3 + 3 = 6 /// A Blog About Old & New Times by Brogan Graham

Nobody really counts 2011 as the first year that NP was around, I know my wife doesn’t.

November Project began when people began to show up for a workout in the Spring of 2012, right? That first month, with that first morning in November, that began exactly 6 years ago today, marked the beginning of an odd adventure for Bojan & I, but NP was born when it began to include others… right?

Let’s look at that first month, back before Bojan and I were leading anything, before we lined up shirts by the dozens, before it was on social, or Best Of Boston, or anything. When November Project was only two people, laughing in the early morning hours, hating every single moment of it until the other showed up…

When it was just Bojan and I in month one of this thing, I can clearly remember how we absolutely needed to text each night, the night before, what we were planning to do for the exact workout and where we’d meet. After those texts, we’d set our alarms and be 100% locked in (I’d usually put my phone into airplane mode so neither of us could try and get out of it in the early morning hours). I can say from my end of things, when my alarm went off at ~5:15AM I was NOT into this “November Project” thing for the first few minutes. We’d slowly move from our own sides of town and meet in whatever set location. It made zero sense and was way waaaaaaay to early until we hugged it out and began. These morning meetups were carefree and fun. These mornings were so chill and funny up until the moment we began the workout. I swear, even in the very first month, those mornings made me feel seriously connected to my Serbian friend, and as a bonus, I was proud to have my workout for the day done.

By November 3rd my former Northeastern Rowing teammate and I had moved past any small-talk or what’s-new banter that friends who only see one another a handful of times per month tend to exchange. We were back in the college volume of hanging out, we joked with references that were new and made zero sense to the world and made us both laugh. We talked shit and pushed one another and took ourselves serious and NOT at the same time. Shit man, thinking back, we’d banked the laughing & working out quota for the week, all before work, in just one morning. FUCK, walking through even that first week in my head, I can see NP as it is today, and as it is intended to be; Organized, but not too serious, fun, funny, always on time, weatherproof, excuse free, REALLY FUCKING STUPID (until the workout began), and a vehicle to get fit while enjoying an up-to-date friendship. We couldn’t imagine the future, the drones of good people we’d meet, the media we’d win, the lifelong friends we’d find, the insane Co-Leaders who’d step forward, and the fucking fun we’d have all over the world.

For those of you I have not met, November Project was a huge part of my life in Boston, a city where I’d reinvented myself as a college student, athlete, and eventually a grown man. My 3 years of November Project in Boston may have been the most fun of my entire 12 that I lived in the 617. But those three years of NP are now throwback, they’re of the past, they’re no longer. As an example, my friend & Co-Leader of November Project Boston, Emily Saul, has now been leading workouts longer than I have (and I thought she was still NewSchool!?). My last three years here in San Diego have shifted my perspective, truly opened my eyes to tribes beyond the Harvard Stadium parking lot, and made me question time & time again, WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO SERVE THIS COMMUNITY? In the first three years we had passionate Co-Leaders come and go, that will never be replaced, like Molly Thayer (Denver), Pat O’Neil (Baltimore), Orrin Whalen (LA) and Danny Metcalf (DC), just to name a sliver of that group of now retired co-leaders. And in this movement that can’t stop moving, that won’t stop pushing forward, I look to the fresh faces, the new blood, and I see Steve (Kelowna), Maria (DC), Christine (Milwaukee) and Jason (Buffalo) and know that the future is bright for NP. The 3 years of leading with Bojan in Boston, added to the 3 here as a member in San Diego, along with the countless trips to build NP around the world because of the proud support from The North Face, because of the vision of Dooster Film, because of the mind of Caleb Daniloff, because of the insanity of Tim Sedo, the dedication of Nate & Stinky & Maeve, the support of Mary Wittenberg, and the endless pushes from every single one of the Co-Leaders to stay creative, hardcore, fun, and on the move… these 6 years have been a wild ride, one that I’ll never ever forget.

But I will close this post with this (when Ashleigh of NPSD asked me to write something for today, she should have known I’d go long):

November Project isn’t a story of Boston or about a free workout. It isn’t about what we’ve started as or what we’ve done. NP is always moving forward, always changing and always rolling into a new community. I am proud that this morning I was able to stand with my people of November Project here in Balboa Park, experiencing a sunrise that was passed around the world in 44 cities, 44 tribes, and built by so many people that we’ll never be able to count them all. If you think NP began when you showed up, you’re right. If you think NP began when your local pledge group became an official NP tribe, you’re right. If you think the movement began 6 years ago when Bojan and I didn’t snooze and we did rise up out of bed to push one another for a month long bet you’re also right. But as I said to the smiling faces here in San Diego this morning, the most important Wednesday is the one next week, the one where someone new shows up, when we all see each other again. Keep spreading the word and proving that this world is good, that we DO have good leaders, and that we plan to keep building this positive community each NEXT Wednesday that is on the horizon.

The tribe is strong. -BG

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