What actually happens when a Type-A planner goes to Burning Man for the first time? In this episode of In Person, Lucy Nelles sits down with Daniel Di Lucia, her partner of eight years and co-founder of Community Building Collective, to debrief their week at Burning Man: Lucy's first burn and Daniel's second. Daniel first went in 2023, the year of the mud burn, expecting the greatest party on earth. He came home with a realization that sparked an intensive deep dive into personal development, gave him the push to go all in on building his own business, and made him determined to one day bring Lucy with him. Lucy and Daniel walk through the full experience from start to finish: the planning that began in January, the intentions they set as a couple the night before driving in, prepping in Reno, building a home in their RV, and what they actually spent, between $30,000 and $40,000 all in, plus why you don't need to spend anywhere near that. They also dive into surviving the mud burn with no way to reach home, the welcome ritual for first-timers, sunrise at Robot Heart, a sound bath in the middle of a whiteout dust storm, the truth about the dust, consent and the biggest misconceptions about the event, alcohol versus psychedelics, the temple burn, why Gen Z isn't showing up, and decompressing in Lake Tahoe. For community builders, this is a look inside an 80,000-person city built almost entirely by the people who attend it. Lucy and Daniel break down what it gets right: guests who contribute instead of just consuming, core values people actually live by, presence engineered by taking away the phone, and why profit and impact go hand in hand. If you're building experiences that bring people together in real life, this conversation shows what in person can feel like at its most extreme. Connect with Lucy: IG: https://www.instagram.com/lucelianelles IG: https://www.instagram.com/inpersonpodcast Connect with Daniel Di Lucia: IG: https://www.instagram.com/daniel.dilucia/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-di-lucia-818256137 Chapters 00:00 — Intro 00:38 — A Couple's Burning Man Debrief 01:33 — Daniel's First Burn 04:12 — Why It's More Than a Party 05:02 — The Hoffman Process and Quitting His Job 07:22 — Why Burning Man Sparks Transformation 08:46 — Surviving the Mud Burn 10:20 — A Week Without Any Contact 12:29 — Untethered From the Default World 14:17 — Why Daniel Wanted to Bring Lucy 14:46 — The Ultimate Community-Led Event 16:37 — Lucy's Fears Before Her First Burn 18:58 — Nerves Before the Trip 20:28 — Setting Intentions Without a Plan 22:52 — Arriving on the Playa 24:43 — The Ritual Every Couple Should Do Before Going 28:13 — The Sound Bath on Night Seven 29:35 — Sunrise at Robot Heart 30:48 — Finding the Perfect Daily Rhythm 32:13 — Why You Should Go All In on Outfits 33:04 — The Random Magic of the Playa 34:29 — Why It Never Feels Crowded 36:00 — The Biggest Misconceptions About Burning Man 38:51 — The Truth About the Dust 41:31 — Lost in a Daytime Dust Storm 43:28 — Hitching a Ride on an Art Car 46:16 — Alcohol vs. Psychedelics 49:31 — The Temple 52:24 — The Silence of the Temple Burn 54:10 — What They Spent to Go to Burning Man 55:20 — How They Planned the Trip 58:07 — Event Lessons for Community Builders 59:32 — Getting Guests to Contribute, Not Consume 1:02:02 — Why Stacked Values Create Meaning 1:03:53 — Why Gen Z Isn't Showing Up 1:05:36 — Why Profit and Impact Go Hand in Hand 1:07:34 — Decompressing After the Burn 1:10:02 — Their Biggest Takeaways 1:13:18 — Will Lucy Go Back?
