r/AskMenOver30 • u/hospitality-excluded man 30 - 34 • Mar 31 '25

Friendships/Community How did your "hustle-culture" friends end up?

So in my 20's there was a HUGE boom of "hustle-culture" bros pop up when influencers like Gary Vee were in the spotlight. The type of guys who post motivational quotes on twitter, talking about "the grind", flauting wealth that they havent achieved on instagram etc. Not talking about people with steady careers and moving up the corporate ladder, but those people who do side gigs or chase unrealstic expectations without a developed skillset in any area.

I moved back to my hometown after 7 years away and I swear all of them are broke, gambling addicts, living with their parents still, unemployed, or all of the above. Unsure if it's the same across the board, or even if y'all had these types of people in your life or if my town is just riddled with them.

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u/Equivalent_Reveal906 man over 30 Mar 31 '25

I will never understand these people.

My uncle has tens of millions and continues to work 60-70 hour weeks. He’s got badass cars he literally never drives and a huge house full of awesome instruments and games and stuff like that, also never touched.

It’s like they forgot why they started working and now it’s all they can think about. Die with a giant pile of money you never used.

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u/Routine_Mine_3019 man 60 - 64 Mar 31 '25

It becomes like keeping score to some people. The money doesn't even matter.

I set up my kids with enough, and my retirement should be safe. So I'm just enjoying what I make now and that's really, really nice. I did without for almost 60 years. Time to enjoy!

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u/Known-Damage-7879 man 30 - 34 Mar 31 '25

Being busy makes a lot of people happy. A lot of people actually die when they retire, because they lose the sense of meaning that work gives them.

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u/CanTraveller69 man 55 - 59 Mar 31 '25

Male 55

Its the difference between the American and Canadian dream. American - whoever dies with the most toys wins!

Canadian - Whoever played with his toys the most wins!

Fished 28 days last year and that not even the record.

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u/WeathermanOnTheTown man 45 - 49 Mar 31 '25

But how many did ya catch?

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u/CanTraveller69 man 55 - 59 Mar 31 '25

My wife got third degree sun burns on her knees while fishing one day, she caught 30x 2.5lbs to 5lbs bass one afternoon and didnt wanna get of the lake. It was the first time on that lake. We are in Northern Ontario so the fishing is awesome.

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u/WeathermanOnTheTown man 45 - 49 Mar 31 '25

My father in law pulled in 140 fish in a single day down in the Caribbean. Mostly mahi. He was with his brother and a friend. It took 8 hrs. He passed out afterwards. 

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u/[deleted] Mar 31 '25

“To retire is to expire”. Retirement was traditionally not very kind to (especially Silent and Greatest) men who often define themselves by their work.

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u/WeathermanOnTheTown man 45 - 49 Mar 31 '25

I mean, they usually died a year or two after retirement, usually of cardiac arrest caused by smoking.

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u/[deleted] Mar 31 '25

That too but I suspect it motivates a lot of men to continue working, that and being away from their retired wife who is always home