Everyone loves a wholesome little story. With everything that has been going on, these stories are more important than they ever have been. They help us to get through these weird times. With Peak of the Week, I am hoping we can provide some nice stories to help keep us all going.
Just picture the scene for a minute; it’s 2020, and it's probably safe to generalise a little and say that we’re not having the best of times right now. Blitzing through social media doesn’t do you any favours, and you’ve already won a trophy for completing Netflix. We’re limited in pretty much every sense of the words. Things are bleak, and we need a leader. A symbol. Just something.
And there he appeared, the main man himself: 420Doggface208. Just cutting about, skating down the road, wielding a bottle of ocean spray as Fleetwood Mac serenades the scene. And he’s just, like, chilled out?
There is something so pure about the whole thing. In such times, all it took was one man casually skating up a highway to give the collective internet a little pick-me-up. Even if only for a moment, it was a nice breather, and one that was well overdue.
I could probably stop writing there, but whenever it came to be Nathan Apodaca’s, aka Dogg Face, time in the sunlight, some other unfortunate news reared their head with it. Apodaca was in a bit of a rough patch. The reason he was skating to begin with was because his 2005 Dodge Durango cut out on him on his way to work. The skateboard was kept in the boot, as this was a regular occurrence. It was just a cost that he couldn’t afford to look after. Seeing him in need, Ocean Spray themselves teamed with a local car dealership and gifted him a 2020 model truck, accompanied by a boot full of their cranberry juice. To add to the joy, he has reportedly received around $10,000 in donations - half of which he plans to give to his mother. C’mon, you honestly love to see it.
Speaking of the video himself, he said “It’s just a video on TikTok that everyone felt a vibe with. I’m happy that I could chill the world out for a minute”. With everything going on, a story like this is exactly what we all needed. It’s just easy to love, y’know? Godspeed, you absolute legend.
If you have an uplifting story you would like to be shared, please send it to andrew.nolan@universityobserver.ie or ellen.duggan@universityobserver.ie.