Izzy texted our host chat on Thursday:
"Okay don't know about you guys but usually I get pumped to host the walk on Friday. Like it just hits me the day before "yay I am really doing this cool thing tomorrow!" but this week it's happening today! 🧡"
Alison in Columbus texted back.
"Ahh I love that! I'm out of town and every time I get a Meetup notification of a new person signing up, I get FOMO of it being an amazing walk and I won't be there! It's so lovely how this cool thing we're all a part of comes into everyday life, isn't it? 🥰"
I read those two messages and thought: this is the whole thing right there.
Most people see the walk. The five miles, the thoughtful topics, the group photo.
What they don't see is the quiet devotion that keeps this community alive. The people who show up before anyone else does. (Sometimes to empty trails despite 15 RSVPs.) The ones who tend the garden even when it takes months to see a bloom.
This one’s for the gardeners. 🧡
Snapshots from our walking villages in cities around the world:
“It was a beautiful morning of serendipity that perfectly captured why this community feels like a homecoming for so many people.” — Cameron, from Austin Walk #190
Thanks to our wonderful regulars Xiang and Wendy in Columbus for making the magic happen while Alison is traveling. The walk must go on! ✨
Eleven walks in. Atlanta is just getting started.
Our first walk in Sacramento, California! Shoutout to host Megan and the squad who joined our first 8 AM journey on the trail. 🧡
(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.)
🏆 Megan hosted her first walk in Sacramento and rated it a 10 out of 10! Some people joined specifically to push themselves out of their comfort zone and see if the walk opened up new pathways for them. We love to hear it.
🏆 One walker in Detroit told Izzy: "I can't believe I just didn't have to convince myself to walk five miles."
🏆 A first-timer in Austin said it was the best event they'd ever been to. Big props to our host Cameron for creating a standout experience.
Behind every great community, there’s a host.
Someone who truly cares.
Someone who still gets pumped for an event they do every week. Someone who showed up to an empty room in the beginning and kept going regardless. Someone who gets FOMO looking at the growing guest list when they’re out of town.
Not to mention, the regulars who step up when their host can't be there because the space matters that much to them.
This is a love letter to the ones who keep social spaces alive.
This week on The Board Walks, people brought these topics:
"Comparing your life a year ago to now: what happened outside of your work life?"
"How do you navigate building deep friendships when you move to a new city?"
"React vs. respond: how much do you pause before you react?"
"What is the primary difference between the mind and the brain?"
"What is your soul learning in earth school?"
Screenshot these. Steal with pride. Bring one to your next dinner party to shift the conversation from “meh” to marvelous.
Quick hits:
🧡 Host Love: Big thanks to everyone who’s sent our hosting opportunity to a friend. You rock. It’s amazing how one simple text saying “Check this out” can activate a new side quest. Host with us →
P.s. If you know anyone who’d be an epic host in Boston, please send them the link. There’s a lot of interest out there and we’re in need of a leader!
✍️ Want to help us grow? Sharing a testimonial makes the highest impact. People see themselves in your story and decide to show up. Share here →
🔐 Something is forming right now that feels bigger than anything we’ve built before. I had an epiphany while refining our premium network. I can’t wait to create a new social contract based in enthusiasm rather than obligation. (Seriously, I’m jumping off the walls over here.) Join the waitlist.
I used to measure the walks by the number of people who showed up. Fifteen felt good. Fifty felt great. Five felt like a bad Saturday.
I was measuring wrong.
Let’s say five people walk together on a Saturday morning. They go home. They're a little lighter, a little more open, a little more convinced that the stranger next to them is worth understanding. One of them is kinder to a coworker on Monday because their cup is full instead of empty. One of them finally texts the friend they've been meaning to reach. One of them has a conversation with their kid that they couldn't have had the week before because something opened up on the trail.
You can't trace any of that. You can't put it in a spreadsheet. But it happened, because someone showed up.
This is the invisible math of devotion.
Every act of showing up — to the walk, to the friendship, to the creative work, to the hard conversation you've been avoiding — sends ripples you'll never fully see. They travel further than you know. They reach people you'll never meet.
Most of us are waiting to see the ripple before we throw the stone, but it doesn't work that way. You throw the stone first. You show up first. The ripple follows.
What's one place in your life where you've been waiting to see results before you truly commit? What if you committed first, and trusted the ripple to follow?
Show up anyway. The ripple always follows. 🧡
Ready to experience what all these people keep showing up for?
5 miles. Phones away. Conversations that move you.
Austin. San Francisco. New York City. London. Denver. Columbus. Detroit. Boston. Atlanta. Boone. Sacramento.
New cities coming soon. 👀
Have a whimsical week,
Founder of The Board Walks
P.s. Know someone who needs a Saturday morning that feels like this? Forward this their way and tell them why. 🧡
