Chris Perez, Cup 14, Has Some Exciting News

As the one year anniversary of my weekly coffee date with a stranger nears (June 27), I’m planning a few exciting things to mark the occasion. I’m also adding a new weekly feature for year two where we will check in with previous strangers to get an update on what’s new and exciting in their worlds. Let me know which stranger you most want an update from and I’ll make sure to check in with them, pronto!

Chris Perez, Cup 14, has some major news and I really didn’t want to wait until June to tell you about it, for two reasons.

#1 If I wait until June it will be old news and you will be heartbroken that you didn’t hear about it sooner.

#2 You have a chance to be a part of it. Fun!

You may recall that Chris had a whole lot going on. He was blogging for Apartment Therapy – which included doing all his own photography and the writing. He was also managing his own website where he gave his readers a behind the scenes look at the shoots he went on and the interesting people he met along the way. On top of those projects, he was working full-time at IBM.

Chris hinted at the time of our first coffee that he was feeling a little restless and I knew he was headed for something really big. We connected over more coffee and kept each other updated via Twitter in the months since first meeting. We also had a fun little run-in at Easy Tiger, the bakery and beer garden he turned me onto for the best soft pretzels in town. Dave and I were there enjoying a beer and some food when Chris walked in. Crazy! I called him over and as luck would have it, his plans for the evening had fallen a part a little, so he pulled up a chair and joined us.

The energy of 6th Street has a magical effect on people, causing them to drink more than they really should. Dave, Chris and I made at least 4 other stops that night. There was dancing, pinball and the unfortunate decision to walk into Buckshots. Fair warning, no one walks out of Buckshots without throwing back at least one, larger than average shot. If memory serves, it was the H Bomb with a fruit loops rim that night. {Shudder}

Just over two months ago, Chris wrote an incredibly honest and inspiring post on his blog. Check it out. In the post he explains that he has just quit his job with IBM to work full-time on building a business of his own. I was shocked, but only momentarily. The shock was quickly replaced by excitement and admiration. I was so thrilled for Chris, because I knew he was quitting in order to fully focus his attention on doing work he loves.

Last week, all that hard work was thrust into the limelight when Chris announced his Kickstarter campaign for Citygram.

So what is Citygram? From the website:

Citygram is a monthly digital magazine made by your favorite Austin writers, artists, and designers. It’s a fully-interactive Apple App Store publication you’ll find next to all your other favorite digital magazines in the Apple Newsstand. Citygram has unique features and rich content you won’t be able to find anywhere else.

Citygram is a combination of everything Chris loves; photography, art, food/drinks, style, writing and interesting people. And I suspect that he’s not the only who has those items on their “loves” list. As such, I am confident his project is going to be an amazing success, not just here in Austin, but in major cities all over.

You’ve got a chance to be a part of this cool project and contribute to making Chris’ dream come true. His Kickstarter campaign is loaded with multiple levels for folks to contribute at and the swag you get in return – pretty incredible!

There you have it! HUGE update for Mr. Perez. If you are looking for more info, he’s still running the show over at his blog, Metropochris.com so hop over and tell him howdy. You can find him on Twitter as well.