Manifesto
An afternoon summer camp for grown-ups.
Meeting people as an adult is hard. Statistically, it gets harder every year. Robert Putnam called the early version of this the collapse of American community in Bowling Alone (2000), and it has only gotten worse since. The night economy wasn't built for people who actually want to know each other. So we built this instead.
The Problem
Meeting people and making friends is hard. The older, the harder.
Work can be complex to navigate. The uni bubble (McGill, Concordia, UdeM) wears you down in a way that's hard to name: not the workload, but the sameness. Same faces in the library, same bar on Thursdays, same conversations about the same three things. Some weeks it feels like The Truman Show (1998). The bad ones feel like The Matrix (1999).
Meeting strangers in random places is even worse. Loud bars, expensive drinks, staying up too late. The night economy wasn't built for people who actually want to know each other. And the gym is full of individualist headphones, implicitly blocking interactions.
The Idea
Reality-show competition, members-only warmth, summer-camp games. Teams cooperate inside, compete outside. Socializing is the goal. The sweat is the path.
A rich shared context is the key to real human interaction. We build one on purpose.
Community, not dating
This is community-building. We're tackling the Friendship Recession: the measurable decline in close adult friendships over the last few decades. Robert Putnam wrote the early version in Bowling Alone (2000). It has only gotten worse since.
The "dating problem" is a side effect of the friendship problem. Le Day Club does not have any dating nudge vibe. Those events are creepy, f#$ that. Build a good community, and romantic connection tends to find its own way.
Invite or apply
We dislike nightclubs, so we're building an alternative instead of just complaining. However, we are stealing the one thing the best Los Angeles nightclubs get right: paid, yes, and curated. Two paths in: get invited by a 1st- or 2nd-degree contact of the founder, or apply to become a member.
Disrespectful behavior isn't tolerated. The working definition of disrespect: Canadian law plus common sense, with a Christian bias, full disclosure.
Daylight over darkness
We start at 2 PM instead of ending at 2 AM. The sun is the headliner.
Teams over crowds
Twenty people, two teams. Inside your team: cooperation. Across teams: competition. A crowd is strangers standing near each other; a team is strangers who had to pass you the rope.
Sweat over smalltalk
You learn more about a person in a tug-of-war than in three rounds of "what do you do?"
Memories ahead of experiences
An experience you watched. A memory you lived. The goal is the kind of Sunday you'll still bring up a year later.
Cooperate inside, compete outside
The scoreboard is there to give us something to build around. The scoreboard is not the point.
In-person, phones down
No apps as the connective tissue. No swiping. No matching. Just showing up.
Three real friends is enough
My dad once said: "If I could end my life with three real friends, family excluded, I'd be well." He wasn't underselling. He was calibrating. This club is built around the same number.
Not speed dating
We're tackling the Friendship Recession, not the dating app problem. The two are related; the dating problem is downstream of the friendship problem. Build a good community, and romantic connection finds its own way. Optimize for dating directly and you get a room that feels like a casting call. F&%# that.
Invite only
We dislike nightclubs. So instead of just complaining, we're building an alternative. However, we are stealing the one thing the best LA nightclubs get right: paid, yes, and invite only. Every participant is a 1st- or 2nd-degree contact of the founder. Disrespectful behavior isn't tolerated. What counts as disrespect? Canadian law plus common sense, with a Christian bias, full disclosure.
Cheap, not free
We charge enough to raise the "show up" bar. We charge little enough that a pub beer is more expensive. Nobody gets rich. Nobody gets excluded by price. If the number is the problem, let's talk.
Iterative, not monetized
The first events will be rough. The tenth will be less rough. The hundredth will be the thing. This is a club, not a startup. Small is beautiful.
If any of this resonates, come to the first event. Bring the rope. Bring the legs. Leave the headphones.