*Disclaimer, out of respect and at the request of the person involved they have asked for reasons of privacy to have their name reduced to only initials. It is extremely important that everyone reading this respect that wish, and help them remain anonymous through any comments or reposting of this story. Thank you, enjoy!
Day 2 Fearlessnes
Warm summer sun, fresh cut grass, sitting on a football field that was literally carved into the side of a mountain at 6300 ft. elevation. Sitting butts on the ground legs out, stretching our muscles in anticipation of what drills the coaches were going to run that day, and who was going to deliver the biggest hit during drills. Six or seven oversized high school kids stretching out sitting in a circle waiting for practice to start as we laughed, told jokes, lies and bullshitted about the day’s event of school. Those were some of my first memories of meeting BC for the first time. But the real story goes back just a little bit further than that. But only by a few weeks.
I had just moved to South lake Tahoe in the summer between my sophomore and junior year. I was pretty broken up about the move coming into the summer. After living in a place my whole life, having known and grown up with everyone I went school with, and in the beginning of developing my athletic reputation, and having all that lost moving into a new town, a new geography and complete new set of people. I wasn’t thrilled to say the least. And for those of you who thought high school in general was cliquey, a football team can be much worse to break into. Sure, once you’re in your in. and through the hardships, pain and sometimes punishment, most of the guys grow in a cohesive unit, but you always have the one or two guys that just never quite fit it and seem excluded from the rest. I had never had that problem before, but I had heard of the Vikings, and the championships they had won, and I knew for sure they played some of the toughest teams in the state of Nevada. I was tough kid, and moved to varsity early in my last school, but, was I tough enough to play real ball with these guys? I don’t care who you are, as a 15-16 yr. old kid you think about these things, you haven’t been on earth long enough to develop a full sense of self confidence and most of the time it comes off as bravado anyways.
At the begging of each summer camp it’s customary to start off strength and conditioning training with max weight tests. Core lifts like bench, squat, power clean, etc. The big heavy power lifting actives. It not only tracks your progress through the year but lets the coach know who’s been slacking off during summer break. As we are all dong our things in the weight room trying to impress each other and most importantly the coaches, in comes BC, or the tales of BC to be more accurate, lol. As I’m going through tests and working in with guys getting acquainted for the first time, and for all intents and purposes also sizing these guys up, paying attention to who’s lifting what, to see where I stand with this new group, I over hear chatting and random stories about him, BC. You see, he wasn’t at camp quite yet. This kid was at the junior Olympics for weightlifting right now! Uh, what was that you just said?
“Oh yeah, a guy on the team went away for the summer to compete in the junior Olympics for weight lifting. See, he’s right here on the wall!”
The wall was a plaque with the school’s highest records for various lifts, and his name was high up at the top.
“yeah man, BC’s crazy strong, He did some other competitions and did so good, he got invited to some competition hosted by Arnold Schwarchenegger, and is on the US Jr Olympic team!”
“wow, that’s pretty bad ass! What position does he play?”
“D line and nose tackle!”
Fuuuuuuuuuuuck……. That’s the position I play!
BC finally came back from his competition, and for the life of me can’t remember how he did, sorry dude. But what I remember most wat that I was expecting a giant behemoth of a man child to walk through the door. But what I saw instead was a kid, maybe an inch or so shorter than me, with curly hair almost in a small white boy ‘fro, and a huge smile followed up by this thunderously contagious laugh that always comes from way down deep in his gut. And legs! This dude’s leg was the size of tree trunks, no joke. But the most amazing thing was that as big as his accolades were and a humungous as I expected his physical stature to be his Joyful exuberant personality was far and away the largest thing in the room.
I can’t remember exactly when we started hanging out, it just sort of happened, a lot like most of my friendships I guess. But I always remember the two of us headed up the mountains to fishing watching him ask me for a dip and willingly take a chew from my can of Copenhagen only to watch him every time make a face that made him grimace like he was eating shit. Hahahaha still makes me laugh every time. Me playing my favorite country cd’s for him and then him introducing me to and playing all his favorite Stevie Wonder songs. Castle in the Sky was always his favorite, I never forget it, and can’t to this day listen to Stevie without thinking of him.
I didn’t recognize it as kid but BC has an old soul. I mean who other than an old soul jammed out to Stevie Wonder and James Taylor at 16 in the 90’s!
Later that year, our junior year, he became one of the very few RIDE OR DIE brothers a person will ever be lucky enough to have in life. I had gotten myself mixed up into a pretty bad gang fight against a large number of guys, while standing up for a fellow friend and teammate. This fight was so intense it literally had a half time, which ironically was the school bell. To give you the shortened version (the full story will have to be in a later blog post), the school bell rang and we all just kind of stopped fighting, half from the exhaustion, but also half from the now hundred or so students standing around watching this mess unfold, there were now about 3 of us, my friends and I, fighting no less than 15 people! This is no bullshit! It startled the crap out of me to see how many of them there where when I finally looked around. I walked into a classroom to grab a piece of paper to stuff up my bloodied nose from where I had been kicked in the face while on top of another guy. Only to come right back out to find one of the kids holding a wooden 2x4 like a baseball bat. Another friend of mine to stepped in to help save my ass from the lopsided numbers was standing in front of him egging him on to swing. At that Moment…. I see BC walking through the crowd on his way to class talking to a girl, when he realizes what’s happening, looks at us, looks at the kid, and in one fail swoop without ANY hesitation, drops his back pack, sprints in from the side and lights this kid up!!!!! He Delivered a form tackle that would make Bill Romanowski, and water boy jealous!!! Hands wrapped up around his knees, full de-cleater, with a pile driving shoulder to follow through. The fight resumed after that and it’s safe to say without the details we won that battle. And although a lot of bad came out of that scenario for me in particular. I ultimately got expelled that year and arrested with assault and battery.
I will never forget BC putting his future, and his safety into harm’s way for me.
Into adulthood we both settled down or at the very least calmed down a touch from our much younger testosterone filled youthful selves. And started attending college and working into adult life. BC eventually found his way into a school for Chinese medicine and acupuncture, (which you will read about later in his own words) and began coming home with these amazing healing techniques and skills. Practicing on me and our friends occasionally, I always loved when someone new or a non-believer would become interested enough to get on his table in interest, and of course they always came out of the room amazed that it worked, it always worked! To which he would reply, “Well of course it works, this form of healing has been practiced for thousands of years for reason.”
After finishing schooling, he worked as an acupuncturist out of a chiropractors’ office for felt like a week before going out on his own! I’m sure it was closer to a year or just after that long but definitely not what seemed like long enough to take the plunge into business ownership, all while carrying student loans and other debts.
He called me on the phone one day super excited, his naturally loud boisterous voice booming through my phone speaker.
“Hey B, I’m gunna do it man I just got back from the bank!”
“gunna do what?”
“I’m starting my own clinic, I went to the bank got a loan while my credit is still good consolidate everything under it and am starting my own practice!!!” I’m not 100 percent sure how I going to pay all this money back just yet but I know I can make it work!!! How cool is this?!”
Truth is we all thought he was a little bit crazy taking such a huge risk so early, but he acted like he knew something we didn’t, and never showed much stress at all when talking about it. He started small, made money and then found another office, the one he is still in today, again the same story.
“Hey B! I just signed the lease to a new building, you gotta come check it out! it’s pretty expensive, really its more than I can afford, but I’ll make it work!”
“Are you sure man? What if it doesn’t work?”
“I don’t think about that, I just know that I have too, and at this point I’m locked in, so what choice do I have!”
Well he quickly grew into this new building, and even more quickly became the areas most recognized acupuncturists and Chinese medical clinics. Proud doesn’t even begin to describe the word.
Now married, with a kid another phone call,
“Hey B, !!!! Dude guess what?! I’m buying a house?!” his trademark loud guttural laugh! “this place is Amazing! The wife and and I just fell in love with it and had to have it.”
“What?!! No way man that’s epic! Congrats!”
“Yeah, thanks, it was just really a place we see ourselves growing old in, plus it’s got a separate guest room when you, or my parents, or who ever come to town to stay in! it’s prefect!” I don’t know how I am going to afford the mortgage on this place, but we has to do it!”
Again…. Same old BC. “I don’t know how, but I know I will attitude”
He is now one of the, if not THE leading acupuncturist’s in the valley, is currently running two offices seeing patients, and just told me last week he’s planning on expanding to a 3rd office by the begging of next year.
What most people don’t know, and not sure if BC himself is aware of this, but he, more than any person is the reason I am in business for myself today. I definitely was not ready financially, and definitely wasn’t a business man. But he proved to me that there’s never a perfect time to jump, you just jump. Gravity will take over the rest. And when faced with the ground rushing faster and faster towards you, if you want it badly enough you’ll find a way to land on your feet.
I have always admired his sense of confidence, so un apologetic for being truly great and masterful and something or for being himself. But he always presents it to the world in the humblest of ways. Which is one the main reasons he made this list of 30. I know that as your grow older the years and time seem to speed up, but BC seemed to gain the knowledge of this ancient art of healing so quickly and so completely, in no time at all, and it was amazing how well it fit him, in every aspect of his personality. The confidence to make a patient feel relaxed, the patience to work through their problems, the empathy to feel and identify the pain and discomfort they feel. It’s a very surreal moment in life when you walk into a waiting room to find your childhood friend being praised and thanked so overwhelmingly by someone he has helped. It makes you realize that your friend is much bigger in the world than just as your friend, just BC. And makes you feel slightly selfish for trying to keep him that box. To many people, he’s a savoir, a relief from constant pain, a light of hope when other avenues of medicine have failed to help them. It’s very humbling in the best kind of ways to see that first hand. It makes you realize that no matter our stature in life, how famous, how rich, how powerful, there will always been the great equalizer of pain. We all hurt the same, and experience the same fears of the unknown when we are hurt and don’t know how to fix it, and in times of great pain it can cripple us to a small child reaching for help. And it’s a very, very, cool sight to witness one of your friends owning the compassion, and skill set to remedy these people. And it really makes me feel truly blessed to call him BROTHER. He is so much more than a friend anymore, and will never be a friend again. He’s family, he’s blood.
BC you sir, are the embodiment of self-confidence, fearlessness, and fortitude! I Salute you my friend, may we have many more years together!
I love you Brother!
12 Questions with BC:
Hey B, here is the answers to the questions you are seeking. Thanks for thinking of me, I am happy to hear your appreciation of our friendship, I appreciate your kind words and glad to have been a positive influence in your life. We are brought to together for so many reasons in life and I have always been proud to have called you my friend.
When I was beginning middle school my family and I relocated to south lake Tahoe which was a big deal at the time, not only transitioning from a catholic private school to public school, but facing the adversity of change losing and leaving home behind to create a new one. it was difficult at first but as with all things as time went on I developed friendships and a general liking for my new home and town. Growing up in Tahoe especially looking back now was great. very different from the big city, the small-town life really allowed for a closeness with friends that many have been with me until this very day.
Hopefully this is helpful to you and others, Hopefully I was able to meet the expectations of your vision in creating this idea.
Let’s talk soon buddy
Day 2 Fearlessnes
Warm summer sun, fresh cut grass, sitting on a football field that was literally carved into the side of a mountain at 6300 ft. elevation. Sitting butts on the ground legs out, stretching our muscles in anticipation of what drills the coaches were going to run that day, and who was going to deliver the biggest hit during drills. Six or seven oversized high school kids stretching out sitting in a circle waiting for practice to start as we laughed, told jokes, lies and bullshitted about the day’s event of school. Those were some of my first memories of meeting BC for the first time. But the real story goes back just a little bit further than that. But only by a few weeks.
I had just moved to South lake Tahoe in the summer between my sophomore and junior year. I was pretty broken up about the move coming into the summer. After living in a place my whole life, having known and grown up with everyone I went school with, and in the beginning of developing my athletic reputation, and having all that lost moving into a new town, a new geography and complete new set of people. I wasn’t thrilled to say the least. And for those of you who thought high school in general was cliquey, a football team can be much worse to break into. Sure, once you’re in your in. and through the hardships, pain and sometimes punishment, most of the guys grow in a cohesive unit, but you always have the one or two guys that just never quite fit it and seem excluded from the rest. I had never had that problem before, but I had heard of the Vikings, and the championships they had won, and I knew for sure they played some of the toughest teams in the state of Nevada. I was tough kid, and moved to varsity early in my last school, but, was I tough enough to play real ball with these guys? I don’t care who you are, as a 15-16 yr. old kid you think about these things, you haven’t been on earth long enough to develop a full sense of self confidence and most of the time it comes off as bravado anyways.
At the begging of each summer camp it’s customary to start off strength and conditioning training with max weight tests. Core lifts like bench, squat, power clean, etc. The big heavy power lifting actives. It not only tracks your progress through the year but lets the coach know who’s been slacking off during summer break. As we are all dong our things in the weight room trying to impress each other and most importantly the coaches, in comes BC, or the tales of BC to be more accurate, lol. As I’m going through tests and working in with guys getting acquainted for the first time, and for all intents and purposes also sizing these guys up, paying attention to who’s lifting what, to see where I stand with this new group, I over hear chatting and random stories about him, BC. You see, he wasn’t at camp quite yet. This kid was at the junior Olympics for weightlifting right now! Uh, what was that you just said?
“Oh yeah, a guy on the team went away for the summer to compete in the junior Olympics for weight lifting. See, he’s right here on the wall!”
The wall was a plaque with the school’s highest records for various lifts, and his name was high up at the top.
“yeah man, BC’s crazy strong, He did some other competitions and did so good, he got invited to some competition hosted by Arnold Schwarchenegger, and is on the US Jr Olympic team!”
“wow, that’s pretty bad ass! What position does he play?”
“D line and nose tackle!”
Fuuuuuuuuuuuck……. That’s the position I play!
BC finally came back from his competition, and for the life of me can’t remember how he did, sorry dude. But what I remember most wat that I was expecting a giant behemoth of a man child to walk through the door. But what I saw instead was a kid, maybe an inch or so shorter than me, with curly hair almost in a small white boy ‘fro, and a huge smile followed up by this thunderously contagious laugh that always comes from way down deep in his gut. And legs! This dude’s leg was the size of tree trunks, no joke. But the most amazing thing was that as big as his accolades were and a humungous as I expected his physical stature to be his Joyful exuberant personality was far and away the largest thing in the room.
I can’t remember exactly when we started hanging out, it just sort of happened, a lot like most of my friendships I guess. But I always remember the two of us headed up the mountains to fishing watching him ask me for a dip and willingly take a chew from my can of Copenhagen only to watch him every time make a face that made him grimace like he was eating shit. Hahahaha still makes me laugh every time. Me playing my favorite country cd’s for him and then him introducing me to and playing all his favorite Stevie Wonder songs. Castle in the Sky was always his favorite, I never forget it, and can’t to this day listen to Stevie without thinking of him.
I didn’t recognize it as kid but BC has an old soul. I mean who other than an old soul jammed out to Stevie Wonder and James Taylor at 16 in the 90’s!
Later that year, our junior year, he became one of the very few RIDE OR DIE brothers a person will ever be lucky enough to have in life. I had gotten myself mixed up into a pretty bad gang fight against a large number of guys, while standing up for a fellow friend and teammate. This fight was so intense it literally had a half time, which ironically was the school bell. To give you the shortened version (the full story will have to be in a later blog post), the school bell rang and we all just kind of stopped fighting, half from the exhaustion, but also half from the now hundred or so students standing around watching this mess unfold, there were now about 3 of us, my friends and I, fighting no less than 15 people! This is no bullshit! It startled the crap out of me to see how many of them there where when I finally looked around. I walked into a classroom to grab a piece of paper to stuff up my bloodied nose from where I had been kicked in the face while on top of another guy. Only to come right back out to find one of the kids holding a wooden 2x4 like a baseball bat. Another friend of mine to stepped in to help save my ass from the lopsided numbers was standing in front of him egging him on to swing. At that Moment…. I see BC walking through the crowd on his way to class talking to a girl, when he realizes what’s happening, looks at us, looks at the kid, and in one fail swoop without ANY hesitation, drops his back pack, sprints in from the side and lights this kid up!!!!! He Delivered a form tackle that would make Bill Romanowski, and water boy jealous!!! Hands wrapped up around his knees, full de-cleater, with a pile driving shoulder to follow through. The fight resumed after that and it’s safe to say without the details we won that battle. And although a lot of bad came out of that scenario for me in particular. I ultimately got expelled that year and arrested with assault and battery.
I will never forget BC putting his future, and his safety into harm’s way for me.
Into adulthood we both settled down or at the very least calmed down a touch from our much younger testosterone filled youthful selves. And started attending college and working into adult life. BC eventually found his way into a school for Chinese medicine and acupuncture, (which you will read about later in his own words) and began coming home with these amazing healing techniques and skills. Practicing on me and our friends occasionally, I always loved when someone new or a non-believer would become interested enough to get on his table in interest, and of course they always came out of the room amazed that it worked, it always worked! To which he would reply, “Well of course it works, this form of healing has been practiced for thousands of years for reason.”
After finishing schooling, he worked as an acupuncturist out of a chiropractors’ office for felt like a week before going out on his own! I’m sure it was closer to a year or just after that long but definitely not what seemed like long enough to take the plunge into business ownership, all while carrying student loans and other debts.
He called me on the phone one day super excited, his naturally loud boisterous voice booming through my phone speaker.
“Hey B, I’m gunna do it man I just got back from the bank!”
“gunna do what?”
“I’m starting my own clinic, I went to the bank got a loan while my credit is still good consolidate everything under it and am starting my own practice!!!” I’m not 100 percent sure how I going to pay all this money back just yet but I know I can make it work!!! How cool is this?!”
Truth is we all thought he was a little bit crazy taking such a huge risk so early, but he acted like he knew something we didn’t, and never showed much stress at all when talking about it. He started small, made money and then found another office, the one he is still in today, again the same story.
“Hey B! I just signed the lease to a new building, you gotta come check it out! it’s pretty expensive, really its more than I can afford, but I’ll make it work!”
“Are you sure man? What if it doesn’t work?”
“I don’t think about that, I just know that I have too, and at this point I’m locked in, so what choice do I have!”
Well he quickly grew into this new building, and even more quickly became the areas most recognized acupuncturists and Chinese medical clinics. Proud doesn’t even begin to describe the word.
Now married, with a kid another phone call,
“Hey B, !!!! Dude guess what?! I’m buying a house?!” his trademark loud guttural laugh! “this place is Amazing! The wife and and I just fell in love with it and had to have it.”
“What?!! No way man that’s epic! Congrats!”
“Yeah, thanks, it was just really a place we see ourselves growing old in, plus it’s got a separate guest room when you, or my parents, or who ever come to town to stay in! it’s prefect!” I don’t know how I am going to afford the mortgage on this place, but we has to do it!”
Again…. Same old BC. “I don’t know how, but I know I will attitude”
He is now one of the, if not THE leading acupuncturist’s in the valley, is currently running two offices seeing patients, and just told me last week he’s planning on expanding to a 3rd office by the begging of next year.
What most people don’t know, and not sure if BC himself is aware of this, but he, more than any person is the reason I am in business for myself today. I definitely was not ready financially, and definitely wasn’t a business man. But he proved to me that there’s never a perfect time to jump, you just jump. Gravity will take over the rest. And when faced with the ground rushing faster and faster towards you, if you want it badly enough you’ll find a way to land on your feet.
I have always admired his sense of confidence, so un apologetic for being truly great and masterful and something or for being himself. But he always presents it to the world in the humblest of ways. Which is one the main reasons he made this list of 30. I know that as your grow older the years and time seem to speed up, but BC seemed to gain the knowledge of this ancient art of healing so quickly and so completely, in no time at all, and it was amazing how well it fit him, in every aspect of his personality. The confidence to make a patient feel relaxed, the patience to work through their problems, the empathy to feel and identify the pain and discomfort they feel. It’s a very surreal moment in life when you walk into a waiting room to find your childhood friend being praised and thanked so overwhelmingly by someone he has helped. It makes you realize that your friend is much bigger in the world than just as your friend, just BC. And makes you feel slightly selfish for trying to keep him that box. To many people, he’s a savoir, a relief from constant pain, a light of hope when other avenues of medicine have failed to help them. It’s very humbling in the best kind of ways to see that first hand. It makes you realize that no matter our stature in life, how famous, how rich, how powerful, there will always been the great equalizer of pain. We all hurt the same, and experience the same fears of the unknown when we are hurt and don’t know how to fix it, and in times of great pain it can cripple us to a small child reaching for help. And it’s a very, very, cool sight to witness one of your friends owning the compassion, and skill set to remedy these people. And it really makes me feel truly blessed to call him BROTHER. He is so much more than a friend anymore, and will never be a friend again. He’s family, he’s blood.
BC you sir, are the embodiment of self-confidence, fearlessness, and fortitude! I Salute you my friend, may we have many more years together!
I love you Brother!
12 Questions with BC:
Hey B, here is the answers to the questions you are seeking. Thanks for thinking of me, I am happy to hear your appreciation of our friendship, I appreciate your kind words and glad to have been a positive influence in your life. We are brought to together for so many reasons in life and I have always been proud to have called you my friend.
- Please provide a brief history of yourself, where you were born/grew up. Or anything else relevant to your unique path that will help people understand where you came from.
When I was beginning middle school my family and I relocated to south lake Tahoe which was a big deal at the time, not only transitioning from a catholic private school to public school, but facing the adversity of change losing and leaving home behind to create a new one. it was difficult at first but as with all things as time went on I developed friendships and a general liking for my new home and town. Growing up in Tahoe especially looking back now was great. very different from the big city, the small-town life really allowed for a closeness with friends that many have been with me until this very day.
- WHAT LED YOU TO CHOOSE THE CAREER/LIFE THAT YOU LEAD TODAY?
- WHAT MATTERS MOST TO YOU, WHAT WOULD YOU FIGHT FOR WITH YOUR LAST DYING BREATH?
- GROWTH OFTEN COMES FROM PAIN, WHAT PAINFULL SITUATION ARE YOU NOW MOST GRATEFUL FOR? OR – WAS THERE A PIVOTAL MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE LEADING YOU TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW
- WHAT DRIVES YOU OUT OF BED EACH DAY? WHAT REALLY MOTIVATES YOU TO DO WHAT YOU DO?
- FEAR CAN BE AN EQUALLY GOOD MOTIVATOR, IS THERE ANYTHING IN LIFE YOU ARE CONSTANTLY WORKING AWAY FROM? (I personally strive and work to keep myself away from mediocrity and the fear of blending in with the masses)
- IN THE QUITE MOMENTS ALONE, WHERE DOES YOUR HEAD/HEART GO? WHAT QUESTIONS ARE YOU ASKING YOURSELF IN YOUR PURSUIT?
- IF TOMORROW WAS YOUR LAST DAY, WHAT WOULD YOUR LASTING LEGACY BE, WHAT DO YOU HOPE IT TO BE? DO YOU HAVE ONE RIGHT NOW?
- WHO IN YOUR LIFE HAS HAD THE GREATEST IMPACT?
- WHAT ARE YOUR CORE VALUES? EVERYDAY LIFE IS TOUGH, AND WE’RE CONSTANTLY FACED WITH DECISIONS. WHAT FUNDAMENTAL BELIEFS GUDE YOU?
- LASTLY, IS THERE ANYTHING LEFY ON YOUR LIST OF TO DO’S? WHAT IS THE BIGGEST ONE YOU NEED TO ACCOMPLISH? WHATS LONG TERM FOR YOU?
- USE THIS SPACE TO PROMOTE ANYTHING YOU ARE INVOLVED WITH, SUCH AS CHARATIES AND ORGANIZATIONS. OR ANYTHING YOU FEEL WENT UNASKED YOU NEED TO GET OFF YOUR CHEST
Hopefully this is helpful to you and others, Hopefully I was able to meet the expectations of your vision in creating this idea.
Let’s talk soon buddy