Bikers stand up to bullying
Karen Peterson
Flash rides into the junior high gym on a motorcycle to talk about bully prevention.
Karen Peterson
Country music artist Jared Blake sings a few of his songs for students.
Karen Peterson
Jared Blake poses for photos and signs autographs after sharing his life story to help inspire St. Ignatius students.
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
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ARLEE – It’s not often that a person rides a motorcycle into a gym with the engine roaring like they did at the Arlee Junior High School.
“The bike was pretty cool,” said student RJ Knoll.
A man calling himself “Flash” got off the bike and introduced himself to the students cheering in the bleachers as the guy wearing more jewelry than your mom.
“We travel around to talk to a lot of young people,” he said to the crowd. He travels with a group called Bikers Against Bullies USA. But this time, he brought country music artist Jared Blake along to play a few songs for the kids. The two teamed up for the first time to talk about how kids can shape their lives in positive ways.
“I’m not going to tell you what you should do,” Flash said to the kids. “Because when people tell me I can’t do something, you know I’m going to do it.”
Instead, he talked about recovering from addiction and how it would have been easier to make better choices. Blake shared a similar story. He added that he could have been further in his career as a singer if he hadn’t wasted so much time on drugs and alcohol.
“I lost my house, vehicles, a record deal, a wife and four kids,” he said.
He straightened out his life and found a new start with the television vocal competition “The Voice.” And he worked hard to get back the things he had lost. He decided he wanted to share his story with kids so that they don’t have to learn things the hard way.
“Who you look up to is important,” he said to the kids, adding that they needed to find mentors with positive goals.
The team said that kids are often told that they can do anything in life, but one bit of information is missing.
“You need a plan to get there,” Blake said.
Flash added that even a professional skateboarder had to study and practice to learn the tricks. And, they added, while a person is working on their goals, it’s important to remember to respect other people’s interests and not become a bully.
“Do random acts of kindness,” Flash said, adding that it will make you feel better than being mean.
Micheal Brown, 12, was one of the many students that picked up an autographed poster after the event.
“It’s good that they didn’t tell us what to do,” he said. “It’s nice to be asked, and I think what they said will get us far in life.”
While on tour, Blake often does charity events to raise money for communities along with talking to youth. He is performing at the Red Lion Hotel in Polson on Saturday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.bikersagainstbulliesusa.com or are available for purchase at Polson businesses including Red Lion Hotel, Finley Point Grill, Sportspage Bar and Crow’s Nest Gallery.
