HALF / LIFE

May '26

I want to tell you about Tim Bachman.

Dr. Bachman has been caring for his patients as an endodontist in Seattle since 1996. Thirty years of precision work that uses up a specific part of you.

He's also a snowboarder and a runner who's lately gotten obsessed with foiling. Wake foiling, eFoil, foil drive, and he's starting to parawing now too.

Tim was the first person in this crew to wear Memento Mori. He bought it because he knew exactly what the words meant. Some people wear it as a graphic. He wears it as a reminder.

What he told me about the water is the part I keep coming back to. The water is his reset. The thing that puts him back together after a week of careful work in a small space, so he can do the work again on Monday.

He put it better than I could. He said it sounds corny, but the cold water especially is a spiritual reset. It pulls him into presence, into gratitude for the moment and the day. Especially the mornings we've been out lately. Crisp and cold and sun and mountains and not a soul out there.

You know what that's like. Most of you reading this have your version of it, whether it's the trail or the court or just the door closing behind you on a run nobody asked you to take. Whatever yours is, it does for you what the water does for Tim.

The thing about Tim is he keeps adding to his. The reset got bigger because he kept letting himself want more of it.

That's what I mean when I say crew is the main character of May.

The brand isn't about a sport. The community isn't about a product. The point of any of this is the Tim Bachmans of the world finding more of the thing that makes them feel like themselves. And the rest of us finding people like Tim to show up next to.

So here's the question I keep coming back to. Who are you doing this with?

If you've got a Tim Bachman in your crew, tell them. Send them this email if it'll do the work for you.

If you don't have one yet, you might be closer than you think. Most crews start with a single session, a single conversation, a single person who reminded somebody else what was possible.

If you want to talk through what your next move might look like, the consultation link is below. What usually happens is that Half-Life customers become Half-Life community members. Some of the friendships we value most started exactly that way.

And if you've already found your club, we've got the merch for it. The Memento Mori hoodie Tim is wearing in the photo is in the shop too.

Catch up with your crew this week. Until next Thursday. All the best, -Tim P.S. Reply with the name of the person who got you back into this. I'll read every one.

Lessons with HALF/LIFE

This is what it looks like when it clicks. One session. The right water. Somebody on the boat who's done this a thousand times telling you exactly when to stand. That's the difference between watching videos and actually getting flying. Spring is here! Your setup matters more than you think. Every rider's environment, weight, and goals point to a different kit. That's why we do this. $25 gets you 15-30 minutes with us to figure out exactly what makes sense for your water. We've built hundreds of custom setups. We'll take the consultation fee off your order. No pressure, just answers.

What's Happening on the Channels

What would make someone leave behind everyday life to race a 70-foot yacht across the world's most dangerous oceans? The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is one of the toughest endurance challenges on Earth. Covering more than 40,000 nautical miles over nearly a year, the race takes everyday people, many with no prior sailing experience, and transforms them into ocean racers through intensive training. Crews face towering waves, sleep deprivation, storms in the Roaring Forties, and nonstop teamwork while crossing the Atlantic, Pacific, and Southern Oceans. Only the skipper and first mate are professionals. Everyone else is there for the adventure of a lifetime. This series is an inside look at the people, pressure, camaraderie, and raw reality behind "The World's Greatest Ocean Adventure." No experience required. No shortcuts given. Just the open ocean.

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