Will Bullock

My name is William Bullock, but I never use my full name because of a family reason. Only my family can call me that. My friends call me Will. I love Jiu-jitsu, even though I am still getting into it. The group of guys I roll with are like family to me. They saved me from self destruction. Art fascinates me but I cannot draw to save my life. I like the loose interpretation art can have because anybody can have a different view on a certain piece. That’s how I see myself sometimes. Anybody can have their own opinion or view on me, but they still would not know me.

​When I was 18, I partied way too much and was pissed off because I couldn’t play college ball. That disappoint took me down my path. I overworked myself at a young age because back then, money was everything to me. It ended up in me being flamed out of school at the age of 20 and getting in minor trouble with the law during that same time too. I eventually overcame all of that and started working in the financial industry. I went back to school and got my degree as well. So in hindsight, my failures made me work harder for what I wanted. So my success lately has been amazing.

At 19 years old, my next door neighbor asked me to coach football. I was hesitant to say yes at first, but I finally agreed. I never actually coached with my neighbor. Another guy named Larry Williams took me under his wing and mentored me. He made coaching fun and such a stress reliever. I never thought coaching would be so rewarding. Having kids look up to you with all of their hopes just like you did to someone when you were little. It changed my views on a lot of things. I decided to cut off a lot of "dead-weight" friends I knew for years that were not doing anything for me. I did not want to end up in a bad place when I knew in my heart anyway that I should not be there.

Then I went back to school. It was the biggest hurdle I ever had to face. Going back to a place where I felt I wasn’t smart enough to finish. I never thought I was "book smart" but instead, "street smart". A year and half later I got my degree and it was the best feeling ever. I finally felt like I turned over a new leaf in my life. A few weeks later, I got the financial job.

My family has seen me through my ups and downs and I appreciate them more than they know. This doesn't just mean my immediate family either. When I call people "family", I mean it. Not a day goes by that I do not think about my friends that have moved on to other things. They help me grow. They are my family as well. My sister inspires me too. She is the hardest working person I know and she has one of the biggest hearts I have ever seen. The funny thing is, her and I didn’t have a good relationship for a while. We butt heads until I was about 20. I felt like she was the apple of my parent's eyes while I was the black sheep that partied in the wee nights. It happens. We never had a sibling rivalry, just different views on how to run our lives.

If I could tell my younger self something, it would be "do not chase these women." I lost so much time always trying to be with someone. I think after I broke up with my last ex and wasn’t dating for a while, I grew. I was focusing on me and not someone else or something else. It gave me time to go back to the drawing board and figure out what I wanted to do and I wanted to travel.

When I was 18 years old I went overseas to one of the best trips I ever had. I went to Italy and Spain and saw the world differently after that. The culture, the vibes, and the sounds were amazing. I remember calling a friend on a boat heading to Spain and he said he should have came. I told him we shut down VIP last night and I don't think I've ever heard him have so much regret in his voice.

I want to finish up another degree, get married, find a better job, and buy a townhouse and not exactly in that order. I learned the hard way, you cannot plan for everything in your life. Sometimes you just have to let go and have enough faith in yourself to believe you're doing things the right way and to just let things fall into place. Looking ahead to 10, 15, and 20 years scares me man. When I think about those years I am not thinking about myself really, I am thinking about the family I will have at that time.

My story is still being written. I think I am just at the climax point and don’t know where it is going from here. I have overcome a lot of difficult things in my life but I am proud of how it shaped me. I'll never regret where I come from or who I am. People know me as the funny guy or like a story teller type of guy and I am cool with that. But people don’t know me for being the deep thinker or for having a big heart. My story isn’t really a story to me; it is a book of short stories wrapped up in hemp. I have so many experiences from different people and have seen the worlds they live in and it is crazy. The short stories of the people I know are bigger than my story. I learn from them and they learn through me. These moments are the reason why I get tattoos. Every experience I have will be remembered through ink. So when I look in the mirror at 50+ I can smile and say “ I knew how to live” and I think that’s how everyone wants their story to end.