Going to SXSW was on my 30s Life List (aka Bucket List), which I had basically thrown out the window because, um… I’m now in my 40s. BUT I finally had an opportunity to spend four days in Austin, Texas for the infamous SXSW conference.
Being that it’s my first time visiting for the conference (my second time in Austin), I don’t really have a lot of “advice” for doing your first SXSW. I can tell you some of the things I enjoyed and would likely do more of in the future. Because, yes, I am DEFINITELY going back! We had an unfortunate series of flight delays and reroutes that had us landing in Austin around midnight – causing us to miss the entirety of the first day we planned to get there, settle in, get our access badges before the conference started, and meet up with friends. It ended up feeling like a long weekend, which felt like both long enough and not enough time at all.
I should probably state this before getting super into my experience that I am the type of human who LOVES conferences. If I ever have the opportunity to travel for one, even better. Love of Learning is my top character strength, and SXSW sincerely brings value if you want to learn about something new. Technology is my jam. I don’t work in the industry – but there are events and sessions at SXSW geared toward both the industry professional to the novice nerd who is obsessed with the intersection of wearable tech and sports industries (hello, I’m a sport psych student!). There is so much to interact with!
And this is the kind of conference where you could make it what you wanted. SXSW is both a conference and a series of festivals. If I return, I would like to take part in either the film or music festivals. Unfortunately, since I was there during the first weekend, the music festival wasn’t to start until the following week.
Being there on Day 1 of the conference allowed us to explore some of the SXSW Houses on Rainey Street – before many of them closed for private parties and before the bulk of the crowds came in for the weekend (I could never figure out how to get Twitter House access, whomp). I was initially freaking out a little bit about the possibility of crowds. Look, I like to socialize but I get overwhelmed pretty quickly at events with a lot of people. I was nervous about waiting in lines (yes, it will happen – but for the most part, they move quick!) and being crammed into spaces with people only looking to gain entry for free booze (have money, will travel to the next place without a line where I can purchase my own, thankyouverymuch). Whatever your method of self-care is – meditation (we did that at the lululemon sweat house!), naps, eating a bunch of street tacos… make space to recharge.
We also had an access badge that provided a quiet retreat (and guaranteed entry) from the crowds. Admittedly, our group was having a BLAST and we hit the day-long party opportunities often. And honestly? That is something I would definitely do differently when I go back.
For the most part, we started our days at a big session – the first day was Jonah Peretti of Buzzfeed (his session was #presentationgoals), the second day was a session with Malcolm Gladwell about autonomous cars. For the follow-up sessions of our day, our group split up.
I was really interested in the women in sports sessions – I found one that had the executive director of roller derby on it! And another with women athletes talking about their experiences as being part of The Body Issue of Sports Illustrated (the editor was also on the panel!). I was super bummed that I didn’t know about the earlier WWE sessions of the day until I arrived at the conference space (WWE also had some really interesting topics surrounding women in sports entertainment). Hey, at least I got to GIF myself with the championship belt!
Collectively, we seemed to tap out at 3 sessions and then sought entertainment (and food… and some of us, naps). Despite not being there for the music portion of the festival, we saw awesome live music every night! (I mean, it IS Austin.)
So, yes, on to my “advice”…
WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES. I cannot emphasize that enough. If you’re not walking, you’re taking super awesome (and convenient!) scooters all over the place. I was partial to Lime. I would also recommend a backpack if a) you enjoy taking scooters everywhere and b) you’re the kind of person who doesn’t want to return to the hotel room in between every session and c) you are also the person who seems to pick up swag everywhere you go, and d) duh, hands-free to play with all the interactive stuff! Also, bring a refillable water bottle, please?
Our trip allowed us both to experience the conference and explore a bit of the Austin hangs. Late nights and early mornings… man, it takes a special person to do that for a 10-day conference. Have you ever been to SXSW? What advice would you give to someone attending for their first time?
