Justin Razor and the World

Originally posted in The Haven Often, online and in the real world, Im pressed for fitness advice. Inquisitions abound regarding gaining muscle and burning fat, earning inches on your arms and shedding rolls from the mess a midsection has devolved into. Although a multi-billion dollar industry has sprung up around the pursuit of physical perfection, the indellible, stalwart facts remain the same, the King of which is this; This shit is embarassingly fucking simple. As Ive stated before, I have no certifications, no fancy letters after my name that I purchased for a small fortune to bolster and cradle my own fragility. Instead, I, and the men and women I learned from, have something 95% of those posers lack: Experience. Sweating in the trenches, pushing through agonizing reps coagulating into excruciating sets, I can state confidently that my methods work. I can powerfully vouch for their efficacy because I live them daily. Find me a pretty boy trainer pumped up on anabolics that c...

Originally posted in The Haven Depression is an insidious illness, often springing forth from the ether to attack without hesitation or provocation. Most disheartening, some ignorant louses would degrade and demean those who suffer from it, claiming it's all in our heads. Ironically, their condemnation has some stern truth to it. Of course, just because it has no physical representation and isn’t some toxin or disease that can be studied under a microscope, doesn’t make it any less foreboding or real.  Whether you subscribe to the idea that the affliction is due to a chemical imbalance, a hereditary proclivity towards the condition, or is the result of instinctive reaction to overwhelming trauma, the fact is that, aside from the physical symptoms that identify a victim, the battle takes place in our own minds. And this is a monumental blessing in disguise, because it means that we, the supposedly helpless weaklings, are in complete control, even if it doesn’t feel like it at t...

Originally posted in The Haven  My eyes grow heavy with the culminated efforts of an arduous day. The humorous thing is that my morning, resembling molasses as it drips into an uneventful afternoon, has been empty and sparse, devoid of any and all activity. I have a test next month, and for the first time in 4 years I can say that I’ve studied. Since April, with sporadic breaks in between restless bouts of prodigious memorization, I’ve toiled away before my books, worshipping them like fallen gods at decrepitly ancient, decaying altars. There may be a bit more knowledge to imbibe, to enrich my storehouse of academia, but my confidence is at an all-time high. Surely, I will continue to pour over these tomes of communications trivia eventually, but until then, why ruin my mood? It’s said that you should never curse something when angry, and never make a promise when happy. This, as literally anybody who’s ever lived can verify, is due to the fickle, fleeting nature of emotions...

Originally posted in The Haven The biggest excuse I constantly hear, and am guilty of as well, is that there is never enough time in the day to train. In between work, school, a social life, and relaxation time, working out often gets abruptly pushed to the wayside. We're all intimately familiar with the all-consuming affliction of fathomless exhaustion. Like a tractor beam, it diverts all of your focus from productivity and your tireless ambitions to the languishing, but oh so fucking satisfying catatonia of sleep. Sure, you could hype yourself up on addictive, damaging stimulants, heavily drenched with generous amounts of disruptive caffiene, but that's unhealthy, and not what we do in The Haven. With the method Im about to explain in fortuitous detail, you will be able to squeeze an hours worth of fitness into 15-20 minutes. Efficient, simple and effective. At sea, forced to make due in crowded gyms bursting with sweaty, aggressive Neanderthals, a society of which I am ...

Originally posted in The Haven Income disparity is a reality many are forced to contend with, and, unfairly and unfortunately, it is one that was forced upon them with disturbing force. There are people overseas who, if left to their own devices and aided by a bit of luck, would obtain all of the indicators of success within a few years. Of course, earthly perdition being what it is, they must fight, struggle, sweat and toil to grasp with broken, bloody fingers what they feel they were denied and ultimately owed. Ive often felt like one of them. Freezing nightly was a common occurrence back East, and out here my room is little more than a closet and a previously filthy common area. So, out here, beholding these towering cathedrals of capitalism, Im reminded of Nicolas Berggruen, owner of the apt moniker The Homeless Billionaire. Affluent doesnt begin to scrape the heights of his wealth, and he lives exclusivelyin suites in the world's most exclusive, financially breathtaking ho...

Originally posted in The Haven Tonight, as I always do when I have an evening off, Ill drive down to the city of Waikiki, park my car the furthest from the city I can, and begin what is referred to as an Urban Vision Quest. I became aware of the act and its premise back in 2013 from an article on Bold and Determined, and although its singled out here and specified, I know for a fact we've all done it at some point in our lives. Whether exploring the streets of San Francisco under the cover of secrecy, hidden away after lying to our parents at 15, saying we would be "at a friend's house" for the duration of the weekend, or, as we now have the ability to do, flying into an unknown city to wander aimlessly, bereft of tangible direction, tracking towards the beating of our own incessant hearts, it's an experience weve all sought and completed. Whether Seattle, Washington, Las Vegas, Nevada or Sentosa, Singapore, we all have stories to tell. Vision quests have been...