Jon Pardi brought the heat to the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast last week, riffing on everything from pop country, staying true to yourself, to even where he takes his dumps.
And just before he identified Koe Wetzel as the Artist-Most-Likely-to-See-Boobs-On-Stage, Pardi reminded me that summer’s almost here and I am way behind on my Dadbod Reduction Plan.
As part of their discussion about Pardi being flashed on-stage during a show, the crew mentioned former model and current Midland front man, Mark Wystrach, as another artist who attracts attention from the ladies in the crowd.
Pardi was featured on Midland’s “Longneck Way to Go” single, so he also appeared in the band’s recently released music video. And he had this to say about appearing on screen with an underwear model-turned country singer:
“I lost like 15 lbs. … just to get ready to film a video next to Mark.”
If only I had that kind of motivation.
Rather than be jealous of Pardi’s transformation, however, perhaps I could learn something from him as I use Memorial Day Weekend to desperately fight off my impending Dadbod Summer.
First, he surrounded himself with people who were going to push him. He inspired himself to drop his pandemic weight-gain because he knew he’d be literally surrounded by the good-looking Midland guys, and he didn’t want his gut to be popping buttons off of his bowling shirt while he floated Lebowski-style down the lanes in the music video.
Although I don’t have any music video cameos in my near future, I’m channeling Pardi’s strategy this weekend. I’ll be heading out on a trail run with some tanned, sinewy ultra-marathoners… oh shit, that’s gonna suck.
Still, even if I get dusted on the trails on Saturday, it’s not about performance or results. It’s about health, a wise take on wellness that Pardi touched on during the interview.
He suffered through some voice problems last year, and realized that his fans want a strong, healthy Pardi on stage rather than a suffering, hungover one. He chose to go to bed a little earlier, to scale back on the longnecks (except during the music video, of course), and to prioritize his health over the good times of life as a country star.
And it paid off with a strong, svelte performance in the music video and a solid fitness base for his “Ain’t Always the Cowboy” tour.
My priorities could use some shifting as we kick off summer this weekend. I’ll admit, I’ve been using the country bangers on the extremely well-curated Whiskey Riff Country Workout Playlist as my soundtrack for crushing beers far more often than for crushing weights.
And I’m not sure I’d qualify to spray deodorizer into the bowling shoes in a Midland video, let alone appear next to Mark on-screen where the camera adds 20 lbs. to the 20 I added during the pandemic.
If I have such a “Longneck Way to Go” on my Jon Pardi-inspired goal, maybe I should start by cutting back a little on those longnecks….
On second thought, if I can’t actually cut 15 lbs. this Memorial Day Weekend like I planned, I suppose having a dadbod isn’t so bad. Bring on Dadbod Summer (and those longnecks while you’re at it)!
I’m ready.
Here’s the full conversation:
