Colin's Last Stand Turns Two (Patreon)

Hi.

Today is March 20th, and that means it’s Colin’s Last Stand’s birthday. Two years ago today, I launched CLS here on Patreon, and although we’ve taken some twists and turns along the way, it has turned into a brand that has wildly exceeded even my most optimistic expectations. I’ve worked enormously hard, and I’m tremendously proud. I really am. Today is the one day every year where I really want to make sure I sit back and acknowledge that. I never, ever stop and smell the roses. I never tell myself I do a good job, or that everything is far better than just okay, or that I earned my success. For one day out of every 365, I want to buck the trend.

But far more importantly, today is the day where I want you -- the listener, the viewer, the fan, the supporter, the Patron, the passerby -- to know how much I love and appreciate you, and how deeply honored I am that we’ve made it this far together. It’s not everyday that someone gets multiple chances to chase his or her dreams, but I’ve been fortunate enough to do it my whole adult life (and then some), all thanks to you. I was a 14 year old kid when I started writing on GameFAQs. I didn't know I'd begin a journey then that brought me to now. I pen this letter to you as a 34 year old.

The reality is, there are people out there that have been with me for nearly 20 years, which is truly staggering. And there are plenty of you that have been with me for the last decade, through the golden era of IGN PlayStation and Podcast Beyond and all of the other nerdy things we pioneered together. It truly has been a trip, hasn’t it? I’m grateful that we’ve taken this ride. (I’m also grateful that you let me take a few stabs into the dark along the way, get some things out of my system, and discover that I wouldn’t be as happy as I thought dedicating my whole life to, say, politics.)

The CLS community is a truly wonderful thing. It’s full of thousands upon thousands of interesting, diverse, and unique people from around the world, people of every conceivable nationality, skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and political ideology. What binds us isn’t that we see eye-to-eye on everything. It’s that we understand we shouldn’t see eye-to-eye on everything. We’re curious people, eager to learn and anxious for new ideas. We believe in kindness, we keep our minds open, and we don’t judge books by their covers. We focus on honor and decency. We like to laugh and be silly. Even if we stumble (and we all stumble), we just get back up. The mantra remains the same. We don’t need to have a name for ourselves, or shine bright lights on ourselves. We are who and what we are. Those who get it get it. Those who don’t don’t.

Year Three of Colin’s Last Stand is going to be its strongest yet, and it’s not about adding more, or throwing things against the wall to see what sticks, or piling content on top of content for no reason. It’s about reinforcing what we already do and making it better, while keeping an eye towards the future to see what makes sense for CLS as a brand, and for us as a community.

Sacred Symbols has quickly turned into one of the premiere gaming podcasts on the Internet, and it’s something I’m immensely proud of. I’m especially proud of Chris Ray Gun, my co-host, who stepped into a role he didn’t think he was prepared for, and rapidly came into his own. Our weekly PlayStation show is a true pleasure to write, produce, record, and edit, and I’m so pleased that it’s finding a bigger and bigger audience. To the 50,000+ of you out there who have made Sacred Symbols a part of your ritual: Thank you. We’re gonna keep on going, and I have no doubt we’ll keep pissing off the gaming industry along the way.

KnockBack is just over a year old, and in that time, the average episode’s 30 Day traffic has increased something like 400%. In other words: Our retro and nostalgia podcast is finding its way just fine. It’s funny, because even though Sacred Symbols has a much bigger audience than KnockBack, KnockBack receives more feedback, not only per capita, but overall. Those who listen to the show are in love with it, and hearing people’s connection to what Dagan and I do every week has been a blast. Dagan is undoubtedly the star of KnockBack, and I have to tell you, I couldn’t be any prouder of him if I tried. He’s a natural. Getting together with my brother every two months to record more episodes is categorically the highlight of my schedule.

Side Quest is the only excuse I get to write anything these days, and that’s why I really love doing it. As you already know, the show has slowed down to 1-2 episodes a month -- mostly because I really only want to talk when I actually have something to say -- but I love getting to post on YouTube as a supplement to my podcasting. Let’s Plays, too, have been an awesome respite. Drafting both Dagan and Chris into doing Let’s Plays with me was a good idea, and you can expect to see more of those as we move through Year Three. Solo Let’s Plays, as well as review-centric episodes of Side Quest, will also continue.

Fireside Chats was (and is) inspired by my own deeply eclectic nature, which is why I lovingly subtitle the show The Eclectic Interview Series. It’s also been an excellent way for me to showcase the interesting, amazing, thoughtful, courageous, and talented people in my audience, because in reality, Fireside Chats is all about what you bring to the world. While I’ve long been open that Fireside Chats will be the first show to go if I want to try something new, I also say with complete confidence that it won’t be going anywhere any time soon. I’m sitting on a bunch of episodes, a bunch more are scheduled, and a bunch more are being discussed. Let’s all strive to be Renaissance Men and Women through Fireside Chats through the rest of 2019, shall we?

And so, here we are.

As for what’s next, well, I have a few ideas percolating. But I want to share two important things with you right now:

1.) I hear you loud and clear: You want merch. Two issues had previously conspired to stop me from pursuing this more heavily, though: My complete lack of time, and my insistence that all CLS merch is 100% sourced in and made in America. But we’re near the finish line. Production samples are being made and a contract has been presented to me. I should have word on this in the coming weeks, and I thank you for your patience.

2.) CLS Prime has been dormant for eight months, but I don’t want it to sit fallow forever. So I’m going to produce a few videos for the primary and general elections here in the US. These videos won’t be supported by Patreon (though I’ll be sure to publish them here), they aren’t contingent on anything going on here, and they’ll likely be complementary pieces, as opposed to pieces about candidates or current politics. I don’t want to dedicate my life to this stuff, and we cover politics plenty on Fireside Chats, but I still have things to say, and I know there are those of you out there who still want to see this kind of content. Just know that I’m thinking about it.

Okay, I think I’ve rambled enough. So I’ll leave it here.

As we enter Year Three of Colin's Last Stand, I promise you this: I will keep working my ass off on my content, I will continue to do my best to entertain and inform you, and I will always put you first. There is no advertiser, no publisher, no force in this world that has sway over me, this, you, or us. CLS will always be for you, and I will always be listening.

Thank you again. I couldn’t do this without you. Sincerely, -Colin