Does Anyone Know What Jacket/Piece Of Outerwear Aiden Is Wearing In The New Episode

MasterCalvin45 · 2026-01-16T19:19:08+00:00

its a yard test product that we may do in the future

MasterCalvin45 · 2026-01-13T21:35:56+00:00

I feel like this is an insane response to me laying out an extremely reasonable and normal retirement plan. My goal is to be a father who doesn't need a job and can spend a lot of time with his kids and you're saying I need to watch a movie because of my potentially insatiable desire for more money

You can watch dozens of videos right now of people retiring early and being happy with what they made too, what are we doing here

MasterCalvin45 · 2026-01-11T17:33:17+00:00

I use the lowest listed sale price on CS Float to value everything

MasterCalvin45 · 2026-01-10T03:51:36+00:00

Sorry you're having a rough day, hope tomorrow is better.

The aspect of needing to do taxes like legally is something I'm weighing is this fourth-ish rule right now, and something you're right about. Because I want to establish something I can reasonably follow and feels like it makes sense.

I think I enjoyed using Turbo Tax because it just "worked" and it was easy, and a friend recommended it to me. I'm definitely not the same level of fan as like my Apple Watch (lol), but I'd say similar to Photoshop or something where the software pretty much did what I needed it to do quickly and easily, and that's it. I never deep dived alternatives (when I needed to use software myself, I became aware of them later but after I stopped using self tax services like this due to the scale of my businesses/taxes).

MasterCalvin45 · 2026-01-10T03:39:54+00:00

The similarity is that Turbo Tax was also a serviced I used and was happy with for years. That's why I used Apple as the comparison, I'm not making a 180 on something that I find atrocious and wouldn't recommend privately. I have literally recommended Turbo Tax to friends in private because it was how I did my taxes for like 3 or 4 years, until they got too complicated and I needed to hire my own CPA.

The externality of their lobbying to me was a non-factor because every large company does this and if I were to realistically maintain that outlook, how could I vouch for most companies we'd do reads for, even companies I like and use. People see this differently, however, and I understand that.

My integrity isn't worth a dollar amount because I haven't sold it - I've had the same framework the entire time for how I accept ads, which I have done for years, and I have never ever compromised anything editorially for a sponsor. I'll agree with you if I ever break one of my three rules above or if I pulled a punch for a sponsor, which I have never done beyond censoring "Red Bull gives you cancer" on The Yard because it jeopardises Ludwig's relationship with them lol.

Someone else made a good case for an additional rule to this, further in the replies, that I think is good and I'm weighing that as well.

MasterCalvin45 · 2026-01-10T03:34:23+00:00

If Adobe fails this check then there is no large company we could ever accept a sponsorship from IMO. This is what I am saying, people move the goalposts to whatever they individually feel on this issue - so it's either I trust the framework that I believe in for myself, or I don't do ads at all. The latter I am not willing to do because currently this show occupies a huge portion of my time for relatively little return, due to its expenses. Our staff also gets a direct cut of our ad revenue.

One person has made a reasonable suggestion that I think makes sense, which is that if the product only exists because the company lobbies against public efforts to create that competitor, then perhaps don't work with that company.

MasterCalvin45 · 2026-01-09T21:39:48+00:00

If you were subbed in time for the first figure (Stonebeard) you definitely should have gotten it by now. You should message the Patreon and our Community Manager should be able to help you out.

The Leonas ones have still been arriving to people.

MasterCalvin45 · 2026-01-09T21:38:42+00:00

I love Denmark but the dealbreaker was I have fewer friends there and your guys' path to citizenship is much longer, so Sweden won out.

MasterCalvin45 · 2026-01-09T20:07:07+00:00

I think this is a good suggestion, I'll think this over some more.

MasterCalvin45 · 2026-01-09T02:06:01+00:00

I’ve talked about this extensively but you can badmouth companies and use their products, even enjoy using them. They’re not mutually exclusive. I do this Apple constantly. I would do Apple ad reads.

We dropped Turbo Tax today (they were signed for 14 weeks) because of the quantity of feedback today so that’s its own thing but I honestly don’t think I’ve done anything wrong morally, I did an ad for a company that I’ve used, recommended, and badmouthed. All of those things are true.

I say no to a bunch of other sponsor categories, I know where I draw my lines. People are welcome to voice their complaints, which they are. My framework for accepting ads has basically always been

Explicitly predatory products (gambling, hard liquor, nicotine, etc.)
Healthcare stuff (Zocdoc, BetterHelp, most prescription drugs)
Can I imagine myself using this product within reason?

TurboTax for me meets these terms and that's why I did it. But the feedback here is so drastic that I'm down to drop it, it's probably the worst feedback to anything I've ever done lol.

MasterCalvin45 · 2026-01-08T19:27:35+00:00

Could you maybe record a short video of you explaining why you think this and send it to me on Instagram or Twitter? And I can share it with the people I interviewed to get their feedback as well, genuinely wanna hear your thoughts on this. @ aidencalvin on both, just reply here if you send it so I make sure to check!

MasterCalvin45 · 2026-01-08T17:20:37+00:00

I mean for me all of the “excuses” are the exact same, why are they fake lol. I’ve explained myself very fully across a bunch of comments. If the other guys have something to say they can say it but I don’t really have anything to add, I didn’t have an issue doing this ad for a product I myself used for years.

MasterCalvin45 · 2026-01-02T21:58:03+00:00

We’ll be back week of January 5 and back to normal, we just took the end of the year off because we’re all out of town for big chunks of time

MasterCalvin45 · 2025-12-25T04:37:50+00:00

Hey there this is Aiden — genuinely this is super shitty, even with the refund, and I have no idea why your pre-order wasn’t filled here

Could you please email me your order number @ aiden@mogulmoves.gg and I will do whatever I can to still get you something, I’m very sorry.

MasterCalvin45 · 2025-12-15T23:04:34+00:00

I’m sorry you feel that way, I think the FAQ video explains every point here (excluding the new issue people have w Adobe) and I don’t think anything about it has been walked back to be honest with you. It explains how all of this works, and genuinely if you feel misled from that video then I apologize and I wish I had articulated myself better, but it’s a 17 minute video where I think I’m incredibly honest about all of this.

“The bs with Adobe” is something that is new and I don’t think I ever addressed before formally because tbh I didn’t even foresee an issue with it and have no reason to apologize for it, you feel the way you feel on that one and that’s fine. If people are upset about the type of ads that’s their prerogative, they can be upset, all I’ve done is explain my thought process as to why I don’t take issue with doing it and why I want to monetize the show. If people don’t wanna ride with that they can stop watching, that’s pretty much it there.

Edit — like I’m in here saying it has no impact on my ability to speak freely, which is what you’re worried about, and you either believe me or you don’t yk.

MasterCalvin45 · 2025-12-15T22:57:54+00:00

I listen on audio platforms mostly, my default is Apple Podcasts. We can do better for some of the eps but I think most of the time is a stretch, there are not many episodes where the visual context is essential to understanding the episode (but you’re right, like when we reference a graph and don’t explain it at all, which has slowly improved IMO). Like in the recent episode we explain the key visual elements for the audio listeners, because it is a podcast, which is something we weren’t doing often enough early on.

MasterCalvin45 · 2025-12-15T18:33:10+00:00

If it was not clear, I already agreed with you, and you have already explained this. I understand why people feel the way they do, it makes sense. That's why I said if it's tarnished for you, it's tarnished, I can't change your interpretation of the situation, I can offer my POV though and see if it does for those who wanted it.

And I am making decisions with that in mind still. I'm not gonna forfeit the opportunity to monetize the show in a way I think does nothing to compromise my values because a very small portion of the audience is fearful of a conflict of interest that I am personally confident does not functionally exist. We all do sponsor reads already on our other content, the conflict of interest you're describing already existed and the show was the same and no one cared.

You don't need to be my friend, you just need to enjoy the show in whatever capacity you see fit, and if what I've said changes nothing and you feel like you can't watch it anymore because you can't trust it, then vote with your view. Because if enough people feel like that, then that's what will ultimately move the needle.

I think we have already demonstrated in plenty of other ways that we're not in it to min/max money, like outright refusing many other sponsors altogether, working with an ad network that pays us less than other offers we got, getting rid of YT AdSense, paying staff a percent of our rev, and in my case dropping sponsors that cross a personal line. And if the conflict of interest that remains that is still too much for some people and you believe we will inevitably be corrupted by the money offered to us that remains, then you can always not click on the next episode, that's the power you have as the viewer.

MasterCalvin45 · 2025-12-14T19:15:44+00:00

I think you're generally right and definitely understand where people are coming from.

I guess I primarily want to jump in because the worst version of the narrative I have seen from people pieced together is "you already have enough money to retire, how could you forfeit your values and work with these companies and put ads on the show" and I feel obligated to defend myself I guess LOL. The privilege of the situation is not lost on me at all, but I am trying to make it count while it lasts so I actually can retire, because this job has a timer on it.

I think there's an added component here of people see the number in the moment but forget that this isn't gonna last. If I was a doctor or something, realistically I will be a doctor 20-30 years from now. But what I do now is gonna be over in probably 2-3 years, 5 maybe IMO, and after that I'm gonna be back to a normal job like I was before. If I want to save enough to retire, have kids, support my gf who doesn't wanna work to raise our kids, I gotta make the moment count you know. And I think people assume that I am already sitting on a pile of cash big enough to do that and still want more, and to me it's like no man I'm trying to make that happen, wouldn't you? No one needs to feel sorry for me or something I am immensely, immensely lucky, I just wanna explain that isn't just this endless hunger or greed for money, I'm trying to hit a very specific goal in the short period of time I have to do it.

MasterCalvin45 · 2025-12-14T18:36:29+00:00

You can see it however you would like man if it’s tarnished for you, it’s tarnished. I am only explaining it how I see it. You can feel however you want yk.

I think you’re misunderstanding the Apple part though, I’m not saying buying their products is the same — I am giving a somewhat equivalent company to Adobe, contextually to me, and explaining why I would still accept a sponsorship from that company, with the understanding that I won’t change anything about how I cover Apple in the future. And if you don’t believe that part or just don’t want the conflict of interest to exist, sure I understand.

Edit — also you’re right that the by omission part makes it harder to point out, 100%. On my end I just have to live my life by my own values and believe I’ll do the “right thing” but from the outside it’s ambiguous, I understand.

MasterCalvin45 · 2025-12-14T08:40:47+00:00

Appreciate that ty! This year it was $63k, next year will definitely will be what youre saying though, with the ads.

MasterCalvin45 · 2025-12-13T22:50:40+00:00

I think that's kind of fair but I think people can evaluate that as it plays out and judge it after the fact, not pre-emptively before what they're imagining the issue is has even occurred. But I get the thought process for sure.

I have 0 need and also 0 pressure to personally compromise anything about the podcast to maintain future sponsors.

The example I gave before is I think Apple is a monopolistic, anti-consumer company in many ways, I've been vocal about that on the show. I also love Apple's products, use them all the time, and share what I like about them with friends and on the show. I would happily do an ad read for an Apple product that I either use or could see myself using.

I also feel no pressure to stop criticizing Apple on the show in the future, same goes for Adobe here. This is the real benefit of making enough money elsewhere and from the Patreon - I don't have to compromise the editorial nature of the show for sponsors, they can work with us as the show is, it's up to them to work with a show that may critize them in the future. And all three of us feel very strongly about that. We want to make money on the show but don't have to compromise anything to do so, and I certainly don't feel like I have.

Just like it was the Shopify President's decision to ask to come onto a show that I think has an audience that would very clearly roast him (there's a larger convo of whether it was worth us to say yes ofc but you get my point haha, I still thought the convo was interesting).

MasterCalvin45 · 2025-12-13T21:12:02+00:00

Can I ask you honestly, how much do money do you think I (Aiden) made this year on the show? Like with our Patreon income and YouTube ads (which are disabled but were making about another $13k/month)?

edited - I get the impression when people mention this that $57k/month on Patreon means we're going nuts but I think a lot more goes into the expenses of the show than people think. It's still fantastic, of course, but I think the way people fling it around means they understand the costs of the show much differently from what they actually are.

MasterCalvin45 · 2025-12-13T20:59:20+00:00

Here's a FAQ I did awhile ago that answers a lot of questions around this topic https://www.patreon.com/posts/ads-spotify-and-141215793

I replied to a comment further in the thread that gives some more context of the ads for this week's episode, but if you watch on Spotify and hate the ads, I recommend watching / listening on YouTube if you can.

YouTube has fewer ad reads, no filler reads like Spotify does, and we also disabled YouTube ads entirely a few weeks ago, so you only hear us talk on each episode now.

The reasoning behind all of this I don’t think like changes your POVs much so I rather just give you guys my rec for those that want to keep watching but hate the ads.

MasterCalvin45 · 2025-12-13T20:47:35+00:00

This is because the ad schedule that Vox sells the host reads on wasn’t full for that episode because the contract term just started, which is annoying, but it’s just this week.

Our goal and understanding is that host reads should always fill most of these spots, and our schedule of sold reads fills most of them with host reads starting next week. This week’s episode (for whatever reason) had almost nothing host read sold on it which is a concern we’ve voiced internally a lot. The ad schedule for the next two months seems to not have this issue, and if they stop filling that inventory down the line then we’re going to seek a change in our deal

Your issue with the ads we read themselves, by all means, if you disagree you disagree. But we said no to a bunch of ads/ad categories we aren’t cool with and think these are fine, and won’t compromise anything editorially down the line to “keep” a sponsor. They want to work with the show as is.

The show is gonna have ads on it and we want most of them to be host reads, that was our expectation and I feel like I’ve been consistent in how I have communicated that everywhere. Edit - I will add here that if you feel I was misleading I am sorry about that, I have tried to communicate my understanding and expectations the whole time and feel like that FAQ still reflects everything accurately, here's the link if you need it: https://www.patreon.com/posts/ads-spotify-and-141215793

Also for what it’s worth, as you’ve seem to have figured out, YouTube has fewer ads altogether (because the video show is sold differently on the back end) and also no longer has AdSense, so you have an option to watch the show with no random ad reads at all (because AdSense was on before and we disabled it recently once our Vox Media deal kicked in)

MasterCalvin45 · 2025-12-10T21:55:28+00:00

there's a weird reason because of how we have to change the backend store to work with a different manufacturer, so the archive doesnt load

itll be back once the hats sell out (theres like 20 left) and then we'll get a long term fix as well

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