Robert Ripley
I am absolutely thrilled to be featured in the new Ripley’s Believe it or Not book along inside some other incredible beings that don’t even seem human at times.
I guess you could say that I am addicted to being jaw-dropped. There is nothing quite like the feeling of having your socks not just rocked off, but torpedoed off. To re-envision the world you live in, with something that once seemed otherworldly, and then realize that indeed something you could have never dreamed about exists in the same shared planet we reside in.
The vast majority of people are familiar with the iconic Ripley’s Believe it or Not museums and books! But, many of them might not know the man behind the oddities…
His name was Robert Ripley, he was a true pioneer of his time. He catapulted his career during the depression, and brought lightness into the dark times. He was like the OG bourdain in a way. He explored, ate, and witnessed relatively obscure things … but then went to show that we are all weird in some way… and why not celebrate it and embrace it! I don’t think he was trying to exploit anybody, I think he was purely trying to get people to be less scared of the unknown. To say it is okay to be different, because we all are, even if we are so consumed with assimilating to the norm. He celebrated the unique. He realized when you are stagnant, it is vital to escape your habitat and be distantly steeped in the unknown. He exuded a zest for explaining the impossible. Robert inspired others to aim for the impossible by exposing others who did the impossible.
I used to be apprehensive to be different, to explore, to travel the world, and to actually just be me… but with inspiration from Robert, calmness and a dash of courage I am CAPABLE to do or be anything, even me. Sometimes we are the most scared to be ourselves.
Robert Ripley was kind of a dark tourist in a way. I don’t think that term existed back when William Hearst used to fund his wild globe trots. Dark tourism can be tricky and controversial. But, I will to admit, it is one of my guilty pleasures… screw the cookie dough and bachelor, I want some voo doo and radioactive wastelands, because it satiates the jaw-dropping hunger my body produces. I am simply curious. I know there are a million different ways to do or say the same exact basic thing, and these flavors and languages are what make us all unique. He was a connoisseur of mosts and bests. How many times could someone repeat something? What are the limits? How do we shatter those limits? What individuals embedded in this world have shattered those restraints?
Click below for a video and the book link: