Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
BONUS EPISODE: Justin Peck: Racing to Resilience – Transforming Bipolar Challenges into Mental Health Advocacy and Community Support
Wed, 4 Dec 2024
Send us a textJoin us for a stirring conversation with Justin Peck, a professional race car driver who has turned his personal challenges with class one bipolar disorder into a powerful advocacy for mental health. Justin shares his early experiences of feeling different and the painful reality of bullying and lack of support, which many listeners may find relatable. His candid reflections offer insights into the evolving understanding within his own family and draw important parallels with the autistic community, shedding light on the broader need for awareness and acceptance.Racing became more than just a sport for Justin; it transformed into a lifeline. He recounts a harrowing experience at 26, when a moment of despair turned into a revelation that led to a crucial diagnosis and a renewed purpose. Listeners will find inspiration in Justin's incredible resilience as he navigated economic challenges in the construction industry to pursue his passion for racing. Despite enduring significant physical pain, Justin's journey underscores the healing power of pursuing one's passion and finding a community that offers belonging and support.As the founder of the National Mental Health Alliance, Justin is on a mission to educate and support those facing mental health challenges, particularly veterans and young men. Our discussion emphasizes the value of authentic conversations and the impact they can have on lives. Justin's story is one of hope, resilience, and the power of purpose, and we invite listeners to engage with the content that not only educates but genuinely inspires change.https://tonymantor.comhttps://Facebook.com/tonymantorhttps://instagram.com/tonymantorhttps://twitter.com/tonymantorhttps://youtube.com/tonymantormusicintro/outro music bed written by T. WildWhy Not Me the World music published by Mantor Music (BMI)
Chapter 1: What is the purpose of this podcast episode?
Welcome to Why Not Me? The World Podcast, hosted by Tony Mantor. Broadcasting from Music City, USA, Nashville, Tennessee. Join us as our guests tell us their stories. Some will make you laugh, some will make you cry. real life people who will inspire and show that you are not alone in this world.
Hopefully you gain more awareness, acceptance, and a better understanding for autism around the world. Hi, I'm Tony Mantor. Welcome to Why Not Me? The World. Today marks a special episode, our monthly bonus installment. I'll be engaging in conversation within the mental health sector that's outside of the autistic community. This will provide valuable insights which will enhance our understanding.
This discussion aims to shed light on how we can collectively create a more inclusive environment for everyone. Justin Peck joins us today to discuss his daily approach to maintaining mental wellness and resilience. Thanks for joining us.
Absolutely, absolutely.
I see you're an advocate for special needs, autism, and mental health. What led you to be an advocate for all these people that ultimately need this help?
Oh boy, I think we're going on 28 years now. I was diagnosed with class one bipolar. So I went through suicide attempts, went through a lot of just crazy emotions, crazy feelings, but I was a professional race car driver. You can't say that you're crazy when you're doing a crazy sport, if that makes any sense.
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Chapter 2: What led Justin Peck to become an advocate for mental health?
That makes total sense.
So it took me quite a few years, brother, like probably 15 years before I kind of just grasped the concept of this is what I'm living with. This is what God has blessed me with. And so I ended up forming the National Mental Health Alliance. I mean, that's ultimately how I got into it is being a patient, being someone that experiences what mental illness is like.
My family struggles with it, my daughters, my sons. So it's personal to me.
Yeah, I think we all can relate to that in some form.
The irony behind everything is I think that's mostly how people get into the certain trades that they're in. They'll come up with a trauma or a family experience and they're so passionate about that experience. That's the course correction and that's where they end up going in life.
Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. So at what age, I guess, did you start feeling like you was maybe different than the rest or things weren't falling in line like others?
So I was probably nine is my earliest recollection. But where I felt that I was different is I was highly sensitive. My emotions, I still to this day, and you'll probably see that as we discuss further on, but I wear my emotions very, very, very close on my shoulders. I don't hold any of it back. At nine, I was an emotional sensitive kid. Kind of went through that process.
And so I kind of started pulling away from there. And then when I turned 13, that was my very first manic episode. And I remember it very vividly, actually. When that happened, not only did my friends see me different, but my family saw me different because I was different.
Yeah, that's a tough thing to go through as a kid.
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Chapter 3: How did Justin's childhood experiences shape his mental health journey?
Yeah, I get that. I mean, my podcast that you're on now is mainly focused on autism. It covers, just like you're saying, the varied ways that people deal with it and find out. And I think the most important thing that we're getting out of this is that mental health is very important no matter what it happens to be.
Just like you were saying earlier, mental health issues, no matter what it is, have not been talked about and have not been brought to the forefront. So with that said, you brought up your friends and family. How did that affect them? How did that affect you? Did you have bullying or do you have issues in school because of it? How did you work your way through that?
yeah brother like all all through my high school junior high elementary um it was it was severe cases i mean it would be things now that people would probably get arrested for because back then bullying was just bullying right it's there you always had someone bigger than you my family structure was very solid they didn't understand by no means um you know growing up with you know a dad that's
was a truck driver and it's, you know, lean and mean type things. Growing up with a grandpa that went through the great depression and, you know, the 1918 type stuff, then all the dilemmas and all the things that they went through. And then they look at us as a new generation coming through and they like suck it up. You know, it's that, it's that whole mentality.
And so I had great support, but they didn't understand. I mean, I didn't understand. And it wasn't until I actually dove into it and was willing to talk about it that my family actually grasped onto the concept of what I was going through. My mother still feels bad that she wasn't able to recognize it. But again, I mean, it was 40 years ago. And how do you do that?
So when you had your first episode, everybody was kind of shocked and didn't know what to do. How do they handle it? If they're not used to it, they don't know what it's about. They're confused. What was their dynamic in the way that they approached to make it better for you?
Well, so in school, nothing. Honestly, nothing. Teachers, educators, the people that I would typically look for or look to for support in a school atmosphere, there was none. There was zero back then. But again, my family, it was more... trying to think how to even explain this. It wasn't that they didn't know what to do. So, okay, I guess I'll back up a little bit.
On the manic phase, I went from being a kid that was pretty quiet, didn't really say much, kind of kept to myself, felt like it was more of a depressive state, more of a mellow state. But then overnight, I turned into the mania phase and I got into a lot of trouble, skipped school all the time. I was a hooligan. And I think my parents kind of probably took that as,
just teenage years and going through puberty and all those things, which it's ironic that it actually happened in that period of time because I still have a firm belief that the mental components has a lot to do with hormone balances and the changing of body and how hormones actually affect our brain.
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Chapter 4: What pivotal moment changed Justin's perspective on life?
Chapter 5: How did racing serve as a form of therapy for Justin?
Yeah, that was a tough few years.
I kind of turned my focus more into helping people get paid in the construction industry. So I still stick in the construction industry, but racing is probably my priority. I guess maybe my priorities are a little messed up, but I love the race car. I really transformed into the full-time racer probably 15, 16 years ago. It just slowly evolved into where I'm at.
That's great. So of course, with racing, everybody thinks what?
NASCAR.
So what kind of racing is it that you are into? So for the people that are listening can look it up and hopefully follow you on what you're doing.
The best way for me to describe it is, so I drive trophy trucks and rally cars. So it's the Baja 1000. It's the Vegas to Reno. It's the long distance endurance racing in trucks that have huge horsepower. So like, for example, the Baja 1000 last year was a 1,369 mile race. Took us 38 hours, right? So you're in the race car a long time.
I was a dirt bike guy for a long time, had some good sponsorship with like KTM and those guys. But after so many broken bones, you have to get into a cage.
I'm glad that you brought that up because actually that was my next question. It says that you have like 84 broken bones in your body.
Yeah, but more than that now.
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Chapter 6: What was Justin's turning point in understanding his mental health?
Chapter 7: How does Justin's story reflect on the importance of community support?
posed to me like that in a very, very long time. So thank you for that. That's an amazing question. So I woke up one morning, I was married. So I was 26 years old. So I had, I think, two babies at that time, maybe three. And I had been fighting the depressive side of it pretty hard. My wife at the time didn't really understand. I didn't talk about it very often.
Okay.
I remember waking up one morning and just had the feeling of despair and grabbed my dog. I was a construction guy, so grabbed my dog and threw him in the back of the truck and went to go check on my job sites. And I found myself at the top of the canyon. So isolation... is a pretty powerful thing. It could be very negative. It could be positive as well.
I isolated myself from a lot of people during that moment. And it wasn't even a planned thing. I was sitting at the top of the canyon watching my dog run around with all the joy in the world. Looking at the beautiful scenery, the trees, the valley. And it's always kind of intrigued me because I don't necessarily have the answer of why that moment happened.
But the moment was as simple like I give up, reached into the center console of my truck, grabbed the pistol.
loaded it put it to my head and pulled the trigger what that did for me it did a few things um but i remember that depressive feeling before i pulled the trigger and then when you pull the trigger that adrenaline the massive amount of adrenaline that hit me and the very first emotion that i had is i was mad i was i was generally angry at myself but how could i screw this one up too right like
There's a bullet in there. I knew it. So when I unchambered the bullet and it flew in front of my face and landed in my lap, I picked it up and I looked at it and I saw where the firing pin had hit the primer. And there's no reason it shouldn't have went off. The two things that it did for me is... It helped me understand that there's higher powers that be.
There are certain special things in our life that we get to experience that are unexplainable. The second thing that it did for me was the adrenaline that hit me. It instantly, and I'm telling you, brother, like I'm talking instantly, took me out of that depressive state enough to be able to gather my composure, load my dog and drive down the canyon instantly.
And I guess the third thing it did was when I got cell phone service at the bottom of the canyon, the very first person I called was my doctor. That led me to, again, where I'm at today without even being diagnosed. So I wasn't diagnosed until that incident. I had lived to the age of 26 with just not knowing. This gave me the avenue to actually understand what was going on.
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