In 2023, I won Forbes 30 Under 30 for creating this movement.
Someone took a screenshot of my profile and posted it on X.
The caption was something like:
Forbes in 2013: we’re curing cancer with javascript. Forbes in 2023: local woman goes on walk.
It went viral. (Gotta admit, it’s pretty funny.) My phone lit up. Thousands of people were flaming me from every direction. “She only got the award because she's a woman, she's just walking, what a joke, this is what Forbes has become,” on and on.
Ironically, when my phone started buzzing like a massage gun, I was in a bookstore buying birthday gifts for two Austin walk regulars.
I sat with it for about 30 minutes. Let myself be sad and angry and misunderstood. Felt the whole thing move through me. And then I went and quote-tweeted it.
“Correction:
Local woman hosted 56 formatted walks every Saturday at 8 AM, bringing together 1.3K+ attendees of all backgrounds to walk 6,805 miles and leave with 535K+ meaningful conversations — and is scaling to more cities!
Can’t wait for you to join one. 🤩”
At the time, we were in two cities: Austin and San Francisco. And I had no evidence beyond my own belief that what I was building was going to grow. I just kept showing up. Kept learning, experimenting, refining. Kept posting the photo and the topics every Friday and trusting that the right people would find their way to the trail.
The woman who got dog-piled in that parking lot is the same person writing to you from a global network that's now connected over 20,000 curious humans in 16 cities.
Tomorrow, we’re celebrating Austin Walk #200.
Not because I knew it would work.
Because I showed up before I had proof.
That's what this week is about. 🧡
From our walking villages in 16+ cities around the world:
London Walk #33 in the middle of a heat wave. 5 out of 6 people were regulars. The energy and presence was something else. ☀️
Walk #199 in Austin, Texas. One walk away from the big 200. The skyline showed up, the clouds showed up, and so did about 40 of the right people. 🧡
Aveiro, Portugal had their largest walk yet. Good people, good water, good questions. Jenna never misses. 🇵🇹
(Don’t see your city? We post the photos in each Meetup group after the walk. Otherwise this email would be longer than a CVS receipt.)
🏆 In Miami, Brian shared that several people who recently moved to the city said The Board Walks was the very first thing they attended. For some, it wasn’t just a walk. It was the first time someone remembered their name in a brand new city. 🧡
🏆 During a walk in Austin, a man visiting from Denver shared he was moving to the city soon and trying to figure out what “home” meant next. Mid-conversation, he found out there was a Board Walks chapter back in Denver and suddenly, the thing he was looking for had been waiting for him all along.
🏆 In Detroit, Izzy said the crew stopped mid-walk to do hopscotch on a giant sidewalk course made by local kids. One walker even taught another, who had never played hopscotch before, while holding a tiny Chihuahua in her arms. Somewhere between laughter and missed jumps, strangers stopped acting like strangers.
This one's a listen, not a read.
I sat down with a mic a few weeks ago because this idea was too alive in me to wait for a keyboard. What came out was an hour of the most honest thing I've recorded: the full origin story of the walks, including parts I've never shared in writing.
The real thread is this: what does it take to keep building when there's no evidence yet?
And what goes wrong the moment you stop looking inward and start looking sideways… at what everyone else is doing, at what the algorithm rewards, at what performs?
There's a framework I call high vs. low distortion creation. A cruise ship that's one degree off course doesn't feel wrong in the moment. The passengers are still at the buffet. But a year into that journey, you're in a completely different city than the one you were heading to.
One degree. Whole different destination.
This week on The Board Walks, people brought these topics:
“What makes a great friend, and what is the one attribute you value most in a friend?”
“What happens to the world when everything goes digital, and how do you make real connections as life moves more online?”
“How do you cultivate joy, and what might be blocking you from accessing the joy that's already there?”
“When does self-improvement tip into being too much or unhealthy?”
“What makes a house feel like a home, and when does a new place actually start to feel like yours?”
Screenshot these. Steal with pride. Bring one to your next dinner party to shift the conversation from “meh” to marvelous.
Quick hits:
🥳 Tomorrow is Walk #200 in Austin, Texas. Join us to celebrate nearly four years of walking five miles with strangers every Saturday… and bring a friend with you! RSVP here →
🎉 We just crossed 4,500+ Meetup members across 15 cities. Philadelphia joins in July, Boston is restarting soon, and we're looking for a new Denver host to continue what Kenji built. Know someone perfect? Apply →
🔓 Love is in the air. Our next Salon: June 18th. We’ll be discussing Love & Relationships. Just in time to gather wisdom so you don’t summer fling yourself into the sun. Join The Board →
🌎 Momentum is building. We're now averaging 3-4 host applications every week. Thank you to everyone who's been telling friends, sharing online, and helping this community grow in such a thoughtful way. 🧡
Maybe this is your sign to go for a walk.
Not the “headphones in, avoid eye contact” kind. The kind where strangers somehow stop feeling like strangers.
You never really know which Saturday becomes the one you remember. 🧡
Have a whimsical week,
Head Gardeners of The Board Walks
P.s. Know a friend who lives in Austin, Texas? Forward this and invite them to The Big 200 tomorrow! ✨
