May 04
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NAME: christopher gutierrez. aka: deadxstop straight edge for 20 years. Even as a 14 year old kid i took it seriously. there was hesitation when i put the black marker to the back of my hand that afternoon in Matts basement between sets of bench pressing. i knew what it meant and i thought long and hard about the decision. Even if i didn’t yet possess the words to articulate my passion and sincerity, i knew this wasn’t a passing idealistic youth movement. this was about making a lifetime commitment to hold myself to higher standards, to raise the bar on the bloodline and damaged family genes i was born with and to then and there, as a child in basement, say to myself with the upmost conviction; you are better than this. For my mother, for those i hugged, for those that i kissed on the forehead and most of all, for myself, i took the marker and completed the X. But i knew it wasn’t about the ink, that was simply a symbolic gesture… But it made it real. and i knew it. It was me. It always has been. I had made a promise with a marker that day to be a better person. To give myself a platform up and away from the mundane, the simple, the trite, the false rebellion and the mindlessness of peer pressure. that black X was more of a “fuck you” to conventional thinking than any mohawk or spiked leather jacket ever could be. Straight Edge is the greatest investment i have ever made, because it is an opportunity to become the best version of myself i can be. It is a simple investment that produces the greatest returns… and the best investments are in yourself. It was never about fashion or cliques or crews; hell, it wasnt even about the music. It was about ideas, self-confidence, self-reliance and self-determination. A true measure of character. A punk philosophy born out of a punk revolution, and it is my job, my purpose, to leave this world a better place than when i found it. how that is accomplished is by understanding, tolerance and empathy. It is about loving yourself so hard that its impossible to not infect those around you. It is about fighting the good fight, and most of all, it is about understanding that straight edge is a starting point. putting an X on the back of your hand doesnt make you better than anyone. abstaining from drugs and alcohol doesnt make you a better person if you are still hateful or racist or homophobic. But what does make you better is what you do with that clean slate. an opportunity, an investment into yourself that will set you apart from the clones and automatons that are content with keeping their heads in the sand. Its the effect you have with your voice, your shoulder, your ears and your heart that will determine your character, and nothing has brought a shine to my character more than saying that i am straight edge.

NAME: christopher gutierrez. aka: deadxstop

straight edge for 20 years.

Even as a 14 year old kid i took it seriously. there was hesitation when i put the black marker to the back of my hand that afternoon in Matts basement between sets of bench pressing. i knew what it meant and i thought long and hard about the decision. Even if i didn’t yet possess the words to articulate my passion and sincerity, i knew this wasn’t a passing idealistic youth movement. this was about making a lifetime commitment to hold myself to higher standards, to raise the bar on the bloodline and damaged family genes i was born with and to then and there, as a child in basement, say to myself with the upmost conviction; you are better than this. For my mother, for those i hugged, for those that i kissed on the forehead and most of all, for myself, i took the marker and completed the X. But i knew it wasn’t about the ink, that was simply a symbolic gesture… But it made it real. and i knew it. It was me. It always has been. I had made a promise with a marker that day to be a better person. To give myself a platform up and away from the mundane, the simple, the trite, the false rebellion and the mindlessness of peer pressure. that black X was more of a “fuck you” to conventional thinking than any mohawk or spiked leather jacket ever could be.

Straight Edge is the greatest investment i have ever made, because it is an opportunity to become the best version of myself i can be. It is a simple investment that produces the greatest returns… and the best investments are in yourself. It was never about fashion or cliques or crews; hell, it wasnt even about the music. It was about ideas, self-confidence, self-reliance and self-determination. A true measure of character. A punk philosophy born out of a punk revolution, and it is my job, my purpose, to leave this world a better place than when i found it. how that is accomplished is by understanding, tolerance and empathy. It is about loving yourself so hard that its impossible to not infect those around you. It is about fighting the good fight, and most of all, it is about understanding that straight edge is a starting point. putting an X on the back of your hand doesnt make you better than anyone. abstaining from drugs and alcohol doesnt make you a better person if you are still hateful or racist or homophobic. But what does make you better is what you do with that clean slate. an opportunity, an investment into yourself that will set you apart from the clones and automatons that are content with keeping their heads in the sand. Its the effect you have with your voice, your shoulder, your ears and your heart that will determine your character, and nothing has brought a shine to my character more than saying that i am straight edge.

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