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Ryan Stanford Pitkin

@ryanpitkin

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Co-founder, Nerve Media Productions LLC.
Editor-in-chief, Queen City Nerve.
Not active here, catch me on Threads at the link below.

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

🌁 GATEKEEPING IN THE CLT 🌁
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For our first panel discussion at The Creatives Crown LIVE, we tackled one of the most debated words in Charlotte’s creative scene: GATEKEEPING. 🌉🙅‍♂️👀
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The act of controlling who gets access to resources, opportunities, information, and community. Is gatekeeping holding Charlotte’s creative scene back, or is there more to the conversation? We brought the topic to the table to challenge perspectives, unpack experiences, and get real about what it means to build a creative community in the Queen City. 🎙️👑
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With returning guests @styles_nemh, @marcus_kiser, @ryanpitkin, and @risuthepoet, we put the conversation to the test and explored whether gatekeeping is a real barrier in Charlotte or if there’s more happening beneath the surface. 🗣️🔥
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Full panel discussion on YouTube link in bio! 🎥🔴
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Hosted by @phazegawd704 🎙️
Filmed by @nickwill.makeit + @evanthe3 📹
Presented by @mislabled.productions + @this_is_faxa 🤝
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NOW WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! 👇🏽
Do you think gatekeeping is a real problem in Charlotte’s creative scene? Have you experienced it firsthand, or do you think the conversation gets blown out of proportion? Drop your perspective in the comments and let’s get into it! 💬
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#TheCreativesCrown #TCCLive #CharlotteNC #Gatekeeping #LiveTalkshow

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👑🎬 PHAZE SAYS TCC IS LIVE 🎬👑

The dopest host with the most, @phazegawd704, has a message for the people of Charlotte! 🎙️

The Creatives Crown Talk Show is taking it LIVE this Saturday at the VAPA Center for our first live audience show ; celebrating Season 1 of The Creatives Crown and ushering in Season 2! 👑🎬

🎟️ RESERVE YOUR SEAT FOR FREE NOW ON EVENTBRITE
Link in bio 🔗

📅 Saturday, September 19th
📍 @thevapacenter 700 N. Tryon St.
⏰ Doors @ 5:30

🎙️ LIVE ROUNDTABLES
Recorded live with previous guests from Season 1

🎤 LIVE PERFORMANCES
@fllsgood Flls
@1518dia
@joeytheecreative

+ MORE

💿🎧 @styles_nemh will be rocking the turntables!

And of course, we’re creating space for:

➕ Networking
➕ Vendors
➕ Photos & Content
➕ Meet & Greet

💸 ENTRY IS DONATION BASED — $10 RECOMMENDED

All donations go directly toward improving and expanding The Creatives Crown Season 2, which is already in production. 👑2️⃣

Come celebrate Season 1, support Charlotte’s creative scene, and help us build the next chapter together! 🤝

Charlotte, will we see you Saturday?! 👀
Let us know in the poll or drop a comment! 💬

Presented by @mislabeled.productions × @this_is_faxa

#TheCreativesCrown #Talkshow #CharlotteCreatives #LiveEvent #LiveMusic

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🎥 THE CREATIVES CROWN LIVE 👑

We’re taking The Creatives Crown from the screen to the stage for our first LIVE event at in celebration of Season 1 and everything we’ve built along the way.

Saturday, September 19th
📍 @thevapacenter 700 N. Tryon St.
⏰ Doors @ 5:30 PM

🎙️ LIVE ROUNDTABLES
Recorded live with previous guests from Season 1

🎤 LIVE PERFORMANCES
@fllsgood Flls
@1518dia
@joeytheecreative
* More

@styles_nemh will be rocking the turn tables 💿🎧💿

And of course, we’re creating space for:
➕ Networking
➕ Vendors
➕ Live Cypher
➕ Photos & Content
➕ Meet & Greet

ENTRY IS DONATION BASED $10 RECOMMENDED.
All donations will go directly toward improving and expanding The Creatives Crown Season 2, which is already in production. 💸 👑2️⃣

Come celebrate Season 1, support Charlotte’s creative scene, and help us build the next chapter. 👑

Presented by @mislabeled.productions × @this_is_faxa

#TheCreativesCrown #TCC #CharlotteNC #CharlotteCreatives CLT CreativeCommunity

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BTW: I am a freelance writer available for hire.

#TheBlackFerrisBueller #SupportLocalMedia #LocalMedia #OurStoriesMatter #PowerToThePeople

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This July 4th my family and I are celebrating prayers answered, and dreams lived out load! 🎉

Today, we celebrate 22 years since our first date, the beautiful life we’ve built in Virginia, and the exciting new chapter waiting for us in Georgia.

If you’ve been following along, thank you. If you’re just joining us, welcome! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing the real side of relocating…the packing, the goodbyes, the road trip, the laughs, the tears, and everything in between.

This isn’t just about moving to a new state. It’s about having the courage to believe that it’s never too late to start a new adventure, chase peace, or create the life you’ve been praying for.

You don’t have to be fearless.
You don’t have to have all the answers.
You don’t have to have everything figured out.

Sometimes all it takes is one decision to believe that what’s on the other side of your comfort zone might be exactly where you’re meant to be. Because both faith and fear ask you to believe in something you can’t see.

So come along for the ride as we say “see you later” to our Virginia life and “hello” to our Georgia journey.

We hope our journey encourages anyone who’s been dreaming about a fresh start, whether that’s a new city, a new career, a healed heart, or simply the courage to believe that your next chapter can be even better than the last.

Here’s to new beginnings. 🎉
Virginia, from the depths of our hearts, thank you. Georgia... we’re on our way. 🍑

#VAtoGA #TheLewCrew #NewBeginnings #TrustTheJourney #FamilyAdventure

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🙅‍♂️ No More Loafing Around 🗞️
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After the abrupt shutdown of the Charlotte branch of the popular alternative newspaper “Creative Loafing”, @ryanpitkin and the team were faced with an uncertain future; but the response from Charlotte showed the impact their work truly had 🚨
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Through the support of the community and the belief that these stories still needed a platform, that ending became the beginning of something new with @queencitynerve ; a publication built to hyper focus on the voices, stories, and culture of Charlotte and the surrounding areas 📰⚡️
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A reminder that sometimes the culture won’t let important voices disappear 👑
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✍🏽 x @phazegawd704
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Watch Episode 11 featuring @ryanpitkin now on YouTube 🎥
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#CreativesCrown #CharlotteNC #QueenCityNerve #LocalJournalism #CreativeCulture

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👑 Episode 11 starring Ryan Pitkin👑
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From taking a journalism elective at @centralpiedmontcc to becoming Editor-In-Chief of the prominent Alt newpaper @queencitynerve ; Ryan Pitkin’s( @ryanpitkin ) journey is a story of following your calling when it presents itself and fully embracing the coverage of one’s community. 📰
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We talk his beginnings with now defunct Creative Loafing, navigating unexpected layoffs, the birth of Queen City Nerve, and the importance of telling the stories that shape Charlotte’s culture.🗞️🫡
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✍🏽 x @phazegawd704
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Watch Episode 11 featuring @ryanpitkin now on YouTube 🎥
(Link in bio)
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#TheCreativesCrown #QueenCityNerve #CharlotteNC #CreativeCulture #IndependentJournalism

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Nooze Hounds is Charlotte’s alt newspaper in podcast form. Go all-in on the weeks stories with Ryan Pitkin and a collection of guests 🎙️📰

✨Tune in to today’s episode with guest, Jessica Lefkowitz, founder and executive director of homeless street outreach org Hearts for the Invisible, where she discusses how she grew the group from a grassroots effort to the lead agency for street outreach in Mecklenburg County and what it means to put a focus on mental health when serving people experiencing homelessness.

Available anywhere you listen to podcasts 🎧

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City Manager Marcus Jones presented his proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget on Monday evening. The presentation lasted only about 40 minutes before council members were issued copies of the proposed budget to study on their own time.⁠
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The proposed $4.5-billion FY 2027 budget would implement a $1.89 property tax increase, the revenue from which will be dedicated entirely to public safety. The tax increase would be the first in Charlotte since FY2024 with an estimated impact of about $5.71 per month for the “typical” homeowner, which is based on Charlotte’s median home price ($359,700).⁠
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The budget includes a 10% pay raise for CMPD officers up to sergeants and a 7% salary increase for sworn firefighters through the rank of captain.⁠
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It also includes a $125-million housing bond — a $100-million allotment for the Housing Trust Fund plus a $25-million one-time increase to support anti-displacement efforts.⁠
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The $25-million anti-displacement infusion would support staying-in-place initiatives, especially in response to community concerns involving displacement due to future mobility projects like the Red Line. The additional funding could include land acquisition in transit-oriented development areas or acquisition of naturally occurring affordable housing along transit corridors. ⁠
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🔗 Click the link in our bio to read more details from Marcus Jones’ proposed budget, including funding for Alternatives to Violence, youth internships, transportation projects, cycling infrastructure, and Animal Care & Control. ⁠
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✍️: @ryanpitkin⁠
📸: Courtesy of @cltgov

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All that we want is a shady lane.
Thanks so much to @ernestobrettdennison for the great write up about our art and music program in this month’s NoDa News by @nodaclt and the one and only @ryanpitkin
Come see us soon to see the art and experience the crowd-voted best smash burger in Charlotte!

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Last night @lynsea returned to the stage at @petrasbar and the fact that it happened at all is the story.

A year ago she was one of Charlotte’s most promising new pop artists, releasing singles and growing a fanbase, when an impaired driver ran a light and hit her car’s driver side door. If you haven’t heard the full story, grab the latest edition of the @queencitynerve , @ryanpitkin did a killer cover story on her journey from the crash last September through recovery, and captures the detail and trauma far better than I can do justice to here.

@perrydactyls , the owner of Petra’s, went out on a limb booking her first show back. Walking in, you could feel why that bet was worth making. The room was filled with familiar faces from years of shows, events and potlucks but also plenty of new ones, and those faces showed something closer to reverence than excitement. One person I spoke with said she was “just so grateful to be here, to see this.” That energy of gratitude, support and warmth flowed non-stop throughout the night, from both the crowd and the stage.

Onstage, Lynsea was open about her memory gaps from the start, laughing about the fact that she wrote the songs she was performing and still struggled to remember them. But when the words came back, she shared that she’d laugh and think, “Hey, that’s really good. I like that”, rediscovering her own work in real time, in front of the people who love her most.

Between songs she told stories from her recovery. She stopped to shout out Scott, an ER trauma nurse who was in the crowd that night, who had recognized a leg tattoo as she was being wheeled into surgery and was able to ID her.

The show was as much about community as it was about music. @kylee.brooks , who organized her GoFundMe and rallied support during her recovery, was there to see what that effort made possible. And Libby from @charlottethrives was on hand to capture it, which made me supremely happy, because a night like this deserved to be remembered.

Shoutout to Perry for believing in her comeback and Graham, her producer, for helping her find her way back to the music.

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Volume 8, Issue 4

ON THE COVER: @mikejonesnc has quickly and humbly created a space for himself in Charlotte’s creative community since joining the Hornets organization as digital designer. His work on the design and unveiling of the team’s Black Excellence jersey in February has now earned him an Emmy nomination.
✍️: @tbunzey

NEWS: Three years after the fall of Roe, we catch up with the team at A Preferred Women’s Health Center as they navigate ever-changing legislation, funding deficits and protester aggression.
✍️: @aanniee13

NEW YEAR’S GUIDE: We’ve compiled a list of 20 cool ways to ring in the new year without paying $100 just to get in the door.

ARTS & CULTURE: Nerve editor and AI skeptic Ryan Pitkin lays out his issues with the use of AI in the creation of art in a Q&A with Mark Peres, professor and founder of @thecharlottecenter. They discuss Peres’s new novel, ‘The Accord,’ for which Peres employed ChatGPT as a way to engage the subject of the novel: artificial general intelligence.
✍️: @ryanpitkin

FOOD & DRINK: The infamous Jeppson’s Malört is taking root in Charlotte via Chicago, but is its rising popularity a mark of maturing palates or just a viral prank?
✍️: @patmoran77

NERVE ENDINGS: @beacon_media_nc founder and NC Sen. @graigmeyer issues an open letter to any ICE agent willing to answer in a response to recent immigration crackdowns around North Carolina.
✍️: @graigmeyer

That and more in the new issue of Queen City Nerve that’s dropping today! Grab your copy at one of hundreds of locations around Charlotte. Hit the link in our bio to find one near you 🗞️

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