Forrest Gump, a fan and the icon of the baseball cap.
It turns out that fanaticism sometimes drives human beings to set creative goals for themselves, which otherwise we might not feel the need to achieve.
Liverpool veterinarian Robert Pope was encouraged by the character in Forrest Gump, a 1994 film starring Tom Hanks, to take his same tour of the east coast to the west and back twice in a row.
The successful film, based on Winston Groom's 1986 novel, which went on to win 6 Oscars, prompted him on September 15, 2016 to begin the journey that goes from a small town in Alabama called Mobile, passing through the Santa Monica Pier, to the Marshall Point Lighthouse in the state of Maine and then passing through San Francisco and the Utah Desert, for a total of 24.783 kilometers in 409 days.
At the end of his feat, this British citizen addicted to running , ran the equivalent of 590 marathons in a row and did so accompanied by his favorite music, Bob Dylan, U2 or ACDC.
When asked about the reason for his journey, Robert Pope answers that the reasons were the same as those attributed to Forrest Gump, all of them, including peace in the world, fighting hunger or simply necessity of helping that came from within. As in the film, he was also driven by the words that were running through his head from his deceased mother, about doing something important that the whole world could remember him for. He completed this record for charitable purposes, and from which he raised almost 38.000 dollars, it is certainly a unique achievement that deserves all our respect.
Openly emulating the character of Forrest Gump, the marathon runner Robert Pope, seems guided by similar reasons, since after the death of his mother, he runs for the first time with the intention of not stopping until he gets his aim.
Robert Pope also emulates the physical aspect, the entire costume including the baseball cap included and not just the route, the slogan in this case “Run Robla Run ”.
Pope's tour and the most important places
From 'Mobile' in Alabama to the coast of 'Santa Monica', California.
Robert Pope, began his journey from 'Mobile' a city in southern Alabama, overlooking the Gulf of Mexico and with a wide bay, where a warship that has been It has become a tourist attraction that can be visited all year round. Following the route, you cross the state of Mississippi, Texas, New Mexico to California, to reach the iconic Santa Monica Pier.
A few meters away Pope was almost at the end of his route, coming across the sign that indicates the end of the mythical route 66, “the Mother Road” that from Chicago, Illinois after having crossed 6 states in the heart of America, the great plains, the Grand Canyon, had traveled almost 4000 km.
Marshall Point Lighthouse
It is a station or light house that was built in 1832 in Maine and had to be completely rebuilt after lightning literally split it in half in 1895. In 1971 it was automated and in 1990 it opened to the public as a museum. The lighthouse has great charm, a white wooden walkway that rises over the rocks and the green hill from where a path begins that leads you to a really small lighthouse, with its rounded shape painted white and a black dome. It is the precise place that, wrapped in fog, becomes the perfect place to write memories, meditate or have a picnic when the sun returns.
San Francisco
Famous for its popular 135-year-old cable trams that run up and down steep slopes and colorful Victorian houses. It has one of the most iconic bridges in the world and the most famous in San Francisco, although it is not the longest in the city. The “Golden Gate” was built in 1937 to connect the north and south of Marin County.
Its name comes from the strait it crosses and which has the same name. Did you know that this name was acquired from ancient Constantinople and means golden door, why was it the entrance that connected Europe with Asia?
It was the largest engineering work of its time, as it built a 6-lane road supported by two 227-meter-high towers, on which pedestrians, bicycles, cars and motorcycles could circulate.
And as a curious note, it was built with a then innovative process called “cable spinning” in which steel cables are fixed in the concrete and passed from one side to the other as in a loom. Up to six months fixing cables to then give it the reddish appearance that characterizes it and the categorization of a suspension bridge that has earned the title of symbol of the city from the beginning. It was also the setting for Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 film “Vertigo.” If you are interested in knowing more about the most spectacular corners of San Francisco, we leave you this link where we tell you everything.
The Utah Desert
Division of rocky mountains located in the Western region of the United States. It has an endless list of national parks, gardens, hiking trails, among which we highlight:
The “Arches National Park”, which is home to more than 2.000 stone arches, is one of the most famous attractions, classified as a natural spectacle that is never forgotten. It is where, among many other films, “Río Grande” in 1950 or “Thelma and Luise” in 1991 were filmed.
The “Zion National Park”, which is the highest point in the park with 2.660 meters high is “The Mountain Horse Ranch”.
Or the “Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park”, an iconic symbol of the western United States, in the sacred heart of the Navajo Nation. Their elders say that they are their ancestral spirits who have sculpted these sandstone masterpieces up to 300 meters high that Hollywood has taken advantage of so much for the “western” genre and not only.
It is for obvious reasons that in these places, after having fallen in love with so many film directors, they have been used to shoot the scenes of hundreds of films.
After having taken a good walk through the wonderful wild nature of the United States and aired our ideas, we have one little thing left to tell you.
The animals of this desert are kangaroos, foxes, bears... that made us think about how animal life represents each and every one of us humans and why we decided on Hanukeii take inspiration from it to design our caps.
Forrest Gump's cap, icon of baseball caps
On this occasion it is clear that the protagonist's cap becomes necessary and is no longer just a place to put the brand logo or what you feel identified with. If not, by becoming something that is used with its own meaning, we make it ours. Taking what our being needs to make it our own, which indirectly distinguishes us and at the same time projects the image of ourselves that we like and satisfies us.
So as individuals we need to differentiate ourselves and feel authentic. That is why a good tip for personal style is to purchase an accessory, such as a cap or another type of element to turn it into your stamp, so you are recognized and identified.
At Hanukeii we like baseball caps and we have been inspired by animals, their natural perspiration and that each one of them represents, go barefoot through life with no worries other than the truly important ones that are related to survival itself.
Frequently asked questions
1. What is the spaghetti western film genre?
It is a genre that has seduced countless film directors throughout history and continues to do so with modern versions of them. Originally they were low-budget films, most were recorded in Spain and Italy, because the locations were cheaper than those in the United States.
For example, well-known titles such as “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”, “Death Had a Price” and “A Fistful of Dollars” were filmed in an American West of towns and taverns reconstructed in the desert. from Almeria.
2. Why is Forrest Gump a running icon?
It is because with his mythical phrases, he teaches runners to enjoy the path without setting a goal. It is proven by specialists that marathon runners, when they have completed two-thirds of the race, feel great mental and physical weakness that makes them doubt that they will not be able to finish the race. The origin of this phenomenon is the fact of having pre-established a goal to which the mind imposes a new limit.
Forrest Gump runs without a precise reason, because he feels the need to start running without first asking himself why, he simply ate when he was hungry, he slept when he was sleepy and when he had to do what you know, he did it.
