“The finest steel is forged in the hottest furnace”
Oct 8, 2007, I, John Bair, received the worst news a person can receive. My Brother and Best Friend, Anthony Joseph Bair, had passed away. He was a pillar of strength in my life. I was raw, angry and completely unprepared to deal with the onslaught of emotions something of this magnitude engenders.
I always had his back, now he has mine!
I will spare you the subsequent horror stories about depression, about crying myself to sleep and how every minute seemed like my last. We are not here to stroll down the dark hallway. I have already walked it and it is part of the foundation for my home, Bair Knuckle Strength.
What I will share is an overview of the last 6 years. How when you feel at your lowest, you really have 2 choices. Dark or Light. Drugs, Depression and Disaster or Strength, Spirit and Survival. I chose the latter and to my surprise, found others who needed the same.
We all have darkness and it will destroy the thread of fabric you call Life, if left un checked. It will weave between the good memories, choke them out and replace with Misery, the lady who loves company. She is an evil bitch and must be dealt with swiftly! This is why I have founded Bair Knuckle Strength. To help others garner the resolve to challenge their darkness and unleash the Grizzly within!
You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink, however, I’ll be damned if you go thirsty on my watch! No matter the goal, you will obtain it. The unique insights of being a heavy kid, former athlete, heavy again, emotional trauma, family tragedy and being forced into a dark, lonely corner will allow me to help you connect those same dots. I know what it feels to be overweight, under strong, overwhelmed, under appreciated and quite frankly, a broken down has been. It would have been easier for me to crawl into a ditch and die.
If you’ve never lost someone close, I empathize, as it is inevitable. And if you have, you know exactly how lonely it can be when everyone around you is grieving. Nobody can truly help you, because they are wrapped up in there grief. That’s when you find that if you don’t Stand for something, you will fall for anything. It was in these dark hours, where I found something.
My brother had started using these things called kettlebells. They looked like cannonballs with a handle. So weird and I had all but completely written them off. Then he passed, leaving me with 6 kettlebells and no way of using them. “No fucking way am I selling these!” So I learned how to use them, to teach them and the rest as they say, is history.
Tony’s first picture of his new Kettlebells. I still Use them to teach Others!
My Strength was not given, but earned. Nobody told me it was the Magic Pill. It was the pill I took in hopes of curing Misery and so far it’s kept her at bay. I will never erase the pain of losing my brother, un see his lifeless form, or the feel of his cold cheek as I kissed him goodbye. I feel it everyday! It is etched in the the furthest corners of my brain. Just under the surface, waiting to sink me again.
The only way I combat this horrific time in my life, is to continue building the strength to move forward. Your past will pull you back and keep you depressed. Your future beckons with uncertainty and anxiety, but if you can be here, in the now, you can find the calm to Live your life with Strength, Tenacity and Resilience. If you can’t do it, I’ll help you, If you won’t do it, I’ll make you and if you just do it…..
You can do it right here, with a man who has danced with the devil and lived to tell about it……
John Bair of Bair Knuckle Strength
Be Strong, My Friends!
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You are a true inspiration!
Thank You Jane!