{"id":19438,"date":"2019-09-04T22:11:15","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T22:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ci027cfe7000022697"},"modified":"2019-09-04T22:11:15","modified_gmt":"2019-09-04T22:11:15","slug":"cryptos-favorite-playboy-is-getting-his-own-reality-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/business\/cryptos-favorite-playboy-is-getting-his-own-reality-series","title":{"rendered":"Crypto\u2019s Favorite Playboy Is Getting His Own Reality Series"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jeremy Gardner is no stranger to the limelight. The 27-year-old cryptocurrency millionaire has often basked in the attention of mainstream and crypto-specific media alike. This is, in no small part, a consequence of a personality that blends music festival bohemianism (think healing crystals and Rastafarian appropriation) with Silicon Valley VC opulence. The end result is a cocktail of traits that, to outside critics, emblemizes the absurdity of the overnight riches crypto has bestowed on its earliest acolytes.<\/p>\n

Yes, Gardner is no stranger to paparazzi and journalists bent on presenting the crypto industry as a cesspit of decadence. Which is good \u2014 because now he\u2019s getting his own reality show.<\/p>\n

The Crypto Castle Chronicles<\/h2>\n

Or, rather, he\u2019s creating his own reality series that, for now, is available on YouTube. One which \u2014 much like Gardner\u2019s kaleidoscopic interests \u2014 mixes the day-to-day with entrepreneurship, philosophical outlook and life as a VC\/entrepreneur on the forefront of burgeoning technologies. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re aiming for with the Chronicles<\/em> is a nuanced balance between entertainment and meaningful insight into the world of startups, entrepreneurship and investing,\u201d Gardner told Bitcoin Magazine<\/em>. \u201cThis isn\u2019t Shark Tank<\/em>, this isn\u2019t the Kardashians. It\u2019s really just three weeks of my life on camera, in which I discuss everything from business to relationships to even philosophy. I truly believe that an honest look at the hardship of building startups, the realities of raising and investing money, could be given a \u2018real\u2019 inside look. We don\u2019t gloss over all things that go wrong, and don\u2019t overplay the luck that goes into things going right.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 12-episode series, dubbed Crypto Castle Chronicles, <\/em>is produced by Adrian Baschuk, a former Vice<\/em> producer who is now in charge of CNBC\u2019s Crypto Trader<\/em><\/a> and has his own production studio in Miami. The show is named after Gardner\u2019s San Francisco abode and its successor, the newly built Miami Crypto Castle (which is much nicer than the original and the primary setting for the show). <\/p>\n

Nestled in the tech mecca\u2019s Potrero Hill neighborhood, the original three-story \u201ccastle\u201d has played home base to Gardner\u2019s own project, Augur<\/a>, and a host of others, including a self-driving car startup and a handful of blockchain ventures.<\/p>\n

This vibrant headquarters, which houses an eclectic community of coders, entrepreneurs and non-crypto folk, has been the central point of the media attention that orbits Gardner\u2019s life; as Gardner told Bitcoin Magazine<\/em>, the original palace and its Miami counterpart have \u201ctaken on a name of their own as a brand and a lifestyle.\u201d <\/p>\n

And, in turn, this brand and lifestyle have taken on a media life of their own. Gardner\u2019s unconventional living once inspired a Business Insider<\/em> feature<\/a>, which described the San Francisco Crypto Castle as a place \u201cwhere young bitcoin entrepreneurs party and plot the future of money.\u201d <\/p>\n

In perhaps one of the most famous \u201clook at how crazy this crypto crap is\u201d articles from the 2017 bull run<\/a>, the New York Times <\/em>framed Gardner as a wanderlust party boy, with the first Crypto Castle acting as his own personal Gomorrah. The article, \u201cEveryone Is Getting Hilariously Rich and You\u2019re Not,\u201d portrays the millennial millionaire boasting about his success with ICOs, his net worth and a date with supermodel Bella Hadid. A picture profiles the then-25-year-old Gardner lounging in front of a cabinet well stocked with booze.<\/p>\n

A more thoughtful piece by the now-defunct BreakerMag<\/em> traded in the beer cans for the juice boxes \u2014 seriously, the author, Jeff Wilser, is offered juice in the piece. It presents a (literally) more sober depiction of the house and what goes down in it. Wilser\u2019s experience was similar to my own when I visited the house<\/a> at the beginning of 2019; like Wilser, I found a collective of focused, hardworking millennials who would rather hit the books and crunch budgets than pound shots (though admittedly the liquor cabinet was still very <\/em>well stocked, it went untouched by the house during my stay).<\/p>\n

Bitcoin Party Boy or Business Mogul?<\/h2>\n

This dichotomy between the mythos of Gardner\u2019s hedonistic living depicted by the New York Times <\/em>and the unflagging hustle of the modern tech entrepreneur profiled by BreakerMag <\/em>strikes at the heart of Gardner\u2019s two-part public persona.<\/p>\n

This persona, and its Janus-faced depiction in the press, is the intrigue of the new show. In the Times<\/em> piece, Gardner brushed off the prospect of a reality TV show (having secured a date with a supermodel without such excess attention, Gardner was skeptical of how it may \u201cadd to his life,\u201d Nellie Bowles wrote). He has been approached by a dozen or so different producers over the years. But their pitches never aligned with Gardner\u2019s own vision for what a day in the life of an entrepreneur should look like. <\/p>\n

Like the media attention that sets the stage for reality TV (or, as the more shrewd producers would pitch it, \u201cunscripted television\u201d), most of the ideas veered toward glamorizing the riches without examining the tribulations and impact of Gardner\u2019s work. To him, each producer\u2019s pitch \u201cended up being too vapid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it came down to creative vision, my desire to create entertaining content that was also<\/em> thoughtful and educational, I ran into a wall,\u201d Gardner told Bitcoin Magazine<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s unsurprising that none of the \u2018unscripted\u2019 projects proposed to me, or related to crypto, have ever come to fruition. And that was probably a good thing. Trying to capture a bunch of nerds talking about esoteric technology or, worse, partying, sounds cringe-inducing at best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoping to avoid the cringe, Gardner has decided to take control of this narrative by producing the show himself. As with the incentives that led to his other ventures, Gardner has billed this project \u201ca force for good.\u201d Reality TV, which he calls \u201ca powerful medium,\u201d has created \u201cunparalleled influence and wealth\u201d for some of its more bombastic ambassadors (for his own example, Gardner cites Donald Trump and the Kardashian\/Jenner clan). <\/p>\n

But conversely, he believes it can also be a catalyst for positive development.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recognize that this is a hard-to-swallow suggestion \u2014 that an oft-disparaged form of entertainment appealing to the lowest common denominator is in fact a driver of unparalleled influence in the most powerful nation in the world,\u201d he said. \u201cBut fully appreciating that fact, I believe it can be a force for good. That is why I\u2019m creating the Crypto Castle Chronicles<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shot over a period of three weeks, the show will feature 12 ten-minute episodes on YouTube. Gardner, who\u2019s vying to air the series on major networks or streaming platforms, said the team shot \u201cendless content\u201d and may make more episodes depending on the show\u2019s popularity.<\/p>\n

The Pursued, the Pursuing, the Busy and the Tired<\/h2>\n

The pilot episode opens on Gardner and a business partner strategizing about their latest venture. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to get money in the bank ASAP and do a major social blast,\u201d Gardner emphasizes, speaking about the inaugural product launch of his new cosmetic brand, MadeMan<\/a>. In the subsequent series of flashbacks, we learn that this opener takes place at the end of the series\u2019 three-week filming period.<\/p>\n

\u201cGirls \u2014 sushi\u2019s here,\u201d Gardner\u2019s business partner calls after the episode transitions through its title screen (which, to little surprise, includes a \u201cCrypto Castle\u201d rap). Upon his beckoning, a gaggle of bikini-clad women emerge from various nooks in the mansion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was only able to buy $100 of sushi. If only they accepted bitcoin,\u201d Gardner jests as a neon caption flashes his title and name (\u201cJeremy Gardner, Entrepreneur, aka \u2018Gonzo Gardner\u2019\u201d) across the screen. As Gardner\u2019s groupies chow down on California rolls and sashimi, he hops on a call with Janet (who, a British narrator informs us, is Jeremy\u2019s business partner in MadeMan).<\/p>\n

The remainder of the 10-minute episode flashes between Gardner taking care of business, montages of some of crypto\u2019s biggest personalities (e.g., Pomp, Peter McCormick and Charlie Shrem) and narrator Ben Way praising Gardner and regaling his young but prolific career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think those who are watching will probably look at Jeremy and go, \u2018He\u2019s an egotistical asshole.\u2019 That\u2019s the first reaction I had when I met him,\u201d Way says in the episode. \u201cBut if you get to know him and you really watch this \u2014 he\u2019s definitely not perfect \u2014 but he\u2019s out there and he\u2019s trying to do things that most humans are too scared to do. He is just Jeremy. That\u2019s the beauty of Jeremy \u2014 he\u2019s just himself. And you either love him or hate him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Way then launches into \u201chow Jeremy got his start.\u201d This resume, which includes founding the Blockchain Education Network<\/a>, the Augur prediction market and Ausum Ventures, among other ventures, led to the wealth and social prestige that have created the man and myth who, per his Twitter profile<\/a>, self-identifies as the \u201cGod of Gonzo.\u201d<\/p>\n

An \u201cEarnest\u201d Depiction of the Millionaire-Entrepreneur Lifestyle <\/h2>\n

The pilot episode puts its protagonist\u2019s success \u2014 and the aggrandized lifestyle it affords \u2014 on full display. With scenes cutting between sunbathing women, liquor-festooned workstations and Gardner doing business, the series seems to encapsulate the work-hard, play-hard mentality and lifestyle of crypto\u2019s premier playboy-in-residence and one of its more successful entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

My grandmother has often told me that there are three sides to every story: what one side says, what the other side says and what really happened. So far, most media has depicted one thing while Gardner and his proponents have espoused another, so maybe this series, with its unfiltered and unapologetic production, will find the truth in between.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s to provide a really honest look into what entrepreneurship and investing are, which I don\u2019t believe are accurately portrayed on screen often, if ever,\u201d Gardner told me. \u201cI also want to remediate the hustle porn ethos of Silicon Valley. It\u2019s okay, and perfectly tenable, to have a work-life balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he admitted that he\u2019s \u201cnot sure whether we will find an audience for what we\u2019ve filmed,\u201d Gardner mentioned that the team is speaking to several networks, streaming platforms and other media. His end goal, he reemphasized, is to create an \u201cearnest\u201d depiction of the millionaire-entrepreneur lifestyle. <\/p>\n

As I finished the first episode, ending as it does with Gardner, kimono-cloaked, clutching a bottle of wine and belting Lil Nas X\u2019s \u201cOld Town Road,\u201d I closed my computer thinking that this series, unironically earnest indeed, would get closer to the truth of Gardner\u2019s life than any content that came before it \u2014 business, pleasure and all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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