I’m struggling with a way to start this rando semi-sappy article… so I’m just gonna start from the point where it hit me like a ton of bricks. Coincidentally, I was in my lowered bricknose Ford a couple days ago, on the way to my buddy’s house to go ride our stand-up jet skis. When it all-the-sudden dawned on me: I’ve got completely radical friends man! Across the board. And I’m completely blessed to have ‘em. It’s not bragging; it’s appreciation. But this article’s not necessarily about me…
Adults – I’m talking to you here…
Pay attention. Because if you’re not diligent, friendships fizzle. The friendship ‘bond’ may stay strong for life. But work, routines, & chores take over & can easily take priority. “Maturity” sets in. Which if we’re being real, often blurs lines with complacency & laziness. And for a lot of adults, they end up slowly losing the in-person, real-life spontaneity of friendships that keep us… youthful, energetic, active, & inspired.
If you ain’t careful, friendships get diluted-down to standing around a grill on the weekend with a beer in your hand talking about a game. Not that there’s anything wrong with that lol… but there’s more than that. See…
Maybe it’s this “automotive-lifestyle” career path I’m in…
Or perhaps it’s just my overall immaturity & ADD lol. But I’ve been blessed with like-minded friends, who at the drop of a hat, will come pull my Jeep out of a hole, or smash some mountain bike trails in the middle of a weekday, or help me get the Wilwood brakes on my big-turbo Fiesta. Or yeah – on this particular day, go ride stand-up jet skis till we can’t move a muscle & then grind heavily on fajitas. And what hit me in that old F-150 on the way to my buddy’s house was…
Friends are an invaluable “point of entry” to an adventurous & spirited life.
And that’s not something to be taken for granted. For example, do you know how many people out there probably think about taking the plunge, buying a Jeep or Bronco, and setting off top-down into the great outdoors? But… they don’t have the peer group or accessibility to even know where to start. So they hesitate on the purchase, and it retreats to nothing more than a daydream while they look out their office window… and another year goes by.
How many people out there maybe get motivated to make a lifestyle change…
Maybe get a mountain bike & start a new healthy sport/hobby. But – they have no clue where to start or what to buy. Walking cold into a bike store seems intimidating, as does joining some big weekly ‘group ride’. Especially if you’re new. And what else are they gonna do… just find a trail & start riding it? That’s kind of a hurdle. So the trigger-pulling, potentially life-changing moment passes, another year goes by, and a few more pounds get tacked on.
In the case of the aforementioned Jet Skis…
A stand-up jet ski is literally the most fun, exhilarating, & exhausting sport that nobody does… because you almost HAVE to know somebody who already does it in order to get exposure. Honestly c’mon – who’s gonna go buy a stand-up jet ski all alone, put it in the water all alone, and then try to figure out how to actually ride on the thing… all alone? You’ve got to have a teacher, you’ve got to have an access point, you’ve got to have a friend.
The examples go on & on…
Drifting: What upstanding citizen drinks their morning coffee & randomly thinks,
“Hmm maybe I should get an old 350z, throw a bunch of money at it, & then crash that bitch.”
No one does that. It takes exposure from good friends like you & me to convince someone to start making those dumb decisions (Actually, that reminds me of this article here). Same thing with motorcycles, frickin fishing, or any old analogue sports car type purchase. If you weren’t raised with it, and you don’t have that peer gateway, then you’re probably just never gonna find out… unless you really have the balls to step way out of your comfort zone. Which most people understandably don’t. But hey – how much more vibrant & invigorating would the world be if more of us prioritized adventure > comfort in our daily lives? That’s just an open-ended question, but I’ll close with this: Some friendships just bring out an inner-energy in you… Appreciate those kind of friendships, seek-out those kind of friendships, and BE that kind of friend.
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