Close friends celebrating the annual classic car drive to help raise funds for men's mental health.
The connection between a person and a car can be very special. For many men and women, driving is something unique to them and doing so can allow them to escape and get away from the problems we bear on real life. It is unique and a way to help yourself to clear your mind, maybe find a solution to those problems. “You need to be 100% focused, and when you are 100% focused on what you are doing it means that you are not worrying about the things that are troubling you and even when you park the car and you are back to the real world, you’ve had that break from your problems which helps to put things in perspective and helps calm things down”. So what is to have this kind of connection with a machine and why is it important? It is difficult to answer these questions in words alone, it is something that needs to be experienced, to be lived, and see it with your own eyes.
The DGD
It is important to have these kinds of escapes or hobbies to keep you positive and believe that eventually everything will be okay. Liam Rathgeber, Calgary’s drive captain for the Distinguished Gentleman’s Drive (DGD), speaks about the importance of our mental health and how the organization helps to contribute towards the goal of saving as many people as possible. The DGD, present in many countries around the world, directed from Australia, have a partnership with the Movember to raise funds for men’s mental health and the research for prostate cancer as well. Each year the DGD organizes a drive worldwide, all countries driving to the same goal and purpose, anyone can participate and sign up for these drives. This is a passion that connects millions of people and is able to help them in many different ways, push through and keep doing what they love.
Reflection
I felt really lucky being able to shoot this interview and thankful too that I was given the opportunity to show a little bit of what I love and how that is able to help men that struggle everyday with depression. Driving for me has always been something unique, a unique feeling and a way to just tune out for a few moments and not think about anything. To find, build, and drive classic cars is a passion, not only classic but just cars in general, any kind, it is a passion that can open a lot of doors for you and meet a lot of awesome people who you will feel identified and related to. I wanted to show as best as possible the work that the Distinguished Gentleman’s Drive is doing because I believe that it is really important to let men know that they are not alone and they can beat their struggles, whatever they are. I hope that this passion can reach others and get more people involved with this hobby and give it the chance to demonstrate how beautiful and nurturing can be. There is still so much more that I need to learn about cars and driving, and doing this has only motivated me more to do so.
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