Wonderland: Notes From The Press Room

The last time I published a Post-Truth Post newsletter, I did so from the perspective of an outsider who was accidentally invited into the inner sanctum of the psychedelic elite. It was a stream of consciousness satirical dispatch in the wake of the Horizons Conference in New York City one month ago, where I was gilded with bonafide press credentials by Psychedelic Alpha.

Today, I’m sitting in another airport lounge en route to Esalen after just having returned from Wonderland, “The World’s Leading Psychedelic Conference”- where I was roped into the press corps alongside reporters for Forbes, National Geographic, Vice, and a dozen other platforms that largely define the mainstream global narrative on the psychedelic space and beyond.

At some point over the past week, it became clear to me that my little outsider outlaw platform has a far broader reach than I understood just a few short weeks ago.

Perhaps it was the invitation to do a headlining stand up comedy set at the legendary Moksha Arts Collective the night before the conference began - or the formal one on one in-person interview with Rick Doblin that was arranged for me during the conference, sandwiched between his appointments with journalists for Forbes and Green Market Report; maybe it was the moment that a managing partner of a major fund flagged me down and good-naturedly identified me as the satirist who infiltrated their exclusive Horizons afterparty and spoofed them - or the dozens of executives and conference circuit people who cold approached me in NYC and Miami to tell me they’re fans of Mycopreneur -

But at some point, it dawned on me that the niche of outsiders and weirdos that largely define the Mycopreneur target audience has expanded to include hedge fund managers and pharmaceutical CEO’s.

I’ve got a more in depth account of my actual experiences at Wonderland that’s out for publication, so I won’t blast you all with those quite yet -

In the wake of the Wonderland conference, I find myself navigating the opportunities and pitfalls that come with higher stakes. It’s easy to shoot from the hip and offer unique, unfiltered perspectives when you’re creating for a niche audience contained within the echo chamber of your unassuming and under the radar platform. But when that scope of influence expands to encompass an entirely new tax bracket - there’s an unfamiliar level of scrutiny that comes alongside the heightened profile.

So where do we go from here?

In the week since returning from Miami, I’ve deliberated upon the core essence of what Mycopreneur is and what direction I should take this platform - and the key concept that’s currently helping me frame this process of inquiry comes down to one word:

Range.

Name another platform that can post a viral satire sketch of a white spiritual guru Tik Tok influencer bro rolling around in thong on a Caribbean beach, and then drop a serious, in depth interview with a major pharmaceutical CEO right afterwards - and be fully at home and resonant on both approaches.

At the core of this bifurcation is an identity crises shared by the ‘psychedelic renaissance’ - who the fuck are we?

Are we a clown show impeding on indigenous sovereignty and intellectual property while perpetuating and reinforcing the status quo, or are we a medicalized and regulated biopharmaceutical industry that will positively impact billions of lives?

We’re both. The psychedelic renaissance is as fluid and dynamic as the underlying collective experience that has driven so many of us to surrender to mystical states while simultaneously seeking to describe and map them.

Listen to the Mycopreneur Podcast

The psychedelic experience encompasses a broad range of emotions and realities - perhaps an infinite number.

Profoundness, ineffability, inquiry, sadness, laughter, trauma, healing — fundamentally, it is an experience that possesses uncontrollable range.

So that’s what I’m going to reflect in my content offerings and analyses moving forward - a willingness to be undefinable.

An openness to hearing out ‘the other side’ and exploring collaboration.

A tool for exploration, negotiation, and reconciliation.

And an eternal optimism that remains wary of toxic positivity.

So if you see me at a conference or event and I’m wearing a tailored silk suit and crocodile leather shoes, just know that I’m wearing a mushroom thong underneath.