What banana bread and Bob Burnquist have to do with each other, at first nothing but the brain is an interesting thing. What I do know is that this little memory pop triggered off a chain of events a month or so ago and it's still going.
Let me give you a little history here. At no point in my life have I ever hopped on a skateboard but I find it fun to watch especially Vert and Big Air. I used to watch X-Games and the Dew Tour stuff for years and then simply stopped watching. I have no idea why but I suspect I found other interest and off I went. Bob Burnquist was my favorite skater along with Bucky Lasek. I would cheer for both of them which made for interesting situations as they were often at the top in any given competition.
Well, the Bob run triggered off a memory about Tony Hawk and the famous 900. I did the logical thing and down the YouTube rabbit hole I went. Tony Hawk Lands FIRST-EVER 900 | World of X Games - YouTube
What I realized with the Tony Hawk video, that the emotions I felt the first time I watched it hadn't left me. I knew how it was going to end and yet, it felt like 1999 all over again. I was happy and so excited. Even cried a little. When I went back to the Bob run, the excitement of the contest, the tricks Bob was laying down, all these emotions came bubbling up and after a while it came to me. The connection between Banana Bread and Bob Burnquist.
On the surface, there is no relation between the bread and Bob. Prior to the Bob memory kicking up, I guess you could call what happened to me as an episode. COVID has been kicking my ass mentally like it has for a lot people. I'm quite isolated from the outside world and as someone who battles depression daily, it's been extra hard to keep going. About three months ago, things simply got to be too much and I broke. It was 2am when I got up to go to the bathroom and as I climbed back into bed I lost it. I cried for a long time, wanting to talk to someone, wanting to hug a friend and because of COVID and being that it was 2am I couldn't do that. I honestly wondered what was the point of me being here.
This was the predicament I was in. Our brains chew on stuff whether we realize it or not and my brain, reached back to yank out a Bob Burnquist memory for me. Why? Because I was looking for comfort, I needed something to give me hope to keep fighting, to not give up. When I was relaxed enough my brain brought the whammy out. My brain in all of it's wacky goodness gave me Bob Burnquist. My brain, said here, "Bob makes you happy. You like Bob. Go watch Bob." That is exactly what I did. I watched Bob Burnquist videos and you know what? I started to feel better. I watched Bob videos, interviews and moved on to Tony Hawk. Discovered a Bones Brigade documentary which I liked, watched the "Search for Animal Chin" which is a classic skateboard movie. It's a cheesy movie but a young Tony Hawk with his A Flock of Seagulls haircut is worth it. I moved on to Bucky and found old competition videos and so my life for three months has been skateboarding and other things.
From skateboarding my brain loosened up a memory about BMX and Jamie Bestwick's name came up to the surface right away. Hello instant smile on my face. I loved watching Jamie ride, Scotty Cranmer and Daniel Dhers too. My brain was on a roll as freestyle motocross came up and I thought of Nate Adams, Travis Pastrana, Mike Mason and Brian Deegan.
My brain knew I was hurting and it unloaded memories to counteract the way I was feeling. I was smiling and rediscovering all my favorite athletes all over again. I started consuming skateboarding, BMX and FMX videos. I started watching newer stuff and so there are a whole bunch of guys I'm learning about now. I'm not diving too deep but just enough to enjoy and appreciate much like I did before. I've caught up with my favorites as some have moved on to other projects.
If you're wondering about the "drifting the wrong way on a pop tart" it's from a skateboard competition. I'm fairly certain Tony Hawk said it as I remember laughing out loud and rewinding the video to make sure I heard it right.
If you're struggling mentally, go do something that quiets your brain enough for it to bring a good memory forward. Turns out your brain is doing it's part to help you cope.
For me, I'm doing much better. I can't help but smile a little as my mother used to tell me when I was younger that watching skateboarding, BMX or FMX wouldn't help me in life. Boy was she ever wrong!!!! If you need something to motivate you, something inspirational then enjoy this Danny Way video.
Rock on!
~Maynard