2019 State of the Crew
Welcome to 2019! Today we celebrate the 4th anniversary of this group. That’s a pretty amazing statement. We’re starting our 5th year together and that is a feat greater than anyone ever thought possible. When
@Bama Samurai first brought us together on January 1, 2015 (ok, so officially December 25, 2014) I don’t believe he even had a thought that we’d still be doing this four years later. Honestly, the fact it went more than one month was pretty amazing.
In late April 2016, Chris asked me to take over as the “leader” of this group since he had new duties at TSD as a moderator. He didn’t want to have to act as moderator in a forum he was also herding. I agreed, and the duties really involved putting up the new thread each month and just kind of hanging around. Not a tough job. I could handle it. It seemed like we had grown to a decent size and were holding our own. And it has seemed like that on a few occasions. And then – newbies show up. The guys who were in the “last class” have worked on their skills and are now ready to help out those new guys. The excitement from the noobs carries over to the more seasoned members and they learn and develop skills. And then, we seem to level off again and things are good. We hold our own. Then - newbies show up. And guess what? The last class of noobs now teaches the newest class while the old-timers sit back, sip their favorite adult beverage, and harrumph at how well they are all doing. It’s like compressing generations of a family together in several months instead of several years. And it’s amazing in this day and age of internet warfare among social groups.
The growth of this thread has been nothing short of astounding. As a comparison, in 2016, we averaged 1675 posts per month. Our slowest month was August with 892 and our busiest was November with 2886. In 2018 we averaged 3342, basically twice as many as two years earlier. Our slowest month in 2018 was June with 2598 and our busiest was December with 6500+! We were over 3000 posts in 9 months in 2018. And it just keeps getting busier.
2018 saw the first official Meetup of our merry band of shavers. 9 members made it to St. Louis and had a fun weekend. BBQ was had by all, soaps and razors were traded, and our very first limited -edition soap, Blood on Steel, was produced for the event. Speaking of limited- edition things – our very own
@jtspartan from the land of frozen stuff, otherwise known as Canada, produced a limited edition brush for our group in 2017. Not many shaving groups on the web have had their own LE brush and soap. Don’t tell me we’re not the coolest bunch of guys on the interwebs.
I also want to call attention to a feature of this thread that makes it something different. While we talk about shaving, take shaving pics and generally obsess over shiny and brushy shaving goodies – we also talk about and share our personal stories. Everybody who has been here for any amount of time the past couple of years knows Logan. If you don’t, then go back during any month of the past year and check every Friday’s posts. You’ll see Logan. And on Wednesday you’ll see his little brother Declan who joined
@Linuxguile ’s family this year. You’ll also find pictures of other member’s families.
@Drygulch ’s daughters,
@mrchick ’s daughters and grandkids and many others show up from time to time. We’ve watched
@Drygulch destroy his house so he could turn it into a better one. We’ve seen
@wristwatchb oversee the building of his new house. We’ve kept up as
@wchnu changed jobs, as
@PLAla marched his band all over Alabama and back, and gone along with
@Keithmax on a tour of the Far East on his vacation. Why, we even went with him to England to visit his brother.
We’ve encouraged members of the group through illnesses. Their own and their loved ones. We’ve grieved with them when they have lost family members and pets. And we’ve rejoiced at graduations, births, weddings and many other occasions. Talk about a group that defies the internet standard! But….there’s more.
Let’s talk about PIF culture. Pay It Forward, for newer members who maybe haven’t heard the full term. It’s a part of The Shave Den as a whole but practiced, it seems, daily in the 30DC. Somebody just starting out doesn’t have a brush? They will within a few days as a member sends them one, totally free of charge or expectations, just to help them out. Need to try a new blade? Somebody has it covered. I think we keep the USPS in business just in the PIF traffic that we generate around here. Add in the entire TSD family and it has to be a small economy. And, not to try and shine the spotlight toward myself, but perhaps the most amazing PIF in my own world occurred in late March – when Chris PIF’d himself all the way from Colorado to help us move when our former landlord showed his true colors as an idiot. Talk about support! It happens all the time around here and it’s part of the culture at The Shave Den that I want to emphasize in 2019.
And, speaking of 2019, let’s turn an eye forward. It’s New Year’s Day. Hope always abounds in the early days of a new year. And so too does the emphasis on change for the better. People resolve to lose weight, get in shape, buy a house, stop overeating and a thousand other things. Well, my resolution for the year is to continue herding the cats in this thread in order to continue helping people discover and enjoy the world of traditional shaving. And, as this thread continues to thrive and grow, The Shave Den as a whole will continue forward as a premier place of sharing information as well as friendship all around the world.
Before ending this short novel I do want to point out five people in particular. Well, four others and I’m just along for the ride. In the first month of our existence we had 41 participants. Some were every day posters, some every other day and some just a few times but they were there supporting the idea. Many of the original members are no longer active on The Shave Den while others are still active but not regulars in the 30DC at this point. However, the following five founding members are still active and involved and have been for the entire four years.
@Bama Samurai - Chris
@Drygulch - Adam
@wristwatchb - Charlie
@clint64 - Clint
@NCoxSTL – Neal
As one of those die-hards I just want to say thanks to all of the “new regulars” we’ve added along the way. There are plenty of regulars who joined up after that first month and as recently as last month who have become just as important to our merry band of denizens. Without the continued support of everyone we wouldn’t have an anniversary to celebrate, or a future to look forward to as a group.
In summary, the state of the 30DC is extremely strong. And the state of The Shave Den appears to be as well. Thanks to everyone for your support and continued participation. Here’s to an even busier and better 2019!!
Click to expand...
