Part 2
I’d say that’s also what kept me in the fire service for over five years. Being a firefighter is TOUGH! The work is dirty and very strenuous. A pressurized 2” fire hose line is heavy and hard to control, especially over time. Rolling fire hoses and cleaning up after a fire is out is also draining. Despite what prime-time TV shows us, fire and smoke are incredibly dark, dirty, and toxic. It is not just physically tough, either. Mentally, it can be one of the tougher jobs out there with some of what you see and do in the service of helping your neighbours as a volunteer firefighter.
I am not a stranger to tough things. It seems if there was a choice between tough and easy, my natural inclination is to choose tough. Even if I don’t even realize I am doing it. I’d say I am doing it again with Tough Monkey.
Designing the logo and diving into the name and theme has become a part of me. Tough Monkey. It just sounds cool, right? Plus, since having a son and developing a different perspective on life, monkeys symbolize fun for me. My dad used to say to me, “Make time to smell the roses, son.” I’m not sure I understood his message entirely, for being a father changes that message a great deal. I wish I could still ask him about that, but sadly he passed away several years ago.
Much of my martial arts background is heavily steeped in paramilitary-style protocols. I mean, Taekwon-Do developed within the military, so that makes sense, right? A strong Korean cultural component adds richness as well. A lot of those aspects, which, while I think are good, I cannot say I ever felt were fun or entirely made me feel comfortable or allowed me to feel like myself. So with Tough Monkey, especially the “Monkey” element, I wanted to change that and make things more fun and have more fun. It is still a work in progress that I expect will evolve as time goes on. From my experience, I think Brazilian JuJitsu does an excellent job of mixing many martial arts elements in a fun way.
Ok – I think you get it – Tough Monkey makes sense. So why now...
Part 3 is coming soon of this three-part article...
Cheers!
Marc Gaudet
Chief Monkey - Tough Monkey Nation www.toughmonkey.ca
PS - Remember... You're TOUGHER than you think!