Now casting · Summer 2026 · For aspiring creators
Cars exist. You still go to the gym.
AI exists. So does this.
Build a real creative project this summer — by hand, on camera, in 30 days. Post daily. The best work wins prizes. The best you walks away with a portfolio, an audience, and proof you can ship something only a human could make.
The idea
Touch Grass is a 30-day cohort for college students who want to make something with their hands, their voice, or their time — and post about it every day. Not because AI is bad. Because the muscles you don't use atrophy.
Pick a creative project. Work on it for 30 days. No AI in the final output. Post your progress. At the end, win up to $4,000 — and walk away with a portfolio, a community, and proof you can do hard things.
It's not a competition against AI. It's a practice for being human.
How it works
Tell us your project, your category, and why this matters to you. Selectivity is part of the brand.
~60 creators admitted. You'll get a synchronous kickoff and a paired check-in partner.
A welcome kit ships: notebook, sticker, cap. Day 1 begins together with the cohort.
Post on your own channels every day. We repost the best on the central account. Bring your audience.
Phone-verified public vote plus a judges' panel. Prizes across maker, story, performance, and underdog.
Live finale. Winners announced. Highlight reels drop. Your work gets seen by everyone we can reach.
Pick your lane
Each category produces visibly human work — the kind AI can't fake and an audience can feel. Pick one. Solo or in a team of two-to-three.
Furniture, ceramic, garment, restoration — anything you can hold at the end.
Instrument zero-to-performing. Original EP. Recorded with real takes.
Interview a grandparent. Document a local subculture. Tell a real story.
Throw four dinners. Run a pop-up. Put people in the same room as each other.
Chapbook, screenplay, fiction collection — physically printed and bound.
Dance, magic, theatrical piece. Practice. Perform. Document.
Bike across a state. Hike X peaks. Photograph every block of a neighborhood.
Learn a cuisine. Cook from a garden you grew. Feed people you love.
Portraits, film photography, photo essay. Print at the end.
With friends. In real spaces. Practiced and finished.
Not because coders aren't valuable. Because the format doesn't film well, and the moat isn't AI-resistant.
Why participate
Single-prize structure caps engagement at week three. We'd rather have more winners and more reasons to keep going.
Plus: the finale party traditionally adopts the grand-prize winner's craft. If pottery wins, we set up wheels at the party. If music wins, the winner performs. If hosting wins — the finale is their hosting.
When
Now → Week 4
Application open. Rolling review.
Week 5
~60 admitted. Welcome kits ship.
Week 6
Synchronous kickoff. Pairing.
Weeks 7–10
Daily content. Weekly recaps.
Week 11
Phone-verified vote. Live finale. Winners.
Questions
You can use AI for brainstorming, research, or learning. The rule is: no AI in the final output. The thing you make has to be human-made. We use process documentation to verify finalists.
Because summer is the right window, college networks are dense and culture-shaping, and the people we want — aspiring creators with quiet AI guilt — overindex on campuses. Future cohorts will expand.
Yes. Native creator content beats brand-account reposts on every algorithm. We require a hashtag and a tag of our central account so we can repost the best of you.
It doesn't matter. The Underdog Award explicitly weights creator growth over absolute audience size. Some of our most successful participants will start with under 200 followers.
Yes. Teams of two-to-three may submit one project together. If you win, the prize splits proportionally.
Nothing. The cohort is free if you're admitted. We send the welcome kit. You bring the work.
No. We're not anti-AI. We're pro-keeping-the-human-muscles-strong. AI is a tool. So is a kettlebell. You still need to lift.
A small founding team building the long-form version of this movement. The summer 2026 pilot is the proof of concept; the case study from this cohort will fund the fall flagship.
Apply
Applications close when we hit cap. The earlier you apply, the higher your odds.
Start your application →Takes about 8 minutes. We read every word.