Persistence
The number one national track recruit Marquise Goodwin preparing for a long jump. The Texas recruit won gold at state last year in the long jump, triple jump, 4x100 relay and garnering national attention during last summer's IAAF World Junior Championships when he was the only prep to win individual gold in the long jump. (Jensen Walker / Getty Images for ESPN RISE)
Life’s synergy of late has taken me by surprise. The sheer momentum created by putting an idea into the universe or choosing to step forward regardless of the fears or misgivings continues to give me pause and encouragement. March was a whirlwind of movement, changes and preparation I still don’t fully grasp as I stepped up my testing schedule, watched my wife prepare her package for the Air force and recommitted to my social networking.
After mentioning an ongoing project with friend and Profoto stud Cliff Hausner he shocked me by stepping up and shipping loaner gear to the steps of my studio all so that I can complete the vision I concepted almost 6 months ago. The mere act of showing up on Model Mayhem, Twitter, and other social media outlets has yielded feed back and support from such a wide pool of people it is hard to take it all in. Offering suggestions and inspiration from business solutions to “ur work is simply breath taking if you are ever in need of a model let me know…” these people offer their own type of stimulus package as they push you to stay focused and creating. At one point this month I even had a model accuse me of being quiet, calling into question where the new work was or why I had not shared a new adventure. Honestly, it is a strange sense of accountability and maybe a surrogate for a freelancer to the newsroom or creative team.
By saying yes to the act of creation amazing people have always shown up in my life wether in life altering or small critical ways. As people continue to bemoan the state of our economy or the glut of content, shooters, or other countless woes I find myself very gratefull for the people who support me and my career. Family, mentors, models, editors, art directors, make-up artists, proffessional support, stylists, editors, booking agents, web designers, and the list that could go on for pages, Thank you. I could not and would not want to do it without you.
Launching the Year
The year is off to a good start! Last week was a fantastic grinder, which I will share with you in a later post, and yesterday I was back to work for ESPN RISE Magazine and today off to make more images for SLAM Magazine. This particular image is one of an amazing young athlete who graduates today and accepted to Texas Tech in the fall. Shade Weygandt is the nation’s top pole vaulter and is rated the nation’s No.4 recruit in the ESPNU DyeStat rankings. Weygandt is the three-time defending Class 5A state champion and set an overall state record with a mark of 13-10 at last year’s meet. That mark was the No. 3 mark overall in the U.S. last year.
Shade’s father toured me through their home showing me every magazine, poster, picture, and interview framed and displayed with the pride only a parent can emit and it left me smiling. Remember when we were all graduating seniors and rising stars with those splendid dreams and infectious hopes? With so much doom and gloom being preached at the onset of this year, it is nice to return to that frame of mind and look into 2009 with the same fervor and passion. Forgive the cheesy metaphor of jumping over the bar of achievement, but as we all forge forward in what looks to be a daunting year lets do it with the same passion we started our paths on. We don’t get the medals and we don’t as often have our parents tacking our achievements on the fridge, and yet maybe this year we will put them on our own (next to the drawing for Daddy of course.)