Ripple Proper Party: A review

Its Thursday 28 September its 1030 am in Manchester UK.  In New York the time is 0330am & most Americans will probably be fast asleep, I However am stood at the tram station waiting to head into the city centre in order to get a train to Manchester airport. Destination: New York.

I get the short train from Manchester City Centre to the airport & in no time I am through security and I make my way through to the VIP Airport lounge. For just under $70 i get to sit in a quiet area with a great view of the runway and a selection of alcohol and food. I help myself to a glass of Champagne and grab some food as I am feeling rather hungry. I grab a seat and words cannot describe how excited I am abut hitting New York.

I post a quick video on Twitter & Instagram of me “Poppin Champagne” which is picked up by The Digital Asset Investor & mentioned in his youtube video the next day. A few people reach out to me on Instagram and mention that they have seen this video by DAI, one person who quipped “You’ve got the bottles now where is the models?”

Several more glasses of Champagne deep (Making sure i get my moneys worth) I decide to head to the gate and get ready for boarding. I see on Twitter a few have started to make their own way to New York & this just adds to my excitement. Finally after 5 years in the community I am going to meet some of the people I know only by their Twitter or Instagram handle.

In the lounge I have a quick chat with the lady next to me who tells me she is going to Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt and she asks where I am going. I tell her about Ripple and the party & she tells me her husband is a Bitcoin miner but he doesn’t make any money. I tell her it can be hard to mine Bitcoin but the miner needs to be constantly running. She comments on how loud the miner is & I tell her ideally it needs to be in a garage with cooling equipment etc. I am not sure she fully understands how it all works but it was great speaking her and it was testament to how far we have come in this Crypto space. I am sure that a few years ago she probably wouldn’t have even heard of Crypto.

I board my plane only to realise I am given a window seat not the best scenario given the copious amount of champagne I had just consumed. I noticed that there were a shitload of empty seats on the plane and instead of going to my designated seat I just picked a random empty aisle seat, sat down and hoped for the best. The plane takes off and not a word is said to me. (Damn I should have just gone and done the same in Business Class).

This raises the question do airlines purposely put everyone in the window seats first so that next time around if you want an aisle seat you’ll be more likely to pay next time around?

During the flight I take a trip to the toilet and sit back in my seat. A random guy comes up to me who’s noticed my XRP T shirt and says “Are you off to the party?” I was taken aback at first then said “yes”.

This guy was with a friend and had travelled from Leeds (About 45 miles away from Manchester). Told him id catch him at the party tomorrow.

A few more drinks, a movie and a quick power nap I land at JFK airport, train to Manhattan and I’m soon amongst the bright lights. A quick walk around then off to check into the hotel. On the way to the hotel by sheer chance I walked past the Hammerstein Ballroom. I noticed the sign that said “proper party” at the top of the entrance and realised that this was the venue where  the party was being held. I then post a video of the outside of the video telling everyone this is where the party is going down, a video which  at the time of this article has racked up sixty thousand views! It was also picked up by community member CKJ and showed on his Youtube channel. He seemed surprised that I had travelled all the way from the UK for the party and was also excited that the party was upon us.

Friday: The day of Ripples Proper Party

It’s 6 in the morning ET and I am wide awake. I am not sure wether it is the fact that I am in New York, The thought of the Ripple party or the fact that the time is 11AM in the UK and my body thinks its still on GMT.

Another hour in bed and it’s clear I am not getting back to sleep. I grab some breakfast and head back to the room and start getting ready to go out for the day. It is raining quite badly. Having meticulously planned this trip I packed a small umbrella and another pair of trainers as I knew there would be at least one day of heavy rain. I said to myself I’m going out regardless as my time here is short and I want to make the most of it.

I suddenly hear an alert from my iphone I have a look and it’s an emergency warning alert telling me that there is  life threatening flash flooding in the area and that I should not travel. I take a look from my 18th floor window yes it is raining but I certainly can’t see any scenes from Noah’s ark descending upon Manhattan. I am from Manchester. People from England say “It always rains in Manchester!” Now whilst not entirely true we do see our fair share of rain so I’m certainly not letting that ruin my trip to NY.

I go to the lobby chill for some time and get talking to the concierge he tells me that in some areas of New York  the drainage systems aren’t the best and it can cause temporary flooding which subsides after a few hours. This puts my mind at ease and I brave the rain and take a long walk around Manhattan. My late Grandmother used to live in Brooklyn, I have been to New York multiple times, the last visit being 2011 and it felt like nothing has changed. The bright lights remain albeit the video screens are now brighter & in 4K, the constant beeping of horns by the Yellow cab drivers still remains audible & streets remain busy as ever with tourists shopping and taking selfies.

After a long walk around Manhattan I head back to the Hotel and get ready for the evenings festivities.

The first stop is a private pre drinks event at the Five Star Pendry West Hotel just a stones throw from the Hammerstein Ballroom where the Ripple party is being held. The party was hosted by Barbie who has become great friend of mine and great supporter of my work. It was so good to hang out with her in person & I am sure anyone who has ever met her will agree that she has an aura and personality that lights up any room she walks into. The meet was also hosted by Bradford who was a really nice guy too. It was soo cool to meet a few of the community members, many who i have never met before and also a few who I have spoken with extensively but only online Such as Mr & Mrs Jay Kill. It was somewhat surreal putting faces to names. As the afternoon went on to early evening the drinks flowed plentifully and it was now time to head to the main event: The Ripple proper party.

A short walk from the Pendry and we were at the venue. The first thing we noticed was the Queue. Ripple had told us by email to get there early in order to guarantee entry and we arrived at 6:45PM 15 mins before the advisory time given to us in the email and the queue was at least 5 blocks deep. I was actually in shock at how big it was this early on in the night. Thoughts started to go through my head wondering if we would even get in due to the limited capacity. Imagine that a 10000 mile round trip and not even getting into the party. That would be unimaginable!

In the Queue I bump into XRP Jenna, a woman I recognise as she modelled and helped sell some of my Bearable Guy Christmas Sweaters last winter. I introduce myself and she is pleased to meet me. The queue is long but Jenna entertains us all by playing “In my feelings” by Drake on her phone whilst dancing in the Queue. This puts a smile on my face and everyone around us. It is around an hour waiting and we are finally in. A quick search and scan of QR code and I am given a wristband.

As i walk in I see a big backdrop withe the words “The Proper Party” written on there and get a photo in front of it. I have a quick walk around the venue. The venue is like a theatre except that on the ground floor is a dancefloor. The whole building is very dark draped with blue lights and downstairs is a retro arcade & a cloakroom. There is a stall giving away free Ripple merchandise including T shirts socks & caps. I grab some as a souvenir then go to get some food. I grab myself a chilli dog and beef and turkey sliders and chips are also available I then head over to the bar which is also free and order a drink.

One of the first things I noticed was how varied the crowd was. People from all walks of life, sex and colour. This is something Ripple has from boardroom level right down to the community and it is fantastic to see. Dress code was party attire and people certainly did dress to impress.

The first person of note that I see is lawyer Jeremy Hogan and his Wife Thien. I introduce myself to them and they both seem happy to see me. Jeremy also modelled one of my Christmas jumpers and the first thing i did was thank him for that. We exchange pleasantries and I have a quick chat with Thien. I can see Jeremy is centre of attention and there are plenty of people vying to get a photo with him. I joke with Thien that by the end of the night she is going to be an expert photographer and we both laugh. I then take a walk onto the dance floor a DJ is currently spinning dance music. In an hours time there its a special guest musician and there has been speculation as to who it is. My guess is that it was going to be a New York based rapper. Some people said it would be Snoop Dogg as he performed at a previous Ripple party. Some said it was going to be 50 Cent I knew this was unlikely however because I knew that 50 was currently on tour in Europe.

I decide to grab another drink. Im English and it is well documented that us Brits love a drink. I intend to take full advantage! On the way to the bar i walk past Jeremy Hogan again, he’s still in the same place taking photos. I quickly commented  to him that he hasn’t moved since i was last was there about 20 minutes ago. He smiled and I have to give it up to him. He is a true man of the people! I meet a few more people from the community including Brad Kimes, who’s plane was cancelled because of the bad weather (He & his Wife ended up catching the train), Blockchain Backer, Jon Deaton & David Schwartz. When I introduced myself to David he actually knew who I was which i thought was pretty cool. We have a brief chat and just before i go i say to him “One more thing David, NO MORE DAD JOKES ON TWITTER!” He smirks and rolls his eyes I then Leave. I joke on Twitter the next day the special announcement was that David would not be doing anymore Dad jokes on the platform.

The time is nearly 9PM and the music dies down then shortly after CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse takes the main stage. Brad has such great presence on stage and you can tell he is adored by the community inside the Ballroom as they latch on to his every word and clap and cheer throughout his speech. The whole oration is about 6 minutes long and is mainly based on thanking his team and also the XRP community for all their hard work especially during the SEC lawsuit. There was rumours amongst the community that there was going to be a special announcement by Brad during the event and there wasn’t. There were groans from certain sections of the community online who were asking why are we celebrating or highlighting the fact that XRP is still 50 cents (It pumped to around 54 cents on the day of the party) But let’s not take away the fact that the main reason for this party is that XRP is NOT a security. Some people couldn’t afford to go to the party and that’s understandable but had XRP been declared a security the price would be nowhere near 50 cents. I personally think we now have a clear runway for a big price increase during the 2024/2025 bullrun.

Brad concluded his speech by announcing the special guest musician. It was none other than four time Grammy winner Lenny Kravitz! Lenny’s set was en eclectic fusion of Blues, Reggae & Rock with him performing one of my favourite tracks “Fly away”. A great all round performance that got more intense as the set went on. It was very well received by the crowd too. The set finishes and the DJ comes back on a lot of people leave but not me I continue to drink and meet as many people as I can whilst telling them about my Website. Some people heard who I am other have not. Regardless I continue to party the night away until midnight when the party is over. Seriously inebriated I stumble out the venue and bump into a few people I met in the venue. I get invited to a couple of afterparties and end up drinking in a bar till the early hours with UK based community member XRP Bart. Feeling like I’ve hit the wall i decide to call it a night. I stumble back to the Hotel and crash out as soon as my head hits the pillow. What a night. What a community.

I wake up on Saturday morning hungover and go downstairs for a Coffee and breakfast. The weather is better today and i decided to do some more sightseeing I visit the worlds famous Kats Deli for a Pastrami Sandwich and in the evening start drinking again and hit a party in Brooklyn. Sunday I wake up with a consecutive hangover and start packing ready to head home. I have a few hours until my flight so I grab a few gifts then head to Sylvias Soul food in Harlem for dinner. I then head to the airport for the 7 hour flight back to Manchester.

Back in Manchester now and on reflection I had an amazing time. The people who didn’t go to the party for whatever reason definitely missed out. I was given various gifts by people that I met which really meant a lot to me personally as I have done a lot of work in the community over  the last 5 years and whilst my youtube channel got unfairly taken down nearly a year ago, the real people in the community haven’t forgotten me. It was soo great meeting everyone even if there was a few people I didn’t get to meet at the party. I guess I’ll catch you next time around. Las Vegas 2024 anyone?

Article written by xrp speculation @xrpspeculation

Do you have a community event coming up that you’d like me to attend and write a review like this one? Get in touch on Twitter @xrpspeculation or Instagram