There is a saying that “Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.” and every Featured Daily Warrior has definitely come a long way. We will tap into their life experiences and wisdom as we get to know them one post at a time.

Our Featured Daily Warrior today is Flip.

Despite any hardship that life puts him through, he’s determined to smile through everything.

He loves motorcycles, saying it’s his first and last interest. It will always be a part of him, and it’s not just because of the bikes. He thrives in the brilliant community that shares the same interest, because they are always willing to help others.

Interview:

What would a perfect day be like for you?
Out of bed, McDonalds for breakfast, ride the bike in hot sunshine with friends.

Can you tell us a bit more about IBD awareness?
IBD Awareness is a campaign organised by the charity ‘Crohn’s & Colitis UK’ to raise the profile of inflammatory bowel disease and help to unhide our ‘invisible’ illness. As you know, many people are unaware of the disease or its effects on sufferers, friends and family.

I created a Twibbon campaign which they used to promote Crohn’s & Colitis awareness week in December 2016 and proved to be hugely successful (Over 18,000 users and 23,000 Facebook likes), hopefully helping to open up conversations about what can be an uncomfortable subject for many. Often it never becomes a subject for discussion, sufferers do tend to hide it well (mostly) from those around them and poop can be an embarrassing topic.

In 1-2 sentences, what can you say about the world today?
The World today! Well, compared to years ago it now seems less polite, more take instead of give. Lots of people seem to think they are entitled to things, the notion of having to achieve reward seems lost now. And where has all the empathy gone?

Can you tell us about a challenge in the past (or in the present), and how you got through it?
My biggest challenge to date was getting diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Well, the challenge was accepting it really, but hey ho, it’s sunk in to my head now. I’m getting through it by blogging about it, chatting with other sufferers online and adding humour to conversations about it.

In your opinion, what personal qualities do you think a warrior should have?
A sense of humour, no matter how strong you are physically, the mind will implode without a release, I find humour the best pressure valve. Focus, don’t get deflected from the path you need to take, otherwise, you’re not fighting, you’re going with the flow. Don’t be a pinball, be a bowling ball, straight and true with a defined purpose, to smash those obstacles out of the way.

What advise would you give your younger self?
None, I needed to learn the hard way

What do you tell yourself when you feel like giving up?
You started it, nobody’s gonna finish it for you.

Share your own experiences in being a Daily Warrior.
Wow, I guess some days just getting to work, smiling and getting through the day feels like being a warrior.

Can you share a memorable experience in your motorcycle adventures?
I’m going back to 2009 when myself and a group of friends we’re touring Europe by motorcycle. We came up to a toll booth on a random AutoRoute heading towards the beautiful French Alps. To make things easier (my friends didn’t speak any French) I explained to the booth attendant in my best broken French, tainted by a strong English accent, that I would pay by Visa for all three bikes and shouted to the last rider to recover my card when it was his turn to pass through the toll.

It should have been fairly straightforward, I pass the barrier, it closes to register the next bike, opens again to allow that bike through and so on, simple!

Problem was, my pal at the back didn’t hear me properly! I set off as the barrier raised and checked my mirror as I went past and to my horror, everyone had followed me! As the last rider went through he had to duck to avoid the rapidly lowering barrier BUT, his passenger had no warning and was about to get whacked square across the face with a black and yellow pole! I clenched my buttocks tight in anticipation of her impending, undignified backflip and inevitable splat onto the warm French tarmac:)

If it wasn’t for some extremely skillful and acrobatic, seated limbo dancing, the poor girl would have been knocked clean off the back of the bike like a defeated, medieval knight in a royal jousting competition.

Worst bit was, I had to pull up and go back for my credit card and face the wrath of a French policeman with gun drawn furiously shouting unknown obscenities at me. Despite the language difference, I understood the sentiment intended and apologised in fluent French, amazing how a sudden rush of adrenaline made me remember all my schooling in a flash.

Haha! Never will forget that episode! Like I said in my answer to question you mentioned, sometimes we just need to learn the hard way.

Is there anything else you would like to share with our Daily Warriors?
Yup. Keep your chins up, it’s hard to see where you’re headed otherwise.

Like I told him and as you can probably tell by now, Flip is a really cool guy. I love his outlook in life, and he really is someone that I would consider a daily warrior.

You can check out his blog here: wayover50.com. To get an idea of his battle with IBD, start with his post “An Ode to IBD“. You can also view more details of the IBD campaign and charity using this link, and see his Twibbon campaign here.

If you want to be refreshed by this lighthearted soul every now and then, follow him in Twitter and Instagram: @wayover50

Daily Warriors Facebook Page

Daily Warriors Community