast Club this week: a high of only 104 degrees! I'm the only one on LinkedIn out of today's crew, but also here were Jimmy Smith, Jesus Marquez, and D.
Table topics included Oscar Goodman, who was sitting a few tables away, and how each of us is, at once, all of the ages we've ever been. Also one-lunger motorcycles, the region that defines the US Rust Belt, old churches that become restaurants, early 90s attitudes toward midcentury modern architecture, the warehouse that has vintage casino stuff off of Sahara and Rancho, how many espresso makers were on NevadaHiBid during the pandemic (and now the price of stuff on NevadaHiBid), the definition of a "good cook" as someone who washes the dishes, ground beef "tacos americanos" wrapped in yellow paper, then turkey v. ground beef tacos and how to season the turkey, mescals that are too smokey, the townhomes that Liberace designed (?) owned (?) behind Chaparral High School, why there aren't many condos in Vegas, who owns real estate downtown now (and how they can sit on it forever, or until it's the right time to develop), Jack "Vintage Jack" LeVine and which houses in Huntridge are Airbnbs, whether and when we go to the Huntridge Tavern, all the apartments that are under construction and the zoning of the lot across the street from PublicUs, the Bentleys that used to be wrapped to look like junk cars, and how many years it has been since any of us have spent time in Henderson.
Hope to see you next week! Everyone is invited, especially you. 💕
Vegas Breakfast Club
Every Thursday | 8a
PublicUs | 1126 Fremont St.
🥑 ☕ 🥞 🍳
Breakfast Club Vancouver Report — 08.16.24
Gratitude for conversations that first started in High School, those picked up 2 decades later, as well as brain-tingly new ones.
My thank you to my lovely co-host, Sabrina Meherally for an epic spot [a treat to meet a favourite mind finally in person!]
Thank you, Branden Mayer, Richard Band, Aaron Mok, Christine Brett and for 30+ years of friendship, Erin LaRocque.
Next up, Brooklyn in September with the Breakfast Club OG himself, Ben Dietz
As always, “Everyone is invited, especially you.”
Ok - that’s it for this week. See you at Breakfast this week. And if not then, sometime again soon.
Ben