Hi all! I'm Joël Valenzuela, editor of The Desert Lynx, liberty activist, and Free State Project early mover
Twitter: @TheDesertLynx
Facebook: joel.valenzuela.m
Reddit: thedesertlynx
Hey guys! I'm Joël Valenzuela, a lifelong liberty activist and writer. I currently run The Desert Lynx, a news site dedicated to showcasing the spread of freedom around the world, with a special focus on the frontlines of liberty, New Hampshire.
I grew up on a ranch in Sonora, Mexico up until my mid-teens. I was homeschooled up until college, which I entered via distance program just a couple weeks before my 15th birthday. I worked internships at libertarian public policy think tanks during summer breaks, and graduated when I was 19. After that, I interned for the White House under George W. Bush for a few months (don't judge), and then went to work back in the "beltwaytarian" world of liberty think tanks in DC, working in fundraising. Following a yearlong burnout break to get my master's in global affairs at the University of Buckingham in the UK, I grew restless about my inability to fight effectively for liberty.
In September of 2013, I decided to leave everything behind and move to New Hampshire to become part of the Free State Project. After seeing all the trouble just a few hundred people caused for the powers that be, I knew I had to move there immediately to become part of the freedom revolution. So, I sold most of what I owned, packed the rest into my 2-door Civic, and drove the 50 hours from Phoenix, AZ to Manchester, NH without any job or future lined up. The rest, as they say, is history.
Since then, I have hit the ground running fighting for a better future. I founded the Rights Brigade, a citizen activism organization fighting for freedom in several different areas. Most notably, in 2015 myself and my fellow activists informed over 3,000 New Hampshire jurors of their right to nullify bad laws by acquitting a defendant charged of a victimless crime. I was nominated for a Liberty in Action Award at Liberty Forum, the Free State Project's yearly conference.
I live completely off of the conventional financial system. I write about cryptocurrency and decentralized tech for CoinTelegraph and teach martial arts at a club I run in Portsmouth, all completely for Bitcoin. I have no bank account. Of all forms of activism I engage in for a better future. I believe that getting off of the central banking system is by far the most important.
That's my story. Thanks for listening, and may you find liberty in your lifetime!
Nice to meet you! I can't believe we have not crossed paths prior. I have made sure to follow and upvoted. Crypto is changing the world and I am proud to be at the forefront along side folks like you.
Thank you kindly! Whereabouts do you live?
Panama City, Panama. I expatriated 5 years ago for financial freedom.
Full Panama Papers, eh? ;) That's good, I may visit sometime. I'm from Mexico originally, and know some folks in Panama.
welcome aboard!
Thanks a bunch!
Hey Joël! Good to see you on here. Full $teem ahead!
Hah, good pun! Good to have you on here too, I hope you win your race!
Ok I shall say it, it is because of people like you I have faith that there might be a better future. Well written and welcome!
Thank you kindly! I do my very best. We WILL see liberty in our lifetime. Have you been to New Hampshire to visit yet?
I live in the other side of the world from you but shall try and visit.
If you like cryptocurrency, you should definitely try to come. New Hampshire very well may be the Bitcoin capital of the world, or if it isn't yet, it soon will be!
Hi Joel，very impressed
“may you find liberty in your lifetime”
That's why I am here on Steemit. :-)
Definitely, cryptocurrency and decentralized tech are the first big steps to building a free world. I've done everything: think tanks, electoral politics, education, activism of all kinds, and this is the one area that gives me hope.
Hey Joel,
I'm glad you are on $teemit. I was introduced to it by Randy Clemons. I agree with you that this is a great place for Free Staters to share their hope and experiences.
Yep, Randy made a great intro, and inspired me to jump on. we are the few, the hardcore, the porcupines, and should always be on the cutting edge of technology.
Just a quick hello, i follow you and your interesting articles on cointelegraph, thank you for this good job!
I travel all over the world for 11 months now and try to find every places where bitcoin and crypto's are accepted, trying to understand how crypto's is used depending on the social condition, country etc...
Reading your articles and those on cointelegraph permits to keep me informed on crypto's world, very usefull!!
Hope that one day i will find a way by myself or with a company to live from this crypto's passion...
Not so easy but i think that travelling during this year was a good thing to understand a lot of things, i invest my time and my money but now i am richer in crypto's experience that a lot of people (i hope LOL)
thank you, regards, @damien-beverly
Thanks for reading, and I'm glad you're here! I have a post coming out in about an hour that I think you'll like, stay tuned!