An interview with John from Proof of Ink by Anthony.
Stackchain has been a crazy ride. It’s launched so many pleb projects and businesses. Perhaps the most notable is Poof of Ink, the Bitcoin business that distributes Stackchain Magazine and makes Bitcoin gear that plebs love. A lot has changed over at Proof of Ink since John first started putting ink on your favorite shirts and hoodies, and we thought it would be great to update Stackchain Magazine readers with Proof of Ink’s proof of work over these last few years.
Anthony:
What would you say are the biggest changes?
John:
The biggest change to Proof of Ink has been re-aligning focus from retail items to becoming a marketing and distribution partner for Bitcoin companies. I realized into my first year that while there are MANY merch sites (all offering dropship junk) that I would be competing for attention with, by printing my own items I had a unique advantage to be able to provide merch at scale to bitcoin companies. While I still offer retail items for plebs looking for high quality proof of work merch, I have partnered with bitcoin companies such as OCEAN Mining, AnchorWatch, Human Rights Foundation, BTC Sessions, and more.
Another large change is the scale of Proof of Ink – at the beginning I was only offering screen printed items. In the past two years I have found and partnered with other bitcoiners and can now provide embroidery, stickers, laser engraving, and graphic design services. This has enabled Proof of Ink to become a one stop shop for Bitcoin merchandise and further building out the circular economy.
Anthony:
Wow, that’s really impressive. As a friend of POI I’m honestly shocked how quickly POI has grown. I’m not surprised because I’ve had a front seat watching your proof of work, but still the growth is amazing.
In the last year Bitcoin has seemed to become much more mainstream, while POI itself has very solid roots in plebdom.
Do you still feel like POI is a grassroots pleb business?
John:
Absolutely, all the people I have brought into POI are plebs, and POI is still a very low budget, bootstrap business. Being able to bring more and more people in and pay them in bitcoin has been an awesome experience.
Anthony:
Nice! Stacking plebs. This is the way.
I know that POI is a Bitcoin company. That is to say POI doesn’t just produce Bitcoin gear but also does business in Bitcoin. Essentially POI is kind of on a Bitcoin Standard. Have you experienced any trouble using Bitcoin as POI has grown?
John:
Yes, I don’t mind spending bitcoin, but I don’t want to sell it. Many of my customers choose to pay me in bitcoin, which is awesome! However, there are no garment suppliers that accept bitcoin. There are often times when I need to use my personal credit card to buy supplies while I wait a bit for more fiat to come in. I don’t think there are any decent workarounds at the moment – the Dolphin Card from Aqua looks promising.
Anthony:
That makes sense. The fiat system and laws probably create a terrible burden when it comes to something as simple as converting from one to the other to make a simple payment. And of course, no Bitcoiner likes the idea of buying dollars.
Now that you’ve got some time in working on POI, is there anything you learned the hard way? As in, is there anything you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
John:
Anything worth learning is learned the hard way. I’ve definitely wasted some time and energy pursuing things that didn’t work out, but I wouldn’t change anything; it all led me to and reinforces my current path. If I wanted to play it easy and get a good pay check I would have stayed in the fiat mines.
Anthony:
Anything is better than the fiat mines. Probably the biggest takeaway from that answer is going all in on Bitcoin is uncertain, but a fiat life is pretty predictable.
How about the Bitcoin space itself? How has it evolved since you started POI?
John:
Who dares, wins. As far as the bitcoin space, it’s hard to tell how much it has changed or I have changed. I used to listen to the Swan Bitcoin spaces every morning, Toxic Happy Hour in the afternoon, and Stackchain spaces at night. It could have been more signal in the market or maybe I was just more involved because I was new. I don’t join any spaces anymore and rarely listen to a podcast unless it’s a select few people (I’m always ready to listen to an American Hodl / Erik Cason rant); things just seem more regurgitated or focused on bitcoin treasury companies (which IMO are mostly a scam) or core vs knots debates (which I couldn’t care less about). I do find myself working with other like minded people much more often now, whether it be Stackchain Magazine, building Chicken Tender with Tselly, or working with a number of bitcoin companies ensuring they get the right merch for the right show on time. I’m focused on building.
Anthony:
That’s interesting. I think it’s part of the journey of a Bitcoiner. You never stop being excited about Bitcoin but once you’ve heard every rendition of “how Bitcoin fixes this”, read all the typical books and listened to a fabillion hours of podcasts, you kind of run out of space to take in more. We all know what the end game is and taking in more info doesn’t really add value anymore. Continuing to stack sats is obvious and for me personally it’s about finding interesting ways to give back to Bitcoiners.
Obviously my primary focus is Stackchain Magazine, which is one of the few places that’s still packed with pleb energy.
POI has been pivotal in the growth of Stackchain Magazine. You’ve been there from the beginning. How has the magazine changed from its humble beginnings?
John:
I think it’s amazing that a handful of tards on the internet were able to come together for such a fun project. I feel we are very much still in the sub-culture of bitcoin though, which I honestly don’t mind. Getting our magazine its first fixed site sales location at Space Denver is a nice first step to get the magazine in front of normie bitcoiners. I’m looking forward to more locations, and especially because of our dispersed staff, attend multiple events where we can represent Stackchain Magazine. What mystifies me the most are the collectors – some of these guys are just grabbing every special edition they can find.
Anthony:
I think it’s fair to say that we have realized our initial dream of producing a high quality pleb culture mag. And in a bull market full of Suitcoining and government worship I can’t really think of another outlet that is so pleb focused.
Is it fair to say the magazine’s focus is now increasing readers? Are there any other goals?
John:
I’d want to increase viewership without changing how we do things – that tells me we’re expanding our group instead of morphing to fit into another. Eventually I’d like to see a monthly publication if we have the interest and demand for it.
Anthony:
Lofty goals for Stackchain Mag.
What about POI in general? Any upcoming developments in the future of Proof of Ink itself? Or, do you have any future goals?
John:
Just continue to grow organically, and have fun doing what I am doing.
Anthony:
Fair enough. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what magic Proof of Ink will weave into the future.
One last question.
So you quit your job, and went all in on POI: what advice would you give to other plebs feeling the strain of fiat mining and looking to transition to the bitcoin space?
John:
Make sure you know what you are doing before making the leap. It was the only way I was going to get access to my 401k to put it into bitcoin, and I knew I had to do it before the bear market opportunity slipped. It would be a lot harder for me to take that same leap today. I have also yet to take a single paycheck from POI, and have been putting everything back into the business; if you need a steady paycheck don’t quit the fiat mines. I do suggest figuring out what side gig you can offer the space and start there, either working part-time for bitcoin or producing something people want. Start building a network, and when you are ready, make the leap.
Anthony:
Excellent advice. It’s amazing to see Proof of Ink grow from an idea in the chats to the pleb powerhouse it’s become. I’m looking forward to seeing how POI grows from here. Thank you for your time John. And thank you for everything you’ve done for Stackchain.
I hope tomorrow you have more Bitcoin than you have today.
Proof of Ink, we love you.
Have fun stacking sats.
Note from Stackchain Magazine: No Bitcoin (or inferior monies) were exchanged for this article. You can find Proof of Ink on X @ProofofInk and on Nostr John52@nostrplebs.com. If you’d like to send John some 丰 for the article you can do so via LN plumseahorse2@primal.net
