Launching The Challenger Club (and Owning Where I’ve Been)
Launching The Challenger Club (and Owning Where I’ve Been) I’ve never believed in the idea of perfect neutrality. The moment you care about the world—politics, conflict, culture—you are already shaped by it. Bias isn’t a flaw; it’s the cost of paying attention. No one who’s engaged is actually impartial - and i’m no different.
Over the years, I’ve said things that were extreme and out of step with the standards I’m holding myself to now. Some of those comments came out fast, without reflection, in moments when everything online was running on emotion instead of thought. I don’t need to repeat them—they’re out there—but I regret them. Not because they were unpopular, but because they fell short of the person I expect myself to be.
That shift in me is one of the reasons The Challenger Club exists. I’m a Christian in the simplest, least performative sense—quiet, stripped down, focused on goodness, mercy, and decency. I’m not interested in theatrics or labels. I’m interested in living by principles that mean something. And that means speaking with clarity instead of impulse.
The response to launching The Challenger Club was overwhelmingly positive. People understand what I’m trying to build. But one DM stood out. a past comment of mine was brought up—one made in a heated moment—that didn’t align with the spirit of this project. They weren’t wrong. It was a fair observation. And it forced me to sit with the fact that I’ve spoken in ways that don’t reflect who I’m trying to become.
The Challenger Club isn’t an attempt to rewrite my past. It’s a decision about our collective future. It’s built on dialogue, not dogma. On history, not hysteria. On principle, not impulse.
there’s one line that doesn’t move: zero tolerance for genuine hate, bigotry, racism, antisemitism, or dehumanization, from any direction.
Disagreement is healthy. Debate is necessary. Different perspectives are welcome. But stripping people of their humanity is not.
If The Challenger Club can create a space—however small—where people talk in good faith, learn from history, challenge ideas without crushing people, and push back against the rising tide of hate, then it’s doing what it’s meant to do.
This is the beginning. And I’m building it honestly—mistakes included.
