Stick Nation is a healthy corner of the internet we need: NPR

For those who have already found a cool stick and felt the need to show it off, there is an Internet community of millions of people who want to see it.

“Stick Nation” is a global movement that thrives on irreverent, fantastical, and downright wholesome descriptions of sticks and the people who rank them. An account posting videos of people and their sticks has nearly 3 million followers on Instagram. On TikTok, he is known, aptly, as StickTok.

There are articles about hand-shaped sticks, which look like snakes, sling sticks, wizard’s sticks, bent canes and spiral sticks, twisted and gnawed by beetles. The sticks are said to have mystical powers and puns abound, such as the “Log Ness Monster”, found on the shores of Loch Ness in Scotland.

“It is of course useful for fighting enemies, as it is quite light and strong,” says a poster about his moss-covered staff in Latvia before adding that it has its own ecosystem populated by “tiny people (who) actually live there and work from 9 to 5.”

“I just came across this beautiful stick on the street, and I think it’s trying to show me something,” said another, walking away from the stick on the street. “Can you help me translate the language of the stick?”

But the movement taps into something deeper than simply showing off its findings lightly. The men who helped launch the cause hope to use it to inspire people to ditch their phones and get out into nature.

An origin story

It all started with a single stick found on the side of a Utah trail in 2023. It was weathered and worn, but had “excellent grain on it” and “nice grip,” Boone Hogg and Logan Jugler said .

Hogg and Jugler thought it would be fun to create a review account for the stick and post a video describing the stick and its beneficial properties.

Their story was originally intended as a joke between friends, but others soon discovered it and it took off from there. SO The New York Times wrote about them and their follower numbers skyrocketed.

Today, their community of “Stickheads” numbers in the millions and spans seven continents. It has its own lexicon as well as several famous adherents, such as Lin-Manuel Miranda and Dermot Mulroney.

What makes a good stick?

Hogg and Jugler don’t consider themselves stick-keepers. “We try not to be like an art gallery for the sticks. We just want to share the sticks,” Hogg said.

They release hundreds of videos a day, all while working full time. (Hogg is a physician assistant and Hogg works in marketing and music production.) The community developed its own language. There are “modified” sticks, which have been carved or modified in some way by human hands. And there are “awesome” sticks, which come as is. The sticks are classified according to their curves, their “aura” and their know-how.

Hogg said one of his favorite sticks was one passed down to a grandson from his grandfather. It is decorated with badges and medals from the many trails traveled by the grandfather.

“I like the ones that have a story, but also have some sort of sentimental value,” he said.

Controversy in the community

Every internet movement has its arguments and Stick Nation is no different. Theirs come just from the ends of the Earth.

“I’m in Antarctica and there are no sticks here. Nothing grows and we can’t bring any sticks either. I found an ice cream stick. Does that count?” asks a message to Stick Nation.

“The council must meet,” quips one speaker.

“The fact that ‘you’re not allowed to bring sticks’ means that someone tried to bring sticks and that warms my heart,” wrote another. There was some back and forth over whether the inorganic compound would qualify. Ultimately, Stick Nation allowed the submission.

“At the end of the day, everyone was like, You know what? It’s from Antarctica,” Jugler said. “It’s a stick from Antarctica.”

What’s next for Stick Nation?

“We really want to turn the page and the community to get them off their phones and into nature and interact with each other and connect,” Hogg said. “So that’s a big goal for us this year.”

Hogg and Jugler recently held a “Staff of the Year” competition, which Marcus Barrick won with his “Ancient Energy Sword”. They are currently planning “Stick Quests,” where people will be sent on an actual search for specific sticks. They will have a “travel diary”, in which the members of Stick Nation can pass the same stick around.

And they also have a book coming out that will feature all the cool sticks you can shake a stick at.