Creator Spotlight - Tony Zentelis

Tony Z. of the Soaring Twenties Social Club answers a few questions

Today’s Creator Spotlight is another STSC (Soaring Twenties Social Club) member: Tony Zentelis. Tony’s a US based writer/speculator with a variety of life experience who publishes his Stream of Consciousness newsletters on Substack. Very happy to have a chance to interview Tony for your enjoyment!

Here’s Tony!

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When you were a teenager, what did you want to become when you grew up?

My first idea of a proper career path was during my sophomore year of high school, when I envisioned myself going off to medical school to do cancer research (inspired by a rather passionate AP Biology teacher of mine) or to become a sports medicine doctor (I spent a lot of time at Akron Children’s Hospital as a teenager due to various chronic and acute sports injuries, so naturally, I thought I might as well walk back in that office one day, albeit a bit older and dressed for the part). Then I realized that medical school was quite involved (my mom was an RN for a good 25 years, and put up with many disgruntled and broken med students during their residencies, so I appreciate her for talking me off that ledge), so that door was promptly slammed shut by myself just a few months after opening it.

It took a variety of various business ventures with my best friends during my high school days to realize that I wanted to be one thing and one thing only for the rest of my days on this planet: a speculator. Or more eloquently stated, a dreamer. I don’t know if there is a real difference to be honest.

Do you prefer writing by keyboard, do you prefer pen and paper, or do you have another favorite method?

I don’t have a preference, because as I’ve stated before, the worst part about writing is the physical aspect of it. Anything that gets published is typed out, as it is much faster, and I find my fingers do a better job of keeping up with the blistering pace of my mind on a keyboard rather than on a piece of paper. With that being said, I have been known to occasionally venture out to the local bar or coffee shop or city center, pen and notebook in hand, to gather important intel as I people watch.

What’s the story of how you came to publish your first novel or other creative work?

I’m still working on the novel part, but what I can say is that what ultimately inspired me to publish my first Substack post just about a year ago (I believe it was late December of 2021) was joining Thomas Bevan’s Soaring Twenties Social Club and seeing the depth and breadth of work that was being produced by the creators in there on a regular basis. I had been writing for quite some time prior to that moment (just about my whole life, in various forms and media), but it was the gentle nudge of peer pressure and FOMO that forced me to click the ‘publish’ button – who knew those things could be positive?!

How did you come to discover the STSC (Soaring Twenties Social Club)? What drew you to it? 

I don’t quite remember when I first started reading Tom’s essays – it must have been at some  point during 2020 (ironically, I first found Tom on Twitter, which is an app he despises more  than evil itself). The STSC was formed in March 2021, but I did not join until September of 2021.  As to why I ended up joining? No idea. Curiosity is the most likely culprit.  

What’s one thing about being an author that most people don’t understand?

I’ll speak to writing in general rather than authorship, and specifically creative writing, but one core belief that I hold when it comes to the craft that I think a lot of people don’t fully grasp when they first start writing is that it is deeply personal. Not in a way where you are spilling your deepest, darkest secrets to strangers around the world, but rather it is unique to you. No one on this planet has the same unique combination of background, experience, personality, thoughts, and core beliefs as you, and therefore, no one can write the same words that you do.

Do you do any writing exercises or other work to further develop your writing skills?

No, but I should – I am notoriously stubborn when it comes to “self-development”, perhaps because I’ve burnt myself out of the self-help genre and now am too cynical to even think about resorting to a tip or trick or useless hack. But yes, of course I know there is a middle ground.

I would say a good exercise for any writer who is trying to improve their prose and delivery is to switch up the genre – if you mostly write essays, try writing a short story, or a poem, or lyrics to a song. I used to do all kinds of wacky shit as a teenager and young adult without even really thinking twice about it, and it most definitely made me a better writer. My brothers and I used to freestyle rap over instrumental beats we’d find on YouTube. I went through a poetry writing phase in high school (which I regret not using more to my advantage with the females; I was too caught up in the jock cliché).

During my first job out of college, I’d post my gambling picks for the day to the sports betting page on Reddit, and with my picks would come a faux-motivational and often satirical write up. All of those exercises made me a better writer, and I didn’t have a clue at the time. So I would say I should go back to doing low stakes, fun, unorthodox writing exercises just to stretch parts of the brain that don’t see as much activity.

Are you enjoying Substack as a publishing medium? 

Substack has worked for me up to this point, as I see it as a nice hybrid between a personal blog  and social media. That being said, I question its longevity and viability as a platform for writers  who want to maintain independence and creative liberty. It’s natural to be a bit cynical about  the future viability of a platform like Substack, which is now VC-backed, and likely headed down  the usual tech startup path of VC -> Private Equity -> IPO. And there is absolutely nothing wrong  with that, as Substack will have to become a profitable product at some point. I just don’t know  if it will be for me in the long run. But for now, it will do. 

What are you planning to write for your next Stream of Consciousness newsletter? 

The next Stream of Consciousness will be perhaps my most ambitious one yet, and like much of  my past work, is experimental. I hate what I have written so far, which means readers will  probably quite enjoy it. I’ll leave it at that. 

Do you still use Reddit or other social media sites? Why (or why not)? 

At this point, Twitter is my most used social media site, and it is for pure entertainment. At one  point, I went through the whole song and dance of trying to “grow my audience” (whatever the  hell that means), but now, I see Twitter for what it is – a place to waste time. Which is not a bad thing by any means. I’ve had some funny interactions on that site, a tweet go semi-viral, and  now it is simply a place for me to share all of my deranged thoughts with anyone who is dumb  enough to follow me. And it’s a good place to get last minute news as it pertains to sports  betting.

As for other socials, I use them sparingly. I don’t have an Instagram, I only use Snapchat  with my core group of friends, and I don’t even know how to use Facebook at this point. I also don’t use Reddit anymore – it was fun while it lasted, but I burnt myself out of that website. 

How much of your newsletter is fiction vs. real life vs. real life with light seasoning?

Ah yes, the secret sauce. Everything I write about these days is based on an event or experience I or someone I know has experienced – there really is no other way to write in my opinion. When I first started my online publishing journey last winter, I certainly fell into the trap of trying to write how a content writer would write, focusing on subjects, topics, and stand-alone ideas. Fast forward to today, and all I desire to do is tell stories. In fact, you can go through each of my essays in chronological order and see the evolution of tone, style, and voice (which I of course will strongly recommend you do). Whatever the reader takes away from said stories is their prerogative.

Of course, with storytelling, there comes craftsmanship and dramatization, just like any good TV show or film or novel worth binging. The amount of dramatization varies from piece to piece, and is also influenced by my mental capacity at the time. With that being said, I think people might be surprised at how strange and bizarre life can be, especially in seemingly mundane scenarios like a trip to the coffeeshop or a night out on the town. My writing reflects this.

Do you have a love/hate relationship with gambling?

Yes, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a gambler that doesn’t feel the same way. For me, it leans towards the hate side. Even when I’m winning, I think something horrible will happen soon – my accounts will get banned as a result of my profitability, or simply the winning streak will dry up and I will slowly bleed out like a butchered pig. I do meticulously track the health of my accounts, and make sure that win or lose, the bets I place hold value and will return a profit in the long run. In a way, it makes you a skeptic – you see that the upside is limited in the short run, but in the long run, with the help of the 8th wonder of the world known as compound interest, you know that the $1,000 will one day turn into $10,000 and then $100,000 and so on. It becomes a matter of survival – can you stay patient, and can you ride out the losing streaks? Because it really fucking stings seeing your so called valuable bets lose.

But as I’ve said before, gambling goes beyond profit and lose. I am convinced that most people don’t gamble to make money, but rather to lose it. And with losing money comes a great feeling of closure and self actualization – instead of sitting on the sidelines, you threw yourself into the fire and played the game, and while you may have lost, those beads of sweat and drops of blood feel intoxicating as they run down your battered skin. So yes, I mostly hate gambling, and that is why I continue to do it.

Are people generally too polite and considerate, or the opposite? Or is it all cool? This may or may not pertain to questions of political correctness, wokeness, etc.

As a person who was born and raised in the Midwest, I’m inclined to say people are generally too polite and considerate. With that being said, I do think people try to fit in too much, and with the struggle to fit in comes a death of individualization and uniqueness. Part of that may be succumbing to societal norms or expectations that one doesn’t necessarily agree with, and wokeness/political correctness certainly comes to mind when talking about this subject.

One thing I’ve noticed over the past decade or so as I’ve transitioned from teen to young adult is the polarization of the world – it is no longer okay to be neutral or hold no strong opinions on certain topics. The “chill dude” or “chill girl” is a dying breed – the one that has opted out of playing appearance games, and instead marches to the beat of their own drum, or to the beat of the drum of a tight knit group of people. It is possible to be a good human and not really care much about anything beyond your friends, family, and the general wellness of the human spirit – somewhere along the lines, we forgot this. But I am optimistic about future generations, and I am optimistic about my own generation as well. And if it all goes to shit, well then there will always be a group of people who reject it all anyway (the Soaring Twenties being a great example).

Pretend you wake up one morning and you learn that the Internet has been  destroyed. What's the first thing that you do? 

Praise God, for all our prayers have finally been answered. 

(In all seriousness, I would jot down all of my important contacts on a piece of paper, frisbee my  iPhone into the nearest body of water, buy an old-school flip phone, and head straight to the  golf course to kill time while waiting for the dust to settle from the chaos that would ensue.)

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Thanks to Tony for agreeing to be interviewed!