Forward Momentum (Day 229 of 365)
This is a very personal blog.
One I've been trying to figure out how to write for a couple of months.
I know that it's why I haven't been as engaged with the quality of this blog lately.
I knew my topic, I just couldn't get it out.
Our strategy at Mint has shifted a lot since the first blog.
The dynamic of the company has changed drastically.
Financially and philosophically.
Prodigy wasn't a planned menu item on January 1st.
The Touring Pro players negative reactions to Hole 18 weren't either.
The changes are happening partly due to the need to grow as a business, and also because we were just tired of the weight we carried for other peoples feelings toward Mint.
When we started Mint, all three of us were already pretty active in that version of the Austin disc golf community.
Guy was known collector and avid tournament player, with a larger than life personality. He still has one of the largest and most expensive Vibram collections of anyone on the planet. He had a bag for every manufacturer. He wanted to throw every disc and know why it worked like it did. He wanted to embrace everything that the sport had. That mutual love for every disc shape definitely helped connect us.
Chris owned Bearded Brothers and together with Andy, Maz and myself, we had been running the Bat City Bombers club. A club that existed to sort of bring other clubs together. We didn't draw lines. We welcomed everyone. Chris gave out untold amounts of energy bars without asking for much in return. He brought me into Bearded Brothers when I need it. He shared his opportunities with others.
I cut my teeth at Disc Nation. Hot Stamper. Disc nerd. Up and coming young pro. Sponsored by Millennium, then Legacy. Ran free clinics at the shop.
So since I joined the PDGA in 2009, I have tried to share disc golf.
I was 24 then.
I turn 40 next month.
I have given more to disc golf than most of my peers in Texas.
That's not ego. That's a fact I've earned.
I take pride in that dedication.
I want others do it better than I could.
I know there's some trying and I love seeing it.
I come from an era where you couldn't learn how to throw on YouTube.
Tournaments happened once a month.
The tee pads were dirt.
Chains were single.
I wanted to be a cog back then.
A part of something.
A Step.
A Shoulder.
Found myself leading.
In my early 20's I faced a lot of the same depressive thoughts that fueled me for most of last year.
Lost. Aimless. Blurry. Manic.
Failing because I was afraid of failing.
I didn't have a place to let that out. Work on myself.
I had my own thoughts. That’s it.
Then I had disc golf.
Disc Golf is what gave me my direction 16 years ago.
Let me work on myself. Prove I can be good at things.
In retrospect, depression and self doubt is at the heart of why disc golf means so much to me.
It made me happy.
Shaped my direction.
It was something I was happy to share with others.
I knew if I found my happiness here, others could to.
So it really hurt when it all of a sudden disc golf became the reason I was sad.
That my contributions to disc golf were reasons some people didn't like me or my opinions.
That they could use that against Mint for their own gain.
So I finally decided to sit down and let some of that out today.
All because of this quote that someone shared with the world:
"Think of your energy as if it’s expensive. As if it’s like a luxury item.
...not everyone can afford it.
...not everyone has invested in you in order to be able to have the capital for you to care about this.
Cause what you spend your energy on:
THAT’S THE DAY.” - Taylor Swift
I'm going to keep sharing what I love about disc golf.
Figure out ways to make myself better.
That's what disc golf did for me 16 years ago.
Made me better.
Can't stop now just because it hurt.
More to learn.
Even more to share.
Forward Momentum.
My motivation.
couple things
- Wow, didn’t know Guy was into vibram. i loved em when i first saw them just based on the colors and feel. when i got (back) into disc golf, i thought i could build a bag of just vibram, but this was after they left disc golf, and right before the covid boom—-never had a chance. 😩one day when i’m rich maybe. 🙃
- i still remember my first time walking into disc nation way back when. such a small space, but it felt so overwhelming in a good way with what seemingly seemed to be endless discs. i was hyped enough when i would go to academy and saw four full racks of discs, so you could imagine the impact of seeing so many discs inside disc nation for the first time. i could not comprehend that so many different types of discs existed. i cannot remember WHO was working there, but all that is still with me was it was this young kid who had all this enthusiasm and knowledge for disc as he was explaining a lot of things to me. i felt like such a poser cause i didn’t understand anything what he was saying— it truly felt like a different language, and i remember thinking i could never possibly learn enough to understand it. Disc was just something i did on a random weekend once every two months, and the best disc i could ever dream of buying was a cool i-dye champion disc i saw at academy. So again, disc nation really smashed my small Truman Show level world of disc, and made me realize there’s an entire whole world out there to explore.
- just bits here and there— feel like pros think of hole 18 now as loveable punching bag if that makes sense. Last comment i heard on it was gannon burh saying/joking that hole 18 is what would make sprinkle valley an s-tier course. idk, when you look at it, there was one particular island hole at a very big tournament across the pond lately that cut a lead by 10 strokes, and ultimately, provided for a very engaged and tension-filled viewing experience. People can say what they want in the moment, but when reflecting back, all anyone remembers is how engaged they were whether playing or watching.🤷🏼♂️
- im glad you are still finding the motivation to keep going forward. Alongside with energy, the other most valuable resource we have is time. I think as you reflect back on where you have started to where you are now, you find that much like with a valuable stock, the time you invested early on is even more valuable than if you were to invest the same today. If i could quit my job and invest my time 100% into disc right now, i still could not go back in time and be part of the disc world that you were part of. That’s time, perspective, experience, and understanding that anyone can’t just immediately amass no matter how enthusiastically they want it.
- lastly, still kinda related with the point above, it’s always good to zoom out and look at the general trend and take comfort in that. not month to month or even year to year, but over the years. You have first hand experience in what disc was before, and what it is now. I would imagine it’s easy to go back and look at particular points or decisions that didn’t pan out as expected, or maybe even for the worse, BUT, i think few could argue that those efforts went to waste, cause regardless how small, they’re still building blocks to build what exists today.
Anyway, considering how exciting it is to be on the outside and watching everything that’s going on with Mint and disc, i can only imagine and how hectic, busy, and difficult it is on the inside. Keep on keeping on—here’s to all your efforts!🫡