Blog: ‘Tell a story about how much further we go together’ — You don’t have to struggle with mental health alone

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Make a note of this date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021.

This is the day Austinite Joe Lindley will leave the outer shores of North Carolina alone, just Joe and his bike. The 26-year-old embarks on a journey to change the world and bring people together. Isolation was a big part of Joe’s initial journey, however.

“I have had many teachers and supervisors who have told me that I am incapable of certain things. Much of it proves they’re wrong, ”Joe told me when he met on Mount Bonnell on a hot and humid Friday morning.

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Joe embarks on a 55-day coast-to-coast journey, more than 2,700 miles. Through these valleys, the ups and downs, Joe will share his ups and downs. He plans to make stops along the way and talk to people about mental health.

“Mental health has been important to me all my life. I had depression in childhood, and part of it was attributed to growing up with ADD, ”said Joe. “We’re going to tell a story about how much further we go together.”

We Go On Together is a lifestyle movement that Joe and three of his friends started five years ago. They call it the Fourwards Movement. The overall concept is moving forward, represented by the four cardinal points, the four elements and the four seasons.

A stop at the Grand Canyon with no water and a working truck was what ultimately motivated Joe Lindley and his friends to start the Fourwards Movement. (Photo by Joe Lindley.)

“One of our great mantras is our world, your story, which is our whole world, but it’s your story. You hold the pen and write your own story. “

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In 2016, they embarked on a similar cross-country journey that changed their lives. Back then, 21-year-old Joe was planning to purposely fail college. He and his pals took a road trip from College Station to San Francisco. On the way, they stopped at the Grand Canyon because they were forced to. Their truck broke down, the campsites were full and they ran out of water. Thirsty and in the moonlight, Joe saw a bright future, was overwhelmed with emotion and ready to make a change.

Pictures from Joe’s 2016 road trip with his friends. (Photo by Joe Lindley.)

“We ran out of water. We ran out of water for several miles, for several hours, ”said Joe. “They call it the genius loci, the spirit of the place, and I was just overwhelmed by emotions.”

Joe and his friends made it to the next day. And take that when they left they found a random gallon of water.

“That’s why we did it. Someone else’s water cache kept us from turning back. “

Hours after running the Grand Canyon several miles without water, Joe and friends paused when they discovered a gallon of water. (Video by Joe Lindley.)

When they stopped in Santa Monica and headed to the pier, Joe got an email from his school. It warned him that he was about to fail college. After his life changing experience at the Grand Canyon, he made a promise to himself that he would graduate and share this journey with as many people as possible. And that’s what he hopes to do in the next 55 days.

The moment on Santa Monica Pier, 21 year old Joe made a promise to graduate from college. (Photo by Joe Lindley.)

“I want to share this message, this allegory of my life, all the ups and downs that are going to take place between the Outer Banks and Santa Monica. I want to show everyone that the contrast and the way you react will determine your journey. Because I know there will be a lot of lows, God knows how many flat tires there are, who knows what else will happen, ”said an optimistic Joe.

“It will be without a doubt the hardest thing I’ve ever done, there will be days that are really painful. There will be days when I want to quit. And I just have to remember the reason why we’re doing this in the first place. “

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To achieve his goal, every pedal, every turn of the wheel, every difficult hill or incline, every kilometer is driven by his life experiences, the good and the bad, and the community of support he cultivated along the way.

Mr. Mosier, Joe’s teacher and mentor in sculpture. (Photo by Joe Lindley.)

“It wasn’t great to be told that you can never concentrate, that you can never do well. But I had two very specific mentors in my life in high school who really challenged me. One of them was my sculpture teacher who gave me a creative outlet for my ADD, ”Joe told me it was important to have it and he still uses it to this day. “And the other was my math teacher who really showed me what I was capable of and believed in me. That’s what I want to do for others. “

Joe and his best friend Patrick Campbell. Patrick will document Joe’s journey through America. Both plan to make a documentary to share their experiences and personal stories from people they meet along the way. (Photo by Joe Lindley.)

Joe won’t be all alone during his 55 day mission. One of his best friends, Patrick Campbell, will be driving a van that comes with the essentials, including bed and food. His friend will document his drive and stops, which will be shown daily on TikTok and Instagram. Thanks to Mental Health of America, Joe will do stints in Nashville and Oklahoma City. There will be live music and the opportunity to build a community of people who feel they are alone with their own mental health problems.

Unity is nice. The walls that we think will separate us are actually pretty thin. These walls are fragile, nonexistent. We just have to take the risk and try to get to know each other. Then we’ll see how much we have in common. How much are we really just one.

“Sharing your personal story can make over a million people feel less alone because they may not relate to your entire story, but parts of it. And that will make them connect with you on a deeper level. “

Joe chose Mount Bonnell for this interview because it was the first hill he chose to start training with. You may have seen it up and down the hills that lead to the scenic views of Lake Austin. At the moment this was the toughest hill, we’ll have to wait two months to see how it has handled the ups and downs of this cross-country bike tour.

Joe decided to start training on Mounty Bonnell for his 55 day trip because of the hills near Lake Austin. (Photo by KXAN photographer Julie Karam.)

Every day he plans to drive 50 miles and share his experience on his social media accounts every day. You can follow his journey by clicking here. At the end of his two-month bike ride, over 2,700 miles, he plans to share his experiences and stories of men and women he met along the way in a documentary. There’s also a GoFundMe account with a goal of $ 8,000 to pay for his expenses, but now that he’s achieved that goal, any post-donation is shared with mental health awareness efforts.

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“I do it for the community, I do it for the tribe, I do it for the people who feel alone out there. Because I never want someone to feel as alone as before. “

Joe plans to start his bike ride alone when he walks out of the Atlantic along the outer shores of North Carolina. He has bigger plans for the day he splashes his way to the Pacific Ocean.

“Are we going to go to the Pacific Ocean alone? I don’t think the answer to that is yes. I think we’ll have a lot of people walking with us in the Pacific Ocean, that’s the overall goal. Because this ride is not about me, this ride is about us. I want so many people to come to us. Because we’re going on together, ”said Joe Lindley.

Julie Karam and I met Joe Lindley on Mount Bonnell a week before his 55-day tour of America. (Photo by KXAN producer Jose Torres.)

Jose Torres is a morning news producer at KXAN. His blog will bring stories of hope and determination from others who have struggled their own health struggles and life challenges. He looks forward to sharing these conversations on future blogs.

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