IRL: THE RADICAL YES GUIDE TO REACHING OUT TO NEW FRIENDS.

By Kerryn Moscicki, Founder & Director Radical Yes. Photos by Agnieszka Chabros.

IRL is something we think about a lot at Radical Yes. 

But wait, what even is IRL?

IRL is an acronym for ‘In Real Life’. And maybe because of the splintering of our modern existence between social media and our ‘screen lives’, ‘real life’ is something that is becoming increasingly difficult to pin down. IRL has also always been a defining design boundary for the shoes we make and is one of the reasons we only make flat shoes. Essentially, we want to make things you will really wear and love every single day.  

So with all this IRL thinking in mind, on September 15 we launched our #RADICALYESIRL campaign. For the next two weeks (until Monday September 30) we will be sending a real $5 note in every full price order from our new Spring collection with the aim being that you will use this as the catalyst to ask a friend out for an IRL coffee date. 

What came up for us in the launching of this campaign was that for some people, reaching out can be the hardest thing in the world to do. After our initial email out to let people on our mailing list know about the campaign, one of our customers wrote to us and said “Beautiful idea, but it may be a tough one for some people, I suspect not everyone has someone to connect to.”

It got me thinking about a quote from one of my favourite American writers Kurt Vonnegut who said -

What should young people do with their lives today? Many things obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.

So out of respect to Kurt’s thinking, and in an attempt to inspire you with all the daring courage you might need to put invitations out in the world, we put forward 3 radical ideas for reaching out to people IRL. 

1. Suggest a walking date. Meet a new friend at a park at lunchtime and be outside. The benefits here are many. First of all walking dates mean you are talking side by side as opposed to the sometimes uncomfortable glare of a socially awkward stare across the coffee table. No uncomfortable silences because – park noise. Naturally we will be advocating that you wear flat shoes for this style of expedition. ;>  

2. Post a snail mail invitation. There is nothing nicer in the surprise and delight stakes than a real-life invitation. Our radical suggestion? Post them the invitation card we have included with your order this month to tell them about this crazy brand that’s giving away free money to conjure real life togetherness in our communities. More details over here.
   
   
3. Take a tour of an art gallery – Similar to the walking date, the great thing about an art gallery tour is you don’t have to be the instigator of all the conversation and there is something else to focus on while you spend time with your invitee. Most art galleries offer walking tours and the best part is it gives you loads of things to discuss afterwards. 

Still feeling unsure? Check out these suggestions from this inspiring article on building adult friendships from Manrepeller.