Running Our Way Through Quarantine

Guest Feature: Chase Wilkes

Back of House Guest Posts feature some of our favorite people from across the industry sharing their expertise. If you would like to be featured in a future issue, or know someone who would, email us at info@musicminds.online.

Chase Wilkes is an Event Producer who specializes in managing credentials. He has worked in live events for 5 years, starting as a volunteer and working his way up to management level roles. Chase sat down with us to talk about mental health and how he’s staying active during the pandemic.

2020 was gearing up to be a monumental year for Chase, full of credentials! With several opportunities to pursue his passion for events and taking on new management roles, he was eager to take on a busy schedule. He started the year with a few event positions already under his belt when everything came to a sudden halt.

The adjustment from a vigorous work schedule to isolation from society was a huge change. With no real end in sight, Chase knew he needed to implement a schedule to keep himself sane.

Exercise became an important remedy that he incorporated into his new way of life. While Chase was no stranger to working out, the roadie lifestyle makes it hard at times to stick to a workout routine. With gyms closed, running became his workout of choice.

Chase found a few points to be true after running was incorporated into his daily routine:

• The natural endorphins released during a run help him uphold positive energy.

• Achieving small goals increased his motivation to stay active and shifted his focus away from life stressors. One large goal he set his mind towards was completing a half marathon (13.1 miles)!

Though gyms have reopened, Chase still takes time to mix running into his weekly routine. When events come back in full swing, Chase believes running is something he will incorporate into a travel-based lifestyle. Not to make it sound like we’re reading his dating profile, but long walks on the beach have also brought Chase much joy and a peaceful beginning or end to any day. A socially distanced change in scenery has helped Chase let go of negative thoughts and may help you stay healthy and active during quarantine! To learn more about how running can reduce stress, check out this link.

Chase has also focused on implementing a healthy diet and increasing water intake. Making smart choices while ordering curbside or reducing red meat intake has created a boost in his energy. Chase’s favorite meals include fish and mediterianian food from his favorite local businesses. While on the road eating smart can be tough, but he believes getting into healthy habits during this time increases the probability of making healthier choices while traveling. To learn more about how to incorporate health and wellness while traveling check out this link.

This year has certainly allowed us to get to know ourselves better. In a career that often begins with a love of live music, it is often easy to list work as one of your main hobbies. With live music put on hold, Chase has been pursuing new hobbies, such as investing in the stock market. “It is an interesting time with constant ups and downs which creates a great learning opportunity.” Chase begins each day catching up on the news and stock prices to better understand the day to day fluctuations. Podcasting has also been a great way to pass some time, one of Chase’s go to’s is Short Story Long.

Chase hopes to inspire subscribers to reflect on their own physical and mental wellness and reminds everyone that we are all in this together. In the spirit of health and wellness, the Back of House Crew has created a list of resources to help provide guidance and reduce stress. If you or a friend needs help navigating these tools, or there has been a resource you have found to be helpful during this time, let us know at info@musicminds.com!

ORGANIZATIONS

• Love4Live is a free online meditation portal providing community, compassion, and support for the thousands of concert industry workers impacted by the COVID-19 shutdown. They host live online meditation classes every Tuesday at 10 am and Thursday at 5 pm (all times Pacific Standard Time) now through Tuesday, November 24.

• The Roadie Clinic exists to empower and heal roadies and their families by providing resources and services tailored to the struggles of the touring lifestyle.

• I'm With The Crew is a panel series that focuses on mental health and wellness for industry professionals.

• Backline is a hub for music industry professionals and their families to quickly and easily access mental health and wellness resources.

• To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inspire, inform, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

• Tour Support is an advocacy organization that promotes mental health support for those working in Music Touring and throughout the live entertainment industry. From access to mental health resources to quality of life assets, Tour Support aims to create happier, healthier communities on the road and when people return home.

• The Tour Life is a podcast that features stories from music industry pros about life on and off the road.

• Sound Nutrition is an organization designed to meet the nutrition and wellness needs of artists and professionals in the music and creative industries.

• SIMS Foundation provides mental health and substance use recovery while supporting and providing education on these issues for musicians, music industry professionals and their families.

• Music Minds Matter is committed to supporting the brain health and mental wellness of music communities everywhere.

• Send Me A Friend's mission is to support musicians and creative professionals who face unique challenges while in early recovery and on the road to a new way of life. A national network of “sober friends” that are on call to come to a show and offer a helping hand and source of support for struggling music industry professionals.

• VA Way's mission is to raise the Mental Health IQ in the music community. They offer seminars to educate the community on Mental Health and shatter the stigmas that prevent each of us from providing meaningful support to our friends and family experiencing mental illness and addiction.

• Porter's Call sets out to be a service of counsel, support, and encouragement to recording artists and their families and to provide a safe and confidential refuge for artists to deal with the issues they face, at no charge.

• Entertainment Health Services specializes in counseling and life coaching services to those who work in the Entertainment Industry, focusing on the compounding pressures of balancing life with stress specific to the entertainment world. EHS aims to build upon each individual's unique skills and strengths to help them create the life and career they always dreamed of. They strive to offer affordable and accessible counseling services, utilizing Telehealth video sessions for those who travel or have unusual work hours and scholarship programs for those who may have financial barriers.

• Music Health Alliance's mission is to Heal The Music by providing access to healthcare through services that protect, direct and connect music professionals with medical and financial solutions.

• We Are All A Little "Crazy" & The #SameHere Global Mental Health Movement 90-minute monthly webinar series with Eric Kussin and the Same Here Global Mental Health Movement speak towards making the conversation of mental health. Register here https://fevo.me/erickussin.