Resilience & Perseverance

Having dysthymia can be a pain in the butt. Some days it's hard to stay motivated but I manage to find a way. I manage to find ways to keep going, to move forward even when it may seem I'm standing still. The last few years have been very hard. I've managed to find ways to cope even when I think I can't.

I have been told I am resilient multiple times because I am ever working on myself and understanding my dysthymia. I work on using the tools I have or discovering ones I didn't know I had. That was the case of my revelation about skateboarding. When I was at my lowest point during the pandemic, on the verge of a mental break, my mind dug deep, and skateboarding came to the forefront. Along with skateboarding came BMX and FMX but skateboarding has stuck around. My mind dug deep and found something that brought me joy.

Skateboarders are a good reminder about having resilience and perseverance with things. Watching a skateboarder try a trick over and over, maybe trying for hours, days or weeks. They bail but get right back up and try again. The cycle keeps going. 

When I find myself in moments of giving up on something, I think about how skateboarders keep trying. I know it may sound odd to hear that but it's true. It's not just what a skateboarder does, the skater themselves play a role in it too.  There is artistry, athleticism, beauty and creativity. So many things come out of skateboarding and watching a skater.  

I realized that I'm drawn to certain skaters because there is something about them and the way they skate that speaks to me on a deeper level. It's the same thing I have with guitar players. They play the guitar in such a way that it speaks to a deeper part of me. I simply understand and connect.

I like when I find new skaters that I may not be familiar with or heard of, such is the case with Jonny Giger from Switzerland. I have no idea how I discovered Jonny and am a little late to the party because he's been skating for a long time.  He started his YouTube channel back in 2011, so yeah, I'm way late to the party but I'm glad I found it!

He's removed the mystery around learning tricks, showing the viewer that it can take hours or days to learn a trick. It makes me appreciate skateboarding even more. It's not that I was clueless to the amount of work that goes into learning a trick, I think it makes me appreciate all the skaters I like even more. Watching Jonny show try after try, sometimes upwards of 800 attempts or more is a great reminder to keep at something, to not give up which circles back to my dysthymia.

Let's be honest, having chronic depression sucks and finding motivation to keep at something can be painfully hard. A simple task like vacuuming my living room can be extremely daunting. It takes all of 5 minutes but getting myself to do it can be a battle.

If you've made it this far in my rambling, I suggest you check out anyone of Jonny's videos where he's learning a trick. When you feel you need a kick in the pants to keep going, watching one of his videos should do the trick or maybe it won't. It happens. I'm glad that I discovered Jonny because he's now on my list of favorite skaters. 

As a side bonus, I found a piece of music from an artist I didn't know about called LostBrother. I haven't started diving into the artist yet, but the one piece of music Jonny used in a video, was really cool. It made me think of Joe Bonamassa with a bit of Johnny Cash and Gary Moore to it. It's got nice tone and the vibe is awesome. Perfect for a skateboard video.

Enjoy LostBrother's "Jonny Giger's Flatground Track". Yes, that's the name of the track! It's the same song used in Jonny's Giger's Flatground Project video which I have posted below.

Rock on!

~Maynard