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‘Adventurous’ New Trait Australians Now Want In A Partner
‘Adventurous’ New Trait Australians Now Want In A Partner

There’s no beating around the bush: the pandemic has had a monumental effect on the lives of Australian singletons. With stay-at-home orders having been in place for much of the country, for much of this year, meeting new people has been much harder than usual. Consequently, our attitude towards sex has changed.It was certainly true, at the start of the pandemic at least, that more and more of us were resorting to using the various dating apps in order to seek out connections with others, with some even going as far as looking for love in other countries around the world, in the hope of one day being able to travel there in order to meet up with their pen-pals.However, even our attitude to digital dating has taken a downturn recently, with ‘the closing time effect’ dating trend taking hold.There also came the dilemma of choosing just one person to be part of a ‘singles bubble’, causing many to wonder if their occasional booty call could become their permanent fling for the unknown duration of the lockdown. Many singles eventually decided they were likely to be better going without, than to “put up with” someone they used to only see on a casual basis, and were unsure what they would be like to live with (or see all the time).Watch TikTok star Rachael Evren sum up the struggles of dating in Australia in 2021 in the video below.

To put this all into context, and to shed a light on exactly how our attitude towards dating has changed in the wake of the pandemic, dating app Hinge has compiled some research, which indicates Australians are not just more focused on finding a genuine connection with someone, but the desire to experiment further in the bedroom is on the rise too.The prominent outcome of Hinge’s research suggests Australians are far more keen on ‘sexploration’ than ever before, with “almost half (45%) of all those surveyed saying they want to explore new sexual desires with a partner, and 79% saying it’s important for a partner to be open and adventurous in the bedroom.What is perhaps more interesting, is that while being keen to explore further is a common trend, respondents say they are more willing to wait to explore these desires with a partner, compared to hopping into bed after the first date. “A third of respondents say they are waiting longer to have sex with new partners because of Covid fears,” the research relates.Logan Ury, Director of Relationship Science at Hinge said, “This summer is a period of sexploration for Australians. Singles are having sex less frequently”, 42% of Australian Hinge users said they’re now less likely to have one-night stands, “but exploring their deepest sexual desires more often.”“Because of the pandemic, many people spent time alone, looking inward, and tapping into their imagination. They’ve gotten more in touch with who they are and what they want.”

“And that means they’re ready to unlock new sexual fantasies, with the right partner.”

“Despite all the tragedy and trauma of the pandemic, this experience also offered daters some silver linings. Many Hinge singles used the time in lockdown to self-reflect and figure out who they are and what they’re looking for, both in terms of relationships and sexual experiences.”Indeed, Hinge’s research found that 34% of Australian users of the app “have developed a new sexual fantasy this past year, 23% want to try BDSM, 22% want to try role-playing and 22% want to try new sex positions.”The cause of this willingness to explore? Logan adds, “19% of Aussie Hinge users said they have watched new types of porn over the past year. This exploration could help explain why 34% developed a new sexual fantasy this summer.”And, over half of those surveyed – 58% – put the blame on the Delta variant of Covid as being the main reason their sex life has been affected, compared to earlier in 2021.But, will this change in attitude continue once the doors are flung fully open and we can get back to a bit of a normality? To this, Logan says, “We expect many of the trends that emerged during the pandemic to stick with us long-term. For example, the majority of Hinge users who have tried video dates say they’ll continue to go on these in the future, even when it’s safe to meet up in person.”“I’ve heard from many people who, before the pandemic, tended to jump to physical intimacy with their matches very quickly, often before they’d developed a deeper emotional connection.”“The pandemic has forced them to change their behaviour because it wasn’t safe to meet up in person. They slowed down and invested more time in getting to know the other person first. I expect people will continue to embrace this phenomenon of slower dating, and waiting longer to have sex with a new person.”

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The post ‘Adventurous’ New Trait Australians Now Want In A Partner appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

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Tourists Flocking To ‘Australia’s Red Sea’
Tourists Flocking To ‘Australia’s Red Sea’

Hutt Lagoon boasts 13,903 ‘hashtags’ on Instagram (as well as a booming geotag page). So why haven’t you heard of it? Well, consider this a public service announcement.With COVID-19 having caused a bit of a domestic travel (and van life) boom, Australian travellers have been (when they’ve been allowed into West Australia) flocking to what we would like to call ‘Australia’s Red Sea’ (Hutt Lagoon).Though their photos might look carefree on Instagram, however, taking them isn’t quite so perfect.

Instead, the reality of Australia’s most Instagram famous lagoon, if you want to get a scroll stopping photo, involves careful planning, traipsing through mud and a salt encrusted back which makes you not want to put a shirt on for a while.While there’s a whole lot worse things people have gone through in pursuit of a photo, in the interests of bringing you The Other Side Of The (Instagram) Story, we interviewed someone who has been to Hutt Lagoon, to ask what it’s really like.

First of all though – what is Hutt Lagoon? Hutt Lagoon is a (you guessed it) lagoon 6 hours drive north of Perth.Sometimes it’s bright bubblegum pink, sometimes it’s lilac, and occasionally it goes full on red, thanks to the incredibly high levels of salinity in the water. You can see the lagoon while driving between Port Gregory and Kalbarru (it’s only a half an hour drive or so from Kalbarri).“Head out before sunset and you can watch the colours transform,” westaustralia.com recommends, adding: “its vibrancy changes with the seasons and time of day.”“The best time to visit is on a clear day, around mid-morning or sunset. There are a number of places to stop and view this natural phenomenon along Port Gregory Road.”“Nestled between Hutt Lagoon and the beach, you’ll find the picturesque fishing village of Port Gregory. Pick up refreshments at the general store and choose from farmstays, chalets, beach cottages and the caravan park for your overnight stay.”“Visit between July and September to see the countryside blanketed in wildflowers.”

So far so scenic. But what’s it really like to visit? And can trying to take the perfect Instagram photo ruin the experience? We asked travel blogger Alex Collihole (one half of @borderlesscollies), who is travelling Australia with Jess Collihole (the other half of @borderlesscollies).Here’s what Alex told DMARGE.“Hutt Lagoon was literally the pink-est salt lake we have seen so far,” he explained. “The road is not very friendly for those towing which lead us into a neat little seaside town called Gregory.”

Alex then pointed out that – much like many popular places around the world – the Hutt Lagoon designated lookout was “packed with tourists trying to get their Instagram shot.”Watch the following video to see a great comparison of tourism hotspots in real life vs. on social media.

Alex then explained to DMARGE how they escaped the crowds: “We went down the road and pulled up for some lunch away from everyone else and decided that it would be a great idea to get the floaties out and float on the lake.”“The wind was blowing some had to walk up some distance so we didn’t float away from the car. Getting in and out of the salt lake was actually so muddy and you would sink halfway up your leg. After hutt lagoon we headed off…covered in salt.”“I couldn’t wear a shirt as the feeling of the salt on my back was horrible haha. I certainly believe that sometimes trying to get ‘the shot’ can spoil the enjoyment of it, however this time it was fun to get the creative juices flowing and try something new.”There you have it: it still sounds nice, but that’s the slightly grittier version of Hutt Lagoon for you, if all those Instagram photos were going to your head.A good dousing of cold water does us all wonders, sometimes.

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Meet The Man Who Gets Jacked, Living Like Our Ancestors
Meet The Man Who Gets Jacked, Living Like Our Ancestors

Have you noticed a certain jacked, bearded man taking over your Instagram feed, lifting crazy amounts of weight and eating ridiculous amounts of raw meat? He calls himself the Liver King and he lives his life in a very specific way, switching out modern comforts for old-school ways of living, just like our ancestors used to.

Chief to the reasoning for calling himself the Liver King, the man chooses to eat liver on a daily basis, praising it for its nutritional benefits. He’s also talked up the benefits of eating animal testicles, too.

But, who exactly is Liver King, what messages does he preach, how did he make his money and where does he live? Allow us to answer all these questions and more.

Liver King Quick Facts

Name: Brian Johnson
Age: 44
DoB: Unknown
Nationality: American, lives in Texas
Height: 5ft 7in / 1.7m (estimated)
Relationship Status: Married
Spouse: Name unknown, referred to as Liver Queen
Net Worth: $1 million (estimated)
Instagram: @liverking – 1.6m followers
TikTok: @liverking – 2.7m followers

Who Is Liver King?

Liver King – real name Brian Johnson – is a social media personality who pushes the message of living an Ancestral Lifestyle in order to be physically and mentally healthy. He calls himself Liver King because of his love for eating animal liver as a nutritionally-dense source of food.

While he may be a regular poster on social media, details of his personal life remain relatively scarce. He refers to his wife as “Liver Queen,” and his sons as, “Savage Liver Boys.”

What we do know about Liver King, is that he is the CEO of four separate businesses, that all offer something rather similar, as they all sell and market supplements and protein powders that promise to help you get just as jacked as him. Liver King ties these products in with his promotion of what he called an Ancestral Lifestyle.

What is Liver King’s Ancestral Lifestyle?

Image: @liverking

Formed around 9 ancestral tenets, the self-proclaimed Liver King has created his Ancestral Lifestyle program because “The human body has been perfectly conditioned for an environment that no longer exists.” He further claims that “By living ancestrally, we overcome obstacles between ourselves and true health and happiness. We rewrite the mismatch between who we are and the environment in which we live.”

The 9 ancestral tenets include:

  • Sleep – improving the quality by winding down early in the evening, eating your last meal several hours before you go to bed and ditching the phone too.
  • Eat – remove processed foods, seed oils and liquid calories from your diet.
  • Move – Brian takes three 30 minute walks everyday; “The well-being that builds from balanced movement trumps the need for consumption based satisfaction.”
  • Shield – protecting ourselves from modern dangers such as wi-fi, fluoride and seed oils; “Dangers like these end up compounding and with an additive effect, they disrupt our hormones, metabolism and ability to get deep sleep.”
  • Connect – Take off your shoes next time you go for a walk and connect to the earth beneath your feet. This can help improve both your sleep quality and blood pressure.
  • Cold – Another to champion the use of ice baths, jumping into cold rivers and lakes, or even just taking a cold shower, Brian says we should expose ourselves to cold environments to help improve blood circulation and build our resilience to stress.
  • Sun – Mid-day sun gives us plenty of vitamin D, “which works synergistically with the other fat-soluble vitamins A and K,” found in liver and bone marrow.
  • Fight – While Brian doesn’t expect us to pick a fight with the next guy we see walking down the street, he means we should set ourselves goals and aspirations, and once we’ve achieved them, we’ll revel in the release of dopamine.
  • Bond – Referring to purpose, and how our ancestors made it their purpose to protect those around them by building shelter and hunting for food. Today, Brian admits we no longer need to worry about these things as much, but does say we should “put away the phones and just spend time with loved ones and friends… we’ve always needed each other… we still do!”

He goes into some further description on his website, and many of his teachings aren’t necessarily radical ideas, but when combined together they have the potential to bring you a more rewarding life.

Liver King Diet

Image: @liverking

Liver King’s diet consists primarily of liver, hence the name he’s given himself. Liver King says he consumes liver on a daily basis, along with other delicacies such as bone marrow, chicken hearts and turkey hearts.

He’s also been known to feast on bull testicles due to their supposed nutritional benefits.

How old is Liver King?

Liver King’s date of birth remains unknown. However, according to a BuzzFeed News article published in March 2022, he was 44 at the time of publishing.

How tall is Liver King?

Again, Liver King’s official height also remains unknown, but some users on Reddit believe him to be around 5ft 6in or 5ft 7in / 1.7m

Where does Liver King live?

Liver King lives with his family and his two Doberman dogs in a huge, 8,300 sqft mansion in Austin, Texas. In some videos posted to his social media accounts, he reveals that he and his wife sleep on an incredibly minimal bed, which uses some plywood platforms as the base, with some thin woollen pads on top for a bit of comfort.

RELATED: ‘Liver King’ Says Your Bed Is A Prison & You Need To Blow It Up

He adds that he doesn’t allow mobile phones or any kind of radiowaves to enter the bedroom, and so has installed Faraday curtains on the windows to block any waves from passing through.

Liver King Net Worth

Liver King has an estimated net worth of $1 million. The majority of his wealth has come from his supplements brands, the most well-known of which is called Ancestral Supplements. Liver King says these supplements “are for individuals seeking fundamental (Liver, Bone Marrow, Organs) and targeted support (like supports like) in harmony with nature — the old fashioned way, the way that our early ancestors did.”

Check out some of the Liver King’s incredible workouts in the video below

The post Who Is Liver King? The Man Getting Jacked, Living Like Our Ancestors appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

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Gianluca Vacchi’s Latest Workout Will Have Your Head Spinning
Gianluca Vacchi’s Latest Workout Will Have Your Head Spinning

Like all industries, the health and fitness sector is always evolving. What is the “next big thing” today becomes a thing of the past after just a few years, with a new gadget taking over the mantle as the device that will truly help improve your overall health ‘once and for all.’

Of course, some pieces of equipment, or access to specialist health professionals, are only really available to those with money to burn, and going off a recent video posted by Italian businessman Gianluca Vacchi, he seems more than happy to invest in his health.

Taking to Instagram, Vacchi can be seen held inside the SpaceCurl, a piece of equipment built in Germany that is a descendent of the vomit comets used by NASA astronauts to help them prepare for spaceflight, by allowing them to move around all possible axis.

Made up of three rings, with the “inner ring [able] to move freely in all directions in space, providing the basic system,” the futuristic piece of equipment holds many potential benefits, such as improving overall posture, strengthening abdominal and core muscles and as a means of therapy for those suffering from back pain. These are all made possible, since the only way of getting the rings to spin is to use your own bodyweight.

SpaceCurl adds, “The ability to have an upright, stable posture requires a complex interaction of muscular strength, force-endurance and a fine-dosed usage of the deeper muscle layers such as the intrinsic back muscles and the muscles used for fixation of pelvic- and head position.”

“The individual usually establishes this ability as a child and tries throughout his complete lifetime to optimize and maintain this ability.”

Considering Vacchi always appears to be in good spirits in the pictures and videos he posts to his Instagram account, we can’t imagine he’s ever in any real pain, but with a reported height of 5ft 6in, he may well be using the machine in an attempt to give himself a couple of extra inches where it counts.

However, SpaceCurl does also say their machine is used by professional athletes, so Vacchi could simply be using it to increase his overall body strength – this video of Swedish chiropractor Dr Hans Lindgren further shows how use just your strength of your body to rotate the rings – and as we’ve seen before, the 54-year-old is more than able to keep up with the young ones in the strength and fitness arena.

Watch how Gianluca Vacchi stays ripped in his 50s in the video below

While SpaceCurl doesn’t disclose just how much one of their machines costs, we’re pretty confident when we say it won’t come cheap. But, you can never put a price on your health.

The post Gianluca Vacchi’s Latest Workout Will Have Your Head Spinning appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

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Australia Bounds One Step Closer To ‘Normal’ International Travel
Australia Bounds One Step Closer To ‘Normal’ International Travel

As NSW, Australia’s confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to ease (the state recorded 399 new cases today), NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has announced a variety of changes that will come into effect on Monday, when we hit 80% double vaccinated. 

A bunch of measures will ease, and on top of that quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated international travellers in the state will be removed after November the 1st.

 


Though there remains a way to go before we see international travel return to 2019 levels, this is a positive first step for the industry. In recent months, prominent figures like Qantas CEO Alan Joyce (and many others) have said removing hotel quarantine would be a game-changer in encouraging people to travel again. 

So even though it only applies to NSW for now, it’s a big first step in enabling travel to and from the country, for all states, to start returning to normal again. 

Mr Perrottet said NSW’s high vaccination rates had been key in enabling the state government to get rid of hotel quarantine and home quarantine programs for fully vaccinated travellers.

The SBS reports that travellers will have to provide a negative PCR test before they board their flights, “and a testing regime will be in place on arrival.

Also according to the SBS, hotel quarantine “will still be required for unvaccinated travellers, with arrivals capped at 210 people a week.”


“For double vaccinated people around the world, Sydney, New South Wales is open for business,” Premier Dominic Perrottet said of the change. 

“I think people in New South Wales will be flying to Bali before Broome … we need to rejoin the world.

“We’ve got to open up, and this decision today is a big one, but it is the right one to get NSW connected globally.”

The Premier also said there would be “no delineation between Australian citizens and other citizens of countries around the world,” saying that “The focal point here is a delineation between vaccination status – [between] vaccinated and unvaccinated.”

Political reporter Simon Love raised the question of what this might mean for Victoria on Twitter, writing: “Certainly raises questions over the future/role of the Victorian Hub at Mickleham, too.”


Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres told media: “It is a huge pickup for our economy, and it is a really clear signal to Australians who have had to operate overseas in a constrained aviation market that we are removing those barriers and allowing you to come home.”

The SBS also reports that: “The state government suggested tourists and foreign nationals would also be allowed to enter the state, with the federal government taking responsibility for checking vaccination status as part of the visa application process.”

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‘Squid Game’ Star Celebrates Success With Beautiful Vintage Porsche Pickup
‘Squid Game’ Star Celebrates Success With Beautiful Vintage Porsche Pickup

Over the last eighteen months, while we’ve all been homebound doing our best to avoid The Spicy Cough, we’ve seen a number of Netflix shows become huge international phenomena.

First, we saw Tiger King, the improbable murder-mystery documentary about a larger-than-life exotic animal dealer, become a global sensation. Then we had Bridgerton, the Downton Abbey-esque romantic drama about Regency-era London debutantes, hit the big time. But the latest flavour, Squid Game – a Korean-language survival horror thriller that’s made waves for its nail-biting action and biting social commentary on South Korean society – has eclipsed everything else, and is now officially Netflix’s most successful TV series of all time.

The unprecedented success of the brutal show has seen its stars, some of whom were stars in South Korea but virtually unknown outside of their home country, catapaulted into the international limelight in a big way. Take Lee Jung-jae, who plays the starring role of Seong Gi-hun: already a well-established actor and model domestically, Lee has now become one of the most prominent leading men in international showbusiness almost overnight.

Getting that sort of breakthrough is certainly cause for celebration, and Lee’s wasted no time doing so – although he’s done it in a very classy sort of way. The 48-year-old took to his newly-launched Instagram account (which already has over 3.7 million followers) to show off what he spent his Squid Game money on: a vintage Porsche 911.

A Porsche 964 Turbo. It’s worth pointing out this isn’t Lee’s car… Actually, this one used to belong to Jenson Button. Image: Road & Track

Specifically, he’s bought what appears to be a 964, the second generation of the classic German sports car which was produced from 1989 to 1993 (he’s not shared a photo of the car’s exterior, but the interior design is a giveaway). What we can see is that it’s a manual, which means he’s doing it properly.

For many Porsche enthusiasts, this is the 911 to get, as it has the perfect combination of classic 911 styling, an air-cooled engine and wild driving dynamics with modern safety features such as ABS, power steering and airbags. It was also the first 911 to be offered in all-wheel drive or have an active rear spoiler.

RELATED: A Guide To Buying A Classic, Vintage & Used Porsche 911

This version of the 911 has become increasingly valuable in recent years because of this, and also because it’s a popular platform for restomodders such as the highly-acclaimed Singer Vehicle Design firm.

In that sense, it’s a pretty savvy investment on Lee’s part – but also a very tasteful one.

Watch 70 years of Porsche history in 2 minutes below.

This 964 isn’t the only Porsche or even the only 911 Lee owns, either. He also owns a 991 series Carrera 4S, and reportedly also has a Panamera in his garage.

RELATED: The Rock Halts Netflix Production With Uncomfortable Porsche Problem

Is there a degree of irony in a man who’s become so famous from a show about weath disparity then buying a bunch of expensive sports cars? Maybe. But we’d be lying that if we had the same sort of payday – whether from being an actor in a successful TV show or competing in some sort of murderous competition like the characters in Squid Game did – we wouldn’t go out and buy a Porsche (or two).

Red light, green light indeed…

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‘Like Swimming In Blue Gatorade’: Hidden Lake Leaves American Travellers Stunned
‘Like Swimming In Blue Gatorade’: Hidden Lake Leaves American Travellers Stunned

There are a lot of beautiful places in the world. Stunning, even. But as COVID restrictions have acted as a (neccessary) emergency blanket over the last year and a half, many of us have almost started to forget what’s out there (except for those who insist on torturing themselves by FOMO scrolling).RELATED: Incredible Photos Australians Shouldn’t Look At If They Miss TravellingBut as we emerge from our hermit nations, it’s time to start beating our eyeballs with possibilities again.Enter: the following video. Posted recently to TikTok by traveller Janae Walla, it shows off one of the more picturesque sides of what appears to be Montana’s rocky mountains. Though Janae didn’t say for sure, one commenter suggests it’s “Glacier NP.”Janae, who has been living and travelling in a van for over a year, called the moment the “highlight of my summer.”Watch Janae’s ‘swimming in blue gatorade’ experience in the video below.

Checking out other images of Glacier NP, it appears it could well be.

Another commenter asked: “Will you bring back some Glacier Freeze for me.”Janae replied: “Yes but I swam in it.”

Glacier National Park comprises 1,583 square miles of wilderness in Montana’s Rocky Mountains. The area is home to glacier-carved peaks and valleys, and it goes all the way to the Canadian border. There are more than 700 miles of hiking trails for road trippers and campers, and the mountaineous Going-to-the-sun Road crosses it crosses it all.

The photogenic Hidden Lake is known for insane ‘floating on water shots’. Other activities in the national park include backpacking, cycling and camping. There is plenty of wildlife, ranging from goats to bears.

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The post ‘Like Swimming In Blue Gatorade’: Hidden Lake Leaves American Travellers Stunned appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

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Forget Melbourne: This Coastal Spot Is Victoria’s Next Top Property Market
Forget Melbourne: This Coastal Spot Is Victoria’s Next Top Property Market

Melbourne has an allure that few cities in Australia – or indeed, anywhere – have. It’s a cultural hub, with amazing nightlife; home to one of the best coffee and food cultures on the planet; there’s plenty of jobs and has a high quality of life. Indeed, it consistently ranks as one of the most liveable cities on the planet, usually ahead of other Australian cities like perennial rival Sydney or good ol’ BrisVegas.

Well, it certainly used to have an allure. Rising property prices and the severe restrictions the city has suffered through thanks to COVID have seriously dulled the Victorian capital’s shine. The former is particularly shocking: Sydney remains the country’s least affordable city but Melbourne’s property market is fast approaching Sydney’s craziness, with the median house price now officially over the $1 million mark, Domain reports.

It’s because of this that an increasing number of Melburnians have instead been flocking to Victoria’s next biggest city, Geelong, instead of chancing the increasingly silly Melbourne property market.

It’s not hard to see why. As this ABC News article relates, Geelong boasts a similar commute into the Melbourne CBD to some outer suburbs like Cranbourne and Frankston, yet property prices are far cheaper: according to local government area data, the median house price currently sits around $695,000. When you also consider how nice the Geelong beachfront is, as well as Geelong’s growing reputation as a foodie destination, it really makes a lot of sense.

6 Dalway St in Lorne, one of Geelong’s most exclusive suburbs. This 4 bed / 2 bath / 3 car home with beautiful timber features and ocean views sold for just $1.65 million earlier this year. Can you imagine what you’d have to pay for a similar property in Melbourne or Sydney? Image: news.com.au

Geelong’s had mixed fortunes over the years. Some Melburnians snobbishly deride Geelong as being ‘rough’ or ‘bogan’ – and it’s true that the decline of the automotive and other heavy industries was keenly felt in the coastal city – but it’s an entirely undeserved reputation. A huge amount of investment from state government in the city in recent years has really rejuvenated Victoria’s second city, making it an attractive place to raise a family.

RELATED: $2.7 Million Sydney Sale Shows Just How Screwed First Home Buyers Are Right Now

It’s not all good news, though. Naturally, the influx of Melburnians seeking greener pastures in G-Town has started to push up property prices. More crucially, Geelong faces a housing supply problem, the Urban Development Institute of Australia calculating that Greater Geelong only has around 2.3 to 2.8 years of residential land supply currently available to the market.

The other alternative, of course, is to do what this Melburnian did and take advantage of a property ‘loophole’ to move to an island in Far North Queensland… But if you do that, it might be a little harder to get to a Cats game.

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I Made Over A Thousand Dollars On Cryptocurrency. I Still Don’t Know What The Hell I’m Doing
I Made Over A Thousand Dollars On Cryptocurrency. I Still Don’t Know What The Hell I’m Doing

In May, I bought $1,000 worth of crypto. The market then plummeted. This turned many of my ‘investments’ to zero.But what is a bad loser (not to mention: one who is so financially illiterate that even profit hungry investing apps won’t let him trade because he can’t pass their basic trading vocabulary tests) to do after getting their arse kicked? Buy more.After most of my crypto ‘investments’ lost 50% of their value (in some cases worse, with many speculative “shit coins” zooming to $0 quicker than you can say “wen lambo”), I chucked a couple more hundred dollars at Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as buying a couple of new ‘sustainable’ (or at least, less energy intensive) coins recommended by the first article which popped up on a Google search.Watch Elon Musk and Mark Cuban talking about alternative uses for crypto currencies in the video below.

I then stopped looking at it, and focussed on living my life, rather than licking my wounds.Then a remarkable thing happened. After being called an “idiot” by most of my friends and family, around the start of October (when I had basically written off my crypto experiment as a bad joke which – hopefully – made for a good PSA/warning article, but little else) a strange thing happened. Bitcoin, Cardano (one of those energy efficient new coins I had bought) and a dumb “meme coin” called Shiba Inu, which I had spent 3 months cursing as one of my worst picks, started pushing my wallet upwards.

Image Credit: James Booth/DMARGE
What is this sorcery?First, some context. In May I bought, in no particular order, Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, Safemoon, AstroPup, AC Milan Fan Token, Revain, Ethereum and CumRocket. A mix of so-called legit and also completely speculative and stupid coins that happened to be trending at the time thanks to Reddit groupthink and hype trains.This is what I wrote at the time (in June) for each one, after owning them all for a month (plus an update from today, October the 14th).

Bitcoin

What I wrote in June: “I bought $500 of Bitcoin on CoinSpot on the 11th of May thinking ‘here’s a safe bet.’ It turned out to be one of my worst performers. Shortly after I bought in, Elon Musk announced Tesla would no longer accept Bitcoin as payment (citing the environmental impact of mining), cracked some quips on a talk show (and China cracked down on Bitcoin mining), and now my investment is worth less than half what I put in ($180).”October 14th update: Bitcoin has bounced back. All up I have put $845 into it (I bought another 300 or so after the experiment ended). It’s currently worth $1,129.

Dogecoin

What I wrote in June: “My $100 Dogecoin investment also tanked alongside Bitcoin after derogatory comments from Elon Musk on SNL went viral. It has recovered better than Bitcoin (alongside some reconciliatory comments from Musk), but I am still down overall. I’m also ashamed to say I don’t know exactly what my $100 is worth now because I threw a bit more money in after it went down, as the “degenerate” mindset, unfortunately, rubbed off on me. If this isn’t the equivalent of going back to the ATM after losing all your money at a Casino then I don’t know what is. And the doors never close…October 14th update: Dogecoin has fluctuated wildly since then, at times bouncing back massively (it got to $900 at one point), at times dropping. Right now it’s worth $393. All up I have put $515 into it ($100 from the May experiment, $300 since then).

Shiba Inu

Image Credit: James Booth/DMARGE
What I wrote in June: “I bought $100 of Shiba Inu at the latest big peak (soon after it was released). It has gone down, and I can’t tell you how much it is now worth because I have desperately thrown more bits and pieces (think, $30, $50) at it since the various dips. For those wondering what Shiba Inu is, it hopes to be the next Dogecoin and its anonymous founder (without asking) earlier this year sent 50% of Shiba Inu coins to Russian-Canadian Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin (presumably in an attempt to garner publicity).”“Buterin didn’t want the responsibility so burnt much of the wallet and donated the rest to charity. This caused a widespread sell-off. As Buterin said on the Lex Fridman podcast recently, though many users were angry they lost money, many others were glad to have been part of something that did good in the world. My reasoning for buying Shiba Inu was simple: I liked the sound of it maybe being the next Dogecoin (though I have no facts to back this up, and haven’t read any of its White Paper). That prophecy has yet to come true.”October 14th update: from investing $460 into Shiba Inu, it’s now worth $1,213. Read more about what made it spike here. Who knows if it will drop back down again and be forgotten about, or continue. But for now I’m stoked.

Safemoon

What I wrote in June: “In true cult-like fashion, the only reason I bought SafeMoon (and the original impetus for this whole experiment) is because one of my housemates is obsessed with it, claiming to have made $2,000 overnight (and then pulling out before the major spike even happened).”“On reflection, I doubt it has any real value whatsoever and I suspect its “charity project”, which came to my attention after I had already bought it, is just hot air to encourage gullible people to join the group. It’s probably just a Ponzi scheme/shit coin with a somewhat more sophisticated veneer than many of the others (though I could be wrong).”“I also completely fell for the buzzword concept of ‘tokenomics’ in which this coin (like many others) claims to reward long term holders by taxing sellers and redistributing that money among holders. However, after having negative experiences with other coins which mimick SafeMoon’s model (see: Astro Pup) I have learned in any of these things you are utterly at the mercy of the developers.”“Though the value of my SafeMoon hasn’t completely bottomed out like some of the other ‘shit coins’ I bought, my other bad experiences have rattled my faith. Still, I’m holding out hope for one more big spike before cashing out.October 14th update: Still waiting on that major spike. I’ve put about $500 into it and it’s now worth $158. Yikes. 

Astropup

What I wrote in June: “I’ll be honest: even though I hyped myself up and told myself (‘I’m not gambling anything I’m not happy to lose’) this one broke my heart. I scanned through the BscScan token transfer list (a list of all the coins currently being bought and sold), picked a random coin so new it didn’t even have an icon yet (as I was taught in the depths of Reddit), and congratulated myself on getting in early on a sure-fire winner…”“I made sure it had a high market cap and that it wasn’t being held by one huge whale holder, and that it had a high turnover of transfers, and put about $50 in. I went to bed that night and woke up to find my money had tripled! Greed and a lack of technological prowess meant I decided to wait a little longer before cashing out. Wouldn’t you know: in the time it took for me to decide I should get him to help me cash out the entire value of the coin went basically to zero.”“It was claimed on the coin’s Reddit page that one developer went rogue. Then, even in the wake of this scam, another scam – Astro Kitty – was promoted in this group’s ashes. It was also promised – as the price of Astro Pup was about halfway through plummeting – that users’ coins would be automatically re-instated, as part of the ‘good’ developers’ next project, to make up for the massive rug pull that had occurred by the ‘bad’ rogue developer, “Bobo.” This has yet to happen, and I assume it was simply a ploy to stop people from selling off so fast. It’s now pointless for me to sell as the transaction fee involved in selling (about $1.25) is higher than what my $50 is now worth.”October 14th update: still worth absolutely nothing. What a scam. Can’t believe I fell for it. 

Ethereum

What I wrote in June: “Ethereum tanked along with Bitcoin (and most of the crypto currency world) a couple of days after I put money in. I also put a bit more money in after it crashed in hope of making some of my losses back. It has now recovered a little.”October 14th update: Like Bitcoin it’s bounced back. My $300 or so of Ethereum is now worth $515. 

Cumrocket

What I wrote in June: “This is the most ridiculous sounding of my gambles. It also came recommended by another housemate. It is yet another ‘shit coin’ but one which claims to actually have a use case – CumRocket Crypto claims to present ‘a revolutionary take on the multi-billion pornography industry, aiming to decentralize it and make it rewarding for both creators and fans.’ It is the only one of my coins that has spiked significantly since I purchased it (due to Elon Musk tweeting about it). I was too greedy to cash out at the time though (as my ‘investment’ of $14 odd dollars spiked to $40) and when it started going down again I decided I had so little in there I may as well write this cycle off and hold out hope for another spike.”October 14th update: It’s now worth $38 (I’ve probably put about $200 into it in total). I definitely should have cashed out when I had the chance. Putting more money in after the experiment has proved to be a poor move. Maybe if Elon Musk accidentally posts a dic pic the price will come back up…

Cardano

Not part of the original experiment. I bought about $220 in June/July.October 14th update: It’s now worth $270. 

Chainlink

I’ve bought about $70 in total ($10 in May, $50 in June).October 14th update: It’s now worth $100.

Other coins

I spent maybe $300 ($50 or so on each one) on a bunch of other speculative shit coins that I took too long to cash out on and are now worth practically nothing. These include MoonPirate, Space Corgi, HappyCoin, HyperMeteor, Moonjuice and Saturna. Most of them are worth less than a dollar now. Ouch.

Final Reflections

All up I’ve made about $1,000 from Shiba Inu, Ethereum, Bitcoin, Cardano and Chainlink, and lost about $800 on stupid meme coins (and other coins that looked legit, or were legit, and just haven’t performed that well). I’ve also got a bunch more which are about the same value I bought them for. I’m not exactly laughing my way to the bank, but at least the wins I’ve had in the last couple of months have made up for my losses, putting me, on balance, about exactly back to where I started.This just goes to show why you should never invest more than you can afford to lose – I’ve learned (in my experience anyway) to get the wins you have to sustain a lot of losses, invariably counteracting your profits if and when you do pick a winner. So really, at this stage, I still see crypto as essentially gambling – something to do with disposable income you don’t want back, rather than investing.That being said, good work is being done in the industry, and it does look to be growing up, with crypto ETFs now looking like maybe becoming a ~thing~ and there are undoubtedly some coins with real use cases (the trick is knowing what they are).This is NOT financial advice. As I have demonstrated I know worse than nothing about investing. However, for what it’s worth, for now I will be holding onto my Bitcoin, Ethereum, Chainlink and Cardano investments (as well as Shiba Inu and Dogecoin out of sheer FOMO).When it comes to meme coins like Shiba Inu and Dogecoin I have to admit I will be very temped to cash out as soon as there is a big spike – mainly because you never know when people will lose interest in one meme coin and move onto the next. I also know nothing about Chainlink and Cardano other than the fact they were recommended by a Google search, so don’t take my word for it and do your own research if you are interested in them. As for Bitcoin and Ethereum, I’m keeping them simply because they are the big guns/big names.

What the experts have to say

DMARGE spoke to James Whelan – Investment Manager at VFS Group in Sydney – on Thursday the 14th of October. Mr Whelan told DMARGE: “I think that the investment community is now seeing that there needs to be an allocation to a certain amount of crypto because people are seeing it as an alternative asset and potentially, touch wood, god forbid, a store of wealth.”“Look at the Bitcoin price vs the Gold price – annoyingly – inflation is absolutely pumping [so] why is gold not performing? Look at the Bitcoin price – potentially people are buying Bitcoin instead of Gold as that store of wealth against inflation… Maybe.”The idea being? People want Gold and Bitcoin as well, with the theory being they will (hopefully) act as buffers against inflation.Mr Whelan added: “Right now all eyes are on the SEC in the United States on their approval of the first crypto ETF (or the first bitcoin ETF), which will then mean that people will have a place [to invest]. Once it’s done and accredited by the SEC it falls under all of their rules about financial stability and it has all these boxes it needs to tick and it comes under the coverage of one of the largest markets in the world and one of the better regulators in one of the largest markets in the world.”

“If the SEC lets this [happen] it means the ETF will be approved, which then means people like me actually have somewhere to invest safely on the market on the same platform where everyone else can see all this stuff.”“The investment community will have a more safe and secure place to actually have that area where I can say to a client on their portfolio report: ‘Look at this, as discussed, here is your 5% allocation to a Bitcoin ETF. It’s run by a reputable ETF provider, it’s on a market which is where all your other stuff is as well.’ That’s so important for a client to see.”The rest of crypto still remains a bit of a Wild West, however. So when it comes to ‘meme coins’ (or even legit-looking coins that claim to have a use case but which you really don’t know anything solid about) however, be warned you are playing with fire (remember: there is a big difference between the Bitcoin ETF Mr Whelan is talking about the SEC looking into above and my ‘shit coin’ experimentation on Trust Wallet via Pancake swap…).On that note: DMARGE sought comment from Vanguard Australia earlier this year (around May/June) regarding my $1,000 crypto experiment and recieved the following statement in response.“We do urge caution against speculating in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which are largely unregulated and accompanied by a number of considerable risks including the potential loss of investment entirely in some instances.”We were also pointed to an article in the Australian Financial review, featuring a quote from Vanguard Australia’s Balaji Gopal.“A long-term portfolio should be comprised of stocks, bonds and cash,” Balaji Gopal, head of Vanguard Australia’s Personal Investor platform, told The Australian Financial Review. “We are quite happy to sit this one [cryptocurrency ETF] out, and we urge investors to be very wary of the risks of cryptocurrencies.”Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies fall short of Vanguard’s house definition for an asset class, commodity or even currency, Mr Gopal said, because they do not generate income or cash flow. Nor are they a store of wealth, unit of account or medium of exchange, he added, rejecting popular conceptions.“Cryptocurrencies defy any kind of categorisation,” he said. “Their characteristics are more similar to collectables like fine art, exotic cars or baseball cards.”It should be noted all this commentary was made before this week’s news that a Bitcoin ETF is being looked at by the SEC.

Expert’s advice for individual crypto ‘experimenters’

When asked about the most common mistakes rookie traders make, Josh Gilbert, market analyst at eToro, told DMARGE: “Rookie mistakes are common in any market that aims to empower the everyday investor.”Some mistakes to avoid, he told DMARGE, include:

  • Lack of understanding: Investors should ensure they’ve done their research and understand the asset they’re investing in, before deploying any capital.
  • Emotional investing: While the crypto market is one that invokes a lot of passion, it’s important that rookie investors keep their emotions at bay and take a calculated approach when investing. Crypto markets can be volatile, so it’s important to maintain a level head, regardless of whether the market is experiencing a bull or bear run. Neither overconfidence nor FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) should motivate your investments.
  • Hype-investing: The fear of missing out (FOMO) has led many investors down the road to disaster. Investors might seem tempted to jump into a cryptoasset that’s skyrocketing, but it’s important to understand the function of the asset. I highly recommend reading whitepapers associated with projects before investing.
  • Putting your eggs in one basket: Diversification is the aim of the game. Instead of putting all their money into one cryptoasset, investors can hedge against risks by investing in multiple assets, lessening the blow if a coin unexpectedly drops in value. Smart investors instead diversify their crypto portfolios with a range of different assets and products.

Josh also busted a few quick myths about the sector, telling DMARGE this notion that crypto is a get-rich-quick scheme is flawed.“Yes, investors can make some significant cash from crypto, but all in all, it should not be used as a main income. Like traditional stocks, crypto is very volatile, which means that smart investors should adopt responsible investing principles when dipping their toes into the crypto pool, and only invest what they can afford to lose.”

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