Welcome to our first blog.

Well, somewhat first. We’ve written a lot over the years:
Articles, commentaries, reports, short stories, poems, flash fiction…
And even books.

A trilogy, actually.
Well… part of one, to be accurate.
Books 1 & 2 are already out… and doing really well.
Definitely inspiring us to write more.

That third one is being written as we write (relatively speaking, of course).
It is still in, let’s call it, “creation mode”
(in our heads and ready for ‘download’).

So yes… we’ve written a lot.
And yet, this is our first blog.

Oops.

A quick search confirmed something we weren’t expecting.
One or both of us had blogged before.

Just not for long.
And not together.

Definitely before we fully understood what “blogging” meant.
The point being: this is our first blog… together.

Here. Right now.

Okay, now that it’s clear these words are written by two people…
the two of us, Jef and Mindy!

Hi.

(Also, Mindy and Jef, though that’s not how it’s usually said).

So, let’s begin by talking about why.
Not just any why. Our why.

Why now? Why this matters?
And why you should care?

Well, not sure you should care, but you may find our style interesting.
Meaning, our story is rare. It’s unique.
And potentially intriguing.

Let’s start with why we are jointly doing this.
As reality has it, we’ve been together for what feels like ‘ever’.
It’s been over 25 years!:

Husband wife team, business partners, closest of friends, co-authors and… yes, bloggers.

We got married in 2000. Strategically.
(Anniversary math made simple.)

Our first meeting, in 1999, was more than happenstance.
True… happenstance.

(A word, it turns out, that was foreign to both of us… until we heard someone say it.
Meaning, we each thought he made it up.
Discovering he hadn’t, we adopted it. It’s pretty cool.)

Never mind that matter, though.
What matters is this:

From our very first meeting, a few things happened quite naturally.
Not necessarily in this sequence, but most likely:

1. Love at first sight.
It started in a driveway…

2. Jef told Mindy about The Ridiculous.
“How could I not?” was his reasoning.

“Here with me is the real-life version of my book’s character… whoa!”
(More on that later.)

The point being that from day one,
The Ridiculous was intermingled in our lives.

For Jef, it started back in his mid-teens after reading, quote…
the funniest books ever: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

The kind of series that, if read in class, could lead to detention…
Mostly due to outbursts of laughter, which did happen.
Still, Jef devoured each book until they were… done.

Done?! Yep. Done.
The five-book series came to an actual end.
Its style of humor to drive insight through absurdity…was over.

Jef was not happy about that. Not one iota.
“That can’t be. It must continue. But how?”
A realization followed, or an in head declaration:

“Me. I’ll do it. I’ll honor Adams’ style.”

That’s when and why The Ridiculous began.

His words flowed. He laughed first in his head.
He laughed when he wrote them down.
Again when he read them out loud.
Again… and again.

His friends laughed too.
More detentions, sure, but everyone was smiling.

Writing was always Jef’s thing.
Likely helped along by his English teachers…
the ones he’d hang with after getting kicked from class.
They’d trade memorable lines from British comedies like Monty Python,
The Benny Hill Show, On the Buses… and of course, Hitchhiker’s.
Then something happened… Life.

Meaning the writing went on hiatus.
Yadda-yadda-yadda…

During the next phase of life, our lives came together.
As a couple, we built a prominent fitness movement.
Our expos, TV shows, world tour, publications, and brand collaborations created community, connection, and niche cultures still active today.

Our platforms ended up empowering millions worldwide to be bodyproud:
to love better how they think, function, feel, act, look and dream.
(Topic for another blog.)

“Ordinary” people became their “extra” ordinary:
As their own superhero, fitness star, physique model, and athlete.
Many are wellness icons and among social media’s first influencers.
It became our quest to learn their gems, and study with thought leaders.

Plot twisty.
The world paused.

And just like that… The Ridiculous returned.

Mindy encouraged Jef to get back to it.
To do something else he loved.

So he did… with her help.

First, as his cheerleader.
Then as his development editor.
Appreciative and impressed, Jef invited her to co-author.

That’s when it stopped being just his…and started becoming ours.
Our hearts aligned on this as a passion project.
At the same time we were still fuelled to fulfill a purpose-driven career…

So guess what?
We combined it all.

Empowerment, wellbeing, and self-reflection are all in there.
Embedded right into the story.

The gems and nuggets we learned along the way.
Subtly mixed with comedy.

Oh… and science fiction.

The science fiction aspect sure makes writing easier in a way.
With it, the doorway of creativity is wide open with possibility.
Meaning, when in doubt, we get to make things up.
That’s part of the fun (thanks Hitchhiker’s).

It also lets us layer in aha-worthy concepts.
Notions that may shift something in you.

If not, at least there’s a laugh…
sometimes when least expected.

Laugh First. Think Later.
That was book 1’s tagline.

Laugh First. Think Deeper.
That tagline belongs to book 2.

Why? Because comedy does that.
It opens the door to seeing things differently.

And… seeing things differently is where change begins.

What are we seeing differently?

Anyway, back to why we’re here:

We have one more book left in the trilogy.
Our gamified ecosystem is underway.
And, sharing by blog felt like a next logical step.