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Drew Van Dam | Movement & Mindset

@damdrewvan

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Runner•Cyclist•Dog Dad 🐾
Building Stronger Men through Movement
Real Life • Mental Health • Second Chances

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Night Rides …. Island Styles !!! by @damdrewvan

Giving back to the community starts with putting in the work. As a local business owner, I believe in leading by example. My two sons and I spent 4.5 hours at Oso Trails with a mower, weed eater, tree loppers, rakes, and shovels, clearing trails that have been part of our cycling community for over two decades. This is just the beginning. If you own a bike and want to get involved, let’s come together and bring these trails back to life. Instead of building a new BMX park from the ground up, why not restore something that already has history? Let’s invest our time, teach the next generation the value of community service, and build something worth riding. Now let’s get some jumps built! by @damdrewvan

Hit up a little hidden gem in San Antonio where we roll, where we roll. Just kidding, wrong Pharm.

But seriously, we hit Pharm Table and went for the five course meal. Definitely not your everyday dinner and honestly that’s what made it so good. Each course was its own experience and it was nice to just slow down, eat some really good food and enjoy the night.

If you’ve got a little time and want to wine and dine somewhere different, take a trip to the Garden of Eden at Pharm Table in San Antonio. Definitely an experience worth having. #healthyliving #goodeats #soulfood #communitylove #survival by @damdrewvan

Some companies chase followers. The good ones notice the people actually using their product.

I’m not a big creator yet, but I’m working toward it. I don’t have a massive audience or a ton of social sway. I’m just a guy using running, trails and movement as part of my recovery, healing from trauma and becoming a better version of myself. Along the way I get to travel, stack miles and make memories with my family.

I also have a ridiculously sensitive stomach, so finding fuel that works for me has always been a challenge. Hyperlyte Liquid Performance has been one of the few products I can consistently use without stomach issues. I share it because I genuinely use it and believe in it.

I’ve spent the last few weeks traveling, running trails, exploring new places and putting in miles. Then I came home to an unexpected box from Hyperlyte full of Liquid Performance and some goodies.

They didn’t have to do that.

There’s something pretty damn cool about a company recognizing the smaller runners and creators too. The people without huge platforms who are still out there doing the work, fighting their own battles and genuinely putting the product to use.

Sometimes support comes when you least expect it.

Thank you Hyperlyte. This one meant a lot. #carbs #healthyliving #runlife #runner #hyperlyteliquidperformance by @damdrewvan

One thing trauma teaches you is that not everyone knows how to sit with someone else’s pain.

Sometimes the people closest to you feel overwhelmed, uncomfortable, helpless, or even ashamed by what you’re going through. Instead of processing those emotions, they talk about you to someone else. Now they receive sympathy, reassurance, and validation for how YOUR situation is affecting THEM.

Psychologically, that can be a form of emotional avoidance: changing an uncomfortable feeling into a story that’s easier to carry.

Real emotional maturity looks different. It’s being able to witness someone’s pain without judging it, broadcasting it, fixing it, or making yourself the victim of it.

Sometimes the person gossiping about your trauma isn’t processing your pain.

They’re avoiding their own. #mensmentalhealth #recovery #selfawerness #healthyliving #emotionalmaturity by @damdrewvan

January 10, 2018.

I was reading the book of Job and talking about suffering, grief, and what it means to sit beside someone who is hurting.

Eight years later, I came across my own words again.

“Sometimes the hardest questions that come out of grief, or struggle, or loss… sometimes they just don’t even need an instant answer.”

I still believe that.

Not every pain needs an explanation.
Not every struggle needs somebody telling you why it happened.
Not every person who is hurting needs advice.

Sometimes they just need somebody willing to sit beside them and listen.

A lot of life has happened since I said this.

A lot of suffering.
A lot of lessons.
A lot of growth.

And maybe that’s why these words hit a little different today.

Sometimes you have to be vulnerable.
Sometimes you have to be willing to change.
And sometimes you have to sit back and let God take the reins.

I wasn’t perfect then.
I’m not perfect now.

I’m just trying to keep learning, keep growing, and maybe help one person along the way.

God bless y’all.

#bookofjob #job #bible #faith #god by @damdrewvan

PTSD can be loud in ways nobody else can hear. Your mind races, your body stays on alert, and silence doesn’t always feel silent. Then you step into nature and something changes. Research suggests time in nature can reduce stress and rumination and help calm the nervous system. Sometimes healing isn’t about escaping your mind. It’s about finding a place where it finally gets quiet. #ptsd #traumahealing #natureheals #mentalwellness #healthyliving by @damdrewvan

Sometimes what you’re craving isn’t the smoke. It’s the pause. The slow breath. The moment your nervous system finally gets quiet. Therapy taught me that stillness can be an outlet too. Sit outside. Breathe slowly. Listen to the water, the wind, the birds. Sometimes healing looks like doing absolutely nothing but being present. #recovery #healthyliving #breakinghabits #cannabis #onedayatatime by @damdrewvan

Maybe peace isn’t always silence. Sometimes it sounds like moving water, reminding your nervous system that it’s okay to slow down.#naturetherapy #mindfulmovement #recoveryjourney #survival #naturelovers by @damdrewvan

What’s real is this. Nothing that isn’t genuine lasts around me. Fake energy eventually exposes itself. Forced connections fall apart. Truth doesn’t need to perform, and loyalty doesn’t need an audience. I stopped chasing what doesn’t choose me and started protecting what’s real. If it stays, it’s solid. If it leaves, it made room for something that is.#authenticity #realrecognizereal #staygenuine #selfgrowth #protectyourpeace by @damdrewvan

Went to war with myself today. Day five of sobriety. Puked my guts out before the run, emptied the tank before I even hit the trail, then went seven miles through the upper Guadalupe River Trail system anyway. Three river crossings, soaked feet, rough terrain, and a long conversation with the pain cave. Left one sketchy trail untouched because being tough doesn’t mean being stupid. Hyperlite Liquid Performance kept fuel going in when my stomach wanted nothing to do with it. Today wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t fast. It wasn’t supposed to be. Sometimes the win is looking at the version of you begging for the easy way out and choosing one more mile. Day five. Seven hard earned miles. I didn’t need today to be easy. I needed to know I could keep going. Keep Moving and Failing Forward… You can do hard things.. and this is a reminder ..#sobriety #healthyliving #trail #runner #runnersofinstagram by @damdrewvan

Some people grow up knowing they can call their parents when life gets heavy. They can say, “I miss you,” ask for advice, admit they’re struggling, or simply go home and feel safe. For others, childhood was the very place they learned that safety wasn’t guaranteed. Trauma can shape the way a person trusts, communicates, reacts, loves, and survives long after childhood is over. So before judging someone for the walls they built, the mistakes they made, or the ways they learned to cope, remember that some of those behaviors were once survival skills. Not everyone was taught how to navigate life with love, stability, and support. Some people had to teach themselves while healing from the very people who were supposed to protect them. Be grateful for the safe people in your life, and have compassion for those who had to become their own safe place. Survival doesn’t always look pretty, but neither does what someone had to survive.#survivor #strong #survival #trauma #childtrauma by @damdrewvan