Team Bio: Kennedy

Bourn Adventure and Bourn Adventure Gear Brand Ambassador | 2015

John Kennedy (or more commonly known as, Co-Commander Kennedy) graduated J. Frank Dobie high school in Houston with a Good Enough Diploma. At the time, he did not have much of a direction he wanted to take with his life. Kennedy spent time as a welder’s helper, carpentry helper, machinist helper and all around unmotivated individual who struggled to find what he really wanted to do for the rest of his life. Getting nowhere with the idea of an apprenticeship, Kennedy joined the United States

Army. While he did not find a job that really appealed to him, through the proper application of mentoring and a whole hell of a lot of push-ups, Kennedy did realize that the fear of the unknown had a major influence in his life, relationship and career choices. From that moment, he made a solid effort to accept challenges, especially the ones that scared the living crap out of him. Following his deployment to Iraq in ’03 – ’04 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom / Enduring Freedom, Kennedy left the Army with an Honorable discharge. Due to his training and experiences in the military, it helped him accept all the challenges and opportunities life would throw his way. 

After goofing off for a year or so post-Army, Kennedy received a message from a family member that a Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana was hiring. Realizing that he knew nothing about work as a cop, Kennedy recognized that this presented just the kind of challenge that terrified him as a child, so he went for it. Little did he know that being the po-lice (how South Louisiana people pronounce it) would not only affirm his experiment but reward him with levels of knowledge and a sense of purpose he could have only dreamt of before joining the Big Green Weenie (military term for the Army). Not only knowledge and a sense of purpose but also lots and lots of experience wrestling people that smelled like a combination of old cheese and that stuff that gets scraped out of your toenails during a pedicure (don’t judge him, I hear he gots clean feet, yo).

Kennedy spent five years as a Sheriff’s Deputy, during which he was a member in good standing with S.W.A.T., a member of Bicycle Patrol (don’t laugh, Bike Patrol was incredibly effective, and no they didn’t have streamers from the handlebars or training wheels) assisted Narcotics, Water Patrol, Directed Patrol and Criminal Patrol Units. Even though everything Kennedy experienced as a cop was fun, exciting and educational, he still felt constricted by the assumption that he would want to stay in the same place and do the same job for 20 years. After those five years, Kennedy left law enforcement to pursue other interests.

One that that happened during Kennedy’s time as a LEO that stuck with him even after he left was the friendship he struck up with Baker. For some bizarre reason, despite the obvious size and level of sanity difference, Kennedy and Baker found that not only did they share a common interest in movies, video games, humor and slightly burned steak, they also shared an urge to see what’s around the next corner.

One day, out of the blue, Baker called up Kennedy as he was in Texas being a rangemaster for some loony tunes dude that built his own range and asked him if he would want to go on a roadtrip, since another friend had sudden commitments that got in the way. Possibly breaking the Guinness Book of World records for “quickest decision made before hearing any detail,” Kennedy accepted the offer, told the range owner he was leaving and to try not to have any of his idiot friends shoot his next rangemaster, and booked a flight to Detroit, Michigan the very next day.

Over the next four years, Kennedy had much to do with Baker, his lovely wife Ashlie and Bourn Adventure. Nothing ever official, mind you. Just some weird, bald guy that didn’t have much to anchor him down to one particular place or profession and was a perfect candidate for a long-distance roadtrip that required either the patience of a saint to deal with Baker’s quirks, or an equally quirky quasi-hobo that was down for just about any kind of trip, as long as he managed to not get irritated with the management or employees and quit before saving up enough money to afford his part of the trip. To date, Kennedy has been a part of two large Bourn Adventure road trips (M-E.A.E.C.-15 and M-E.A.W.C.-16) that changed internet history.

M-E.A.E.C.-15 Road Trip

M-E.A.W.C.-16 Road Trip

All in all, Kennedy was a scared little bunny before he embraced the concept of Adventure. Once he did, life became two million times more scary, exciting, crazy, and wonderful than he would have possibly accepted if his present self would travel back in time to tell his past self. As a member of Bourn Adventure, he recognizes that his presence on this team is a direct result of that decision made long ago, a decision made of a distinct disappointment with the direction of supposedly “safe” choices that were in fact chains stronger than any metal of this Earth. Kennedy is a living, breathing example of how strength of character and a willingness to embrace uncertainty can lead you to a path of many great friends, fantastic places and enormous experiences.

When asked what advice Kennedy had for people seeking adventure, here is what he said:

" To anyone reading this, thank you for your attention. To anyone reading this with a decision hanging over your head, do yourself a favor and take the road less travelled. The road might get bumpy, but the destination is amazing and we here at Bourn Adventure would love to hear about it. "

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-Bourn Adventure Gear

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