1st November - This is NOT Talent



I was out on my morning walk this morning, having a pretty lovely time to be honest... Thinking about the upcoming World Cup and all the fun things I've booked to do in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar as part of my 'Middle Eastern Adventure' trip. I was enjoying the crisp air and morning Sunshine, but then made the mistake to commit a faux pas which I always try to refrain from during this period of solitude... Pulling my phone out and having a browse of social media. The idea behind a long morning walk, is that you start the day in a positive mindset, free of all the toxic things which lurk behind our addictive screens, which can then influence your thoughts for the day ahead.

But I couldn't help, on this occasion, take umbrage with a post from my former employers, BT Sport, who captioned a photo of Logan Paul, or Jake Paul, I don't even know the difference between them to be honest, with the phrase: "Not bad for some kid from social media" and then listed all his 'achievements' around him, but... All I could see, were stats on how many followers he has on YouTube, or Instagram. Which surely emphasises the point that all this 'kid from social media' really IS, is quite literally, a kid from social media. There were also hollow brags about his 'sporting achievements', such as:




Winning a couple of WWE Fights. WWE, which - as we all know - is scripted, and staged for entertainment and thus, can't consequently be ruled as a real sport, as all competitive nature is taken out of it by this pre-planned 'theatre' aspect to it. Do you really think Mr Paul's management teams and PR agency would allow him to partake in any event which could harm his media image? A WWE victory is not an achievement, it is a nod to how much money his team have paid the WWE themselves to allow this farce to occur. With a few million in my back pocket, I too, could go and 'defeat' even the mightiest of wrestlers tomorrow, live on sports channels across the world, after a few rehearsals of which moves we're gonna perform and in which round my opponent is going to 'tap out'. 

There was also a brag about how he once 'shared a ring with Floyd Mayweather'. Is sharing any venue really an achievement? I've walked on the pitch at Wembley, and sat in the dressing rooms of the Nou Camp. Does that mean I've 'shared a stadium with Cristiano Ronaldo/Lionel Messi'? I've performed stand-up comedy on the same stage as Jack Whitehall, Chris Rock, Robin Williams and Michael McIntyre, does that mean I've collaborated with them? Had Paul won the fight, and truly beat a boxer like Mayweather, sure, that's an achievement. But until that day comes, nobody can convince me that this man's fame is built on anything other than well-crafted PR. After all... 




... This is NOT talent. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

20th July: I was assaulted last night

Image
Last night was just an absolute fucking disaster from start to finish, tbh. After finishing work (working from home), I set off at around 7pm to reach my destination as I was needed back in the office for the rest of the week (our office doesn’t have A/C so we were allowed to work from home on Mon & Tues on account of the heatwave), though it soon dawned on me that this was not going to prove a simple task. I arrived in London around 10.30pm and found both my 10.30pm and then 11.30pm trains had been fully cancelled. The reasoning they gave was that the tracks couldn’t handle the heat, but surely metal is strong enough to withstand even the most potent of temperatures?  As hoards of fellow commuters gathered around the departure board, looking forlorn at the rows of cancellations on the electronic board, I managed to earwig on a small group of middle-aged folk who were heading to the same destination as me. Seeking their advice, we attempted to grab one of the very few operati...
Read more

15th Jan - Dancing Queen

Image
Well, last night got a little interesting huh? I fell into 'the basic bitch trap' of jiving around to commercial drivel in one of those overpriced cocktail bar chains where a faint waft of Paco Rabanne & Gonorrhea fill the air... Be At One, All Bar One, Insert Other Name Involved 'One' and 'Bar' here. I've realised, that like many of you, when intoxicated, I possess a complete alter-ego. A gremlin inside of me which comes out to play and completely does away with the sober version of myself. This alter-ego is dangerously confident, sassy and sensual, and most worrying of all, delusional when it comes to dancing. I can't say I've ever been much of a dancer, I mean sure... I'll give it a go. I have rhythm at least, but I'm now at an age where I'm probably old enough to be able to pull off ' dad dancing ' and give the word some real personification. Last night consisted of myself & my equally intoxicated pal putting on live...
Read more

29th December - The MOST important life skill you'll learn

Image
I've spent much of this year musing a range of important and philosophical ideas and thoughts. Real deep analysis on human behaviour and psychology. And then sometimes I've just blogged about Kebabs. But there are a few really important takeaways which I can pass on from this year. The first is that when we talk about eating healthy, or 'being healthy', we alway focus on weight. Fat burning, weight loss, muscle gain etc etc. But one thing very few people talk about is that exercise, or eating nutritious foods, is first and foremost the biggest self-care for the mind. That is definitely something I discovered this year when comparing my moods on days when I stayed in like a slob, or days when I partook in my hourly walks. By clearing the mind and allowing yourself that period of isolation in fresh air, you are delivering a type of therapy to yourself more powerful than any self-help podcast, or life-coaching course. The second thing I've learned, thanks to both Jorda...
Read more