When life knocks you down, how do you pull yourself back up? Sid Tapia, the artist and skateboarder with a story that stitches together the fabric of resilience, faith, and creativity knows all about that. Join us as Sid opens up about the nexus of his art and skateboarding, revealing how injuries became his motivation to maintain peak physical condition. His gym routine is not just about building strength but also fortifying his spirit to create murals that resonate deeply with the vitality of athletes and cultural icons. Our conversation is a canvas where Sid's inspiring work ethic blends seamlessly with spiritual beliefs, offering a fresh perspective on the pursuit of sustainable creativity and self-care.
Ever wondered how an artist juggles the brushes of personal growth, professional prowess, and the ever-demanding family life? This episode is an intimate reflection on balancing the grinds of mural painting with the joys and trials of family life. Sid's narrative is a mosaic of heartfelt moments, from painting murals of the Matildas to navigating life transitions with a strong faith-based anchor. He shares the profound influence of his friendships, the power of laughter, and the grounding force of love in our lives. We examine the delicate dance between self-forgiveness and striving for excellence, all the while drawing strength and guidance from the positive role models who surround us.
Art, faith, and a skateboarder's spirit – the trilogy that defines Sid Tapia's journey is also a beacon for anyone seeking redemption and meaning in their own story. As we explore the transformative power of belief, Sid and I dissect the challenges and triumphs of sharing one's faith openly, especially within the skateboarding community. This heartfelt episode is a celebration of the human soul's capacity for change, the eternal quest for redemption, and the unshakable bonds of friendship that give color to our lives. Tune in for an episode that isn't just a listen but an experience, inviting you to witness the art of living a life guided by faith and enriched by relationships.
Enjoy,
Shan
Checkout Sid's website HERE.
Follow Sid on Instagram
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When life knocks you down, how do you pull yourself back up? Sid Tapia, the artist and skateboarder with a story that stitches together the fabric of resilience, faith, and creativity knows all about that. Join us as Sid opens up about the nexus of his art and skateboarding, revealing how injuries became his motivation to maintain peak physical condition. His gym routine is not just about building strength but also fortifying his spirit to create murals that resonate deeply with the vitality of athletes and cultural icons. Our conversation is a canvas where Sid's inspiring work ethic blends seamlessly with spiritual beliefs, offering a fresh perspective on the pursuit of sustainable creativity and self-care.
Ever wondered how an artist juggles the brushes of personal growth, professional prowess, and the ever-demanding family life? This episode is an intimate reflection on balancing the grinds of mural painting with the joys and trials of family life. Sid's narrative is a mosaic of heartfelt moments, from painting murals of the Matildas to navigating life transitions with a strong faith-based anchor. He shares the profound influence of his friendships, the power of laughter, and the grounding force of love in our lives. We examine the delicate dance between self-forgiveness and striving for excellence, all the while drawing strength and guidance from the positive role models who surround us.
Art, faith, and a skateboarder's spirit – the trilogy that defines Sid Tapia's journey is also a beacon for anyone seeking redemption and meaning in their own story. As we explore the transformative power of belief, Sid and I dissect the challenges and triumphs of sharing one's faith openly, especially within the skateboarding community. This heartfelt episode is a celebration of the human soul's capacity for change, the eternal quest for redemption, and the unshakable bonds of friendship that give color to our lives. Tune in for an episode that isn't just a listen but an experience, inviting you to witness the art of living a life guided by faith and enriched by relationships.
Enjoy,
Shan
Checkout Sid's website HERE.
Follow Sid on Instagram
THT gets by with a little help from these friends...
BELLMOTT - Ready to drink Coffee
Code: THT
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Pre-mixed cans of coffee goodness, Iced Lattes and more. Ethically sourced coffee beans, made in Australia, made my Musicians, Skateboarders and Artists. It's all about caffeinating culture, inspired conversations and shared creativity.
KRUSH ORGANICS - CBD oils and topicals
Code: THT
(Get a HUGE 40% Discount...shipping is WORLDWIDE and fast).
Purveyors of the finest CBD oils and topicals. I think long and hard about who I want to be affiliated with. Do the research yourself, the health benefits of CBD are unquestionable. It’s done so much for me, especially during times of stress and anxiety, it’s improved the quality of my sleep and sped up my recovery-time post workouts, surfs and skates... and it’s all natural.
Use code: THT
Krush Organics CBD oils (40% off)
Indosole footwear (15% off)
Become a SUBSCRIBER of THT. Only pay what you feel the show is worth to you!
Follow on Instagram: @terriblehappytalks
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It's Shad here this week for his second exchange on the show I speak with Mr Sid Tapia. Our first recording was online and since that one last year it's probably almost a year ago since we first recorded Sid and I have stayed in regular contact about all things skateboarding, life, religion. We talk about his faith a lot and he was in Sydney painting some murals. He's a profound artist. He's had a really interesting year actually.
Speaker 2:He did some murals of the Matilda's when they were competing and some other awesome ones. He did one of Shane Warren and it's been quite in the public eye His artwork of late and he's sought after. So he was doing some murals in Sydney. We went skating in the afternoon a red phone with him and all his old homies, which was interesting and fun, and then we went out for some dinner and then we recorded on the Sunday morning at where he was staying in Balmain in Sydney, and I like doing the morning recordings. People seem to be in a bit more of a vulnerable state in the morning and so Sid just opens up as he does. He has no fear of that and I really admire him for that and admire him for how he does life. Actually. He's a good human, so enjoy getting to know Mr Sid Tapia again.
Speaker 3:He's got the toes back. How good is that guy? So I've just been following him a lot more strictly in the last two months.
Speaker 2:You said you've been going to the gym like five days a week. You've been quite motivated. What's the catalyst for this?
Speaker 3:Are we recording?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Oh, we are Sorry, dude. I didn't know we were recording yet. That's why I moved away from the mic. It's fine, it's like. Ah, it's casual, it's fine, yeah.
Speaker 2:But what's the catalyst for this inspiration to work out a lot more?
Speaker 3:Injuries and, yeah, especially injuries and feeling the injuries when I'm out working and missing skating so much Like the physical act of skating. Yeah, because I'm always nerding out in skating my brain and I'm always skating. I even dream skating and all that.
Speaker 2:Skating still.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I have really good sessions. When I'm dreaming Like really good sessions, it's so sick, but when I'm yeah, so I'd be out working. I was doing the Matilda's job at Howard Smith Wolves and two days before the gig I just wigged out on a mini ramp, just on a tail store even, and as I came down through my shoulder out because I just went to put my hand down. But as I was coming down my right hand went to hold itself out onto the coping and it just took my shoulder out. Just a touch. Just a touch.
Speaker 3:It wasn't big, but it was enough to do something strange. But what it was is that, because I haven't been working out for such a long time, there wasn't a lot of, there wasn't the usual muscle strength, like you hit 50 and you definitely start feeling your muscles depleting and you start seeing more changes in your body. So I had to then paint for maybe maybe six days straight after this shoulder injury and then after that all the pain kicked in. So I was probably running on adrenaline and stuff and I just kept going. It was fine, a lot of blood flow going through, so I felt okay. But then afterwards shoulder was just, yeah, maxed out on some injury and then I'd feel the tendinitis on my arms and I got like wrist injury from spray painting way too much.
Speaker 3:Repetitive strain, and so basically what that means is when you have repetitive strain, your tendons are doing too much work, your muscles aren't kicking in enough. So I've had to, yeah, neutralise my arm. When I say neutral, I mean like I have to keep my arm more neutral so there's more blood flow going through, so it's not being, you know, closed up like a tap. You know, when you get a tap sorry, a hose and you squeeze a hose and you can't get water flowing through it, that's what happens when people are doing a lot of repetitive work. They're just bent in one area, so there's not a lot of blood flow going through.
Speaker 3:So you end up putting the tendons into overdrive a bit, and that's basically what I'd be feeling a fair bit, and then tendinitis started kicking in and then that starts playing with your head and then you start thinking about your future, then you start thinking about providing for the kids, and then you start thinking about all these things with the misses and then just the confidence level start depleting and you're like, whoa, what's up?
Speaker 3:And really it's because your body is the greatest tool you'll ever have to be able to do this earth, and in that I was like, okay, I used to be way fitter, way more disciplined at the gym and you do realize the benefits from that, physically and mentally. And in that I was like, okay, I got, muscles are depleting, therefore I've got to build them back up again. So that would turn into, yeah, mornings like 530 every morning I start and then go for about an hour and then about 15 to 20 minutes in the sauna afterwards. Yeah, started off with sled work, like pushing sleds for about back and forth, 25 meters forward, 25 meters backwards, walking as well around the waist, go backwards with a sled with about 40 kg on it, start off with about 20 and build it up and then you have push your forearms, push your forearms backwards, and then that's also great for cardio as well as building up your calves, your core, your thighs, all that area and your feet and your toes, my mobility and your ankles.
Speaker 3:Yeah, everything. It's a great workout and it opens your lungs up. You really feel it, dude, it's like you really, it's almost like a shock to the system, as in, because it's a quick cardio, it's very quick, you want to push, you want to push back. Suddenly you're feeling it.
Speaker 2:Like high intensity, short duration.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So then after that, then I just start doing a lot of free weight lifting just on the upper body and I must admit, when I caught up with you yesterday I was surprised at how fit you look.
Speaker 2:And then, to watch you skate, I was actually surprised at how strong and agile you looked and was skating for a 50 year old. I mean it did a sick line Like no one knows who's crying and then fake you 50 on a ledge and just like Zed.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's one of those things too. I find, like we as people, we do have a sense of confidence about who we are, especially when we're at our peak physically at times, like during our 20s and whatnot, and we carry that with us and I don't. There are reasons why that diminishes, but there's also reasons why that sense of confidence can be maintained, not so much the physical aspect. Obviously you'll start getting slower, but that mentality can still be maintained and it just comes with extra work. And I did grow lax in that area for a while and that's where in the last two and a half to three months, I've just said no, I'll just go in. And I have to go in because one it's. Yeah, as I said, it brings confidence in many ways Family to support, and also in that too, it's when you end up looking better. You feel more confident, especially to the ones you love as well. There's a sense of strength. You know that your wife looks at you and she sees that you're happy and you can just I'll muck around with her. Hey, babe, how am I looking? She's like oh, you're looking great, my little chunky cookie and we just Chunky cookie. Yeah, we just have fun and that's wonderful, it's lovely to be able to have fun like that. And now she's getting into it too, which is lovely to see how it's just carrying on.
Speaker 3:And then the kids see that and they're like oh, mom's gone to the gym now. Oh, dad's at the gym, mom's at the gym, dad's at the gym. They just keep seeing that as a pattern. They're just young, and then it's that living example that you can pass on to them. And then they see us wanting to carry through with that, with our food, and just having that little journey together. And that is, lord willing, a great example for them to just go. Oh, that's cool. I see mom and dad are happy there. Oh, I see that they're playing together, doing their thing. This is rad. And it's around going to the gym at separate times. It's not like we go together or anything like that. We just we do separate things. You know, work at our own pace that way.
Speaker 2:In regards to your artwork. Are you noticing those? This exercise regime is translating into a better quality of work? Um well, the same it's, it's.
Speaker 3:I don't know about better quality of work, because I always put 110% in what I do and I want, and even when I was feeling the injuries I was working around it. I'll just be pacing myself a little bit differently, but the difference is now I see a greater sense of longevity in what I'm doing. So if I like the job I'm at at the moment, I'm, they're going okay, I feel great. Therefore, I'll still pace myself at a nice medium pace, um, but work in tens, intensely at what I'm doing, rather than just going ham and all out, you know, and just being overzealous where I found I did, did, did, do. That when I was, um, you know, say maybe eight years back, I was just going ham and then I'm ready for the next job. Or I'd sometimes, do you know, I'd paint, sometimes 20 hours straight and you know I'd be painting till the sun rises again and I'd just be all hyped and amped and so stuff like that, where I'm like, okay, no, that's not necessary, I can paint long sessions, I'll go, um, but this is the difference I've found now is I'm able to go okay, great, body's feeling really good, um, I'm confident about jobs that come in and jobs do end up coming in, because a lot of the work I put out I just put out and then it's.
Speaker 3:It's like fishing, you know, you just throw the bait out and just see who's going to give you a call, shoot you an email and you get a job. But in that I'm, I leave my work. I just sort of put it in God's hands. I do great with what I I do and I put it out there and I'm just like all right, lord, it's in your hands, let's see what comes, so to speak. I've got this fun little way of thinking in my head that you know, the Lord's like my, uh, what do you call it? Like my, my agent, my manager. You know, I just because I don't have that, I don't have a manager, I don't have, uh, someone who represents me or anything.
Speaker 2:How do those, how do those jobs come about then? So, God sends you an email, yahwehcom.
Speaker 3:No, um, I get my work out there. I put as much excellence as I can in the, in the presentation of it. So, um, I've. I'm very much someone who loves to live by the, by the word, and being instructed by truth.
Speaker 3:One of my favorite verses, um of advice, wisdom, truth, virtue, in the Bible is um, whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your might. Um, I remember mentioning that on the previous one whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. Um, whatever, that's basically life, 24, seven, right, um. So, being husband, father, and when it comes to um someone in the community, do it with all your might. And what I, what that means is not like do so much strength where you're just gnarly, gnarly, no, you got to attain it towards the greatest power, which is love. So be them the most loving, the most compassionate, generous, um forgiving, selfless person you can be in all aspects of your life, and that's service, that's discipline. It's a pretty high standard though. Yeah, it definitely is, and that's what's so rad we're capable of doing it. What an honor. That's what's so sick. Like you think we are capable, of course, that's why we attain to it and that's why we all that's why we were born towards it.
Speaker 3:But, like my mate Ben Bodner said, when he was on I think it was the morning show, he was about 11 years old and the and the host was like so what's the last words you've got for? Uh, he's finished doing a demo and morning show or some kid's show or something, finish just ripping the mini ramp and he's like and he's like 11, 10 years with scape prodigy. So I said what's some of the last? What's some advice you got for all the young kids out there that want to aspire to be great skateboarders? And he goes, he goes. Just remember, you're all winners because you won the sperm race. And the host is like okay, but it's so much, so much truth in that you know like we got to, we won the sperm race. We've got this sense of wanting to win and attain and be be there. You know, and um, we were the dominant.
Speaker 2:We were the dominant of that group.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So in that there's something that says you know, there's a spirit within us that strives for excellence. So I don't live by it as in okay, if I fall short, suddenly I suck or I'm I'm not good enough. That's not the way to go. Now you got to understand um forgiveness, being able to have compassion also on yourself If you fall and slip. It's like a little child. You see a child. You're not going to reprimand it because you know it's not putting its food in its mouth properly. You got to have to work with it and that's how we have to be as we grow up as well.
Speaker 3:So, going back to what you're saying, when it comes to the work, um, the levels of God sending me an email or whatever, well, no, I put excellence into my work. I go 110%. I want to go the extra mile with my work, as as well as I'm capable with this, with this body of God, and then I put that out there. I don't just put out a photo of it. I want to do a photo, I want to do a good video, you know, and present it really well. So, everything you do, like you know, whatever your hand wants to do, do it with all your might, do it with excellence, the spirit of excellence, put that out there, and then in turn it's like you're putting out good bait, you know put out good bait. You're going to.
Speaker 2:Sowing good seeds.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, you reap what you sow. Yeah, exactly. So I'm honoring. In that way. I say, okay, I'm honoring God's word, because that's what the word of God says. You know, you reap what you sow, so I honor that, and then in return, something's going to come forth. So in that way I'm like, oh, wow, that's where I can say, by faith I'm able to go. Lord, thanks, man, like your word, your word was true there. And now I've got some more gigs and now I'm sowing into my body. I'm doing this sort of stuff and put my work to it. So there's a next level of things that I'm doing and that resonates and that shows towards others and I'm able to sense it because I'm the one doing the work. So, yeah, you put that out there.
Speaker 2:Are murals your bread and butter overall?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Or is it commission art pieces?
Speaker 3:Both, both. But the murals are a larger chunk of money and yeah, but I do get asked to do commission pieces like oil paintings and yeah, they come through as well.
Speaker 2:Can we talk about the Matilda's experience? Because, I mean that period of time was quite pivotal in our Australian society and culture. I think yeah, and it was big news. You know the Matilda's performing so well in the World Cup and you know you had a part in paying players murals. Can you just tell us where you did it, how it came about and what the overall experience was like, because you were very much in the public spotlight for a week there.
Speaker 3:So yeah, yeah. Well, I did get approached quite a few months prior about the job. I didn't hear anything for a while and then, yeah, it just came through, maybe just two weeks beforehand, and I'm like, yeah, let's do it. So they mentioned how Smith-Warves in Brisbane. They actually mentioned a few separate locations for me to go to and I didn't get to all of them because, just, I think on their end it wasn't as organized as it could be, so we just ended up going with the one location and it was like I don't know.
Speaker 3:I think because of the way, when it comes to my approach, it was more. I understood the Like the hype around what was going on, but I didn't know much about it because in my world of my life I don't open myself up to this stuff. I'm very much about my skating, my music and that's, and what I'm building and my family. That's what I've really focused on. So I didn't really know much about the games or all this sort of stuff. But what I do understand is the level of excellence that's necessary for these players to be who they are, and that's what I really love honoring. When I paint murals, I Look at them and go, okay, you didn't just get to this position just from liking something and just going harder. No, there's a little. I understand the journey. I Can, I can touch it. I can kind of understand their journey and in that I'm they're going. Wow, I want an honor to paint anyone, really anyone, not just a, not just an athlete or someone in the spotlight, anyone, because everyone's got a journey. Therefore there's Honor within every human being. So, in saying that, yeah, how Smith was a wonderful place in Brisbane, great location just where felons brewery is, beautiful part of Brisbane, painted for the players and the really cool things that were happening as I was painting, that is that obviously I'm painting these people that so many people were celebrating and so many people are inspired because they're really breaking so much ground, especially for the females, and it's wonderful to see how women in sport are being highly Elevated and especially, like I'm seeing it. In my word I said a lot in skateboarding the girls are going off and they're being celebrated, sometimes even more so than the guys, you know, and I saw that with a Matilda's and I'm like, wow, this is so so, this is precious. You know what's going on here. It was so great that I think it was the fourth day on painting and I've got.
Speaker 3:I started working on Rizzo, one of the players, and I only painted her eye just to. I'd only started on her eye, that was it, just the one eye and the rest was nothing. And these little kids come by and they're like, oh, that's Rizzo. And I was like, oh, okay, I thought I'm doing something good here because they can. Just two little girls are probably about eight years old and they could. They looked at that her eye and just the eye, and they said it was Rizzo. I'm like, yeah, that's really good. But what it showed me is like these young girls are fans. They're looking at these girls and they're going, whoa, these are the people that I am inspired by. They didn't look like they play soccer, I Don't know, they didn't seem like it, but the thing was, is that even my girls and their circle of friends they knew about them until it is and they all they see is just rad girls doing rad stuff and that's brings them a sense of, you know, hyping and Empowerment.
Speaker 2:Yeah, empowerment, inspiration and stuff how your daughters feel about it.
Speaker 3:Love the. Yeah, they're so high and proud of me and that sort of stuff as well, but they're just excited, you know. And then the cool thing was is that so that those girls came by, then they left, and then I'm painting, painting, and then I Heard two voices behind me speaking and I hear one of them go, that's me, that's in around. I was like, oh, there you are. And it was. It was her, it was Rizzo and one of the other players, and I was like no way. And then we got to talking they're lovely. We chatted and she felt very like shy and sort of yeah, how was she reacting to it?
Speaker 2:Was it? Was it humility, embarrassment, shy?
Speaker 3:Yeah, a bit of both, but I wonder how, you know, I don't. Yeah, because I see, like it's funny when I see a lot of, like a lot of girls these days. I love seeing them through my daughter's eyes as well. Okay, so I see, like sometimes I see, you know, older women or or women my age, and I like to look at them through the eyes of it, through the eyes of my children at times, and you just still see that sweet, beautiful person that they are. But you also, I don't know, I can like imagining them as like younger kids and how rad they were when they were younger, and addressing them that way as well. I saw that in her. She was like this little kid that was like, oh wow, this is cool, you know, and she's looking at herself, but a bit overwhelmed that there's this larger than life picture of herself. And Then it's just so happened that that day a lot of the Matilda's were walking because I had a game that night. So then who came by next?
Speaker 2:Sam Kerr came by and Can you just clarify which players did you actually paint?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so Sam Kerr, rizzo, Mary Fowler and Hayley Forgot her name. Right now I'll go on isn't it around now?
Speaker 2:starts with an R as well. No, maybe.
Speaker 3:Oh gosh, I feel like I gotta, I gotta do one.
Speaker 2:I hear so let's get it right. Let's get it right. Yeah, you want me to look it up.
Speaker 3:Here we go, so you probably got other people that may know it playing out. Here she is oh, katrina Gory.
Speaker 2:Thank you, yeah, it's highly reserved, I think it was. Is that right?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah. So yeah, hayley Rasa.
Speaker 2:Rasa Rasa.
Speaker 3:Sorry about that. And then, yeah, and then when Mary Fowler came by, she was so lovely because she came by with a mom and her mom was just so.
Speaker 3:High as a parent so wonderful, yeah, because I just saw this lovely lady that's just so proud of her daughter wanting to shoot photos, and you know of of her and then of us. And then she opened up her wallet to Give me her phone and you know, just see a little photo of her, of Mary, when she's a little kid. You know that she carries around with her, yeah. So this is so sweet and she travels with a, with a mom, everywhere, and you know they do their thing. And close is lovely, seeing that that mother daughter dynamics still just being nurtured within their chaos. Ward of Of sake. You know, I was like that's special.
Speaker 2:You know you said you feel like you when you paint someone that you really respect the dedication that they've had to put into what they do. Mm-hmm, and that's at the forefront of your mind when you're actually doing the paintwork that you like. You know you want to respect that and honor that. Yeah, is that putting a pressure on you? Like, do you feel pressure because of that?
Speaker 2:So yeah, I know because I'm sort of leading into the fact that you recently did an artwork of Shane Warren, who's, like, profoundly iconic in Australia, hmm, and Obviously as past and and you want to honor him in your work, like, is that placing Great pressure on you when you're doing it, or not not so much because I don't do it for the applause of the people Interesting you know, I don't do it like, I don't do it in the hope that I Don't do it in like I do.
Speaker 3:Obviously I do hope that family and friends would Would love it, but I've got a confidence in knowing that they will love it.
Speaker 3:And I'll get to the reason why okay so when I painted the Andrew Simons and Shane Warren piece, I knew this is a extremely special moment to Beloved cricketers that have passed away their own mates. And here they are in this embrace celebrating. I knew it's gonna touch a lot, of, a lot of hearts and especially, I couldn't imagine, you know, like, what it would be like for some loved ones to see something like that. Hmm, but I could imagine it. Definitely, you know, pull some serious heartstrings there.
Speaker 3:So, but what I do, my approach isn't like, oh man, I better get this right. I'm not feeling that. I feel the honor of going, wow, I get to paint someone that's fearfully and wonderfully created and In that I'm like man, what, what, how awesome is this? I get to partake in this wonderful creation I get to collaborate with. For me, the way I see it, I go well, I get to collaborate and touch upon something that God's already fearfully and wonderfully created, like God's been able to create this human being that Actually has life and is animated and moves and does all this stuff. And all I'm doing is this two-dimensional work of Of that. How cool. I get to partake in that it's like a collaboration.
Speaker 3:So like you're honoring God's creation, yeah, and and and, who, who else? Who, who greater loves that human being? Then then the maker himself like who greater knows the creation more than the creator? Like the creator knows the creation, like back to front, you know, I'm saying so, I'm they're going, wow, I get to touch upon that, awesome. So there is a sense of like healthy fear, okay, but more towards like wanting to bring on it Not like I'm gonna let the person, whoever's paying me.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna let him down.
Speaker 3:No, no, because I believe if I'm honoring the greatest, then Anything else underneath that is gonna be well looked after, you know. So that's how I look about it. I'll go, okay, you know, audience of one, so to speak, like I. I really live by that sense of saying all do, do all. There's a verse as well that says do all things on as unto the Lord. I do all things as unto the Lord. Like, imagine, imagine I you were about to.
Speaker 3:If I say, hey, shan, you're gonna cook breakfast for the king of I don't know some country Malta, malta. He's asked, he wants you to cook him breakfast. What, how are you gonna present that? You know, I'm saying you're gonna be like whoa, okay, how am I gonna put this? Better be excellent, this better be great.
Speaker 3:Whereas if I said, how, dude, can you just cook a bit of? If I woke up, if we woke up, or if we live together, and I was like, hey, shane, sorry bro, I'm in a mad rush. Do you mind just cooking me some eggs or something, you really, yeah, so pop up, up, up, up, up up, but king of Malta, you'll be like, oh, my goodness. And you know, in that that's how I try to attain that, like when I'm Painting or when I'm trying to do live life. Now obviously we all fall short and we stumble and all this sort of stuff, but I'd rather Do that. I'd rather say, well, look, I'm gonna do this painting, lord, I'm, I'm painting one of your Creations here. He was so loved amongst the community. There's this and that. Of course I understand that, but it's like here I'm presenting something To the king, so to speak.
Speaker 2:That's a Christian like you're required to deny yourself of a lot of things. Oh yeah.
Speaker 3:Things that won't be good for you, for sure. Why not?
Speaker 3:I'm setting the question up like Christians have to sacrifice, sacrifice things but but there's not a have to that, that's interesting choose to not even choose to interesting it's it and it ends up working through you like that's, that's the whole thing. That's what I end up realizing throughout. It's not a have to Think. That's what people I understand in the world could see it like oh, you have to do this or you have to do that. It's like, no, you don't, you don't have to do anything. Because if God is God and if God is your father, then your father's job is to discipline his child and to love him and nurture him as he goes through his journey. And it's up to you to just stay close to your father and and and that's it like, and because you love your father, if you love your father, you want to stay close to your father, and guess what's gonna happen? He's gonna rub off on you.
Speaker 2:What does the fear come from then?
Speaker 3:Fear is just like a rich fear of retribution. No fear is like whoa dude. That's my dad man.
Speaker 2:You know I used to be scared my dad.
Speaker 3:Well, yeah, I like, we all have we've all got like. A lot of us can have that, that fear because of certain things, but I'm saying I Like innately, everyone has an aspiration to want to love this Father figure. Who we? Who is heroic? We, we aspire to greatness as humans. So therefore we looked and, yes, many examples of fathers and mothers. They fall short and we get disillusioned and we rebel and we get go off track.
Speaker 2:But they're human, of course. Yeah, and humans are flawed. Yeah, exactly, but so, like you know, okay, well, I'm trying to think how I can rephrase this question, because I want to sort of ask like in the course of your life, you've learned that the things you have to or not have to, like the denying of yourself, of your human ways at times, is that easier then? The other version of life where you Don't?
Speaker 2:You know like because, okay, like I understand, life is man. I'm stuffing this question up. Life is difficult when you try to live it on your terms, but when you're endeavouring to live by God's word is also challenging. It is, but Do you think it's easier than the other option? It?
Speaker 3:is if you have the. That's my question. It is if you have the nature to do it. It's the only reason why Jesus said you must be born again of spirit and water, and that's the nature change. That's the nature change.
Speaker 3:Okay, gotcha, that's what people need to understand. It's not about you have to do this, you have to. It's not If I, if you understand how good Christ is, how good God Like we understand how good God is. Because we understand how good Christ is, we have to see a living example of it. So I would say, dude, look into the life.
Speaker 3:Of Christ is the greatest phenomenal human being ever, a flawless human being. It bewilders me why people don't look into his life. It's the most profound, famous book in the world. It's accessible to everyone, but I wonder why we don't want to just open up and read it. We'll go to Anthony Robbins, we'll go to Joe Rogan, we'll go to Peterson, we'll go to this, we'll go to that. Dude, all these lads are flawed.
Speaker 3:There's one person that came through history, even outside sources that claim to his greatness and his divinity, and still people don't go there. And I understand the reason why is because ultimately, they believe they're going to have to give up things and you're going to have to do this and have to do, and that's not the case, because he does the work. There's nothing that you do. All you got to do is believe, which is why the most famous verse in, probably, christianity is John 3.16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. The word believe, whoever believes in him, didn't say whoever does what he commands, whoever stops their life, and that no, he said whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Speaker 3:But the word believe isn't just what we attribute to saying oh yeah, oh yeah. No, I believe in my children or I believe in them, no, I believe in Jesus. No, that's not. They're saying you know the word believe when you look at the root word of the word believe there it actually means what you adhere to, what you cling to, and in turn, it produces obedience.
Speaker 3:Think about that. The believe means what you cling to, what you're actually clinging to, what you adhere to, and in turn, what's going to happen? Whatever you cling to in human life, whatever you adhere to, whatever you cling to, whatever you meditate on, you end up becoming obedient to that thing. It ends up rubbing off on you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So Jesus is saying for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. But he gave Christ, gave himself as a sacrifice, as a ransom. He took upon all the weight of sin and punishment on his life. So that when you see that love, that someone's taken the bullet for you for the things that you deserve, you end up realizing dude, I've got a loving father that's willing to take the hit for me. I've got a loving creator who's willing to take the hit for me. We are so blinded in our pride that we don't want to go there. That's the issue.
Speaker 2:I think that's. What I find interesting is the criticism that people have without research or education. And I had it even recently someone was criticizing and then backed it up with mind you, I've never opened the Bible. I was like that's interesting. I'm guilty of that as well over the years, but it's in everything in our society at the moment. People will just point the finger, criticize, blame shift without any investigation Totally, or because they saw an attractive meme.
Speaker 3:We're going to depend on a meme to be able to educate us.
Speaker 2:Meme smart and it's a real thing these days.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and it's a real unfortunate thing. You could definitely get a taste of some stuff, but it just takes a little bit more diligence to be able to go in and do that extra bit of research. Which is why people growing up to the understanding of not really taking too much consideration about what happens in mainstream media Because the mainstream media obviously being Instagram and Facebook and Twitter, all that sort of stuff people are able to throw all their critiques and their opinions and their backlashings on that. It's like, well, yeah, a lot of the time if you're going to go that ham on those platforms, it's because you really don't understand the broader subject. If you're going to throw in a critique or an opinion or slander, well, yeah, it hasn't really done the due diligence, not so much in the subject but in the understanding of love within humanity's context. Yes, because then empathy and compassion goes awry there. If we understand the broader aspect of understanding humanity love and we look to where it was best exemplified and that's obviously going back to Christ when we look at that, then, dude, that starts rubbing off on you when you get your eyes off other so-called influencers or leaders.
Speaker 3:Think about it. They're called influencers, they're called leaders, so where are they leading you to? What are they influencing you towards? That's what they're called. It's there in front of you, that's their title and we give ourselves to that. Therefore, we're going to walk within their world. I get it. That's cool. There's some things to take, but I'm there saying, okay, now prioritize, who's your main leader? I would rather have my creator, I would rather have my dad, my father, as my main leader. An influencer, exactly, dude. So that's why I put him first. That's why, when I wake up in the morning, I'm going to go to the source man. Why would I go to these other dudes that are flawed first? I go to those other dudes because some of them are entertaining, some of them are great within world affairs and whatnot.
Speaker 2:Can we clarify? You've tried these other ways in your past life. I always find it interesting that it almost takes not all the time, but a lot of the time people would hit a rock bottom before they start believing. Yeah, that's right, and it drives them in that direction to ask bigger questions. But do you feel like people need to hit a rock bottom to find that connection?
Speaker 3:Not so much a rock bottom, that Of sorts, of sorts, I think, because a rock bottom could look different. Okay, in many ways it could be a financial rock bottom, it could be the family dynamic breaking up, it could be drugs, oding, or it could simply be all of these things that I just mentioned. States of humility. You're humbled.
Speaker 2:Yeah. You're brought low. Your pride and your ego have just been belted.
Speaker 3:Yes, yeah, yeah. So that could happen in many different circumstances. So when that happens, when you're that far down, where's the only way to look? Exactly? Up, up, yeah, and I'd rather get through all the noise in the clouds and get to the real thing and go yes, let me be influenced by the right thing, and it's definitely could be challenging. Yes, christ did say if you want to be my disciple, you've got to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. So there is that denial of self.
Speaker 2:That's what I was trying to get to at the very start of that question.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but what that is? But what that is is you submitting, so to speak. And what I mean by submission? It's not like I have to do this. I've got to be set to do this, otherwise God's this angry, vengeful, god is going to send me to hell. It's like no, we're all. We're already, we've already, we're already reaping what we sow. We're already destined to a bad destination.
Speaker 3:People say, oh well, but I'm good. It's like I'm a pretty good person that that understanding can be smashed in a second. I could simply just say, hey, well, have you ever lied before you ever? You ever stolen, you ever cheated? You ever looked at someone with lust? We're all guilty of those things.
Speaker 3:As you said, we're all flawed. If you say you're good, that means you believe you're perfect and you have access towards greatness or whatever. Thank you, thank you, god, exactly, and a lot of people do have that, that self confidence within themselves. But then, but then humility comes, and when we and it's a better position to be in, because then you end up realizing you're a child, end up realizing, wow, I'm a child, how beautiful are children. And going back to Christ, he says if, if you want to enter into the kingdom. You've got to be like one of these little ones.
Speaker 3:Look at children, the way they play, the way they get along, the way they over. They don't even think about things that we as adults think about or confront, and it's and what a wonderful way to live. Now. That's humility when you understand you, that you as a human being are fearfully and wonderfully created like you are so phenomenal your eyes, your hair, your fingers, your toes, everything. You're so beautifully created. You're a phenomenon as a creation. Where did that come from? It's obviously. It's not a random accident, because every wonderful design points to a wonderful designer.
Speaker 2:It is the most obvious thing in life, and still our pride gets in the way and says no, I believe, you know, we come out of this and we evolve into that, and it's like, oh, my goodness, you know a really, a really interesting observation I've seen over the years is with people who suffer from substance addiction, and a big common one is they keep relapsing, relapsing, relapsing, and they try, and they try and they try to get sober or off drugs off their own volition and it never, and they'll do it for years. They'll go for a period of time they're going really well and then something will happen and they relapse and then they're back on that cycle. And the ones that achieve long term sobriety are the ones that actually stop trying to get sober and turn their will over to the care of God, or, as they say in the 12 step recovery program, a higher power of their own understanding. But it's just like this acknowledgement of they can't do it themselves and that they need something to help them, aka like the higher power, god, whatever it is.
Speaker 2:And then they get, then they achieve long term sobriety, and then often they fall off that when they, they then stop believing or adhering, and that for me, like that's one of the most tangible examples of actually having a better life. To make it really relatable for me anyway.
Speaker 3:Which is why it's important that what we're adhering to and what we're clinging to is flawless, and there's only one thing in this history of this world that is attested to that flawlessness and that perfection, that one true influencer, that one true leader, and it's. You're not going to find it in Le'Otzu, confucius Muhammad. You're not going to find this flawless, perfect influencer in any of these people. Why they were born of like a father and a woman. They sinned, they had their issues. They're not the way you know. They're just not in history. Look into history, which is touching upon what we said before about doing basic research. Man, it's so straightforward, everyone knows it, but the thing that stops them is ultimately going to be their self-will.
Speaker 2:They don't want to give up lust, they don't want to give up consumerism. They don't want to give up substances. They don't want to give up anger.
Speaker 3:They don't want to give up hate.
Speaker 2:And I say all these things because I'm included in that they don't want to give those things up, because, well, what's it satisfying though their pride ego.
Speaker 3:No, it's satisfying, it feels good. Dude, I remember.
Speaker 2:Temporarily though.
Speaker 3:Exactly Just like Mack is man.
Speaker 2:And then you feel like shit afterwards.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you end up like I say it like with lolis. Just Mack out on lolis, amazing, amazing, you're going to get sick. It's the same thing. Teeth rock yeah, it's the same thing, dude, it's like. But that's what I'm getting at there. What's really important for people to understand is it's not something that you, it's a working. That's what I'm saying about that. Nature change. When your nature has truly changed, you now have an appetite for righteousness, a true appetite for righteousness. You no longer have beef with Jesus. You no longer have beef with God. You no longer they're trying to justify your own means in order to just move away from that. It's just the case. You're not going to be at war, so to speak, with it. You end up. It's a humility. You end up knowing your true place, knowing your true place, knowing where you sit On your journey with it.
Speaker 2:over the years, have you had periods of time where you've become wayward, yeah, yeah. And do you now because you have had a taste, or you understand it now, and then followed by feelings of guilt? Does guilt become more predominant?
Speaker 3:It's like this Every day, within every hour. I'm falling short. Why are you? Because perfection is perfection, dude. Think about it. Perfection is perfection we will never attain. It's an eternal thing. So, progress, not perfection. It's an eternal thing.
Speaker 3:Like if I start thinking about what I used to do when I was 17, 18, 20, the things I've done, that's not perfection. If I'm thinking about it and dwelling upon it, if I'm dwelling upon how I used to be, or if I get angry and say some nasty things to my wife because I'm caught or hurt. Dude, I do those things and I've done them. There's a difference, though. I realize there's a grieving more, not so much a guilt. There is a guilt and a shame, of course, because I realize how good God is, like truly good and loving. And I'm there just being a chump, like I've disappointed my dad. You know my dad's so good. He's done so much wonderful things for me. He's loved me, he's forgiven me, he's given me a new lease of life, being suicidal, being depressed, being mentally tormented, being a thief, being a vandal, being someone who wants to just throw his skateboard at someone for looking at me wrong or just getting in a fight as a kid and wanting a street fight and stuff. Dude, that was my old nature. That's how I re-built, that's how I acted out. Now I have attributes to want to go that way again if something happens to me, but I'm being influenced by something greater, because I'm able to go. You, as an influencer, are so wonderful and great and you're actually perfect and truly loving. Therefore, I would rather and I've seen that, I've tasted and seen that it's good. Therefore, that one touch is just changing my nature, where I second guess what I'm doing or I stop myself or I arrest that thought in my head that wants to make me wild out or do something of my old nature and I no longer have an appetite for it. I may go there, do I? But over time, you're a work in progress. That's what I'm saying to you. I'm adhering and I'm clinging to. Therefore, I'm producing obedience to the Lord, because that's what I'm adhering and clinging to. Therefore, this obedience, this true obedience and devotion, is being produced, not a have to master, and if I don't, then I suck and I'm guilty and I'm cast out.
Speaker 3:It's not like it's a loving relationship. It's the loving relationship that we've all desired as kids. I desired it from my dad. I still remember looking at my dad and wanted to just hold his muscles and ask him to throw me up on his shoulders whenever I did get to hang out with him, which was very rare. I just would have a love for this guy because I'm a child and I've got someone who I came from, who somehow resembles me as an older, bigger version. Wow, how cool. This is my potential. You know what I'm saying? Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yet when that doesn't show its face, when I don't see him, and when I do see him, he's the best ever. And then he's just gone for ages. And then I keep hearing nasty things about him because people are bitter at him and this and that, and I realized at the end of it, man, it wasn't as around as much as I really, really, really desired. Okay, fine, but then he ended up hearing looking around in the water and going, wow, there's so much more to this place that took me on that, obviously, that journey. So look, going back to what you said, I do foreshore, man, I foreshore all the time. But there's a difference. The difference is I seek forgiveness straight away. I'm quick to right my wrongs. If I have to apologize to my daughter, I'd be like sweetheart, I'm so sorry for yelling at you like that. That was wrong, can you please forgive me? He's like yeah, daddy, I'll forgive you, you'll say it to your little daughter.
Speaker 3:Yeah, man, yeah, often, and like you know, because it could be a little thing like I get, I try to say sorry to my kids, Hurry up put your shoes on, man, like why are you always so slow?
Speaker 3:You shouldn't be that slow. And I get I start wiling out because I have to deal with this every day. And then I'm like, oh man, how patient has, how patient has and has God been with us throughout the years of us, of me, for example, going out getting wasted, sleeping with chicks, this and that being gnarly to people, and using women or, you know, pornography, just wiling out on someone else's daughter on the screen or whatever, and just all this stuff.
Speaker 2:It's so hard when you say it like that man, it's reality, hey, like all that stuff.
Speaker 3:That's reality, dude, especially fathers of daughters, exactly, dude. We've got to see it that way, otherwise we're going to always justify it. Yeah, seriously, and justification just builds to pride, yeah, so that's why I'm like, okay, I've done all these things. You know, I've gone through like relationships where, unfortunately, I had to, you know, getting women, you know, pregnant and having to go through the process of, you know, being inconvenienced right now. So, therefore, let's, you know, terminate a human life, like it's so selfish and hideous the things that I've done, man, it's hideous, dude. And so I've fallen in the same category as every human being. Now, the difference is this we've got to be humble enough to realize we stop pushing the blame game and stop justifying and just say, man, according to my life, I'm a wreck dude. So therefore I've got to like hopefully I can be forgiven, hopefully I can be forgiven. And, dude, only one who's ever given that access to that love and forgiveness is Christ. It always has been.
Speaker 3:Who does everyone cry out to the moment the plane's about to come down? Oh God, help me. Oh God, like we always, we know innately. But pride kicks in. Dude, that's what it is, it always will be. I can say that very confidently. I can, you know, but I could boast in it, I could do all that. But it's simply because I end up seeing the wretchedness of my life and I still see how it could be wretched at time, but not as wretched as I was when I was younger Because it's been a journey of like dude.
Speaker 3:This, you know, this all came about in a big way when I was 25. So I'm 50 now, so it's been a 25 year long journey. But, as I said, dude, every day I'm still thinking. You know, if I still have to arrest, like a police officer, arrest someone, I still have to arrest these thoughts that want to go straight in my mind and just remember and be like dude you've been forgiven. You've been forgiven, mate, You've been given grace and that gives you peace. Yeah, you'd be. You'd be so foolish to just continue to entertain that thought that then turns into an action, that then turns into a consequence, that then can turn into a detriment and a regret and a true sorrow and a grieving. And I'd like, of course we don't want to go that way.
Speaker 2:I meet a lot of people and I'm also very curious by humans and their behavior, and you're someone that I feel a deep piece from it comes out of you. You might not recognize it, and also you, you the feeling I get from you is that you're very. It's like this enrichment. You seem enriched and and and I see how you interact with others and when they're around you, I can see that it comes off on them, and I don't see that with everyone, and obviously it's. I think it maybe it's a byproduct of your faith and and it's been such a gift to you in your life. When you see other people who are living on their own terms and having a difficult time with life, and you want to, you want to share your experience with them, but it's just falling on deaf ears or they're completely cut off to it, Like a lot of people, Do you ever get a feeling of frustration or despair?
Speaker 3:Yeah, sometimes I get it. But then that's where I'm like saying what about with close friends?
Speaker 3:Yeah, times, of course, but that's where I say, you know, it's not always up to me, god's got, god's got work everywhere. Man, I'm just, I'm just a vessel. It's like it's not. I'm not playing savior, I'm. I'm just. I'm someone who is just, yes, stoked and hyped and so thankful for the savior and, in turn, that will come off on me going back to influence and what I'm clinging to and what I'm adhering to, so, therefore, that that will resonate at times. Yes, um, but I do believe that every human being has been um, every human being has something so wonderful and special. They've all been giving gifts, coming to know, coming to going back to your creator.
Speaker 3:Your creator just ends up bringing out the best of who you are. Just like this microphone we're speaking on. You don't know what the best, neither does the guy who sells it. It's the one who made it that knows where the metal comes from, the hinges and why this, that the sound. It's that person that knows the the best way to utilize this thing Right, and it's going to take a long time to get to. You know, chew this guy's ear off to know the ins and outs of this microphone. It's a journey and that's what happens spiritually, when you get to know your creator, you end up realizing these things that are coming out, that were a part of you all this time, and you end up. They end up like um coming out of you in a way, the more you draw closer to God, like that's why the word says draw near to God and he'll draw near to you. It's like he rubs off on you Um, and that's I.
Speaker 3:I do sense that when I was younger, even before the whole God thing or whatever, and when I was just seed, running a mark, doing these things, skating and doing whatever, I still knew innately there was something that I had to offer. Okay, and I believe every human being has, that we do. Otherwise, we'd want to, you know, terminate ourselves at very, very young ages, but that doesn't happen because we're so full of love and life and wonder and I knew that. But then that starts getting shut down and hurt and we end up getting betrayed or we end up getting cut or bitter and these wonderful attributes end up getting closed down. We can become shy or resentful, whatever, but we weren't created to be that way. We were created to be loving one another in community, encouraging one another, celebrating one another's wins.
Speaker 3:Um, correcting a friend if he's going the wrong way, you know, reprimanding someone out of love, like dude, that's not the right way to go, man, come on, come on, you know what's up. Get, get, get with it, you know. So, yeah, it's sometimes difficult and with friends and loved ones it can be difficult at times, especially because I've got, because a lot of my friends, my close friends, they know me, they know the old seed, they know all that and we joke about it, we have fun. But I'm thankful that for things like this we're able to really chat because we're really in each other's lives a lot, so they'll be able to see a whole lot of things. But, yeah, more than anything, dude, like my heart is to want to be able to yeah, just, yeah, just love on people and hopefully point them to the right direction, you know that's good.
Speaker 2:How did it? How did it feel catching up with old friends like Mikyuan and Steve Teenie and Mike O'Mealy at dinner last night?
Speaker 3:I love it Because it's funny. I think it's so interesting that we may not see each other for a year, or we've had experiences that just date way back, but then, once we're in this group dynamic, we'll suddenly stop being abrogist. Throw in these ways of speaking or even old jokes that just pop up that I have not thought of since I was in my 20s.
Speaker 3:Yeah but funny little names that we'd call something or someone nicknames this. It just all just pops up like it's just part of the conversation. I find that fascinating because the memories, just it just kicks in. Suddenly you're in this dynamic and you just start speaking about times and places where you are. At that, you have no idea where that's coming from, it's like, but you, because of the dynamic and the context, boom, you just start oh, and then oh no, but this happened. Oh no, you were traveling in this car and it was. You know, it's just, it's fascinating and it's not like it's premeditated, it just just happens and I'm there going.
Speaker 3:So I want to ask did I remember that? So cool it's, I love it. And then you know, and it's wonderful because of that, that special, that bond, that that thread of love, that we have that understanding where we just understand one another. Yeah, you know, like yesterday when I was with Mick and Mick hasn't skated for a while and and I was like I know, I know so many of his tricks, like so many of them, and I'm able to look at the way he is on his board even now and I could probably tell what he'd be capable of doing, even though he didn't feel too overly confident on his board at times. But I'm able to say, I'm able to sort of go, I know what you'll be able to do. Now in my head I'll be like hey, me, do this although he did do a switch once I 360 on flat ground.
Speaker 2:Yeah what?
Speaker 3:yeah, yeah, because I saw that I was like, hey, me switch once, I 360. And he's like, and then I saw him so I go, oh, I go, alright, then switch front 180 and then in that he goes from switch front 360 and he nearly got round to it. Then he came back and he just landed that one that you guys all saw. So and then I was saying I told him about these other pressure flips, he just his goof off tricks and he did one of those. But I just found it so fascinating that, understanding the dynamic that we have in sessions that we've had, we're able to just like bring about things within each other.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I still remember a time we're out at Paddington skate park in Brissy and it was Mick and I sessioning a flat bank and we were trying I think Mick, from what I remember, mick would have been trying nolly hards to fakie and we got on it's somewhere on, maybe on someone's VCR, whatever, but and he says, um, switch hard. But he like I wasn't probably thinking about it, but he could see that I'd be capable of of that because he knew the way I was moving around the park and he knows what I'm capable of next, so to speak. Yeah, he just calls it. And then I went up switch hardflip came in, just you know, just like that not because it wasn't, because I thought about it, is that he, he was able to call it out. Right, I know what you can do right now.
Speaker 2:So I gave you that little bit of confidence inspiration.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because we spent so much time with each other. He's yeah, you're able to know someone and just say, hey, I know what you're capable of now do this and yeah, you go. I, yeah, it happened, you like. So all these great little things that just go about and so, yeah, being there with Steve and and Mike, just funny little things that we can. Just it's a little bit of banter that we can just muck around with there's a lot of laughs, it's good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's just again. I've really personally really enjoyed connecting with Steve and spending some time with him, like him and him and him. Like we're at the skatepark together six hours yesterday.
Speaker 2:We went through all these waves of emotion throughout the day, like that's brilliant by the end of the day, like we're still here, man, like we're just like achieve something together, like I haven't been at a skatepark for six hours for years but you know and I know mix the same, but I haven't spent as much time with me, but it's just such a common soul and really, really empathetic. But you know, different to me in terms of just emotionally, emotionally stable like you, just naturally, like a very calm character yeah, and it's so nice to be around yeah, it's extremely sensible, very sound was he always like that you mentioned earlier?
Speaker 3:yeah, yeah, yeah. Out of all, especially out of the five of us, he was the one that was most sound was he like the glue that kept everyone together, and sensible.
Speaker 3:I think we all held. There was a, there's a common understanding within all of us. I'd say that held one another down and up in many ways, but I'd say that, yeah, make definitely the more sensible one. So we'd all be wild and out. You know, when it came to partying, and you know all types of stuff like that would all be one to max out with our lives in different ways. Gotcha, we'd all be one. You know who's spent a lot of time away from home? Or you know, some of us had, you know, more sketchy upbringing, so we'd be out in the streets a whole lot more, yeah, whereas Mick would always be the one that would be, you know, walking across the main intersection, he'd be waiting at the lights. Seriously, dude, which is either, you know, just bomb some hills, yeah, mick would did, make would walk down the hills and press the button and
Speaker 3:wait, yeah, and just be like chill, just walk and get to a spot and then just skate. So phenomenally good, you know, and we'd be there wanting to. You know, live out just some some scene out of thrash and or just bombing hills or whatever, and just sess lighting and being terrors in the city and makes a second to so mature, yeah, mentality of like grow up and and that's the wonderful thing, because it definitely does cause you to set like second guess where you're at at times. You know. Just a funny story I don't know if I mentioned on the last podcast mentioned how Mick got really angry at me no, I can't imagine him ever being angry yeah, he got, and rightfully so.
Speaker 3:He really, he really reprude me. Why did you so? It was raining one time in pit street in the city and we went to this little undercover spot, pit street, I know George Street, it's just this marble, just walkway, epic, just a skate, and all we had was I think it was a milk crate and maybe a what do you call those crates? The pallets, yes, and so I think we put a pallet up and we're just doing stuff over it and I merely want to I think it would have been Mike maybe wanting to shoot a photo backside, kickflip over one, and I think it's pretty sure it was in was it was there a snowboard skate magazine.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they powerage or something.
Speaker 2:No, it was called um. Oh my god, I had a photo crank, crank, cranking scene. Simon Grusiewicz was the editor.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so it was. This photo was in there of a backside kicking. But it was funny when I remember I don't know where that that image is these days. But after I did the backside kicking and landed, I was like, alright, I just smashed this crate, this wooden crate. I just got all like animal on it and just crushed it and focused it and Nick went off at me. Man, why he went off.
Speaker 2:I do you want to still skate it?
Speaker 3:well, yeah, I me being so selfish and just like I got my thing, and then, yeah, I'm just gonna get gnarly and just start breaking everything, cuz I'm them, cuz I did, cuz I did it like full ape style, you know, and I just start crushing this thing and breaking it and then you know wood chips flying and I'm like I think it, and then Mick just comes in and like goes off. You know how selfish of you. Know what? If someone else wants to skate, he's just making a ruckus there and that blah, blah, blah, and I'm just there going. Oh man, I feel like such a chump and he was so right, I was just so humbled. But he just came in and just was like how selfish of you and how, and also how destructive and how yeah it was late at night, probably would have been about.
Speaker 2:He seems like really patient so it seems like such a patient soul, like you know, you're cooking out.
Speaker 3:If he's, if he feels inclined to call you out, you know yeah, yeah, yeah, cuz in that dynamic, I think within a guy's context, yeah, I be like, yeah, laugh, laugh, laugh, cuz you probably you know this guy's too gnarly to sort of like say anything right now. I would try and reprimand him cuz he's just going off on one, which I was. But Mick knows that, you know, mick loves me and I love him. So he's gonna say because I love you, you're an idiot right now how do you respond to him?
Speaker 3:I was like yeah, I was take it, I was probably trying to justify it a bit and be like I chill out or whatever, but really I'm. I'm just. You know it's good you need, you need friends to be able to like kick in a gift you cooking out.
Speaker 2:You know that's what a friend does for sure so tell us again, so everyone knows like why are you in Sydney at the moment?
Speaker 3:so you've come down from Brisbane yes, so I'm here painting two, two murals, one of Dave Grohl and one of Taylor Swift, for big music chain my firstly, like I'm stoked that you're doing Dave Grohl.
Speaker 2:Who doesn't love Dave Grohl? If they're in their 40s, my daughter will be stoked. You're doing Taylor Swift yeah, taylor Swift.
Speaker 3:I do know just one of her songs, because my daughter, my daughters don't get into her at all no, which one?
Speaker 2:you know what's the song you know, shake it off shake it off yeah, is that? The one that says hate is gonna hate, hate, hate yes yeah, that's a. That's a good. It's got a good message, it's catchy, it's got a good good old fashion and um, but I do.
Speaker 3:I do know how phenomenal she is, as like as an artist and a worker she's got. It's outstanding how someone could be that popular in that phenomenal. It's like it takes a lot of work and I'm like that's, that's awesome. So, yeah, doing her and and Dave Grohl, it was a real interesting one because most they wanted the brief was to paint them showing the instruments, so playing guitar or whatever, right. So most, if you think about the someone playing an instrument, it's a quite a vertical thing, right from the head to the instrument you're gonna paint. If you're gonna paint that, you're gonna want more of a vertical wall. Okay, but the two walls that have been given a horizontal, hmm, something. Oh man, if you make it too small, then it loses its impact. Okay, if you make them, if you make them, the mural, if you make the subject too small to fit the, yeah, loses its impact because it's it's not.
Speaker 3:What makes a mural effective is that it's larger than life. That's what causes people to go oh wow, look at that, it's a lot bigger than normal life. So that was interesting. So what? What that meant was I had to go through so many photos, so many photos to find something that would fit on the horizontal wall. So I was literally going through Taylor Swift photos for about two hours, and that lady has an untold amount of photos online. It's outstanding and even within that, I found it extremely difficult to find something that could be composed within a horizontal wall. That would be playing an instrument but got around to it. So, yeah, that's what I'm gonna make it happen now.
Speaker 2:I wonder what life's like being that recognizable.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, it's just strange life oh yeah, I've thought about it over the last few days with people that are that influential. Imagine stepping into their brain for like an hour. It'd be an overload. You'd probably just go insane. You know, it's definitely a working to build up to that everything would have to be considered.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, every aspect of your life. Yeah, I just want to run out the front and get a coffee. Yeah, do I need a security guard to come with me because I'm gonna get some crazy fan or something?
Speaker 3:I don't know totally want a lot of things shut out. You'd probably want other people to deal with that because, imagine, like the threats, the fanaticism, yeah, or you don't want to be looking at that obviously there's probably gonna be other people safeguarding that. You know other shield bearers that are gonna have to be taking care of that in order for you to have some sort of peace within your own world.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it'd be very, very, very full on yeah, when you're in Sydney at the moment and you've spent, you know, most of your life in Sydney, after being in Brisbane now for how long?
Speaker 3:are you just every year and a half? You know what's your observation on that transition um, being here after a few months away, it's I'm obviously very familiar with it. I was. I look around seeing what has changed, like just when it comes to the environment, see a few new things, freeways or that sort of stuff going up, but I'm still yeah, it's like I'm still very familiar with it and I don't see too much of a change. It's it's lovely being back, but I don't know.
Speaker 2:You're still, you're still happy with your, you're still happy with your decision.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm still happy because I didn't do it predominantly for me. I, we. A lot of it was based around the girls. I wanted to get them in a great school Because we realized they're young. They got a whole lot of schooling to go in towards. So let's get to a school that is Extremely sound and well and, you know, attributes to great, to excellence. That's what we're gonna spend a lot of our time on as parents, and so we trust that will, you know, remain diligent within that environment. And it was exciting as well because we're so familiar with Sydney. I became extremely familiar to the point where I found it quite tiresome and and slow in a way, you know, and people say it's so fast-paced and honestly, I just feel like it isn't because I'm so familiar with it and it's become very predictable Gotcha. So to get out of that comfort zone and go into something completely different with more space has been exciting and what happens when that gets mundane?
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, that's what you'll address that when you come to that right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, that's where the creative thing comes into play. It's like, okay, what can I get out of that? If it's mundane, then what can I get out of this? It's gonna, you know, be exciting or creative. So what can I create? What can I go paint, or what can I, where can I take the girls, or where can we go together? Let's all think about some, something great we can all do, because there's so much more space over there. Yeah, and it's new territory. You can go up north to the sunny coast for an hour. You can go down south to the Goldie, or you can go a little further, down to Byron yeah, new sir, a little further up north it's and then you can go inland. So there's a lot to explore, which is exciting, especially when you're surrounded in Sydney, I've been surrounded by
Speaker 3:buildings and cement, you know, and here it's like man, there's so much, so many trees over over there. It's wonderful. Yeah, that's good to come back. I'm coming back again in March, mid-march to April, got a very big job coming up like it's gonna take about maybe two and a half weeks. So that's as it's. As cool as it may sound, you could probably hear in my voice I'm not too hyped. I'm hyped on the job, but not so hyped on being away from the family and that was a he.
Speaker 2:Just you, just like the perfect guess, because you just answer the questions that I'm about to ask like, yeah, like you know, I know, for me personally, when I'm away from my children for any amount of time, it's, I find it really challenging. I just long for. I mean, how are you managing that? I'm obviously on the phone every day.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that staying focused on the job, being excited about what I do enjoy doing, yes, is lovely. Like once we finish here, I'm like, oh cool, I'm gonna get to the wall and pull the paints out and start painting something gotcha, interacting in that environment and appreciating it for what it is. And then when I get and then I'll be tired Then I'll be like, okay, time to crush out. But within that the girls are texting me or I'm. I'm texting them little selfies of what daddy's doing and being. You know whether it's goofing off or just sending them love and being lovely and Lovely with them. That's that's. That's wonderful. So, yeah, thank God for technology and FaceTime, all that sort of stuff.
Speaker 3:Yeah, what is that? Yeah, so that's how I go about it and yeah, but at the same time, there is that sort of like you know, it's such a weird thing, we're so it was. We're so interesting, I find, as people, because then sometimes when we're with them, we're going, oh my gosh, dude, you know, chill, or just stay there, which it's like we're so hard to please at times. Yeah, be so self-centered, you know, as people.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we are hard to please. Oh yeah, we really are.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's like.
Speaker 2:I long for my kids and then Then, when they're with me, it's just usually just me and them and I just like sometimes I just get so exhausted. Yeah and I'm just like, oh, I just leave me alone for a minute, I just you know. But then, like, then I don't want to be away from. It's like, oh, we can't, I can't win.
Speaker 2:Never never happy. No, I am happy a lot. But Well, listen, man, I can, I you've, you've got a big day on and you got stuff to do, but I Don't know. It's so great catching up with you, man. Love it, shelly.
Speaker 3:That croissant this morning. Wow, oh wow, home cross on tear.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna shout them out. They deserve a show. Darling strip, our main so again, like you must just appreciate Anyone that like that food that has croissants would just, it was just like passion, food, passion personified. Yeah, you could see the love and the and the commitment that has gone into creating these things. Yeah, man so and the flavors?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it is. It's like you're eating artwork. It's so good You're eating. So true, yeah what art is art is everything. Really, every everything's a creation, so therefore it's been created, so yeah.
Speaker 2:You love that cool?
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I say it often I'm noticed because I really have a desire for people to get closer. They're created. That's why I say it I'm, I'm into, I I'm intentional with what I say, because there's this Desire in me to sort of say dude, I know how good it is, man, I know I know, you know, that's what we must get frustrated.
Speaker 3:And it's not because I'm so, it's not because, hey, I'm smart and this and that. No, it's just like I. We all have a taste, we all have an understanding. Come hang, but come hang, it's good. I mean good, dude, just don't get. Don't get, um, jay, don't get led astray by the people that represent it.
Speaker 3:Bad like you got these certain Televangelists or certain churches, that where people you know, leaders or whoever, just give give it a bad example. I'm like you're not called to follow. It's like I always. It's like on a skate park and going on our skating sucks. Because I Went, there was a dude skating there and he looked really good, but then he snaked me and then he called me a cook and he told me to get out of the park.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, skating sucks. You know what I mean, gotcha, like you wouldn't do that if you really wanted to skate, you'd overlook that guy and be like, oh, obviously this guy doesn't truly Skate, or no skateboarding. So you'd be smarter to overlook that. Same with life, dude. That's why I say keep your eyes on the true price, like keep your eyes on Christ, keep. That's why he says I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the father except through me. It's like straight up, dude, he's not the poser, he's not. Don't look at all the cooks that are cooking it out. Whatever, we're all cooks, we're all cooking it out.
Speaker 2:So it's like you want to cook your die key.
Speaker 3:So we got to be like okay, get to that, get to that credit. Going back, yeah, go to that credit and and and really. But discover the purpose and plan that the creator had for your life, and it was it's a longevity, it's eternal but early on in your journey with this, Were you shy or embarrassed to tell people yes and no?
Speaker 2:like because of fear of judgment?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yes and no at times and it still creeps up every now and then. Yeah, but I was when I first came on that skate. I think it was a ASM ASM Transcaping, a skateboard magazine. Yeah, I got Sean Holland asked me to do an interview, had some photos with Curtis and he's like, and I said hey, man, I said Sean's mom.
Speaker 3:Yeah, dude. Yeah, I said to Sean hey, in, I want to get the word interview and give you an eternal view of who I am. So he's like what do you mean? I said, well, I'd like to write down what I view internally. That's what an interview is.
Speaker 3:Yeah so he's like cool. So I wrote down. I wrote down what I wrote down in the magazine and A lot of it was me what I was going through at that time. I'd really come to know truth and God and I'd Repented and I didn't want to live the life I was living. I'm like I'm on this new adventure, this new journey I want to explore more and I told people about it in this interview and and I was so called like coming out just telling people and there was a lot of backlash in that and it felt awkward but at the same time it was legit. So it's kind of like well, hey, man, like I'm not gonna shut down what I've got burning inside. I can't like you can't shut down a fire that's burning inside you. Yeah, it's burning. So I'd have to sort of just roll with the punches at times, and I wasn't. I didn't have anyone around me sort of Helping me out with this. I was just sort of navigating on my own in a way. But in truth, what's actually happening is I do have this Spirit of. I've got this spirit. It's called like a spirit of adoption. I've been adopted by, you know, by my father. He's adopted me, so he's looking out for me, regardless of my circumstance of being by myself in the city, people calling me out.
Speaker 3:I remember going into ASM After the interview came out because I wanted to go get a few issues of the magazine. I walk upstairs and there was a surf magazine being done out of the same building at the same time and I walked upstairs, I come into the room and this one dude at the desk just Lashes out Ah, f and Christians or something, oh what. And he just got up and he left the office. I just walked in and I'm like man, that sucks, dude, because now I look now, but this is a thing. I now look back at that and I go man, that's, he's had a bad experience, yeah, with someone who represented what's what's good Like, because when you look at Christ you can't pay out on anything about him.
Speaker 2:But I feel like a lot of people have bad experiences with churches.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because it's hypocrisy and then they just link that with the word yeah or yeah, and it's like it's it's humans.
Speaker 2:It's humans not gathering together. It's I don't know it what that's.
Speaker 3:It's like, I'm not like if. If it was I, I understand why you can get offended. And going back to that skate park analogy thing is like yeah, it's like going to a skate park and saying this guy offended me at the skate park. Therefore, skating sucks. Ah f and skaters, they're all. They're all a bunch of punks.
Speaker 2:They're a bunch of rude, arrogant you know, but the actual art of skateboarding, exactly.
Speaker 3:And if you look, at the one thing, exactly, and if you look at the people that do it so well With so much passion and love, great focus on that. Yeah, dude, I strive to look at that and go, wow, like I look at people like say, you know, I look at the guys like you know, film ackee, michael Davidson, mick yorn, steve teaney, um Guy mariana, anthony van england, say, daniel, way I look at these guys and the way they skate and I see things within their skateboarding. I'm like wow, that's awesome, I love it and and it influences me. Yeah, but if I'm going to go to any of those people and say, now I'm going to look at everything about you on how to live life and life to the fullest, or hey, maybe I better step back. I'm going to need someone else to maybe look at. Oh, look at them and.
Speaker 3:And There'll be sounding boards where I resonate with some of them out of friendship, which is why it's so important to be able to resonate and and get truths from them and come to an understanding. But I have to have a basis of where am I basing that, that ultimate truth, who's my main sounding board? Where am I getting this true source of truth? In, in, in human character and that is ultimately from the greatest human being ever who is flawless like. Why wouldn't you?
Speaker 3:yeah you know, and then use that as a foundation to then be able to do life with other people. So that's where I'm there going. Okay, you know, if I, if someone comes at me and I feel embarrassed, or if someone's, like you know, shaming me out, whatever dude, it happens, happens in all different cultures as well. If you're, if you're really Wanting to aspire to something, you're gonna have people cut you down. You go to. You go to a local skate park and you're just the new kid. You're gonna get the locals that are gonna be like, hey, you know, trying to put you in your place or whatever. Or or maybe just showing up and you have to sit Back. It's gonna happen.
Speaker 3:But when it comes to life and character and truth, these things are far greater. They far outweigh all the other things. So that's why it's important character and and humanity. Keep your eyes on On the best and, in turn, let that Like, let that sort of uh, what's the word like? To let that Resonate out of you and be your sounding board like you got to have a strong anchor.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 3:You've got to have that strong anchor and live out of that.
Speaker 2:Ah there you go Live out of it not be internalized.
Speaker 3:See some people, some some Christians, they just stay in church and and not and not try to people please, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah it, people pleasing sometimes is just you, um, trying to cloak something because you don't want to, you don't want to be offended or you don't want to be Called out in some way. It's like, well, no, if you, if you're confident in who's, you are not who you are in, who's you are, yeah, like I. I know that I don't. I don't say, oh well, I'm, you know, I'm a, I'm a Successful artist, or I'm, I'm a six, you know I'm a Good skateboarder, I'm a, you know, whatever I don't, I don't puff. I don't want to be puffed up in that pride. I want to say, okay, who, who's am I? Who do I belong to? If I belong to the king, if I belong to god, if I am His child, if I believe that I am that, then I'm gonna Conduct myself accordingly to you, because I see you as someone who is made in the image and likeness of god. So I'm gonna respect you as well, and I'm gonna respect the next person and the next person, even if they hurt me, even if they want to badmouth me, if they're enemies.
Speaker 3:That's why Christ says love your enemies, pray for those who Do wrong by you, do good unto those. Hmm, you know, and it's it's important we do that why? Because We've done wrong to others as well. You don't fight fire with fire. You fight fire with water. Water is like that prayer, that love that. You know. Hey, man, you hurt me so bad but I can kind of understand, I'm sorry, or maybe you didn't do anything wrong, but they're angry. It's like man, I hope we can see eye to eye because I ought to love you. Yeah, you are special to so many other people. Maybe not to me right now. You, you hate me right now. That's all good. But, dude, you're made in the image and likeness of god. So who am I to want to condemn you right now? Because I'm just as flawed as you could be at times.
Speaker 2:So I hope we can see eye to eye in that way you know, yeah, I love that, though you don't fight fire with fire. Fight fire with water.
Speaker 3:Oh.
Speaker 2:Sorry, that just really sat with me. It's good yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, see you brother.
Speaker 2:Legend All right, you're done. We good feeling good, yeah, bro.
Speaker 3:It's so rad that we can finally hang, I know, man After like, after all this time that we can actually meet in person and or not, so like we met obviously years, years back, probably like yeah um, but yeah, to be able to see where we're at now and to hang it's listen, man.
Speaker 2:We've had a lot of really good conversations over the last I don't know, I don't know almost a year, I guess. I said yeah it's been a while, but I just um yeah, I just I'll take the moment to say thanks, like even today, like you know, the time and your time and energy and and passion, I think it's quite life-changing, I mean, and it's it has been very profound on me actually, and I Just want to acknowledge that. So thanks, brother.
Speaker 3:Oh, man, that's awesome. It's an honor to be put in a position to do something Of that value. You know it really is, because obviously, bro, I wouldn't think about it. Man, we've got to be honest. If, if we were talking and we're in our 20s, we would not be having this conversation, I'd probably be more focused on me and how to promote me or whatever you know I'm saying like, whereas now we've Gone through our journeys and we're here, I'm, I'm humbled to be able to not be all me but be like all, all love and Christ and all this, you know, and I'm unashamed and and I'm it's good, you know.
Speaker 3:So I wanted to leave. You said you know I want to. I want to say to my friends, to my loved ones and even the people that aren't listening to this there's something within me that just really looks at humanity and and and men, especially in general, because I'm a man, so I can identify in this sense, to really Be okay with Knowing that you can easily be defeated, but you, we have that potential to man up like we really do. Man, the reason there's so many Contensions and wars and fights a lot of the time is because men are dropping the ball at home when it comes to their wives or their children, loving their wives accordingly, honoring them as a vessel of honor, romancing them Um, romancing their wives, spending time putting them, putting them like, going for coffee dates, having date nights, taking their children on date nights or, you know, spending that valuable time of manning up, understanding what a true man is. And I put that challenge out to all my friends listening that probably listen this far, I'd really put that challenge out, not because Not because Sid says, or whatever, because Sid doesn't say that Sid, back in the day, would have been just all about himself and how good he's, you know, just driven off ego. But I'm saying that because I see that the change that have been made in my heart is because I'm I'm knowing my, my true father. Therefore, I'm getting a great example of fatherhood. Therefore, that's resonating and and and I'm adhering to that, I'm clinging to it and it's rubbing off on me and you see the fruit, you see the fruit, and I want to put that challenge out to my friends, my loved ones, to know that it's not too late.
Speaker 3:Whether you, whether you're divorced or whether you're just, you think you'd you got to get on your knees and repent, dude, and just be like I'm sorry, I just want to do this life all on my own. If you're out there, help me. Just, you know, get to that breaking point and realize that we're just as screwed as one another. You don't see it differently because of, well, no excuse, man, we are, we're flawed. We need to come to this position of humility and say, lord, you are out there. Or, lord, if you're out there, please come in and and help man up. I seriously like man up, gentlemen, you know what I'm saying. Man up, dude. Oh man, the potential's there. It's all that I could drive this home. But I'll say it because it's. It's of such value and I know it's resonating to someone out there. So I really just Put that out there to anyone listening. Just really man up and in.
Speaker 3:As we man up, what happens in in return?
Speaker 3:The male, female dynamic For females. I look at my wife and I see a woman who is, yes, she's beautiful, but, yes, she's got this light, she's Loving, she's selfless, she loves her husband, she goes about doing her thing, but she wants to come back and say, yes, I want some romance time with you, I want to hang out with you. She'll deliberately do that. Because she's nurturing that garden, okay, you know, and but why is she wanting to nurturing it? Also because she sees that she's got a man. That's all about her. My affections are all towards her. I'm able to control and discipline this mind Then, so be it on to her. I'm not going to grow away, wouldn't go towards some other woman on you know, or flirt with some other chick that gives me attention, or flirt with some other woman on the screen. No, I'm going to man up and become the man I need to be for the woman that needs to be. If you want, if you want a special woman, you got to bring out the special man in you Like, attracts, like yeah okay, yeah.
Speaker 3:So look at the wind. Look at the wind and the way it blows on. Some cigarette butts in in a gutter. The wind blows and everything of the same weight gathers together. The wind blows and all the leaves of the same weight all gather in one part of the corner of that building Because the wind blows in that direction. It's blowing everything of the same weight together. So, spiritually speaking, as a man and a woman, as if you are of one accord and you're in agreement towards one another, if you're yoked the same way, you're going to grow and flourish the same way because you're of the same weight naturally move together, so it will be effortless.
Speaker 3:Yeah, think of this right, think of a triangle, okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:You've got the top at the peak, okay, you've got, let's say, the light. All right, you've got God, basically. So you got Christ, the center of it all, all right, at the top. Now go down to the bottom of the triangle. On either end there's two points, right, yeah, two points either end. Say that's you and say that's someone else. What's gonna happen if you both head towards the light? What's happening to the two of you? You're drawing closer and closer together.
Speaker 3:Mmm all the time. Yeah, you're always gonna be drawing closer and closer together as you navigate towards the truth. Okay, towards the truth. So seek truth, seek, you know. Seek truth, seek integrity, seek honesty, seek love. Okay, yes, it's all personified in Christ. Yeah, we know that, but it's such a vast expansion, it's such a huge thing to explore. Yeah, it's a lifelong, it's actually an eternal journey. Yeah, so Like. So think about it. As you're both traveling together towards that common goal, you're gonna be drawing closer together like a triangle. If one person falls astray, then the, then, the distance, you know she start thinking differently.
Speaker 2:That's why it's so important to renew your mind, to always, always, guard the heart like guard your heart with all your soul, everything is saying, like you hear so many couples having issues saying that, like Whether they believe in God or not, that like, like they can't get, like the biggest one is oh, we can't communicate, you know, because their Perception of this experience is can is different, because they're on different. Levels or different journeys or being, as you say, blown in different directions. Yeah and then they just can't relate.
Speaker 3:They're there all of a sudden.
Speaker 2:It's like I mean, I just say that, but you often hear couples go like, oh, it's like he's speaking a different language. I just don't understand, like how he sees the world.
Speaker 3:But that's just it, like as you're traveling, if one person falls down. Yes we don't go hey, get back up here. Sometimes we have to come down to get back up. Okay, you know that's supporting. We have to humble ourselves and serve the weaker one.
Speaker 2:Serve the weaker one in order to bring them up, Okay it's funny cuz like I've really thought a lot about this, you know, being a child of divorce and divorce myself, I think, like so many of society's problems start in the household, like and the quality of their Relationships that children are witnessing in the house side as a child, and then they then mimic those relationships as they go on and you know they're so powerful, these dynamics, that they can cause so much hurt and then hurt people, hurt people. Then they, then they, those children, those hurt children, turn into adults and then they have Relationships and then they hurt someone in that relationship emotionally and then the cycle continues and it's like I feel like this is our Society's gets sicker and sicker, and sicker and then that leads into crime, abuse, violence, substance abuse, you know. So you're right, I think people really underestimate how important their relationships are. Like yeah, in my opinion it all comes back to relationships, whether it's intimate, whether it's friendships, professional Quality relationships is is the core, is at the core of everything.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah it's observation wonderful thing I heard hopefully this drops on on Good ears is that you take a tree out of the earth, it dies, right. You take fish out of water, they die. You take a human life away from God, the spirit of love, the spirit of truth. What's gonna happen? Falls into sin, yeah, falls into self-harm, substance abuse, whatever all these things. It's, it's very it's you do. Just, you got to get back to the source the creator. The creator knows the creation best, like it's I can't Emphasize that enough. Man and noticed. And it's. It's forgiveness as well, dude, I do if I do wrong by you, shannon, I've got to seek your forgiveness.
Speaker 3:Man, we have fallen short and done wrong by the love and standard and perfection Of God. We have all rebelled. We've all turned our backs and said, nah, to hell with God. God doesn't even exist, god is not even this. To hell with Christ. We put Christ on a cross and and and crucified him like that's how.
Speaker 3:That's how wretched we are as a human race that we would put a blameless, spotless man that was prophesied from long ago to be this Messiah that's gonna redeem man and put them back into fellowship with God. We are so caught up in ourselves that we would crucify someone like that and and Want to be stoked about. That's what we do as a human potential, basically, and to this day people are still like wanting to while out on that. That just shows the level of our depravity. So that's where we got to go to. I am not worthy, but you still love me, please forgive me. That's a humility and that Key is the beginning of eternal life. That key is the beginning of the openness and just this undeniable love, this grace. It's just yeah, it's where it's at. It's just always has been.
Speaker 2:Just like I must admit it's quite, it's quite, it's almost entertaining and just like really like Satisfying, almost just. I mean, I wish people because this is an audio podcast I wish people could sort of just see your face as you speak about these things and literally like that, like some Light that comes out of you, and I can't deny it.
Speaker 2:I've seen it over the years with Christians and then, yeah, would mock them for it and I still and I mean I used to mock my mother for it Heavily and because and I see it frustrated with it because, like, whenever there's a problem in life, she's like I'm just turning over to God and It'll be okay, and like, oh, mom, like that's not gonna solve this, yeah, yeah, yeah, she's like no, no, like you know, it'll be okay.
Speaker 2:Just, and, and I watched the things that she's enjoyed in her life. You know, she's an elderly woman now and she's just done it with so much peace and grace and and she's like lack of bitterness, like, and she's evolved into this elderly woman who's just kind and beautiful and not bitter and she has every, she has so many reasons to be bitter and again, it's like, it's like taking me all these years to understand. I like, I understand, I feel like I'm starting to understand her and they just, it's just undeniable, over the years like and.
Speaker 2:I said in our last podcast, like the people I meet that seem to be doing life the best, maintain, maintain a consistent and deep faith. Just really like it. Just I can't.
Speaker 3:I can't pretend like that's not a common theme we all, we all have faith, like as a human, like we're all built, like, do you think? Yeah, because some people have faith that God doesn't exist. You know, we all got it, we all believe. You know, some people have true faith that they can do life without God. That's their faith, that's what they believe, that's what they're adhering to, that's what they cling to. Therefore, they're obedient to that way of thinking. Yeah, so I'm saying, and what is the basic call is Place that faith In In the one that's perfect, place the faith in something that isn't going to crumble and fall apart. Yeah, okay, because our own understanding will crumble and fall apart if I believe I can do life without my creator.
Speaker 3:It's like saying I believe I can be a tree without being having my roots planted in good soil and I'm going to flourish and do well, it's not going to happen. No, you'll be producing weird fruit or you'll wither and die, basically. So, yeah, we all have faith. I'm saying put your faith in the right place, like big, get grounded on the, get grounded in the right area, the rock. That's why Jesus says I am the rock, okay. That's why he says I am the way, the truth and the life. He's saying he's the life source. Get grounded and rooted in him and then from that you'll flourish and grow and produce the right fruit. You know you'll be you. You'll be Shannon, you'll be Sid, you'll be Tom, you'll be, you know, harry, whoever you'll be, that amazing human being, but to its fullest potential. Why? Because the creator gets the creation says Ah, you've come back to me now. Awesome man, now, this is what you were designed for. This is where you have these thoughts, this is why you have these aspirations, this is why you have these hopes, these dreams, these longings, these fears, all these things because I created you. Therefore, now go and and you know, because you're spending time with me because you love me, because you want to hang with me, yeah, all that it's.
Speaker 3:I sit here 25 years later to think about 25 years later and I'm still just as jealous, just as open about it. Stoked frothing on it exactly, dude, because it's life. Dude, christ said he came to give life and life to the fullest. And you can slay me, you can kill me, you could chop me down, but you can't kill the essence. You know, you can't kill the soul, so to speak. I get it, I get it. Yeah, so it's, it's love me, I love. I want to shout out to my friends. I love them, like my friends, so much, my skateboarding friends.
Speaker 3:They're so rad and, yeah, my heart for them and I love how loving they are towards me as well.
Speaker 3:I've had a lot of people have you had people just reject you because of it and just yeah, yeah but my friends that may not be that obviously aren't as zealous as what I am or whatever they're still like dude, that's it, yes, that's it. Like great, like that, that's that's love, you know, because I'm not there to want to tell them repent or burn or something like that. No, I'm just there saying, look, this is where the journey's at. Yeah, that's acceptance, that's that's that's love, that's that's great, that's how it ought to be. You know, we've got to walk with one another on that journey and I've got and I've got so much love for my friends. I grew up with them a lot. They've been my role models in many ways because I didn't have Mentors and guys growing up, so I would actually look to my friends for living examples of what it could be to be a man or a good athlete or whatever. That inspired me a lot, because I didn't have much to attribute to out in the streets that much.
Speaker 2:So many. It's funny how so many people in that predicament are drawn to skateboarding. It's like such a common thing, yeah, yeah. Well, man, if you scroll down in this episode show notes, you'll find the links to Sid's work, sid's website, his gallery. Go and check out his stuff. You'll be inspired and amazed. And I'll also put a link to Sid's Instagram, because he obviously posts a lot of his work on there as well. It's it's pretty iconic and it's mesmerising. So, mr Sid tapia, everybody music.