photo: me, mid-hobby
@caischen
Hobby collector, finish-line chaser, and documenter of the whole messy process. Currently somewhere between a barbell and a hardware store.
The why
About me
Hi, I'm Cai — most people pick one hobby and go deep. I picked all of them.
The short version
11 hobbies in, one Ironman down, zero plans to stop. I learn each hobby properly, live inside it for a season, and write down everything I wish someone had told me on day one.
Hobby maxxing is a simple idea: life is too short to wonder what a hobby would have been like. So instead of choosing, I cycle — pick a new hobby, learn it properly, live inside it for a season, document the whole messy process, and then hand the baton to the next one.
It started innocently with a tent and a weekend. Camping turned into hiking, hiking turned into "what if I just kept going" — and suddenly there were marathon bibs on the wall, a wetsuit drying in the shower, and a paddle in the back seat. Each hobby teaches something the next one borrows: patience from fishing, pacing from the marathon, calm from forty feet underwater.
Everything gets documented — the wins, the gear mistakes, the mile-20 faces — because the honest version is more useful (and funnier) than the highlight reel. If watching someone speedrun the entire hobby universe saves you a few wrong turns on your own, that's the whole point.
The timeline
Eleven hobbies, in order.
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Hobby 01 · Outdoors
Camping
The first tent, the first campfire coffee, the origin story.
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Hobby 02 · Outdoors
Hiking
Camp legs evolved into trail legs. Summits became collectible.
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Hobby 03 · Outdoors / Water
Fishing
Slowed everything down. Patience: acquired.
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Hobby 04 · Travel
Traveling
Realized every hobby hits different in a new country.
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Hobby 05 · Endurance
Marathon
26.2 miles. The suffering-as-a-skill era begins.
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Hobby 06 · Sport
Lifting
Built the engine: squats and deadlifts as Ironman prep that never left.
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Hobby 07 · Sport
Pickleball
Joined the fastest-growing obsession in America. Still active.
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Hobby 08 · Endurance
Ironman
140.6 miles in one day. The boss fight, cleared.
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Hobby 09 · Water
Freediving
Found the quietest place on earth: one breath down.
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Hobby 10 · Outdoors / Travel
Solo backpacking
Every outdoor skill, one pack, zero co-pilots.
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Hobby 11 · DIY · Up next
Home improvement
The indoor era: power tools, projects, and inevitable do-overs.
Hobby #11 is loading
Home improvement season starts soon. Watch it unfold — mistakes included.
Follow along ↗