All the way up to this past new moon I was adjusting a lot of things, because the truth is I was filled with judgments of heaven, fear and shame. 3 simple bad energies but they are strong enough to keep you in the dark. I say this because the truth is my belief system (what I learned as truth – matrix) lied to me my entire life. It was echoing in my mind this over and over again, like this:
-Skateboarding is a crime. -Rock and roll is evil. -Marijuana is bad medicine. -My sense of fashion was bad. -My attitude was bad. -My food choice were bad. -My connection was spiritual practices were witchcraft.
Yeah I was naive and believed that until I was 40 years old. They were all my love, and my love was bad, but isn’t love the best medicine? For years, I was confused but in 2012 things started to change and got super intense in 2020 and I became aware of those energies stringes that held me back and how they affected me.
After this new moon and a thunderstruck moment (ah-ha moment) in therapy, I am finally feel ready. So, in honor of the 38 years of Iron maiden Piece of mind (there is a very special connection in my book with this album me and Luke) album release this day may 16th 1983, I can say I am ready to give the Roman Catholic Church a piece of my mind with Punkaste Witness, you know a bad religion to compete, and go on with my conspiracy of one with the Rock-it-ology Television, which is kind of a Blipi but Punk, teaching kids about skateboarding and rock and roll. I was already doing, but it’s much easier to do without fear, judments and shame. Meaning, out of the darkness and into the light where the energy flows intead of paralyzing you.
Punkaste, light honest and dignity with a sparkling of fuck you! I never wanted more than I could fit it my head. But this looks like a job for me, cause we need a little controversy, and I ready to go where eagles dare…
Today, 01/20/2021 is actually the day of Saint Sebastiao, the patron of Rio de Janeiro, my birth place. At first I wanted to launch my book this day, but since I realized my story is way bigger than I thought, I needed more time to finish the book. Now the idea of this blog is actually to talk about spirituality, so I decided to use the date as my first post of 2021.
The crazy thing of all of this, is that after I decided to talk about my depression, the opportunities of making my point started to showing up at my door. I mean, from Leo the Great answer my tweet to reading an article where the Pope says that those who are skeptical about the vaccine are suicidal denial. You can read here.
If I am completely honest, my set back started with what the Pope said, and here it is why. I am skeptical of this vaccine. I mean, people have all the rights in the world of being skeptical with this vaccine. I am not antivax or a conspiracy guy. I am just human! But to be fair, just in my life time alone I learned about bullshit science with the tabacco industry, with the nutrition industry, with supplements industry, and even with some medicine industry. My kids are vaccined, I believe they work. But this one is different in so many ways, specially because every day there is something new to the virus (unless media lies about). I am not the only skeptical, I did a poll with a few of my followers and 100% said they don’t trust this vaccine either. I just want wait a bit and see more results, until I make my decision. No, am I not suicidal denial, I had those thoughts before because of what you antecessor Pope said. I don’t anymore, but I can’t help the fact that I am a sensitive man. Yeah, I am sensitive like a witch, so God save the queen!
Let’s be totally fair here, we have a big mental health crisis. Now, come out and call people suicidal denial for being skeptical, it’s not super smart in a crisis, is it? I can even say is a bit judgmental. I mean, have you even heard the other side of the story? I think I can prove why I am skeptical. Am I right? Am I wrong? No one knows! Because even one of my son’s doctors said “who knows, maybe in 10 years from now we will say, that was not a good idea.” Or maybe, just maybe a few of us. A very few of us do know about it, and then the game is not monopoly. The real game is hunger games.
Right or wrong I am human, so I would appreciate less judgment and more respect in my belief. See, the problem is you! And no I never get offended, I just might think you are an asshole, and you don’t fuck with my feelings. Not again, because my #1 rule in my house (mind, body and soul) is the story does not repeat itself. I broke the cycle!
I am more human than human.
My name is Rirou and I want to conquer the world.
Hey brother Christian with your high and mighty errand Your actions speak so loud I can’t hear a word you’re saying Hey sister bleeding heart with all of your compassion Your labors soothe the hurt but can’t assuage temptation
Hey man of science with your perfect rules of measure Can you improve this place with the data that you gather? Hey mother mercy can your loins bear fruit forever? Is your fecundity a trammel or a treasure?And I want to conquer the world Give all the idiots a brand new religion Put an end to poverty, uncleanliness and toil Promote equality in all of my decisions With a quick wink of the eye And a “God you must be joking”
Hey mister diplomat with your worldly aspirations Did you see your children cry when you left them at the station? Hey moral soldier you’ve got righteous proclamation And precious tomes to fuel your pulpy conflagrations
And I want to conquer the world Give all the idiots a brand new religion Put an end to poverty, uncleanliness and toil Promote equality in all of my decisionsI want to conquer the world Expose the culprits and feed them to the children I’ll do away with air pollution and then I’ll save the whales We’ll have peace on earth and global communion
I want to conquer the world I want to conquer the world I want to conquer the world I want to conquer the world
Here it is the first chapter of my book with the release on EASTER 2021!
-Chapter 1-
It was a recurring dream. Buildings, trees, and people stretched in size in a fraction of a second while I shrunk. All that grew in me was the despair of not being heard in that distorted world. My screams echoed through the giant legs of my parents and brothers, but did not reach the parabolic ears. The worst was realizing that they didn't miss me. Family members, friends and colleagues showed no concern for my whereabouts, as if there had never been a Richard Wygand in their lives.
When I remember the loneliness I carried in my chest when I awoke from the nightmare, I feel deep compassion for that frightened boy.
Ah, Rirou, my man! How I wanted to be able to go back in time and hug you. Sit next to me and say that a man cries too and that you can cry when you feel like it. I was also going to teach you that you can say what you feel and listen to the music that moves you. Heavy metal, punk rock, reggae, samba. Does not matter. Try all styles, kid, that's what I was going to defend. Then, I would invite you to go skateboarding until the sun meets the sea in Rio de Janeiro.
A meeting like this could take away that bad dream from the lonely room of the apartment at Cosme Velho, in Laranjeiras, once I lived my childhood and pre-adolescence as the beginning of a trio of energetic boys, children of a marriage that ended when I was 3 years old.
We lived with my mother and grandparents in a middle-class condominium that was two kilometers from Christ the Redeemer, a symbol of faith similar to the giants that drowned out my pleas for help while sleeping.
It took me decades to realize that waking up from that nightmare didn't mean relief. My voice also did not find any attentive ears in the real world and, just like in the dream, I kept shrinking until I became an introverted, depressed child, with binge eating and bursting with aggression.
In the first fight at school, I remember crying. My colleagues didn't understand anything, because I had hit the boy. The disagreement started with a soccer crash, a trigger to vent the toxic masculinity that many men carry. The boy cursed me, I snapped, and he tried to kick me. As I was already beaten by two much bigger than me, I managed to defend myself. I reacted by reflex, grabbed my leg, swiped the other for support, and my colleague fell on his back, running out of air. We still clung to the floor and I started punching him, while crying.
I cried a lot until I was 7 years old. Any change in a place’s energy or a person’s mood was enough to tighten my grip. Soon, thick tears were streaming down her face. My brothers, their friends and my own made fun of me when I reacted crying to a disagreement on the playground or suffering from a stupid joke. I remember singing “Boys Don’t Cry” by The Cure and laughing in my face. As any child would, I ran to the nearest adult who could protect and comfort me from that tightness in my chest. But the giants did not seem to hear the little one and preferred to ignore what was happening to me. So, after hearing so much that I was a big boy and that a boy shouldn’t cry, I ended up learning to swallow my tears and hide my feelings. Ah, Rirou, my man! It didn’t have to be that way. Yes, a man cries, and it is very good to cry, see? Several generations of boys have been manufactured by this violent way of relating to themselves, to others and to the environment in which they live. The result was billions of insecure, frustrated, depressed, unhappy and destructive men.
After 33 years and thousands of kilometers traveled, after countless therapy sessions, of all kinds, and meeting wonderful beings that allowed me to conquer the freedom to enjoy my pleasures without censorship, I can say that I am closer to healing than who never imagined little Richard Wygand, so frightened in his world of oppressive giants.
In that unlikely encounter, in addition to comforting you from the bad dream, I would show that the Rirou 2020 version has grown enough to face the internal and external monsters. I'm sure he would be proud to know that in the future he would become an accomplished man, husband and father.
Such a return to time would be so incredible and important that I would not hesitate to tell you that we are now strong enough to declare war on the greatest dehumanizing of human creations: the Roman Apostolic Catholic Church.
Yes, because I do not blame my parents or grandparents, nor any adult who contributed to my education. My mother, poor thing, recently divorced, trying to return to the job market, without time to watch three big guys. In that chaos, saying that a man doesn't cry was the easiest way to create a shell on me to withstand the world outside.
The problem is that out there was a society based on religious principles, poisoned by limiting truths about what is right and wrong and ignorant enough to threaten children to hell just for not following Christian moral standards to a T.
Swallowing my feelings was the first armor I was put on to deal with the world of real giants, but no one protected me to absorb the raised fingers in my direction who thought I was a bad boy for listening to heavy metal, punk rock or skateboarding.
I was eight years old when I heard from a friend of my brother that the Slayer undead poster, which he had in his room, was the certificate that the final judgment would not be easy for us rock'n roll lovers.
"You listen to these songs of the devil, know that Jesus is going to return with a train, take whoever believes in him, and burn everything else," was what he said.
For those who liked the style, like the three of us at home, hearing that sentence caused me a lot of fear. That boy knew something that I didn't know. I could be right, I don't know.
Unable to cry and terrified of suffering the judgment of others for being who I wanted to be, I ended up withdrawing until I deserved a good guy pat on the head.
The reward came in calories. I devoured all the food I saw in front of me. Half a packet of white bread with honey or ketchup was a common snack in my afternoons. At birthday parties, no one exceeded my count in the number of hot dogs.
Overweight, at the age of 7, I became a boy who knew he was a good person, but who anesthetized himself with sodium and sugar to fall asleep without fear and guilt. The worst of it is that none of this saved me from encountering the giants and loneliness in a nightmare.
The truth is I just left hell, I mean if want a definition for depression on how it feels it probably feels like hell. It’s like you are caged in your own mind, like a maze. You can speak but nobody listen. The problem is that to find the way out you need to go into that maze. That is what I did. During my 18 ironmans I learned when you are in hell mine as well become friends with the Devil, but to do that I had to dive into the pain. Ironman for me was great because the physical pain helped me with the emotional pain and honestly what’s better than hours of training and racing to feel pain? I was a slave of pain!
During my scape from hell I spent a lot of time listening to music, all kinds of music but predominantly heavy metal and punk rock, they were my real training partner. Music was the only thing that for years made me not feel alone, until I met my wife. She never lied to me, and she believed me from day one when I said I was going to be a professional triathlete. Even having all the odds against me. She also believed me when I said I could beat depression. So. I went thru to find out the cause of my depression, I changed so much that probably feels like she married another man, however my essence was always punk. She has always supported my insanity proving that I was not alone, and loving me unconditionally.
After Luke was born I realized that was the biggest reason of my depression was existential, and who created the problem was religion. More precisely the catholic religion. During my existential crisis I realized they are all religions are the same, with the same judgments as everybody else. They all put you in a box, and try to tell you that the box is love, and everything else around you is not, even your own feelings. I mean, in all religions rock and roll is the deivls song. But how come rock and roll is bad if literally saved my soul. Not only that, it helped me scape hell. A hell that religion put me in to begging with. I mean, they don’t even stop to listen, it’s just pure judgmental and not inclusive at all. That is not love. Therefore they can’t fucking talk about love, because they infect give love a bad name.
During my meditations I started to put the dots together and I realized that I could be a prophecy because I am gifted in so many ways, by the same “God” that I was told was going to send me to hell. A friend told me once “you are the most rock and roll person I know”. So, lets translate that to I am the least holy person in the world and not worth it of “God’s love”, but Rock and Roll was always there to make sure I was not alone. I mean, is so ironically perfect, and it would be a shame if the story was not told. You know, many people say irony is the face of “God.” So, I am putting all the details in a book – Punkaste, my way out of depression, but here it is a glance of my prophecy:
I was born on international yoga day. Yoga means unity.
During my life I learned how it feels to be different, and silenced. But I also learned about fighting the odds. Odds of quit smoking is 7.2% (check), odds of becoming a professional athlete 1.5% (check), the odds of finding your soul mate in this world I have no idea, but check. The odds of fighting depression I don’t know either, but check. The odds of men that talk about love, I don’t know but I am doing.
Life gave me a kid that is totally different, that was born fighting the odds with a super power of turning love in people with a simple smile and loves music.
Life now is giving a another kid with an energy that I can’t explain. From what I know is that until week 35 she was breech and we fought the odds to turn her naturally, again after hearing doctors saying it was impossible.
I was gifted of being good with kids, and with the ability of reinvent kids music. I honestly made 7 songs for the album in one day, still needs improvement but the fact I can make an air guitar song into a real one is pretty cool, maybe be a stupid super power but it is one. Now why reinvent kids songs? Have you noticed how religious they are? I know better than anyone else that music can teach a lot. What better way to then teaching kids about unity and love with music?
Now, what are the odds of picking a fight with Religion? Probably pretty low but I don’t care about fighting the odds because that is the joy of life, and osho said once spirituality is joy. Being alive is too much fun and fighting the odds is what makes life fun. But why pick a fight with Religion, I would say why not? I am a trouble maker and I am fool enough to do so.
In my comedy video in Portuguese I said what I wanted Religion to do, but I realized now I want more. Here are my claims:
Religion to apologize for all Rock and Roll lovers. All religions need to apologize.
Pay for my therapy and damages of my imagine. I say 3 million is good for me and my family. Part of the $ will be used to create cartoons, music, to teach kids about unity. Also, money to build a weed farm to distribute for the people in need for medicine that deal with mental health.
The pope to kiss my feet and say that I am the greatest punk. (LOL)
And the truth about aliens 👽.
The prophecy is been written and it had began: Punkaste, the Wygands conspiracy. Because peace without a voice is not peace is fear. Maybe one day this blog will get to the Pope….(LOL)!
I must confess I am loving 2020 because my life started to make sense, and as I said I found my why. I always believed in crisis, I mean crisis bring the best out of us. Because there is no way around it, you have to face it in order to survive. That is why I truly believe crisis brings in the best in us, we have to change, there is no escape.
During my healing process that includes lots of music, skateboarding, singing, guitar/bass playing and my monthly therapy sessions I realized that Religion is the biggest bully of all times at least with me. That is what my book is really about. I love the topic spirituality/existance but I hate religion because put most people in a box, a depressive box of unworthiness. That why for me in that topic there is a thin line between love and hate. Spirituality is about love and unity, however what religion teaches is hate and separation. Unfortunately I never had a chance to say my side of the story, I was shut off by Religion and that cause me a great amount of pain and anger.
Now, did you know that my best iron man ever was racing with anger released in a positive way. That was the race I did against my brothers. I love them but I hate the fact that I was smaller and got beat up all the time. However, in an ironman race we are all equal, and that day my goal was simple: to beat them in the race with as much as spare time as possible. Yeah, I used all my anger to a good thing, to have the performance of my life, a performance that made my career boom as an athlete and coach. What’s best is that was during the race and nobody got hurt, well maybe egos got hurt,but that is ok. I felt relief but took me awhile to understand why that was my best race.
Now when it comes to religion I have been bully for 40 years, I tried many times to approach and have conversations. Real deep meaningful conversations, but I was never received with an open heart. Which sounds crazy, because it should be the opposite. Up to 2020 I had hopes in 2 Religions, not to join but to listen. The 1st was spirtism and the 2nd new age type of thing. However 2020 showed me different again. Around June 2020, in an instagram live where it was a new age subject I said something about rock and roll I was received with an really weird vibe. A judgmental one, so I was ok, for that reason I am out. Then yesterday I made a comment in a famous YouTube channel about spiritism, and I was received the same way, with the same judgmental vibe. It was weird because in both times I came from a loving place being true to myself, making a true statement and in a polite manner. Once again I was received in a judgmental way.
One thing I learned is that with bullies you have to fight back, but in a smart way. Religion have been bullying me for years. They didn’t even stop to hear me, they took my voice and I got in trouble for it. Now I need to make my voice heard for my own healing and for that I am telling my story, a book that Religion will try to burn. Now what do I do with all that anger built? Do the same thing that I did in the ironman against my brothers, use my anger to build good. That is when Rock-it-ology was born.
The name Rock-it-ology came from the song Rock-it from Motörhead. The lyrics says it all, Rock and Roll saved my soul and Lemmy’s got it. Inspired on that was what made want to share the story and use my anger to something good and since life is like an ironman race. I will let it out in this life, cause I am not carring this for the next one. What you do in this life echoes in the eternity so I will fight the evil forces of religion, and remind kids about unity (love). Think about it, I will leave an story with true conisidences, like a prophecy, with music to wake up the inner child feeling (inner punk). This way just like in this iron maiden song, when is my time to go heart will die and my soul will fly forever. Truth is you can burn a book but you can’t shut a thinking mind. Genius or insane? I now think I am a genius, or I am the fallen angel and I am here accomplishing my mission.
Now is a matter of time, of Religion going down, I mean kids just need to be remmeber of who they are and what they came here for. They will shape the world the way they want too and kids are naturally born punks. Like I said is not about me, is about my kids and the world I am leaving for them. I won’t lie the older you get are harder it is due the baggage, but it’s possible. You just need to be willing to get out of the matrix. Meanwhile I will keep fighting back because I won’t sell my soul. The truth is the more I do it, the better and more loving Dad I become, because heals me and allow me to fully presents with my kids and less time between the walls of unworthiness.
They will shape the world the way they want too and kids are naturally born punks. Like I said is not about me, is about my kids and the world I am leaving for them.
For me it all make sense now, is all about Roots and Attitude (thanks Sepultura). The roots here are going within, however going within means going to your darkness and that is painful as fuck, but very rewarding. Attitude is punk, meaning facing your demons. Just remember light needs darkness to shine, is all connected and its all about balance!
Punkaste,
Rirou
One of my favorite songs from Motorhead
When a person turns to wrong, is it a want to be, belong? Part of things at any cost, at what price a life is lost At what point do we begin, fighter spirit a will to win But what makes a man decide, take the wrong or righteous road There’s a thin line between love and hate Wider divide that you can see between good and bad There’s a grey place between black and white But everyone does have the right to choose the path that he takes We all like to put the blame on society these days But what kind of good or bad a new generation brings Sometimes take just more than that to survive be good at heart There is evil in some of us no matter what will never change I will hope, my soul will fly, so I will live forever Heart will die, my soul will fly, and I will live forever Just a few small tears between someone happy and one sad Just a thin line drawn between being a genius or insane At what age begin to learn of which way out we will turn There’s a long and winding road and the trail is there to burn There’s a thin line between love and hate Wider divide that you can see between good and bad There’s a grey place between black and white But everyone does have the right to choose the path that he takes I will hope, my soul will fly, so I will live forever Heart will die, my soul will fly, and I will live forever I will hope, my soul will fly, so I will live forever Heart will die, my soul will fly, and I will live forever The thin line between love and hateThe thin line between love and hate
I am Rirou the Punk! 