Greg Ellifritz: Surviving Burning Man

[Yung]

Link: https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/surviving-burning-man



---

Rest assured, I was prepared to ascend the throne as king hippie barbarian warlord should the conditions have degenerated into a Lord of the Flies style event. That didn’t happen. Almost everyone had lots of fun and took good care of everyone else. Don’t believe the media hype. It was by far the easiest apocalypse I’ve ever experienced.



With that said, I did learn some lessons as I survived the flood, mud, and chaos. Read on as I share those lessons as well as the action plans I have implemented to mitigate such problems in the future.

---

[Clusterfrack]

First rule of surviving Burning Man: don’t go to Burning Man.

[Totem Polar]

First rule of surviving Burning Man: don’t go to Burning Man.

To be fair, the same could be said of BJJ class.

[Clusterfrack]

To be fair, the same could be said of BJJ class.

If I had to roll with smelly hippies on drugs, I wouldn’t go.

[Totem Polar]

If I had to roll with smelly hippies on drugs, I wouldn’t go.

This is actually a thing at some otherwise good schools, in my limited experience. :rolleyes:

[GlockenSpiel]

King hippie barbarian warlord is good work, if you can get it.

[TheNewbie]

Reminds me of when they attempted to go there in an episode of Reno 911.


Personally I would prefer to visit Albertsons.

[PNWTO]

This is actually a thing at some otherwise good schools, in my limited experience. :rolleyes:

That’s kind of 10th Planet’s whole brand image, right?

[Half Moon]

King hippie barbarian warlord is good work, if you can get it.

Ahh, but uneasy lies the head that wears the hippie barbarian warlord crown. Or so I've heard...



"When I was a fighting man, the kettle drums they beat
The people scattered gold dust before my horse’s feet
But now I am a great king, the people hound my track
With poison in my wine cup, and daggers at my back"

"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft, and the lie
I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky
The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing
Rush in and die, dogs – I was a man before I was a king"

"Gleaming shell of an outworn lie, fable of Right divine
You gained your crowns by heritage, but Blood was the price of mine
The throne that I won by blood and sweat, by Crom, I will not sell
For promise of valleys filled with gold, or threat of the Halls of Hell"

[fatdog]

A trip to our local, very rural, Dollar General on Saturday is as close to Burning Man as I care to experience at this point.

You would probably have to live in rural LA, AR, AL, FL panhandle or MS to fully understand what I am talking about.

I do however have a plan to become a minor despot in the general area of extreme NE Shelby County/extreme SE St. Clair County, Alabama at some point if we ever hit the big meltdown.

[feudist]

A trip to our local, very rural, Dollar General on Saturday is as close to Burning Man as I care to experience at this point.

You would probably have to live in rural LA, AR, AL, FL panhandle or MS to fully understand what I am talking about.

I do however have a plan to become a minor despot in the general area of extreme NE Shelby County/extreme SE St. Clair County, Alabama at some point if we ever hit the big meltdown.

I consider a weekly trip to Dollar General an essential part of mindset training, situational awareness and Zen.

It balances One Life, One Arrow and "Valhalla I am Coming!!!"

[feudist]

A trip to our local, very rural, Dollar General on Saturday is as close to Burning Man as I care to experience at this point.

You would probably have to live in rural LA, AR, AL, FL panhandle or MS to fully understand what I am talking about.

I do however have a plan to become a minor despot in the general area of extreme NE Shelby County/extreme SE St. Clair County, Alabama at some point if we ever hit the big meltdown.

I consider a weekly trip to Dollar General an essential part of mindset training, situational awareness and Zen.

It balances One Life, One Arrow and "Valhalla I am Coming!!!"

Delayed double, wyrd.

[Totem Polar]

That’s kind of 10th Planet’s whole brand image, right?

I don’t know near enough to say whether or not it’s a brand image, but I have rolled with some 10th planet guys who were stoned enough that they had trouble tracking what’s going on in fundamentals class. Which about the only way and old fatty like me is going to put someone that much younger and that much better in side control and keep it. Which has happened. And I am a complete BJJ novice, relatively speaking.

Pro tip: “Boyd Belts” as a concept works for impairment too.

[Lex Luthier]

Link: https://www.activeresponsetraining.net/surviving-burning-man

Gorillafritz has got the right attitude, certainly. He would make a fine Hippie Barbarian King. (But he'd have to work on his facial hair.)
The folks running the event are pros but they know more than anyone how hard it is to get big city "help" out there even under blue skies and light winds.
Be good to each other and have an open mind, but don't be dumb as that can kill you *and* your friends.

Contrast the 70K person event with the earlier days:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4boo32dQzlc

[SeriousStudent]

If anybody in the entire state of Nevada would not only survive but thrive at Burning Man, it would be Greg. :cool:

I had a mental image of him seated atop an altar of bleeding skulls, while wreckers tried to drag RV's out of the mud. Jeez, the man not only kicked COVID's ass, but punched cancer in the junk as well. He'll easily outlive me.

[RJ]

A trip to our local, very rural, Dollar General on Saturday is as close to Burning Man as I care to experience at this point.

You would probably have to live in rural LA, AR, AL, FL panhandle or MS to fully understand what I am talking about.


Oh yes.

But you need to go after dark. That's when the Dwarves and jugglers come out.

[Borderland]

Where was Matt when he was needed to recue all those drugged out hippies?

https://i.ibb.co/JjQL8Yp/mobile2.png (https://ibb.co/Ld5wBTg)

[SecondsCount]

First rule of surviving Burning Man: don’t go to Burning Man.

Come on, where is your sense of adventure? ;)

That's my problem, my sense of adventure is the RV cabin at the KOA, or taking the travel trailer up to the mountains...self contained with heat and running water. I also like trees. Camping in the middle of the desert is not my idea of a good time.

It was nice to hear his side of the story, from someone who had actually attended the event.

[Hambo]

A trip to our local, very rural, Dollar General on Saturday is as close to Burning Man as I care to experience at this point.

You would probably have to live in rural LA, AR, AL, FL panhandle or MS to fully understand what I am talking about.



I get it, but it doesn't have to be rural. The 24 hour Walmart parking lot is like Burning Man every night. You can go to seminars on car repair, urban camping, how to have sex in a car, MUC, and involuntary BJJ and prison fighting.

[TQP]

I, for one, welcome our new Hippy Barbarian King....

I spent most of a 12 hour night shift reading a bunch of BM's website. The amount of planning, logistics, and just plain WORK that it takes to pull this event off boggles the mind. The organizers have got their shit together and good, or the event wouldn't come off in the first place, let alone get BLM approval year after year for this thing.

Totally not my thing, but absolutely fascinating to me how it goes together and operates.

SCA's Pennsic wars are another example of a big, mostly volunteer-driven, event that depends on a lot of people to pay to go and work for free to make the event happen. If I'd have gone when I first heard of it, I might still be going every year. My SCAdian friends who go seem to have a heck of a time.


Gorillafritz has got the right attitude, certainly. He would make a fine Hippie Barbarian King. (But he'd have to work on his facial hair.)
The folks running the event are pros but they know more than anyone how hard it is to get big city "help" out there even under blue skies and light winds.
Be good to each other and have an open mind, but don't be dumb as that can kill you *and* your friends.

[Clusterfrack]

Come on, where is your sense of adventure? ;)

That's my problem, my sense of adventure is the RV cabin at the KOA, or taking the travel trailer up to the mountains...self contained with heat and running water. I also like trees. Camping in the middle of the desert is not my idea of a good time.

It was nice to hear his side of the story, from someone who had actually attended the event.

LOL! But legit question. My sense of adventure takes me to remote off-the-grid cabins in Alaska (where the float plane may or may not come back to pick you up). 4-wheeling in the backcountry to camp and shoot rifles out to a mile. Or to ECQC and EWO.

Smelly hippies with STDs on drugs LARPing an unsustainable utopia? Not the adventure I'm looking for.

[SecondsCount]

LOL! But legit question. My sense of adventure takes me to remote off-the-grid cabins in Alaska (where the float plane may or may not come back to pick you up). 4-wheeling in the backcountry to camp and shoot rifles out to a mile. Or to ECQC and EWO.

Smelly hippies with STDs on drugs LARPing an unsustainable utopia? Not the adventure I'm looking for.

To be fair, they aren't all smelly hippies. Not sure on the percentage but I have some friends that go. He's a retired banker with a nice motorhome. My neighbor down the road has gone and again, not a smelly hippie.

[Clusterfrack]

To be fair, they aren't all smelly hippies. Not sure on the percentage but I have some friends that go. He's a retired banker with a nice motorhome. My neighbor down the road has gone and again, not a smelly hippie.

Our neighbor is a fit single guy in his 70s, and likes to go to Burning Man to have sex with girls half his age. Good on him--I might do the same thing in his position.

[RoyGBiv]

Our neighbor is a fit single guy in his 70s, and likes to go to Burning Man to have sex with girls half his age. Good on him--I might do the same thing in his position.

NTTAWWT!

109252

[feudist]

Our neighbor is a fit single guy in his 70s, and likes to go to Burning Man to have sex with girls half his age. Good on him--I might do the same thing in his position.

Wait-that's a thing?
Er, asking for a friend.

[Yung]

Smelly hippies with STDs on drugs LARPing an unsustainable utopia? Not the adventure I'm looking for.
That sounds closer to your everyday environment rather than an adventure.

[Clusterfrack]

That sounds closer to your everyday environment rather than an adventure.

You said it bro. I've spent enough time in the Hippie Lands to be sick to death of them.

[WDR]

Wait-that's a thing?
Er, asking for a friend.

The catch is, everyone else is having sex with them too.

Way back in the late 90's and early 2000's I considered going. Things were less... structured? Commercialized?... back then. I didn't go, mostly because even then drugs were a big part of it, and that wasn't really my kind of thing.

[Joe S]

I believe our own Maple Syrup Actual went a time or two with his lady, and befriended one of the former SF guys who goes regularly.

I know people who go for freaky sex, a lot of people who go for the art, and some who because they believe in it as philosophical/cultural idea.

[Lex Luthier]

I believe our own Maple Syrup Actual went a time or two with his lady, and befriended one of the former SF guys who goes regularly.

I know people who go for freaky sex, a lot of people who go for the art, and some who because they believe in it as philosophical/cultural idea.

My spouse and I are pioneers. (We weren’t together then.)
It was pretty much all philosophical/cultural with a moderate side of hook-up when there were only 50-100 participants.

The location is otherworldly, and there are few other spots like it in North America.

[Malamute]

Wait-that's a thing?
Er, asking for a friend.


Someone mentioned that if you had a camper with a shower, the odds of hooking up were quite high.

[feudist]

Someone mentioned that if you had a camper with a shower, the odds of hooking up were quite high.

https://media.tenor.com/Q6Oa4cYCXMQAAAAM/hold-up-drake.gif

[BJJ]

You said it bro. I've spent enough time in the Hippie Lands to be sick to death of them.

Idaho is ready for you when you are ready for Idaho.

[Totem Polar]

Idaho is ready for you when you are ready for Idaho.

This

[Default.mp3]

Maple Syrup Actual had a couple of threads about him and his wife going to Burning Man:
https://www.totalprotectioninteractive.com/forum/forum/the-club-house/the-lodge/18816-burning-man-really
https://www.totalprotectioninteractive.com/forum/forum/the-club-house/the-lodge/19322-stress-relaxation-and-fancy-hats-burning-man-2

I actually have the original posts loaded (given the slow nature of TPI), so could repost them if he was okay with it, make it a bit easier for everyone to read them, they're some real gems.

[BobM]

Maple Syrup Actual had a couple of threads about him and his wife going to Burning Man:
https://www.totalprotectioninteractive.com/forum/forum/the-club-house/the-lodge/18816-burning-man-really
https://www.totalprotectioninteractive.com/forum/forum/the-club-house/the-lodge/19322-stress-relaxation-and-fancy-hats-burning-man-2

I actually have the original posts loaded (given the slow nature of TPI), so could repost them if he was okay with it, make it a bit easier for everyone to read them, they're some real gems.

Agreed. I remember when those were first posted. I’d never heard of that event and it wouldn’t have been something I’d ever consider attending. But I read all of those, and Greg’s and now I’m giving it some thought, although my daughter says I’m not allowed!

[FNFAN]

Our neighbor is a fit single guy in his 70s, and likes to go to Burning Man to have sex with girls half his age. Good on him--I might do the same thing in his position.

The 3rd year of Burning Man was nothing less than a utopia for a newly single dood looking to establish meaningful short term relationships with cute and smart ladies. I have no desire whatsoever to go again, especially after its corporatization and regulation.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

I was going to Woodstock when in college. I was visiting my cousins on Long Island and they had a pool. We saw the traffic jam and stayed by the pool.

[Clusterfrack]

I was going to Woodstock when in college. I was visiting my cousins on Long Island and they had a pool. We saw the traffic jam and stayed by the pool.

This is how I know I’m safely in GenX: if I could get in a time machine and go to Woodstock, I wouldn’t.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

i did white water raft on the Deschutes a couple of times with a friend who was a pro river guide and did all those outdoor channels weird and dangerous adventures. She had nothing good to say about flying through Saudi Arabia to get to some river in Kenya. Saw one guy flip out after making it through a Class 4 rapids and had to go away in the special ambulance. Couldn't stop laughing hysterically.

Now I stroll along the nice creeks and canals we have here. Very pretty mild trail systems.

[Totem Polar]

This is how I know I’m safely in GenX: if I could get in a time machine and go to Woodstock, I wouldn’t.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cwn9PzsyW5I/

:D

[Clusterfrack]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cwn9PzsyW5I/

:D

That’s awesome

[Joe in PNG]

When it comes to sports events and music festivals, I'd rather watch both on the telly from the comfort of my own home.

Not getting stuck next to the drunk fat sweaty dude continuously screaming 'WOOOOOOOO!' while sloshing overpriced cheap beer on my shoes is just one of many advantages to viewing at home. Or having to wait in line to use the facilities after the Explosive Diarrhea Club.

[Lex Luthier]

Heh. Burning Dude as I experienced it:

109359

FWIW, the majority of us were Gen X or late Boomers with a pretty hefty libertarian streak.

[JCL]

Our neighbor is a fit single guy in his 70s, and likes to go to Burning Man to have sex with girls half his age. Good on him--I might do the same thing in his position.

Burning When I Pee Man

[Malamute]

Burning When I Pee Man


Theyve got shots for that.

[Tabasco]

Heh. Burning Dude as I experienced it:

109359

FWIW, the majority of us were Gen X or late Boomers with a pretty hefty libertarian streak.

Gen X here.

In 1996 there was a guy who set up "Mc Satans Beastro", where you could get a "burger, a beer and a cigarette for a buck ($1.00)". Some guy showed up with a hand full of crystals trying to exchange them for coffee. The response was:

F*ck that hippie sh!t, this is Burning Man!

[Lex Luthier]

Gen X here.

In 1996 there was a guy who set up "Mc Satans Beastro", where you could get a "burger, a beer and a cigarette for a buck ($1.00)". Some guy showed up with a hand full of crystals trying to exchange them for coffee. The response was:

F*ck that hippie sh!t, this is Burning Man!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhiIGfeJdOw

Flash was a Treasure. And no, *not* a hippie!

The dude pouring himself a beer is also the guy with the AK in the above pic. He's a dear friend of ours.

[Lex Luthier]

Spoke with said dude tonight. He brewed the beer he was pouring himself in the video, and donated 10 gallons of it for Flash’s “McSatan” prank. That’s the epitome of the thing, really.

[Bio]

I have no experience with Burning Man, but a good friend of mine went a couple of times before I knew him. He was a hard one libertarian, and his description matches what is described in the OP much more than what was on the news.

[MDFA]

A trip to our local, very rural, Dollar General on Saturday is as close to Burning Man as I care to experience at this point.

You would probably have to live in rural LA, AR, AL, FL panhandle or MS to fully understand what I am talking about.

I do however have a plan to become a minor despot in the general area of extreme NE Shelby County/extreme SE St. Clair County, Alabama at some point if we ever hit the big meltdown.

They built one at the entrance to our neighborhood, it's less than a 1/4 mile from my house...:(

It is handy for when I want to play "Spot The Scumbag"... It's a Target Rich Environment.... Now if we could just train the neighborhood Black Bears to hang out there instead of everyone's back yard.

[pi3]

I get it, but it doesn't have to be rural. The 24 hour Walmart parking lot is like Burning Man every night. You can go to seminars on car repair, urban camping, how to have sex in a car, MUC, and involuntary BJJ and prison fighting.


A Lady said she likes Dollar General because she doesn't have to dress up like when she goes to Walmart.;)

[Jim Watson]

Shared with all my women friends.

[RevolverRob]

I'm beginning to fall on the side of Ellifritz does not understand, "Stupid people, stupid places, stupid things."

He manages to consistently get into problems that most people manage to somehow avoid.

Good for him to survive and advance. I guess I just don't read his blog and think, "This is a smart dude I want to actively learn from."

But whatever.

[Hambo]

I'm beginning to fall on the side of Ellifritz does not understand, "Stupid people, stupid places, stupid things."

He manages to consistently get into problems that most people manage to somehow avoid.

Good for him to survive and advance. I guess I just don't read his blog and think, "This is a smart dude I want to actively learn from."

But whatever.

You can't get clicks, readers, and ad revenue by saying, "I survived another week by watching Netflix at home instead of going to a biker bar."

[Joe S]

I'm beginning to fall on the side of Ellifritz does not understand, "Stupid people, stupid places, stupid things."

He manages to consistently get into problems that most people manage to somehow avoid.

Good for him to survive and advance. I guess I just don't read his blog and think, "This is a smart dude I want to actively learn from."

But whatever.

I don't know that I would go that far, but would say that he has a different risk tolerance/assessment than average. We all have different ones, his is just a little further away from the median.

Objectively, skydiving is much safer than spending lots of time driving. But I know many people who drive for hours and hours each week who think jumping out of airplanes is certifiably insane.

I've done a lot of things that most people consider dangerous, but it was worth it for me.

Ellifritz also looks like he stays in pretty good shape and lives fairly low stress, and will likely outlast lots of overweight 9-5ers in quiet, safe suburban communities.

I understand your point, though. Some of his travels have raised my eyebrows a bit.

[G19Fan]

I don't know that I would go that far, but would say that he has a different risk tolerance/assessment than average. We all have different ones, his is just a little further away from the median.

Objectively, skydiving is much safer than spending lots of time driving. But I know many people who drive for hours and hours each week who think jumping out of airplanes is certifiably insane.

I've done a lot of things that most people consider dangerous, but it was worth it for me.

Ellifritz also looks like he stays in pretty good shape and lives fairly low stress, and will likely outlast lots of overweight 9-5ers in quiet, safe suburban communities.

I understand your point, though. Some of his travels have raised my eyebrows a bit.

As someone who enjoys occasional skydiving and really enjoys rock climbing I agree.

Heart disease or cancer will kill most people over other things.

[G19Fan]

I don't know that I would go that far, but would say that he has a different risk tolerance/assessment than average. We all have different ones, his is just a little further away from the median.

Objectively, skydiving is much safer than spending lots of time driving. But I know many people who drive for hours and hours each week who think jumping out of airplanes is certifiably insane.

I've done a lot of things that most people consider dangerous, but it was worth it for me.

Ellifritz also looks like he stays in pretty good shape and lives fairly low stress, and will likely outlast lots of overweight 9-5ers in quiet, safe suburban communities.

I understand your point, though. Some of his travels have raised my eyebrows a bit.

As someone who enjoys occasional skydiving and really enjoys rock climbing I agree.

Heart disease or cancer will kill most people over other things.

[Default.mp3]

I'm beginning to fall on the side of Ellifritz does not understand, "Stupid people, stupid places, stupid things."

He manages to consistently get into problems that most people manage to somehow avoid.

Good for him to survive and advance. I guess I just don't read his blog and think, "This is a smart dude I want to actively learn from."

But whatever.I'm paraphrasing here, but I recall @Maple Syrup Actual (https://pistol-forum.com/member.php?u=1426) posting somewhere about how all the training he's done isn't about making his life safer than the average person's, but so that the skills he has acquired can balance out the extra risks he takes for a more interesting life, and thus have about the same risk factor as the average person while having much more varied experiences.

I personally think that's a wonderful approach to life.

[Joe in PNG]

There's a huge difference between calculated risk and stupid risk. For instance, riding a motorcycle is a big risk, even with full protective gear. But riding an overpowered crotch rocket on a crowded interstate at 95mph while wearing just a tshirt, shorts and flipflops is a stupid risk.

[Malamute]

I'm paraphrasing here, but I recall @Maple Syrup Actual (https://pistol-forum.com/member.php?u=1426) posting somewhere about how all the training he's done isn't about making his life safer than the average person's, but so that the skills he has acquired can balance out the extra risks he takes for a more interesting life, and thus have about the same risk factor as the average person while having much more varied experiences.

I personally think that's a wonderful approach to life.

I agree, this is a good approach, I like it. I quit riding motorcycles years ago because it seemed dangerous after many close calls and having a number of friends killed or seriously hurt riding. Camping out under the stars and hiking and roaming around in grizzly country didnt seem all that risky to me, at least not in the same sense. I guess other peoples assessment of that may balance out different than it has for me. The funny part, since becoming "differently abled", and the time in grizzly country is more problematic, and a little rodeo with leukemia, the perceived danger of riding motorcycles has changed to me. Im going to do it because I like it and enjoy it. End of discussion. Nobodies going to live forever, do the best you can to be safe, but do what you love.


There's a huge difference between calculated risk and stupid risk. For instance, riding a motorcycle is a big risk, even with full protective gear. But riding an overpowered crotch rocket on a crowded interstate at 95mph while wearing just a tshirt, shorts and flipflops is a stupid risk.

As above, my perception of the risk of riding has changed. I dont wear full gear, nor do I have a super powered bike or ride insane speeds. Im sort of in the 30-30/45 Colt category of motorcycles, enough to be fun and useful, doesnt leave me wishing I had more most of the time. Takes care of business with some old school style.