10 years ago I quit the last real job I had.
I was a portfolio analyst for a small investment firm, and I didn’t make much money, didn’t get many vacation days, and ultimately wasn’t happy.
So I quit my job, I moved to Bangkok, and blogged about the ups and downs of what I called my quarter-life crisis.
Since then, I’ve spent the last decade building small businesses around things that I love to do, and I help other people do the same thing.
During this time, I’ve also adopted a strange affinity for the “quest.”
It started when I began pursuing 100 items on my bucket list.
A few years later as I became enamored with golf, I set out to play both the top 100 golf courses in the US, as well as the top 100 in the world.
And somewhere between then and now, I developed a passion for the cocktail, and began an adventure of trying to visit the top 100 bars in the world.
Which leads us to the reason this site exists: to document that quest and write about all of the other slightly pretentious stories and experiences I’ve had in my life and travels
What’s with the name, Slightly Pretentious?
I’m a pretty big believer that we’re all slightly pretentious about something.
We all have a hobby, passion, interest, or thing that we like to geek out over, talk about constantly, research, read about, travel for, and generally make a big part of our day to day life.
That thing, whatever it may be, is something you’re sightly pretentious about.
Often when it comes to that thing, we’re extremely knowledgeable.
Other times we’re extremely interested in it, and only kind of knowledgeable.
We pretend to know more than we do, because in doing that, well eventually we do become the experts.
And the term pretentious comes from the root word of pretend.
So here we are. Slightly pretentious.
To make matters worse, my personal interests also just happen to be in some of the bougiest industries around: golf, luxury travel, craft cocktails and so on.
Ok….so what can I expect on this site?
I’ve been blogging for ten years.
At Location Rebel, I help people build small businesses that allow them to travel the world and spend more time doing the stuff they love to do.
On Breaking Eighty I review boutique golf products and golf courses, while documenting my quest to visit the top 100 golf courses on earth.
This site?
Well this is my personal site to write about all of the other shit that doesn’t fit on those two brands.
This is where my pretentious side comes out.
I like nice things, I like nice experiences, I love visiting new and unique cocktail bars, and I’ll write about all of that here.
I’ll share stories from my bougie friends that might make you laugh, and I’ll get my fair share of crap from people who don’t like the content I put out here.
And you know what? That’s totally cool.
You’ll find I’m a walking dichotomy.
I drive a 2008 Acura, yet wear an Omega Speedmaster.
I’ll fly clear across the world to go to a cocktail bar, but I’ll insist on walking because I’m too cheap for the $10 Uber.
I’ll stay in a 5 star hotel one night, and the dirtiest hut on a beach you could imagine the next.
I’ve devoted most of my life to helping others live happier lives through the path of entrepreneurship, but I’m selfish enough to still pursue the things that I enjoy.
You’re kind of all over the place, aren’t you?
You could say that.
But if there’s one thing I do believe, it’s that life is best when lived to the extremes – as that is where the best stories lie.
Stay in a super fancy 5 star hotel? You’ll probably get a good story out of that. Stay in a dirty shack on the beach? You’ll get a good story out of that too.
Staying in a mediocre 2.5 star Hampton Inn? That’ll be a forgettable experience.
Give me a super fancy cocktail bar, or the dingiest of dives – but you’re not going to get a good story out of a Friday night at the local Applebees.
And in my mind, the person who wins at the end of the day, is the one with the most interesting stories to tell.