Help Brian get back to ground level
Donation protected
My name is Brian Walker, and this is the toughest thing I have ever had to do; asking people for money. I have lived my entire life with a mental illness; bipolar disorder, which I didn't even learn about until I was 54 years old, which is well beyond the point where most type of therapies can offer any releif. And now, at age 61, I find myself nearly destitue, and fear losing my home and what little else that I posess.
Being bipolar, I have lived a totally manic life; doing things that I never should have, like following dreams that turned into nightmares, pursuing grandiose projects that had little, if any, chance of being realized, and spending money like there was no tomorrow. All of this happened because my illness kept me living in a bubble where reality only very rarely made an appearance. I have lived in a "fantasyland" my whole life without ever knowing it! The closest thing that I can compare it to would be the movie "The Matrix", where peoples' minds lived in a made up world, without the slightest clue that their bodies lived in the real world.
All throughout my life, I have continually cycled back and forth between being manic, where I am excited, creative, and belive that I can do anything, and descending to the worst, uggliest kind of depression you can imagine. I've had such episodes that lasted for months, where I could barely even get dressed for days on end.
MANIA BEGINS
In 1984, I had a dream to build hovercraft and open a facility called "Hoverland", which would combine bumper cars, laser tag and video games into a wholly new and unique experience. Each vehicle was equipped with a laser gun and sensors to detect "hits".
The hovercraft was a success, but I was never able to get the interest or funding for Hoverland.
HYDRO SUB
When I was 30, in 1986, I lived on a tropical resort island in Fiji where I designed and built a 2-man tourist submarine. My goal here was to manufacture them and lease them to tropical resorts for tourism. People would sit in the lower section and whenit submerged, it would only go about 4 feet under water, when the surface float would make contact.
The submarine worked well enough to prove that the concept was viable, but after several years of trying to secure investors, even as far away as Australia and Japan, the dream simply drowned.
MANY INVENTIONS
Along the way, I invented many dozens of things, like a solar-powered, ventilated hard hat to keep ones' head cool when working outdoors under a hot sun. I relentlessly pursued hard hat manufacturers to give it serious attention, all to no avail.
I also developed a collapsible, portable medical evac litter for use by the military, disaster relief, etc. It had many other unique features as well, making it superior to the standard litter. I sold 6 prototypes to Ft. Lewis Army Base, and demonstrated it at Ft. Detrick in Maryland and Ft. Sam Houston in Texas.
But without the neccesary funding to go into production, I was never able to get the serious attention from the military.
By 1992, I was beginning to understand just how difficult, nearly impossible in fact, being an independent inventor was. But it was the only course that I could take, because I was never able to hold down a "job" for any significant amount of time.
TOYS
In 1993, I began to focus my attention on the toy industry, and by 1996, I had licensed a number of toys, and for the first time in my life I was making good money doing what I loved, creating things.
And then in 1997, after spending zero dollars and only three hours of my time, I invented a product that would be called the "Light Chaser", and would go on to become one of Disneys biggest selling toys. It sold nearly a billion dollars at the retail level!
Almost overnight, I went from a mid five-figure income to an 7 figure income! I earned millions from it!
ROCKETGUY
Using the money that I earned from my toys, I embarked on a dream that I had had since I was 8 years old; to build a rocket and launch myself to the edge of space!
You can see my original ROCKETGUY website here: www.barryblanchard.com/rocketguy/
Over a 7 year period, I built a number of prototypes.
I turned my 13 acres into a "rocket compound", with shops and an area for testing and training.
I even built a 38 foot diameter centrifuge that was capable of 10 G's! Here's the video of it in action;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQLEeEbpx4E&app=desktop
I also traveled to Russia a number of times to train with cosmonauts and fly in a MiG 25 to the edge of space, 85,000 feet high where you could see the curveature of the earth!
In 2000, my story got out, and before I knew it, I was known all over the world. By 2004, I had appeared on over 80 television programs, was interviewed by hundreds of radio stations, and with over 50 million hits on my website, I recieved more than 18,000 emails from 48 countries! I actually read every single one, and personally responded to 98% of them!
THE DOWNFALL
In 2005, however, my income began to diminish, and soon I could no longer afford to continue, so the project, my dream, had run its' course and was soon tossed onto my growing pile of failed projects.
But what I didn't know at the time was that the whole project had been one gigantic manic episode. Because of my as of yet undiagnosed bipolar disorder, I simply couldn't "see" that I was pursuing something that was next to impossible. Once I had gotten the idea in my head that I could run a "one-man space program", there was no amount of reason or logic that could convince me otherwise. That's what bipolar mania is all about.
My life began to head in a downward trajectory, as I began to deal with serious depression. Bipolar depression is totally unlike the occasional depression that "normal" people experience, it is a wholey different beast. To paraphrase Mark Twain, "The difference between bipolar depression and normal depression is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug".
And the worst part is that bipolar people are 8 times more prone to commit suicide than non-BP people (think Robin Williams), a hazard that I will be living with for the rest of my life. We also live 11 to 20 years shorter than the norm due to life long poor lifestyle decisions (think Carrie Fisher).
After being diagnosed BP in 2010, I slowly began to learn just what that meant, and little by little, my eyes were opened to the things that I had missed out on, namely, setting aside money for my retirement. I had lived for so many years on royalties, that I simply assumed it would always remain that way.
But again I was wrong, and after an 18 year run, the Light Chaser has just about died altogether, and I am not able to survive on my royalties anymore.
To make things even worse, I am effectively unemployable. I'm a 61 year old man who hasn't had a job in 25 years, and posess no applicable skills for todays' job market. All that I know how to do is invent, to "make things up" that never existed before.
The depression that I now live with is unlike anything most people can imagine. It saps me of all joy, hope and happiness. There are times when all I want to do is lay down and die. Bipolar disorder is a hideous thing, unimaginable to those who don't suffer from it.
I do beleive that I was put here for a reason, that my best days aren't behind me and I still have much to offer. My mind is still incredibly creative and fertile; just look what I have been able to accomplish, all on my own!
The money that I am seeking to raise isn't going to fix my overall problems, but rather buy me more time to begin marketing successful products once again.
I will be using the funds to catch up on everything that I am behind on, and for continued expenses as I work to launch a Kickstarter campaign for my newest invention, LIQUID LIGHT, and incredible little product that makes burning incense an awesome visual experience. Those who contribute will be offered one for a discounted price, and people who donate $75. or more will get one for free!
The support that I recieve will mean the world to me, as I really have no where else to turn, and my gratitude towards those who help will be immeasurable.
Thank you for your support!
Being bipolar, I have lived a totally manic life; doing things that I never should have, like following dreams that turned into nightmares, pursuing grandiose projects that had little, if any, chance of being realized, and spending money like there was no tomorrow. All of this happened because my illness kept me living in a bubble where reality only very rarely made an appearance. I have lived in a "fantasyland" my whole life without ever knowing it! The closest thing that I can compare it to would be the movie "The Matrix", where peoples' minds lived in a made up world, without the slightest clue that their bodies lived in the real world.
All throughout my life, I have continually cycled back and forth between being manic, where I am excited, creative, and belive that I can do anything, and descending to the worst, uggliest kind of depression you can imagine. I've had such episodes that lasted for months, where I could barely even get dressed for days on end.
MANIA BEGINS
In 1984, I had a dream to build hovercraft and open a facility called "Hoverland", which would combine bumper cars, laser tag and video games into a wholly new and unique experience. Each vehicle was equipped with a laser gun and sensors to detect "hits".
The hovercraft was a success, but I was never able to get the interest or funding for Hoverland.HYDRO SUB
When I was 30, in 1986, I lived on a tropical resort island in Fiji where I designed and built a 2-man tourist submarine. My goal here was to manufacture them and lease them to tropical resorts for tourism. People would sit in the lower section and whenit submerged, it would only go about 4 feet under water, when the surface float would make contact.
The submarine worked well enough to prove that the concept was viable, but after several years of trying to secure investors, even as far away as Australia and Japan, the dream simply drowned. MANY INVENTIONS
Along the way, I invented many dozens of things, like a solar-powered, ventilated hard hat to keep ones' head cool when working outdoors under a hot sun. I relentlessly pursued hard hat manufacturers to give it serious attention, all to no avail.
I also developed a collapsible, portable medical evac litter for use by the military, disaster relief, etc. It had many other unique features as well, making it superior to the standard litter. I sold 6 prototypes to Ft. Lewis Army Base, and demonstrated it at Ft. Detrick in Maryland and Ft. Sam Houston in Texas.
But without the neccesary funding to go into production, I was never able to get the serious attention from the military.By 1992, I was beginning to understand just how difficult, nearly impossible in fact, being an independent inventor was. But it was the only course that I could take, because I was never able to hold down a "job" for any significant amount of time.
TOYS
In 1993, I began to focus my attention on the toy industry, and by 1996, I had licensed a number of toys, and for the first time in my life I was making good money doing what I loved, creating things.
And then in 1997, after spending zero dollars and only three hours of my time, I invented a product that would be called the "Light Chaser", and would go on to become one of Disneys biggest selling toys. It sold nearly a billion dollars at the retail level!
Almost overnight, I went from a mid five-figure income to an 7 figure income! I earned millions from it!
ROCKETGUY
Using the money that I earned from my toys, I embarked on a dream that I had had since I was 8 years old; to build a rocket and launch myself to the edge of space!
You can see my original ROCKETGUY website here: www.barryblanchard.com/rocketguy/
Over a 7 year period, I built a number of prototypes.
I turned my 13 acres into a "rocket compound", with shops and an area for testing and training.
I even built a 38 foot diameter centrifuge that was capable of 10 G's! Here's the video of it in action;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQLEeEbpx4E&app=desktop
I also traveled to Russia a number of times to train with cosmonauts and fly in a MiG 25 to the edge of space, 85,000 feet high where you could see the curveature of the earth!
In 2000, my story got out, and before I knew it, I was known all over the world. By 2004, I had appeared on over 80 television programs, was interviewed by hundreds of radio stations, and with over 50 million hits on my website, I recieved more than 18,000 emails from 48 countries! I actually read every single one, and personally responded to 98% of them!
THE DOWNFALL
In 2005, however, my income began to diminish, and soon I could no longer afford to continue, so the project, my dream, had run its' course and was soon tossed onto my growing pile of failed projects.
But what I didn't know at the time was that the whole project had been one gigantic manic episode. Because of my as of yet undiagnosed bipolar disorder, I simply couldn't "see" that I was pursuing something that was next to impossible. Once I had gotten the idea in my head that I could run a "one-man space program", there was no amount of reason or logic that could convince me otherwise. That's what bipolar mania is all about.
My life began to head in a downward trajectory, as I began to deal with serious depression. Bipolar depression is totally unlike the occasional depression that "normal" people experience, it is a wholey different beast. To paraphrase Mark Twain, "The difference between bipolar depression and normal depression is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug".
And the worst part is that bipolar people are 8 times more prone to commit suicide than non-BP people (think Robin Williams), a hazard that I will be living with for the rest of my life. We also live 11 to 20 years shorter than the norm due to life long poor lifestyle decisions (think Carrie Fisher).
After being diagnosed BP in 2010, I slowly began to learn just what that meant, and little by little, my eyes were opened to the things that I had missed out on, namely, setting aside money for my retirement. I had lived for so many years on royalties, that I simply assumed it would always remain that way.
But again I was wrong, and after an 18 year run, the Light Chaser has just about died altogether, and I am not able to survive on my royalties anymore.
To make things even worse, I am effectively unemployable. I'm a 61 year old man who hasn't had a job in 25 years, and posess no applicable skills for todays' job market. All that I know how to do is invent, to "make things up" that never existed before.
The depression that I now live with is unlike anything most people can imagine. It saps me of all joy, hope and happiness. There are times when all I want to do is lay down and die. Bipolar disorder is a hideous thing, unimaginable to those who don't suffer from it.
I do beleive that I was put here for a reason, that my best days aren't behind me and I still have much to offer. My mind is still incredibly creative and fertile; just look what I have been able to accomplish, all on my own!
The money that I am seeking to raise isn't going to fix my overall problems, but rather buy me more time to begin marketing successful products once again.
I will be using the funds to catch up on everything that I am behind on, and for continued expenses as I work to launch a Kickstarter campaign for my newest invention, LIQUID LIGHT, and incredible little product that makes burning incense an awesome visual experience. Those who contribute will be offered one for a discounted price, and people who donate $75. or more will get one for free!
The support that I recieve will mean the world to me, as I really have no where else to turn, and my gratitude towards those who help will be immeasurable.
Thank you for your support!
Organizer
Brian Walker
Organizer
Bend, OR