Getting Sidetracked by the Bryan Bros
Okay, so I kinda went down this rabbit hole recently. Started watching golf stuff, you know how it is on YouTube. One minute you’re watching highlights, the next you’re deep into someone’s channel. That’s how I bumped into Wesley Bryan and his wife, Elizabeth Gray. Mostly through that Bryan Bros Golf channel he does with his brother George.
I got hooked for a bit, not just on the trick shots, but kinda watching the whole dynamic. Wesley trying to grind back onto the PGA Tour after surgeries, George doing his thing, and Elizabeth often there in the background or mentioned. It felt pretty real, not overly polished like some stuff you see. My “practice” was basically just observing how they put their lives out there, the ups and downs of pro golf attempts mixed with regular life.
Watching them kind of sparked something, actually. See, I was feeling pretty stale myself around that time. Work was just… work. The same thing day in, day out. Seeing these guys, especially Wesley, battling injuries and trying to make a comeback, it made me think. Here they are, putting themselves out there, trying stuff, filming it all. Why was I just clocking in and out?
So, I decided to try something new myself. Not golf, lord no. I’m terrible at golf. But I thought, maybe I could share my own little hobby. I restore old vintage fans, you know, the cool metal ones? Thought maybe I could make some simple videos about it.
- Got myself a cheap tripod.
- Tried filming with my phone.
- Attempted to explain disassembly and cleaning.
Man, it was a disaster. The lighting in my garage was awful. My hands looked huge and clumsy on camera. And the editing? Took me hours just to cut out the parts where I dropped screws or mumbled nonsense. Uploaded like, two videos. Maybe got 20 views combined. Pretty sure half were me checking if it uploaded okay.
It wasn’t quite the glamorous YouTube life I saw glimpses of. It was just frustrating, mostly. Made me appreciate what folks like Wesley and Elizabeth and George actually do, even if it looks casual. There’s real effort there.
Anyway, I gave up on the fan restoration channel pretty quick. Wasn’t worth the headache. But the whole process did shake things up for me. It wasn’t about becoming YouTube famous, but about breaking the routine. Seeing the Bryans navigating their path, the golf grind and the family stuff Elizabeth holds together, kinda pushed me to stop just complaining about my own situation. I ended up looking for a new job not long after, found something way more engaging. Funny how watching someone else’s grind can kickstart your own, even if it’s in a totally different direction. Still watch their videos sometimes, reminds me that trying stuff, even if it doesn’t work out perfectly, is better than doing nothing.
