In the latest episode of the Beardo and Weirdo podcast with comedian Craig Gass and Five Finger Death Punch bassist Chris Kael, the latter recollects a brutal head injury he sustained as a kid, leading to him wearing a helmet to school for a couple of months. And it actually led to an early and significant moment that shaped his personal character throughout his life.
Today, Kael is brimming with confidence while still being open about working through the lows via therapy. It’s the kind of cocksure swagger that feels like a prerequisite for joining Five Finger Death Punch and it all stems from a scary childhood accident and some perspective-defining guidance from his mom.
A very young Kael was outside watching his dad mow the lawn while his mother was changing the diaper of his two-year-old sister. “A rock shoots outside the side of the lawnmower — boom,” he recalls, pointing to a scar on his forehead that still exists from the cracked-skull injury.
“When the rock hit me, my dad said I stumbled back, chuckled for a second and then saw the blood pouring down my face [screams]. I ran around the house twice, I went into the house after running full rotations around the outside of the house and I still remember my mom’s face when I ran in,” he continues.
“Imagine your four or five-year-old son coming in with a gaping head wound as you’re changing your two-year-old daughter.”
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And it was Kael’s therapist who was able to help bring him back to this pivotal moment. “There was a point in my life where I could have gone one way or the other and my mom said something that stuck with me and changed my perspective of what I was going through at that point. Now, wearing a helmet to school, you can definitely get a complex from that.”
“She looked at me and [said], ‘How cool are you that you’re the one kid that gets to wear a motorcycle helmet to school?'”
I was the kid that got — not had to — got to wear a bright orange motorcycle helmet. So, that definitely developed a charming personality because I had to win people over. It all started right there.”
It’s another candid story of growth and personal development that has been commonplace on the Beardo and Weirdo podcast and can hopefully help us all reframe perspective when it comes to our own harrowing moments in life.
Elsewhere in this clip, Gass shows a video clip from a Five Finger Death Punch show where singer Ivan Moody’s zero tolerance policy on the harassment of fans in the crowd, especially women. “The next guy that I see rip a girl’s shirt off, I will personally kick your fucking ass myself,” Moody said onstage. “That’s the father in Ivan coming out right there,” Kael chimes in as Gass is enthusiastic to see this kind of measure taken to protect fans during the show.
Watch the full clip below!
About the Beardo and Weirdo Podcast
The Beardo and Weirdo podcast stars comedian and big time rock and metal fans Craig Gass and Five Finger Death Punch bassist Chris Kael. Together, they share a lot of laughs as well as personal stories that hit on serious topics such as addiction and recovery.
New episodes every Thursday.
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