Episode Summary
Seasteading, Reef Resort, ArkPad, Aquaculture, Ocean Mining, Offshore Data Centers, Maritime Jurisdiction, Ocean Logistics. A real seasteading resort exists today. Here’s the business model behind it. - Timothy Allen speaks with Mitchell Suchner, founder of ArkPad. Mitchell is building real, operational seasteading infrastructure, including Reef Resort in the Philippines. This episode is the economic case for how floating projects scale into ocean communities: not by ideology first, but by exports, revenue, and industry. We walk through the “seasteading stack” Mitchell sees emerging: aquaculture as early cashflow, tourism as a growth engine, and longer-term ocean industries like mineral extraction from seawater, offshore data infrastructure, and autonomous logistics. The conversation also covers platform stability, storm resilience, maritime flags and jurisdiction, and why distance from political risk can be a strategic advantage. Enjoy the conversation. SHOW SPONSOR: Veritas Villages: https://www.veritasvillages.com/freecities Veritas Villages are building off-grid, energy self-sufficient communities for freedom lovers in Latin America. Bitcoin is accepted at all villages, including for the purchase of property. Previous interviews with Patrick Hiebert, Founder of Veritas Villages: EP 156: https://fountain.fm/episode/66NqAclTBh7FByIX7lCq EP 107: https://fountain.fm/episode/Fh6uGwZvVtPsYsR53pTI DONATE Bitcoin to the Free Cities Podcast: bc1q5jun0nzxzqepch84rqk0jnv0rd8uvns28df7mg - DONATE fiat currency to the Free Cities Podcast: https://buy.stripe.com/5kQ9AT90zeeY5JX7Jv4ow00 Listen on Fountain.fm to subscribe for BONUS episodes & EARLY ACCESS: https://fountain.fm/show/xudG4tsYH5TimGLfAmqn All the Podcast Links: https://linktr.ee/FreeCitiesPodcast Free Cities Telegram Community: https://t.me/+im6c6r4jQkUzMjU0 Free Cities Conference: https://freecitiesconference.com/ Free Cities Foundation Newsletter: https://free-cities.org/subscribe Podcasting apps that support Value-4-Value Bitcoin payments: https://podcastindex.org/apps?appTypes=app TIMESTAMPS (Audio Version Only) 0:00:29 – Episode introduction 0:05:23 – Start of Conversation 0:07:20 – Mitchell’s Background And Path Into Seasteading 0:11:40 – Why Seasteading Must Start With Economics 0:18:10 – Ocean Mining And Extracting Minerals From Seawater 0:25:00 – Cities Need Exports: The Economic Case For Seasteads 0:33:40 – What Ocean Cities Will Actually Look Like 0:41:20 – ArkPad Designs, Stability, And Storm Resilience 0:48:10 – The Seasteading Income Stack: Fish, Tourism, Mining 0:52:40 – Offshore Data Centers And Future Ocean Industry 0:59:30 – Floating RVs, Flotillas, And Early Adoption Models 1:08:10 – Maritime Flags, Jurisdiction, And Governance At Sea 1:17:10 – Distance As Protection And Political Strategy 1:23:30 – Scaling From Projects To Cities NOSTR: Timothy Allen: npub1gcf9lt
