Mike

Male

25

Canada

Jan, 1999

Watch a child playing in the park. Wait to see if one of them scuffs a knee, falls down, or bumps their head. Watch to see if the child stops what he's doing and runs to Mommy. Most of them do, but some don't. Every once in a great while, one shines through the doldrums like the sun on an overcast day. Some say it doesn't matter. I say **** that… Everything matters. Large things, small things and all things in between matter to me. Stay uncomfortable, be distressed, stay under the knife. If you find yourself sitting down, stand up. If you find yourself walking, run. If you find yourself trying, stop trying and start ****ing doing. If you are sleeping soundly and wandering pleasantly through dreamland, WAKE THE **** UP. Heed my words: Stay uncomfortable at the expense of all other priorities. Remember, we can't see how the engine performs if we stay in first gear--we need to get the needle in the red. Twice a week I go to the stone yard and sling granite all day. For starters, it keeps you angry and hungry. But it also touches all those places in you that don't fade away. At the end of the day, you know how valuable the work is to your foundation. Don't be afraid it will over-tax your pretty ass either… This world already has enough lazy, pretty boy bitches. Work frees the soul. Don't sleep. Wake up at 0200 hours and run 5 miles. Sweat and hard work… Seek it out, don't run from it. I've told you before THAT is the secret. The ones who ran to Mommy grow up to be whiny little pussies who get nothing done in life. They eat 6 donuts for lunch. I wake up at 0300 to do 2 hours of weights and 500 sit-ups with a 25 pound plate on my face. That is the mother****ing difference between winning and losing, and I ain't talking about no contest. The moral of the story is this: If you don't want to hear the answer, don't ask the question.

The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you're a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found that Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds.

Shotguns make big holes, teachers forget what it’s like to learn, and the subway always smells like piss. Life is full of certain truths that are non-negotiable. Now we step inside the arena. I sketch broad strokes… When I speak about my passion for steel, my mind jumps around like a bum on fire. Hard edged? I guess so. Nice guy? I never said I was. What about you? You got eyes on you too. Can you shrug them haters off you? Can you go in any direction—North, South, East and West—and still remember you are a member of the most brutal species this world has seen? Can they defeat you? Can they beat you? There is a difference between the two, you know. I feel the eyes on me. I smell the fear on these bitches. Some talk hard, but when it’s time to get it poppin’ they’re ghost. No matter what happens we walk hard. **** that… WE STOMP. We slap faces that have traces of smart ass. We walk together, an ARMY of soldiers. In the game to rip off the top half and let them know that the law of the jungle is the only code that matters.

Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body