Style Magazine April 2020
This month’s magazine focuses on myriad ways to soak up the springtime sunshine. Freelance writer, photographer, and former wilderness guide, Ryan Martinez, takes us through some of his favorite alfresco activities—mountain biking, backpacking, bouldering, etc.—in our cover story, “Your (Local) Guide to the Great Outdoors” (page 43), with some top spots to try each adventure, “know before you go” tips, must-have apps, and more. After perusing the incredible pictures and reading his recommendations, I definitely feel inspired and more prepared to explore more.
This month’s magazine focuses on myriad ways to soak up the springtime sunshine. Freelance writer, photographer, and former wilderness guide, Ryan Martinez, takes us through some of his favorite alfresco activities—mountain biking, backpacking, bouldering, etc.—in our cover story, “Your (Local) Guide to the Great Outdoors” (page 43), with some top spots to try each adventure, “know before you go” tips, must-have apps, and more. After perusing the incredible pictures and reading his recommendations, I definitely feel inspired and more prepared to explore more.
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Giving Back<br />
Not OK Project<br />
by<br />
Helping Our Heroes<br />
LINDA HOLDERNESS // photos by DANTE FONTANA<br />
The Not OK Project<br />
has a message for<br />
first responders who<br />
experience trauma<br />
in the line of duty: It’s OK to<br />
not be OK. These heroic men<br />
and women, who may be injured<br />
physically or psychologically<br />
as they aid disaster victims,<br />
are often timid when reaching<br />
out for help due to the stigma<br />
surrounding it and the fear of<br />
appearing weak, says the project’s<br />
founder and president, Eric Meier.<br />
Their bravado is a mask, Meier<br />
says, and the fallout could be<br />
tragic.<br />
First responders—police,<br />
firefighters, correctional officers,<br />
9-1-1 dispatchers, EMTs, anyone<br />
dealing with suffering—commit<br />
suicide at higher rates than the<br />
general population; the data is<br />
likely under-reported, but one<br />
survey estimates as much as<br />
10 times higher. That shouldn’t<br />
be the case, Meier says. First<br />
responders face repeated danger<br />
and witness trauma over the<br />
course of long careers. “The<br />
effect is cumulative,” Meier says.<br />
“The stress keeps piling on and<br />
may not be realized for a few<br />
years. There has to be a release<br />
somewhere.” And that release<br />
sometimes leads to suicide.<br />
The Not OK Project strives<br />
to prevent these suicides by<br />
“bringing first responders out<br />
of the dark” through shared<br />
activities like fishing, camping,<br />
music, sports, even yoga—done<br />
outdoors whenever possible.<br />
According to studies, Meier<br />
says, outdoor and, even better,<br />
26 stylemg.com | APRIL <strong>2020</strong> | /stylemg /stylemediagroup /stylemediagroup /stylemags
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