Web3 companies love to post their team retreats. Ibiza. Yacht. Branded hoodies. Trust falls on a yoga mat. Cute. First internet revolution did it differently.

The most extreme thing I lived through was an executive leadership weekend. I was fringe exec, but the branch I was on was going places. The whole team gathered for what was sold as a get-together and planning session. And there was planning — plenty of it. Giant whiteboards, guided thinking, sharpies running dry. Strategy by day, the kind of room where the next quarter actually gets built. Then night fell.

A dark arts magician prepared the ground for fire. Wood stacked, burned, ritualistically turned to embers. I shot this on one of the earliest digital video cameras — resolution is horrible, which conveniently protects the innocent.

We circled up. The chant started. PUMA. PUMA. PUMA. Then everyone walked across the embers. One step in, my foot turned toe-to-heel into a single water blister. We were told not to look down. Keep going. So I did. Amazing, dangerous, beautiful.

Back to the whiteboards the next morning. Different room. Trust fall on a yoga mat doesn't compare.