It’s been two years, 32 months, 975 days, nearly 25-thousand hours — or simply far too long — since I’ve written anything for Stance Is Everything. Considering how often I used to create in this space, admitting it’s been so long feels more than a little embarrassing.
If there’s any saving grace to be had, it’s that in that time I never dropped my digital pen or stopped going to events.
My passion for automotive culture is still here, and as healthy as ever.
While gone, I lent my literary and photography talents — along with endless pop culture references — to a handful of different outlets: Power Automedia, Canadian Hot Rod Magazine, Minitruckin’, and the recently defunct Speedhunters.
Did I sell out? Depends who you ask. I like to think I didn’t. I stayed true to myself, wrote the way I write, and always did my best to put Ontario — and Canada — on the map.
The opportunities and connections I made working for others are something I’ll always cherish. Dollars to donuts, the extra few bucks I made here and there also went a long way in getting my Project 51 GMC on the road — and keeping it there.
However, the entire time I was away I had this nagging feeling of regret, letting this site coast through the internet like a ghost ship lost in the Arctic.
Sure, I was active on Instagram and dabbling with YouTube, but photos and words are how I became known. Why not come back to that?
With a few of the aforementioned opportunities winding down, for the first time in a long time I’ve had a moment to ask myself: What’s next?
Honestly — because there’s no other way to be when writing in an environment I created — I’ve become very comfortable with the realization that nothing has to be next.
I’m free to do exactly what I want, when I want. When I started Stance Is Everything I had a girlfriend, a small mortgage, a car with no payments, and two cats.
Now we’re happily married, I have a larger mortgage, a dog, an eleven (!!) year old, and a business. Thankfully, I still have a car that’s paid off.
Still, things have changed.
Today, my free time is nearly exclusively reserved for things I want to do, and I’ve realized creating is something I still want to do.
As any creator will tell you, no matter how great the client (shoutout to the awesome few I still have), there’s always some level of compromise afforded to both sides when collaboration is involved.
This site allows me to truly only compromise with myself.
This is an exciting position to be in once again, and I’m looking forward to exploring it without any pressure.
So what does that mean? Well, I admit most of you have probably already found new sources of content — and quite honestly, that’s fine. This new version of Stance Is Everything is as much for me as it is for you.
To get us out of the gate with the right foot forward, the website has been entirely reskinned — something that was sorely needed.
Because this site is as much your archive as it is mine, I’ve also spent quite some time organizing the Event Coverage section to make the nearly 500 posts of content easier to navigate.
In terms of post frequency for new content, I plan to sit down and contribute something once or twice a month to start, as time allows. Some of it will be new work; some of it will be unreleased work. I have gigs of photos on my computer and thousands of words floating around in my head at any given time.
If I start to hit my stride again? Who knows — we might even be able to hit weekly contributions again. And from there… well, let’s not install the wheels before the drop.
For those of you who are still here, thank you. Your support is appreciated. And for those of you who are new, welcome to the party.
Don’t call it a comeback — I’ve been here for years.