Jordan, 30

Do you live in Austin?
I just moved here. I like it so far.

How is the scene with the ladies here?
It looks like a total sword-fest out here, but it's 6th St., so that's not very representative.

I mean the city in general.
I'm getting a real natural vibe — lot of dreads, lot of hula hoops and flame-throwing — and then at the other side of the spectrum, the orange UT girls. I can only guess that they tan. Maybe it's a lot of vitamin C deficiency.

What's your opinion of that natural vibe?
It depends on the time of night. I will consider almost anything.

Have you ever had sex with a woman with dreads?
No, I haven't.

I have had sex with a man with dreads. And you know what? It was okay. They were clean dreads. What do you think about Brazilian waxing?
I am a fan of vaginas in general, no matter what is growing off of them.

I appreciate that. We all appreciate that.
I'm still practically fourteen when it comes to women. Just the idea of sex blows my mind still. It's such a novel concept. Just the idea of sleeping with someone is still exciting and novel to me, instead of, you know, there have to be anal beads and yada yada. With me it's always been like, "I can't believe she's naked!"

What's the most ill-advised thing you've ever done sexually?
I actually was in a relationship with a girlfriend for hire. It's not exactly hooking, it's girls who date extremely rich men, and there is sex involved, but those men mostly pay for their company.

Did you know what she did when you first met her?
No. It shocked me at first.

Had you slept with her before you found out?
No, and she cut it off when we started dating. But it turns out that it tends to be that people who are involved in that line of business are fucked-up in general.

Was she dating one man or many?
She was dating two.

What kind of perks did she get?
She never had to pay for anything. Figure-wise, she was making, by sleeping with one guy a week, about eighty grand a year.

So you could think of it as this girl giving up eighty-thousand dollars a year to be with you.
Oh yeah, totally. And she was paying her way through school. So I could totally see how — dude, half the guys I know, if they would get paid one-thousand dollars a pop to sleep with a forty-five-year-old woman, would totally do that. This was just a person who didn't have a sentimental attachment to sex. I understand now how you can dance with someone in a ballroom dancing class and it's totally different from dancing with your wife. And when you take that to an extreme, you can sleep with someone and it's just sex.

When was the last time you got lucky?
Right before I moved here, so, three weeks ago.

Are you in a relationship with the lady?
I was. I had to move. I don't believe in long-distance relationships. I don't think they work. My idea of a relationship is not seeing somebody every six weeks. There's no connection there. It's just the idea of being with someone instead of actually being with them.

Given that we're in the middle of SXSW Interactive here, I should point out that some people think Facebook and the phone are enough to maintain a long-distance relationship.
It's just an illusion. You have to be face to face, you have to put up with someone, you have to compromise. There's just so much you get from having to choose to be with someone. That weekend hangout every few weeks, it's just not realistic. You're still living on the fantasy.

How serious was the relationship before you moved?
It was serious. She's an amazing woman.

 

Christine, 20

Where do you live?
I go to school, but I'm originally from Dallas.

What are you doing at SXSW?
I'm here to hear all these great bands play. I don't know where they're playing or what they'll be doing at what times, but I'm just going to walk the streets and hopefully I'll run into somebody awesome.

What's the best romantic relationship advice you've ever received?
I was really down about being single, and my mom was like, "Babe, you're hot, you're twenty, you don't need to worry about tying yourself down right now. Go have fun, do whatever you want, drink, party." My mom.

Has anyone ever cheated on you?
I broke up with him right before he cheated on me, so… no. I was literally watching him about to hook up with this girl, and I walked over to him and broke up with him. That was awkward.

That asshole.
I hated him for like six months, and we had to sit next to each other in class.

Did he stay with the other woman he hooked up with?
Yeah, he did. They didn't date right after we broke up, but a couple weeks later.

Have you ever been to SXSW before?
No, it's my first time.

Have you done anything crazy?
Not yet. I'm pretty sure once I finish this drink...

That's a thirty-two ounce…
Coke. I made the mistake of pouring too much… Coke in here, and now I can taste the… Coke. It's really good, though! [laughs]

 

Chris, 25

Do you meet a lot of girls being a pedicab driver?
Dude, I get so many numbers this way. You've got your ass right there, they love it.

How much ass have you pulled?
I don't know. A good amount.

Is it better during SXSW?
Yeah, at South By, you just meet every kind of girl, and they're all in a good mood, because there's alcohol everywhere and music. So, it's a really fantastic time.

How's SXSW going for you?
Fan-fucking-tastic. I've had a great day. I got a really good vibe from a lot of people today. Met some cool folks, gave some nice tours. Made a bunch of cash so far. I got tipped in a gram of weed earlier, that was cool. Last night, these dudes hooked me up with a hash lollipop, that was fantastic. It's been a real good ride so far.

Do you get a lot of tips in drugs?
I mean, not all. [laughs]

Do you prefer it?
If you give me cash, I like cash as well.

What do you do?
I go to school. I study. I'm a student.

Do you have a 'best story' from all your SXSWs? How many SXSWs have you been here for?
This is my first time working the cab, but I have been here for three or four. I've had great nights. You're chilling outside of clubs and you get to meet some of your favorite bands. That's my favorite part of South By.

Do you have a greatest moment, though?
It just involves shrooms and journeys.

Journey the band or journeys of the mind?
No, they were just journeys of the mind. Deep, introspective, third-eye kind of voyages. And, then you meet people who have DMT. Ever try DMT?

Don't even know what DMT is.
Well, DMT is this chemical, dimethyltryptamine. It occurs in most living things. You've got it in your brain right now. It's the most powerful hallucinogen known to man. It's fantastic. You should give it a try some time.

What do you see when you do DMT?
What most people report is entering a room full of deities who tell you about your life. Some people report going on a trans-dimensional, intergalactic voyage led by one guiding spirit. It varies, but the most common one is the party with the deities.

Is that what happened to you?
Yeah. And sometimes on the intergalactic voyage you see your life laid out in front of you, but, like, from a different dimension. It's a really quick trip and to describe it to you would be hard. You really have to experience it yourself to understand.

If you could give me one take-away from your trip on DMT, what would it be? Did it change your life?
I think world peace would be possible, if everybody tried it. Or at least people would understand why they do evil things and why other people do good things. You understand the balance of nature better after you've done it. Buddhism is more appealing, because it's a lot more logical. It's a fantastic time.

Are you on DMT right now?
No, but you've got it in your brain and so do I. Your body naturally produces it. It's also the reason for near-death experiences. When you die, all the DMT in your pineal gland gets released, and that's why people report the white light and out of body experiences. It's all DMT. And your pineal gland is believed to be your vestigial third eye. You know some lizards actually have lenses and corneas on theirs? We just have the pineal gland. That's really how you connect with the natural plane. You ever listen to the Wu-Tang Clan?

Yes.
When they say "I know my astral plane," they smoked DMT. It's the kind of drug that should be the new acid, if there were a flower-power scene for this generation.

How much does it cost?
The guy I know only lets people smoke it if they're worthy. I view him as kind of an intergalactic gatekeeper. I don't know about a street price or anything.

What do you study in school?
Electrical engineering and biotechnology, like tiny robots in your blood stream and stuff. I think, if more scientists did DMT, that they'd be coming to better scientific conclusions and doing better work. This kind of sounds like an ad for DMT, but it kind of should be I guess.

Interviews by Kelly Bourdet. Photography by Tommy Kearns. Want to talk to strangers in your town? Email submissions@nerve.com.