First of all, an OBA is a who. Not a what!
I turn 60 this year––in just a few weeks. As I started to get near age 60, I started to have some questions:
Where the hell did this nose and ear hair come from?
Why do these aches and pains last so much longer?
How do I start all over again––at my age?
Can I really improve my golf game––at my age?
And much, much more!
Most of what I found was… BORING!
I found plenty of books, articles and videos about “aging.” Most of them seemed to treat me like I had one foot in the grave, the other on a banana peel and both hands trying to adjust my hearing aids.
Then I found the features on amazing older people. Don’t get me wrong––I love these things. But, it was hard to see a few freaks of nature who somehow had the bodies of 30 year olds and the stamina of, well, 30 year olds. They certainly earned it, but it was also obvious that most of these folks also won the genetic lottery.
And there are the ultra-adventurous. These are the folks climbing Everest at 75, parachuting at 90 and running marathons at 100.
Inspiring to be sure. But I wanted to find ordinary people doing ordinary things. Not “ordinary” in the conventional sense, but people who were not total super-humans but also people who simply refuse to age gracefully! People who stay active, reasonably fit and who keep doing the things they love––even if it’s not traditionally “age appropriate.”
We call these people “OBAs.” That stands for…
Old Bad Ass!
We launched our OBA Hall of Fame to share these people with you. These are the 60 and Plus folks who are still riding motorcycles cross-country, people tossing it all to go full time in their RV, people are learning to fly airplanes, going back to college or starting a new business after being wiped out, downsized or aged out.
Our first two OBAs come from the entertainment world.
Mike Violette “retired” from radio a few years back. He was sick of the ultra-commercialization of the medium and how he and his colleagues were being treated as replaceable commodities.
He got back in the game on his own terms and he’s not looking back! Mike is the host of “The Mike Violette Show” originating at Legacy Radio in Augusta, Maine and streamed all over the planet. In addition he rides a Harley nearly every day, cares for his elderly Dad, (though he’ll tell you Dad takes care of him) and golfs as much as he can.
In his show, he’s the consummate OBA sharing his own brutally frank perspectives and opinions on politics, current events and culture.
We welcome Mike to the OBA Hall of Fame.
And next is someone who defies age in more ways than one. First of all, as part of America’s masked ambassadors of instrumental rock and roll, Los Straitjackets, you’d never be able to tell how old Eddie Angel is anyway!
His black mask might hide his age, but his enthusiasm, passion and timeless love of music always shines through.
Mick Jagger famously said it would be ridiculous to think about playing rock and roll in his 50s. Eddie Angel says he can’t imagine retiring?
“Why would I stop doing what I love?” he asked in our pre-interview conversation.
Eddie is the last remaining original member of the group and their co-founder. Post-COVID they’re getting ready to resume one of the busiest touring schedules in the music business. He continues to tour, record and appear in movies and TV shows––they’re one of Conan O’Brien’s favorite repeat acts.
What could be more Bad Ass than being a masked international rock and roll star into your 60s?
You won’t want to miss any of these features––and we’ve got plenty more in the pipeline. Be sure to subscribe at TheBig60.Life and hit the notification bell so you’ll know when we upload new episodes.
And if you know an OBA we should feature, or you’re an OBA yourself––let us know in the comments! Meanwhile, you can always put your Old Bad Assery on display with a tee or hoodie from our OBA Collection at TheBig60Life.Store!
