This week, across 10 cities, people woke up on Saturday morning and chose connection.
… Just kidding!
That was the plan, but Mother Nature sent us some pretty wild rain and snow.
Only 3 cities walked this week: London, Atlanta, and San Francisco.
But those three? They walked in the wind, rain, and ice. And they had the kind of conversations that happen when you stop waiting for perfect conditions.
If you're new here: welcome. Some of you found us on Meetup this week. Some of you have been watching this grow for years. Either way, you're here because something about "5-mile walk + meaningful conversation" made you pause and think interesting.
This newsletter exists to bring that hearty slice of interesting to life.
Every Friday, we share what's happening on the walks. The topics people bring. The moments that stick. The wins worth celebrating.
This one is inspired by a conversation in London.
Grab your favorite drink, find your coziest blanket, and dive in… 🧡
Photos from our walk chapters this week:
Walk #18 in London, UK
Walk #122 in San Francisco, California
Walk #4 in Atlanta, Georgia
🏆 A group of London regulars* had an eye-opening conversation about anxiety… and it inspired one walker to contemplate taking a trip abroad after not traveling for 7 years!
🏆 Kudos to Alice Chen for hosting “summer crowds” in San Francisco this month. Cold weather, warm conversations. 🎉
🏆 Shoutout to Sohil Shyamsundar for ending the Atlanta Walk with everyone putting their hands in a huddle and saying a phrase that stood out. This week's winner: "Attention is currency." (Should we make this a thing?! 👀)
🏆 Shoutout to a group of SF regulars who planned a February road trip over post-walk brunch. From the trail to the highway!
*Regular = someone who attends multiple walks. The average person joins 20+ times!
For most people, the hardest part about this event isn't the 5 miles… it's the 10 feet from your car to the starting point.
That's where all the what-ifs live. “What if I don't fit in? What if I say something awkward? What if everyone's already friends and I'm the outsider?”
Your body is screaming to turn around. Your brain is building the case for why next week would be better. When you're more ready. When you feel more confident. When it's less intimidating.
But here's what nobody tells you about showing up scared: everyone else is doing it, too.
The person nodding along like they've done this a hundred times? They refreshed the event page four times before committing. The regular who remembers everyone's names? They sat in their parked car for ten minutes pretending to check their phone. The host leading the opening circle? They're an introvert who had to practice that speech 20 times.
Showing up despite the fear is the baseline. It’s the ticket required to join anything meaningful, and the only way to build a true sense of community.
What happens on the other side of that 10 feet? Something shifts. Quietly, almost imperceptibly at first. Not because you suddenly become brave, but because you realize the thing you were most afraid of was never true in the first place.
This week, three cities proved it. They didn't wait to feel ready. They just showed up.
Five conversation starters from the walks
Borrow these for your next hang or happy hour!
"Is happiness a skill or a trait?”
"Why do we need to leave a legacy?”
"How much of you is based on others’ perception?”
"What choice altered the course of your life?”
"How do you build intimacy without expectations?”
What’s happening in The Board Walks universe
Moving to Meetup: Join your city’s group here or send to a friend. This is where we host RSVPs now after experimenting with multiple platforms over the last few months.
New City Alert: We launched walks in Atlanta, Detroit, and Boston! If you know epic people there, send an invite.
Current Cities: NYC, London, Austin, San Francisco, Denver, Columbus, Detroit, Boston, Atlanta, Boone (NC)
Host A Walk: Want to create a portal to serendipity in your city? It’s a great time to apply. We’re about to launch our host network. The place to be! 🎉
The Board: Spontaneous connection with the best people on the internet. Join the waitlist.
Most cities didn't walk this week. Ice, snow, roads too dangerous to risk it. Staying home was the smart move.
So let’s imagine you’re a fly on the wall in London…
Around mile three, one group started talking about anxiety. Not as the enemy, not as something to white-knuckle through, but as information. A messenger trying to tell you something.
“What outcome have you been avoiding?”
The trail went quiet. One person said this question made them consider traveling again… for the first time in 7 years. Anxiety had quietly stolen their momentum and made the world feel too big, too risky, too much.
And in one walk, instead of waiting for the fear to leave, they asked what it was trying to say.
“Anxiety, what are you protecting me from?”
The answer is always the same: something that already happened. Something that might happen. Something that isn't happening right now.
Anxiety is a time traveler. It lives in the past or the future, never the present.
So when you bring it back to now — to this walk, to these strangers who actually get it, to this moment where you're safe and seen and capable — it loses its grip.
Not because you fought it. Because you finally stopped running from it.
Anxiety doesn't go away when conditions are perfect. (They'll never be.) It goes away when you show up scared.
That's what this week was about. Not waiting for the weather to clear. Not waiting for the fear to go away. Just showing up anyway and trusting yourself to handle whatever’s on the other side.
Some people who walk with us weekly almost didn't come to their first one.
Thank goodness they showed up anyway. We hope you do, too.
Whether it's your first walk or your 50th, we'll see you out there.
Have a whimsical week,
Founder of The Board Walks
P.S. Know someone who could use this? Forward them this email. The first step is always the hardest, but you don't have to take it alone. ✨
