Dirtbag Rich: an update

the book, the podcast, the dream

Half a year ago I announced the birth of my next writing project, Dirtbag Rich, and its accompanying podcast.

So how’s it going?

Editing in Edinburgh - March 2025

The Book

I’ve got 14,000 edited words. That may not seem like much, but for a book I intend to keep short (20-25k words total), it’s good progress. I’m happy.

Writing is a bloodsport—and writing something about yourself and something that contains prescriptive advice for others… extra bloody. As I crystallize my vision into sentences, paragraphs, and pages, I’m facing my own deficiencies, inconsistencies, biases, and privilege. Which also means: I’m learning a ton and figuring out what I really believe. It’s fun, in a masochistic kind of way.

Good editors are worth their weight in gold. Alan Burnce has gotten me unstuck more than once, and Olson Pook has kept my prose crisp. Bless these men.

I feared I’d be distracted from writing while running my 6-week teen trip to Greece & Turkey—but here I am, 4 weeks into the trip (hello from Izmir! 🇹🇷) and still cranking out chapters. (The teens stay up late. I get up early. It’s a match made in heaven.)

The Podcast

Back in October, a simple “call for interviews” on Substack and Facebook generated an overwhelmingly positive response. I ended up hearing from over 100 people, doing 45 exploratory conversations, and recording 26 full-length interviews. I banked up episodes over the winter, and since then, I’ve posted one each Sunday.

Podcasting is so great. As a writer, it does triple-duty for me:

1. Providing an easy method to interview people for the book

2. Broadening my perspective on what it means to be “dirtbag rich”

3. Growing an audience who cares about the project

Back around Thanksgiving, the podcast was consuming so much of my time, I was afraid it might cannibalize the book. But frontloading the interviews has proven vital to helping me write something for a wider audience, rather than dwelling in the security of my own narrow experiences.

If you haven’t tuned in, go listen to Dirtbag Rich wherever podcasts are found.

Podcasting in Brussels - Oct 2024

The Dream

The more I write, the closer I’m getting to describing a somewhat magical lifestyle balance that many twenty- and thirty-somethings seem to seek:

• purposeful work—and not too much of it

• copious free time for nature, adventure, friendships, and relationships

• low consumption, low environmental impact, and low financial stress

This is the dream that I’ve tried to live for 20+ years now, and it’s a delight to work toward a “general model” that might help others on their own paths.

Want to Help?

Help me find new podcast guests: I’ve still got many people on my list, but I’m open to new guests. I’m especially interested in speaking with:

• older guests (age 60+, living some version of “dirtbag rich” for a long time)

• non-western and non-white guests

• those with niche passions like whitewater kayaking, highlining, acroyoga, partner dance.

I’ve already spoken with lots of climbers, hikers, and freelance writers—but fundamentally, I’m down to meet anyone with a dirtbag rich spirit! To nominate yourself or someone else, please use this form.

Suggest me as a guest: Do you know a podcast or publication that would like to interview me about what it means to be Dirtbag Rich? Please connect us.

Thanks for following along,
—Blake ❤️

Unschool Adventurers on a Greek Island - April 2025