Burning man is an event for typical Silicon Valley folks to find community. The event is so lame because the people are - they spent their formative years following a preconceived plan laid out for them by their parents, instead of pursuing hobbies they're passionate about. Now they're playing catchup, and it comes off contrived and corny. (Not everyone is this way, of course, but by now the majority are, and so I'm painting with broad strokes).

Most of the advertised experiences here come naturally as parts of passion-formed communities.

The down side is that it really isn't really possible to break into such communities in a meaningful way without having already done them for years before you've turned ~18-20yo.

Whether it's team sports, rock climbing, surfing, music, etc. You can start [skateboarding] at age 25, but you'll never be a real [skater], or have the experiences that came along with spending the formative years of your life dedicated to it. Replace [skateboarding]/[skater] with your hobby of choice.