BitCOQ ’24 — a Recap of the Coq Community Party in Nashville, TN
Note: This story will be written through my lens. Experiences will have certainly differed by individual. Nothing here is financial advice. Simply evidence of an awesome community hanging out together!
Hello and welcome to my second article as a member of Coq Media! Today, I’ll share with you my experiences from BitCOQ ’24, a special event for Coq Inu Avax community members, and the surrounding events that happened in Nashville, TN from July 24–27, 2024.
Without any further adieu, let’s dive in and recap the weekend! Enjoy! 🥂
As I departed for Nashville, I couldn’t help but feel a great deal of excitement! I would soon be exploring a new city, meeting new people — many of whom I’ve been online frens with for a long-time, and attending new events, such as The Bitcoin Conference. #BTC
Bags packed — with plenty of Coq tattoos of course — I hopped aboard my one and a half hour flight to Nashville, Tennessee! ✈️
After a quick nap on the plane, I touched down to a flurry of activity in the BitCOQ ’24 group chat and a few private messages from the frens I would be sharing an Airbnb with. It turns out that Gribbly had gotten delayed in Atlanta and ended up on the same flight as World Wide Wex! And more surprisingly, they were both landing in Nashville at the same time as me!
A quick meet and greet at the airport and we were on our way to the Coq Media house, where we would be spending the next few days. The house would serve as a hub for masterminding, figuring out how we can collectively best maximize exposure of $COQ. 🐓
Shortly after arriving, and figuring out who would be sleeping in the master bedroom and who would be sleeping on the couch, our other two housemates arrived — Clint of The Bokcast and Rachel aka Dendrite Fractal Fairy!
They were greeted ceremoniously with the blaring of Pump It Up by Endor, a song that really set the tone for the weekend. 🎶
We caught up for a while, and decided in order to get the party really started we needed to order some pizza and the cultural drink of choice for the Coq community, White Claws.
We drank just about as many as we possibly could, while eating pizza and getting ready for the night! This included getting tatted up with a new set of Coq tats by none other than me! Yes, I do love my Coq tats. :)
BitCoq ‘24
Although we could have just spent the night partying at the Coq Media house and enjoying each others company, we had big plans!
It was time to head over to Up-Down Arcade Bar in downtown Nashville for our long awaited BitCOQ ’24 event! Huge shoutout to the Avax DAO for sponsoring the event! 🔺
Upon arrival it was awesome to see that No Futuristic was hard at work getting the event set up. The camera crew was ready to photograph and videograph the night. 📸
Also, Jon Ray was busy setting up his stand to hand out BitCOQ T-shirts to the first 100 in attendance. The shirts turned out great by the way, thanks to the awesome design work of Jordan of NFTreasure! If you haven’t met Jordan yet, he is an awesome guy!
The music was on point and the drinks started flowing. 🍺
In addition to meeting No Futuristic and Jordan for the first time, I had the pleasure of meeting Ryichi Sakura, JK, and Brave Chikn! Three awesome Coq community members under one roof!
I also got to catch up with my old friends Onethird Nerd, Adrian Martinez, and Wojak Satoshi. I always appreciate talking with these dudes!
In addition, there were plenty of new faces that had been brought in from the adjacent Bitcoin Conference and as a rep for Coq Media, I had a work to do. 🎥
I mingled with two representatives from MEXC Exchange, Libby and Merakiki, as we talked about a future collaboration with Coq Media and getting some of their new token launches on The Bokcast. MEXC loves meme coins and was actually one of the first exchanges to list $COQ!
I also drank too much with a representative from GotBit, as we explored market making opportunities for $COQ. Shout out to Jay, man, we had a really good time hanging out together! 🍻
And finally, got to Coq pill some Bitcoin OGs. Honestly, they were blown away by what COQBOOK has built and were impressed with using Web3 tech to wrap $COQ into MCOQ, which then can be used in sports betting, and settled in MCOQ before being unwrapped as $COQ. As Bitcoin devs look to expand into the Web3 gaming sector, this infrastructure was definitely perking up some ears.
Sadly, it was time for the bar to close down for the night and for the event to end. We all headed back to the airbnb for some well-deserved sleep. We would surely need it, as the next day would be full on! 😴
BitCOQ Brunch
Morning came way too quickly and it was definitely a challenge to shake off the hangover. Luckily nothing does the trick better than hair of the dog. 🐕
We headed on over to HiFi Clyde’s, one of Nashville’s great eatery’s to enjoy a feast courtesy of once again, the Avax DAO. Thank you guys for your generosity! 🔺
We were joined at the event from the team over at HYPE UNIT— more on this later. As content creators themselves, they are a bunch of really cool dooods and gals that can relate to the journey that Coq Media is just starting to embark on.
Also, I got to meet De3ngineer for the first time, continued chatting it up with Jordan, and crossed paths with Will, another 会说中文的外国人。🇨🇳
The food was delicious, the beer was delightful, and the competition was intense! Yes! You read that right! The competition was intense!
Right next to the dining area was a table tennis table. If you’ve ever met Clint before, you know that he is a highly competitive individual. That means that yes, we had to play pong! 🏓
After placing a friendly wager of 10 MCOQ and warming up for a bit, we started the match! Ping. Pong. Ping. Pong. Ping. Pong.
Yeah, I’ll spare you the details, but Clint wiped the floor with me. And Jon Ray. And Wex. And Gribbly. And Teddy of HYPE UNIT. Nobody stood a chance against this guy! He’s pretty much good at everything, all the time. True beast mode 24/7/365/69 Clint is. 😤
We played a little Foosball too, but yeah, nobody was beating Clint on this day. At anything.
The waitress came with the bill, we posed for a group picture, and then we all headed back to the Airbnb for a little afternoon nap.
Karate Combat
When we woke up from our nap, we recalled that there were still cold White Claws in the refrigerator and they seemed to be calling our name. What a perfect warm-up for Karate Combat and the Influencer Fight Club! 🥋
After just a 10-minute Uber ride from the Airbnb, we arrived at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. Security was crazy tight as RFK would be in attendance and let’s just say the Secret Service didn’t want anything else to go astray. 😬
We once again met up with the HYPE UNIT guys there for a brief chat and then started mingling in the VIP section, rubbing shoulders with crypto influencooors and celebrities alike!
Free flow drinks and food on the house! Major thanks to Sam the Carpet Man for hooking us up with several VIP passes to Karate Combat and Wex for obtaining a few press passes for Coq Media. 🙌
This is where the story starts to wobble a bit…
So I like to drink beer, right? Seltzers too. Well, I ordered these THC infused seltzers at the bar, called Tempter’s. I don’t really do weed or anything like that. In fact, I haven’t really smoked anything since 2005, and well, I thought it didn’t really affect me much then. Maybe I just didn’t smoke enough? 🤔
What’s 10mg of THC and 10mg of CBD, infused into a 12 oz drink? I really don’t know. 🤷♂️
Well there was three flavors of Tempter’s. I tried all three of them. I thought they had alcohol in them. They did not.
After about an hour, I was just watching the fight, listening to the music, and wham! It suddenly hit me all at once. It was as if the music had me in a trance and I suddenly snapped back to reality, except for when I snapped back, reality was in a different world.
I had effectively opened up a portal to experience this world through an alternate dimension. 🌌
Luckily, I was with good friends at the time, Clint and Rachel, and I immediately told them, “guys I think I got high and I really have never done anything like this before.”
They looked after me, tried to calm me down from being super paranoid, took me for a walk to release some energy, and eventually after a while, took me back to chill at the Airbnb, even though they had to miss the Nic Carter fight. 🫶
In the meantime, I did get to see Hawk Tuah girl Hailey Welch, but was having too much trouble controlling my spirit’s existence in space and time at the moment to approach her. 🛸
Luckily, Wex did! And this is where I have to give Wex a LOT of credit! Wex literally waited 45 minutes, looking for the perfect moment, and took advantage of a 30 second window in the action to introduce himself and snap a picture. What a legend!
After we got back to the Airbnb, we ordered some delicious Greek food, and I absolutely crashed for the night and slept like a baby.
HYPE UNIT Creator House
After waking up in the morning, the team headed over to the HYPE UNIT Creator house to explore collaboration avenues, watch them as they debut a new game — Forgotten Playland, and to just simply vibe and chill! 😎
I gained a new appreciation for what it means to be a content creator and was extremely impressed with both their set-up and preparation. There is a reason why these guys are as successful as they are.
While there, Teddy, Trip, Mickele, Clint, Wex, Rachel and I shared our stories, enjoyed some breakfast sandwiches, played some shuffleboard, and shot some billiards. Yes, billiards. 🎱
Oh boy, here we go again.
There were games there. That means Clint and I had to compete!
We put a 10 MCOQ wager on a game of pool and racked the balls!
A sound break sent the balls flying all over the table as a few rattled in. Seeing the table position, I chose stripes and sank my first shot. Missed my second shot though, giving cue possession over to Clint. As we battled back and forth it became obvious this would be a tight game. Down to one ball each, I sunk a beautiful shot that left me in perfect position to hit in the 8 ball in the side pocket for the game. And I did just that!
However, I didn’t put quite enough backspin on the ball, sinking the cue ball too, therefore scratching and giving up another 10 MCOQ to Clint. He’s going to get rich off me, I swear! 🤑
Coq Media Luncheon at TopGolf
Next up, we called an Uber and headed on over to Top Golf for an official Coq Media business luncheon. Although business was discussed, the real joy came in lining up the tee and smashing some balls!
Don’t get me wrong, the food was absolutely delicious and the draft beer was flowing like wine, but there is something about hitting a golf ball off a tee that just feels so good. ⛳️
As we finished up our lunch and headed down to the driving range, a bet of 10 MCOQ was offered for the furthest drive, but this time I was smart enough to reject it, knowing that Clint would not be defeated in anything, ever. 🧠
And sure enough, Clint and Gribbly were crushing the ball nearly 200 yards on their drives! After a slow start and a little coaching from the expert CoqStars, I was able to get my drives consistently over 100, which felt like a huge win for me!
We played some chipping games as well, and I have to say, after just a little practice on the green, I felt like I emerged as a new player, much improved, and getting the itch to play more. Golf is a lot of fun! 🏌️♂️
The Bitcoin Conference
Then it was time for the real deal! The main reason why a majority of crypto enthusiast flocked to Nashville in the first place! The Bitcoin Conference!
Upon arrival at the Music City Center, Wex and I headed over to the escalator to get up to the main exhibition hall for the conference. I was immediately taken aback when lo and behold, who should I cross paths with but none other than Tiffany Fong! I have long admired her presence on X. She was headed down the escalator as I was heading up. We exchanged pleasantries and went on our way.
After entering the conference center, I was reunited with my old pal Choose Rich Nick O’Neill, crossed paths with DOUG HYPE of Karate Combat, saw George of CryptosRus, and spent some time chatting with Jeff Martinez of Arculus digital security. 🕵🏻♂️
I watched a part of RFK’s keynote speech + Q & A session and was honestly quite impressed with his understanding of Bitcoin and what it means for freedom of money and its potential for America. 🇺🇸
After that, I circled around to chat with several of the vendors in the space, learning about what they are doing in crypto and exposing several of them to $COQ and Coq Media. I was honestly surprised to learn that many people operate strictly telegram and aren’t even really exposed to CT. Crazy.
Del Frisco’s Grille
After the conference, we headed on back to the Airbnb to chill for a bit before consuming a few more White Claws and heading out to dinner. We wanted to find a good place downtown to celebrate our last meal together as the Coq Media group, as a few of us would be departing on Saturday.
We settled on Del Frisco’s Grille, a high-end steakhouse that runs a chain across the US. If you have one in your area, I’d highly recommend it as the steaks are absolutely salivating and the CoqTails are worth their price! 🥩
As we recapped the weeks events and watched the countless bachelorette party busses go by, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we are really a family. It’s just really good to spend time with each other!
Party on Broadway
After dinner, we headed on over to Broadway to meet up with the legendary Wojak Satoshi and have some short island ice teas, while take in some of Nashville’s famous live music. 🍹
I have to tell you guys, Broadway is absolutely nuts. Think of Austin, but on steroids. Music is blasting out of every bar, the bachelorette party bus crowds all seem to have found their way downtown, and the street, well the street reeks of bourbon and puke, a combination that seems to go hand in hand with the intense amount of partying in this small area. 🤮
We watched a live performance at Ole Red of the country band Hudson Valley, a pretty good group that puts on a good performance. 🎸
We decided to hop on over to another bar, but after waiting in line for about 10 minutes, we discovered that we were all pretty tired and thought it would be better to just head back and chill on the rooftop at the Airbnb.
Of course, the Coq team cannot just pass in the street without getting noticed.
We somehow got entangled with the owner of a local donut shop and discussed, for what seemed like 30–40 minutes, a collaboration that would send a member or two of the Coq Media team back out to Nashville for some donut eating competitions and perhaps a Coq donut toss (ok that last one was my idea, don’t think it’s happening! 🤣). 🍩
Goodbye Nashville 👋
And just as quickly as it began, my trip to Nashville was over, as I had to fly out early Saturday morning to catch a friends wedding in Toronto (which was fantastic by the way!). 🤵🏻♂️👰🏻♀️
As I left Nashville, I was a bit sad that I would be missing the Donald Trump Keynote at The Bitcoin Conference, which could end up being a landmark moment in crypto history, to have crypto and Bitcoin heavily advocated for by a top presidential candidate.
Nonetheless, I knew the conference was in good hands, as Wex and Clint would be working their magic, networking, and as they do all the time, increasing the exposure of $COQ.
Until we all meet again Coq fam! 🥂
#bokbok ❤️ 🐓
