Nov 19, 2019
Tis the season I say for giving and kindness. There is no better
guest I can think of than Nick Atkins. If you happen to see a man
wearing a kilt around town, that is probably Nick. Long beard,
usually rocking a hat and kilt, and a distinct pair of socks.
Bright pink ankle socks with moustaches strewn upon them. I was
introduced to Nick through a mutual friend Larry Gioia. <— We
will save with how awesome Larry is for another podcast, because he
is due to come on the show in the near future. Essentially what
Larry is, is a connector. I tend to think of myself the same way.
You meet someone and you know they HAVE to meet another friend of
yours. Energies align, vibes are felt and life takes you along a
path to the next soul you are supposed to connect with, for one
reason or another. Nick was that next soul. Nick travels the world
giving talks to people about global communities and the non profit
organization that he founded with ..... Pink Socks.
What’s the deal with the socks? Is the question he hears when he
travels with them. That question, that opening of a conversation...
is exactly the deal. An invitation to connect with someone you may
never have spoken to. In an age where we are ALL connected to our
phones ( I typed this, you are reading this... it happens) As a
whole nation on this Earth, everyone is lonely. As lonely as we
have ever been, we are connected via the internet, but one on one
conversation, and getting out of our “bubble” is becoming more and
more challenging. I mean, when was the last time you made a friend
in an airport or on a plane, or bus.
Most humans are engaged in a conversation with their phones. Pink
Socks strives to connect people all across the world, urging acts
of kindness, sharing and global connectivity.
It isn’t just the spark of asking what the socks are about, Pink
Socks is also about gifting without asking anything in return. That
is how this all starting with Nick and ..... They gifted a pair of
socks to a stranger and saw his face light up. They wondered if
they could make that idea bigger, and bigger, and bigger. And here
we are today. They are now a non profit, manuf ah tiring thousands
of Pink Socks that get delivered directly to Nick and he sends them
around the world, or hand delivers them himself! ( I haven’t met
anyone that travels like he does... and that is coming from me)
This week he flys to a town that had a shooting in a school to
spread that joy.
We talk about this and so much else in this uplifting episode that
reminds all of us, it isn’t just the season. This can happen year
round. Let’s spread that love. Head to ... to hear how you can
help.
This episode is sponsored by Games Unlimited my go to place for choosing a puzzle, game, for my next quality time.
"Located in the popular section of Squirrel Hill in Pittsburgh, Games Unlimited opened in 1978 to serve the greater Pittsburgh are a diverse selection of classic, party, and war-games along with jigsaw puzzles. Very soon the phenomenon of Dungeons and Dragons made role playing games a staple and Games Unlimited has been a gaming hub for Pittsburgh ever since. As a small, local business it aspires to make gaming accessible to anyone through it's wide selection of family, cooperative, and strategy games."
Owned by Kylie Prymus, Kylie started his career in gaming writing articles about the intersection of video games and philosophy while teaching and working on his Ph. D. In 2009 he moved to Pittsburgh, and after discovering Games Unlimited, traded in his software and controllers for meeples and dice.
Before long he decided to switch careers and became the manager of Games Unlimited, eventually purchasing it in 2015. As a gaming evangelist he knows that there's a perfect game out there for everyone, even people who say they don't like games"
