This is Us, Craft Beer Edition.

 

Way back in the summer of 2015 when I first started writing about beer, it was for fun. I had no agenda, idea or coherent plan. I didn't set out to do anything special or create content. I didn't think it would lead to adventures, friendships and yes, the occasional free beer. Although on the latter I always thought (and still do) that if I got one it would be the coolest thing ever. I started it simply as a way to share what I was drinking with my friends as well as show that despite the troubles I was in at the time financially and personally, I was still alive and doing well.
  In December of that year, I did my first Beer Advent calendar and began to take a little more care in my photos and descriptions. I enjoyed thinking about what I was drinking and with some encouragement from friends, I put a little more effort into my words. I began the blog and videos to add to the initial Instagram page because it was fun. It was a way to express myself even more and as anyone who follows along here, it has turned into a personal journey as well as a beer one. Revealing parts of my life that I had hidden away helped to heal old wounds and bring up emotions I hadn't felt in years. It helped me connect with people on another level and despite some trepidation at the nature of what I was revealing, it was cathartic and did my soul some good.
  While craft beer is always my main focus, I began to see how the platform I was on could do some good for other people. I talked about depression, infertility, starting over and alcohol abuse to name just a few. I believe in being honest about everything I write and I think that's why I have made so many great connections over the last 2 years. People who drink good beer are, for the most part, good people. I've encountered few folks I wouldn't want to share a pint with and for this guy, that's the very golden pot at the end of the Rainbow.

  I see new craft beer focused accounts and people all the time popping up on social media. Groups of friends are getting together to share a page and even more great beer. Some stunning photography and creative video clips are showing up and it is only helping to promote the community even more. The enthusiasm of many of the newcomers is infectious and the friendships you see being made are awesome, all because we love great beer. But not everyone is doing it for the right reasons or in an honest and straightforward way.
  Within any community there will be people who want to exploit and lie their way to a position of prominence. Whether it is to make themselves feel important or for financial gain, it matters not. Paying for followers, acting like you're better than everyone else and generally shilling for free shit is not what the majority of craft beer drinkers stand for and when I see it, I want to call it out. I don't understand what makes a person pay actual money to get fake followers, fake friends and ultimately a fake life. I do what I do because it is who I am. The Drunk Polkaroo was a persona I created as a joke on my stupid drunken days and the promises I would make when I was snackered to do things with people and then flake on when I was sober. I didn't plan out a "brand" or target breweries with promises of increasing their business. For myself and most of the others who share our pics and stories on social media, we do it for fun, to connect with like minded folk and maybe share a pint in  real life. Phony accounts run by someone with an agenda or a marketing plan is, in my opinion, the opposite of what the majority of us do. We share our pics and stories because we care about the beer, genuinely want to meet people and enjoy being part of something that allows us to interact with the small businesses we support.

  The community of craft beer is at its core a place where we make friends, real or virtual, enjoy the creativity and design of the breweries we love and the people we follow. It has grown so much in such a short amount of time that I can hardly believe it. New styles of beer and amazing takes on traditional ones keep us hoping for a trade or beer saint gift with others. Road trips mean an opportunity to meet up in person and share a pint with those we've become such good friends with online. Being able to communicate our finds and what is new at our local breweries sparks conversation and inspires us to want to visit. We do it with pride and want the beer world to know about the latest release from places near to our hearts. We post old favourites because we love them and enjoy them regularly. But most of all, we just want to share a little bit of our life, the good and bad sometimes, with the world. We want to be part of something bigger than us and we have found that in beer. Stay true to yourself, always share honestly and keep those photos, stories and videos coming, they bring a smile to my face every single day. And remember to always Raise your glass and your standards, One beer at a time.

Cheers!


Polk

I'm Okay with Who I am.

***I am going to preface the following post with this little aside. I do not want advice on how to diet, exercise or otherwise lose weight. Your experience with those three things is singular and doesn't apply to anyone else. I write this because I love who I am and you should do the same for yourself. If you want to help someone, look in the mirror because when it comes to who we are at our core, the only opinion that matters is your own.***

I am a fat guy.

Not a shock if you know me, follow along with my beer adventures at The Drunk Polkaroo or have encountered me in real life at all. I weigh in the neighbourhood of 270 pounds and being only 5'6", it's a big gut on a small guy.

I'm neither proud or ashamed of what I look like. It is who I am and despite years of thinking about doing something about it, I never really have.

Perhaps I am lazy;

 Maybe I don't really care about myself and eat poorly;

Drink too much and have poor nutritional skills.

No...None of that is true.

Yet those are some of the things I've heard over the years, along with what exactly I should be doing to be more like everyone else. Eat less, exercise more, try this fad diet, see a specialist or engage in someone else's newest passion. While I may be a beer guy and shout my love from the rooftop, I always say that you should drink what makes you happy and to hell with everyone else. Maybe the people who want to change how I live should do the same.

So why bother writing about this at all? Why not just keep on living life and let it slide? The truth is since I've started to explore the wider world inside my head and outside my comfort zone, I don't know how not to write about what comes forward. My being fat isn't a disease and it doesn't mean I have to listen to your advice or even want it. Why is someone's weight still the one thing that people feel they have the right to weigh in on? (Pun intended)
I walked over 10 kilometers last week in Quebec one day and felt wonderful. I wasn't out of breath, tired or sore, even the next day. I walk to work quite a bit lately because the Jeep is broken, 2.5 km each way and it's not an issue. But still I get the looks, comments and unwanted intrusion into my appearance. Even at 43, I can't get away from people who think they have the right to impugn upon my person because of how I look.

 I refuse to hide behind the walls of my home, though. I make videos and take pictures with my shirt off because I love who I am. I expose myself to the potential ridicule, but I don't care because I want everyone to know it is okay to love yourself for who you are. If you want to lose weight, get more fit or engage in any other form of self improvement, I say go for it. Attack your life with a ferocity that will help you achieve anything you want. But don't expect me to come along with you. I applaud your efforts and wish you well, but I am pretty happy with myself and the life I have (re)built.

Many times I have lost some weight and then put it back on. The master of the Yo-Yo diet, until one day I just couldn't take it anymore. I decided to just be myself and see where life takes me.  I eat pretty well, mostly home cooked meals with a good balance between greens, grains and meats. I try not to eat a lot of junk and almost never patronize fast food joints. My beer consumption is surprisingly small despite what people perceive. While I do have one beer every day, it is often just that single beer that enters my system. I am on my feet 9 hours or more at work 5 days a week and spend a large chunk of my days off working around the house. So I am far from the lazy, beer swilling, nacho eating character that usually embodies a man of my girth. I am active and probably have more energy than most people I know. I greet each day with enthusiasm and find other's lack of positivity to be a larger problem than the few extra pounds I carry around my middle.

I know this sounds like a rant and in my head it didn't start out that way. But body and image shaming have no place in a civilized, modern world. We must strive to be more inclusive in our approach to creating an open and better society with our words and actions. I make bad jokes at my own expense all the time and I know that it is because I learned early on that humour can mask the pain that other people cause. I recognize my own need to be more accepting of who I am and work harder to create a better narrative for my own story. Your journey, like mine, is inherently personal. You can choose to be joyful and to make other peoples lives the same or you can be negative and hateful. If you're a downer, take your bullshit somewhere else, I've heard it all before.

I might go for a walk tonight. Or a swim. Or maybe I'll prop my feet up on the deck and have a few pints. Whatever I decide is because it makes me happy and at the end of the day, that's all I can do.

Be kind to each other and yourself. Unless someone asks for your advice, keep it where it belongs...in your head. Be fierce in your passions and gentle with your faults. Nothing has to stay the way it is, but don't let anyone else take over the wheel of where you're headed. The only person driving your life should be you.