The Art of Hobby Bouncing
Everyone needs a hobby; even Jesus had a hobby. To fill in that small amount of free time you have and make yourself feel happy. For me, I have many hobbies that I like to bounce between.
It started in middle school with a guitar and an iPod.
The first official hobby that I took seriously was learning to play the guitar. I loved it. Growing up with a dad whose love for his two sons was only matched by his love for 80s classic rock. Introducing your kids to Eddie Van Halen is a foolproof recipe to create little wannabe rockstars.
I took weekly lessons, practiced almost every day, driving my parents mad. Played at school, church, garages, basements. This went on through the rest of middle school and all the way through high school. Then something changed, I fell in love with photography.
Almost overnight, I grew apathetic for my once-loved instrument of rock.
Photography took over in force, especially once I figured out how to make money with it. I honed my skills, formed an LLC to write off everything, and said goodbye to any musical ambition I once had.
It wasn’t long before the next best things showed up. Design.
This one didn’t last too long. After college, I was trying to figure out what to do. Full-time photography wasn’t working out, and I wanted the flexibility to travel. For photography to work, you have to be there physically; as a designer, you have the luxury of the online world. A couple of logo projects later, the once high-caliber patience and diligence I had to learn a new creative skill was all dried up. ADHD kicked in, and I was out.
Back to photos and a new day job working as an account manager in ad tech. Then came the urge to push my fitness. First was weight lifting. I morphed into a little gym rat, spending a good 4–5 hours a week in the gym. Researched countless hours and made plan after plan of routines. Then I started running. A few months later, I canceled my gym membership, laced up my shoes, and started the grueling marathon training experience.
Never in my life have I run a race. I’ve run for fitness in high school and little in college, but something kicked inside of me that said, “alright, Ryan, this is your new thing. Time to go ALL in.” I bought a pair of HOKA Rincons, made a meticulous training plan, and researched new routes every week in my neighborhood.
I was two weeks out from race day and recovered from the two peak 20-mile workouts, feeling great. Then COVID-19.
All events, canceled. I was pissed.
I decided well time to find a new hobby to go all-in on. What’s the next best thing to running? Cycling. It’s endurance, low impact, and you get to go fast. Months and months of research before I picked a bike. A Trek Madone road bike. Super light to climb hills fast and comfortable enough for those long 3+ hour days in the saddle. 8 months of training to get myself ready for a race that I would never do, and I’m trading it in for a mountain bike. At least it’s still a bike!
One of the reasons I continue to bounce around and find new things to do is primarily because of my mild ADHD. As a result, I get distracted easily and have to find clever ways to keep myself engaged and focused.
The one hobby that has stuck with me for the past 8 years is photography. I pivot a lot with what I photography and have only recently felt like I have honed in my style (I wrote an article about it for the Phoblographer here: Waiting for the Right Light). On the fitness and physical side of things, at least I’m sticking within endurance sports…for now.
Selection of recent photography
