David Hoover - On Homelessness and Questioning Society
{On Homelessness}
“I think the biggest misconception is it's not about being lazy…. It's that a lot of times the world throws you some circumstances that are a little bit too overwhelming, and that forces you to be in that situation.” - David Hoover
Originally born in Canada, David Hoover is a passionate painter inspired by the underground punk rock scene, David was homeless for a year while questioning society and the system we live in. He now currently works on one of the largest yachts in the world.
You can find David's work on Instagram at @compressedcompany.
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Key Insights from David’s Experiences
Here were my key insights from David’s conversation.
Anti-establishment and punk rock scene. Trying to escape the rat race of society. Questioning the system.
Homelessness. Common misconceptions, substance abuse and how to help those who are currently homeless.
Inside the mind of an artist. Leaving your legacy. Where artists draw inspiration from.
Wealth Inequality an the top 1%. Life as a deck hand on Super Yachts.
Quotes from David Hoover.
On Homelessness.
“I had a lot of questions that didn't go answered. And I think there's a lot of where like the mental problems come from and anxiety and all these types of things, and staying on drugs, it doesn't matter what drugs you're using, but like that numbness, means that you don't have to answer the questions. And when you don't need to answer the questions you don't have a problem. But when you need to answer the questions or when you need to actually sit down and think to yourself, What is going on, what am I doing, what is the root of these problems, what can I do to fix it. You know, that's when, when it gets hard, it's easy to just find another score or, you know, get, get some more of whatever your. Whatever your go to drug is and just be be done with it you know and then you don't have to answer those questions for X amount of time.”
On Getting Out of Homelessness.
The novelty wears off and I mean I don't think I was doing it for a fad or anything. I really did believe that I didn't give a shit at the time. But then after a while, you realize that you start to give a shit.”
Questioning Society & the System.
“It's easy to say, you know, if you to the government and we're not going to participate. I don't want to do anything. I don't want to be part of this system, but the harsh reality is that at the end of the day we're all, we're all human beings and I don't care what race, religion, whatever that you are. We got to help each other out. So, me, me wasting my time like that was just literally a waste of time. I'm not doing any change i'm not i'm not making the world a better place by me wasting my time. Pain handling and you know like busking for change and stuff like that right.”
On Drugs.
“But I would say like the the absolute one that that people really kind of like mishandle or misuse or misjudges is alcohol because it's everywhere around you you know it's like, I've, I've done my fair share of drugs, and everything, but it's, it's not the easiest to always find heroin, but it's very easy to walk into a pub and order a beer.”
On Homelessness
“I think the biggest misconception is it's not about being lazy. It's about some, some serious mental or social conditions that that person is put into that they didn't ask for. Right, that's, I think, laziness, in the environment that that person is put in, whether they did it to themselves or they didn't. Most of the time I don't think they did. I was, you know, I completely did it to myself. And that's also why I got out of it myself. A lot of people out there, don't ask for it. And yet it still happens to them. And I think that's the biggest problem is that it's not that people are lazy and it's not that people choose to be there. It's that a lot of times the world throws you some circumstances that are a little bit too overwhelming, and that forces you to be in that situation. So I think that like, and then, you know, a lot of times mental health issues or substance abuse issues or any thing of that nature is kind of like a byproduct of the situation.”