( WATCH THE END) REN - SUIC*DE | This HIT HOME |Simply Not Simple Reactions

[@SimplyNotSimpleYT]

Thank you everyone for watching my reaction 💯Glad your enjoying the channel 🚀🚀Got alot more coming to the Channel Subscribe and drop some suggestions below ⬇ if you want to support the simply not simple channel you can here gofund.me/443bf602 Thanks again🚀 - YOU control YOUR reality

[@ms.lisamarie82]

You are loved.

[@amydavies2529]

Yes, so grateful to your auntie ❤️. Ren had a best mate, Joe. He got a call from a friend that Joe was going to jump off the bridge. Ren ran as fast as he could but was 2 minutes late. They never found the body. Freckled Angel was also written about his friend Joe 🥺 Humble reaction my friend, glad you saw the light ❤

[@greglecig5549]

Ren having the whole internet in tears today. I can’t even explain the love I feel for this dude. Great reaction man!

[@didierblasco8116]

so beautifully said > no word to express the love for this man that is opening so many hearts

[@philk9227]

Well said my friend

[@stacie9229]

I was just watching Ren videos late one night and came across this. That cry in his voice made me sob. Watched it again and sobbed just as hard. So unexpected . I'm sorry for your pain, Simple.

[@dharmanalaboo]

Protect Ren at all cost ❤ Loved your reaction

[@itspickleric138]

I feel like 90% of the reactions to this song are men, and it’s got men opening up & being vulnerable talking about their experiences and THAT is the power & the gift Ren has

[@leavemealoneimjustfreespirted]

❤ to all the aunties out there! I practically raised my identical twin nephews when my sister went MIA.

[@lindseybriggs2771]

You become a reactor thinking you're going to just be breaking down lines or reacting to the beat and then along comes Ren... 😅You are really brave for sharing your story and emotions with all of us. Thank you for being real. Thanks for being funny and joyful and still here!

[@TobiiRheaStarr]

Sorry for your losses but thanks to your Aunty! You are wanted, needed and loved. Us renegades will always have your back 🖤 RIP JOE HUGHES 🖤

[@SimplyNotSimpleYT]

Thank you so much

[@Shiroar]

Ren is doing something amazing and very important with his art: he is getting people talking about things we don’t talk about enough. Well not only that, the chorus is so damn catchy that he even has us singing suicide 😅 And then that recently added ending hits. It really completed the song, but also made it absolutely heart wrenching. The vulnerability is beautiful though. It brings us together as humans with empathy and shared emotions. We relate. We feel less alone.

[@justmejoy124]

Lost my mom to suicide. Heard it once said suicide is a permanate solution to a temporary feeling.

[@chronicinokla]

Im Sooooooooo glad you are here!!!!! I love you human to human

[@snowlmaoo]

I believe in your paper airplane man also i lost my dad at the end of 2021 so ik the pain im trying my best to keep myself together and hearing what you said helped alot thank you fr keep your head up as well bro you're really dope

[@SuzanneO707]

Paper aeroplane, yep. Hold on , on this bumpy ride. Best wishes.

[@gracegrit3009]

Bless your auntie and God for leading her to you. I’m glad your here. You are worthy. Keep on keeping on…you have a purpose.

[@ricci8497]

@RenMakesMusic And here's (part of) the writeup that Ren shared before the premiere and sent to his email list: I first met Joe when I was 8 years old, my friend Josh said I had to meet this guy, so we both walked over to his, it took about 10 minutes from my house. I was greeted by this kid covered head to toe in freckles, he grinned at us, climbed onto the back of his sofa and screamed “Swanton Bomb!” then front flipped off the top and landed right onto his back on a stone floor. He lay still for a moment, twitched a few times, then got up, grinned at us, brushed himself off, and did it again. This was Joe. He’d do anything to make people laugh. He ended up becoming one of my best friends. He was there when we stole our first cigarettes out of his mums pack, way too young. He was there when I had my first kiss, with a girl twice my size on the back of the 42 bus. He was there when I first got so drunk I threw up in the woods after drinking as much white lightning Cider as we could. I was there when he did his first backflip on skates, and saw him do a 720 off of the pier cave, that moment became legendary. Joe was the funny one in our friend group, he’d make us laugh till it hurt. No one had a bad word to say about him. It was impossible not to like him. Usually we put celebrities, athletes and actors on pedestals, turn them into role models and admire them from a far. The person I admired was Joe. Him and Sagar knew every word to the songs id write, we’d get drunk at parties and they’d be singing along as loud as they could. It gave me a lot of confidence back then. On Christmas Eve 2010 I was sitting in a pub with Joe, he’d been feeling low after a couple of consecutive break ups. He tried to check himself into a mental health outpatient facility a few weeks earlier but they turned him away because he didn’t have an appointment. He turned to me and said that sometimes he wished he could just walk into the sea and keep walking. He said it in a kind of half joking throw away comment type of way, then took a sip of his drink, walked over to the juke box and put Dig by Incubus on. If I knew that was the last time I’d see Joe id have hugged him, told him how much I loved him, how much I looked up to him, how much we all loved him, and I wouldn’t have left that pub. I didn’t know that, so I finished my drink, said happy Christmas and left. Two nights after Christmas I got woken up by a phone call at 3am, it was my friend Ella. She told me Joe was on the Menai Bridge, a large suspension bridge connecting the main land to the isle of Anglesey where we lived. He’d been on the phone to her in tears saying goodbye. He told her to tell everyone he loved them. I pulled on my clothes as fast as I could and started running toward the bridge. It was up a hill. I lived about a ten minute walk away, I could run it in five. As I ran I started dialling then redialing his number. The line was busy, which was a good sign, it meant he was still on the phone to someone. As I got about halfway, the busy tone changed. It told me the line was out of service. I got a sinking feeling and picked up my speed. I arrived to the bridge minutes after I left my house. It was deafeningly quiet. I was the first person to arrive. I got there probably about 2 minutes too late. Joe’s body was never found. Initially we refused to believe he was gone. The coastguard came out that night, with boats, and helicopters. Me and my friends spent the next 10 days putting up missing posters everywhere we could, walking up and down beaches with flashlights, getting about 3 hours sleep a night. When you’re walking up and down a beach with a torch when its dark everything looks like a body. We still haven’t found Joe. As his birthday came around, I wrote a song, freckled angels, a song I dedicated to Joe which I sang in front of his friends and family. A charity football match was put on for him, raising money for the RNLI where I won two bottles of wine in a raffle, I drank them both as quickly as I could, naturally, turned to my friend and probably slurred something along the lines of “This is the last time I ever drink” That was 12 years ago, I haven’t touched a drop of alcohol since.

[@leoscone4036]

Ren first caught most folks' attention with "Hi Ren". Difficult listening that entranced folk so that nine minutes felt like three. "Sick Boi" enhanced the "Hi Ren" experience, and folk discovered Jenny/Screech/Violet. And Ren x Chinchilla. The two best live duets I've ever seen, "Chalk Outlines" and "How To Be Me". And we discovered The Big Push too. We've been through the ringer with Ren. Those who know Ren's story and much of his music were STILL not ready for the gut wrenching openness of this song. Myself included. Ren can make you FEEL, and hard, whether you like it or not. Highest form of art. Blessings.

[@chininhk]

Love your reactions, especially this one. Sometimes a piece of art like this can hit you in the feels so deeply that nothing else needs to be said at the end. I wish I could smash that like button as many times as you say Bro. Much love from a freezing Melbourne, Australia.

[@GarnetJ]

Beautiful reaction. Thank you for sharing. I’m so glad your aunt was there for you. I’m sorry about your dad 😿 The impact this song is having already is incredible. People of all ages and backgrounds opening up and connecting. Music is a powerful force and Ren is channeling it beautifully. As someone mentioned, Ren added the last part after his interview with Knox Hill. He hadn’t opened up about the loss of his friend Joe Hughes. The song had felt incomplete to him, but he was finally able to confront the loss and regret. He still blames himself for not getting to the bridge in time. But hopefully this will help him heal and get some closure. Ren will be going to the UK to film a video for Money Game 3. While he’s there he will take a trip back to Anglesey Wales, where he lost his friend. He was able to raise funds through the release of this song to support RNLI, who led the search and rescue efforts. This song and those donations will save lives. I agree … we need to protect Ren at all costs. He is a voice of a generation and such a beautiful soul. His struggles have given him compassion, empathy, and a message the world needs right now. Much love ❤️

[@terryallen7356]

First time here so I don't know your back story but I'm glad your aunt found you and you're here today.

[@paulwalker242]

Love you Brother. I'm glad you're still here

[@jamiereed6080]

god bless you!! you have everything you need! a kind soul!

[@lillyvanpug]

Going through these reactions and feeling the love, support and empathy in the comments is healing. So much positivity and comfort going around. This song is heavy but it opens up a conversation that is needed. Lots of love to you 🖤

[@cheetara32]

Ren is s catalyst that we can choose to act upon... We all have deep emotions that we are told to feel shame for... To numb with drugs (prescription and non prescription)... The more we break the taboo and talk, the more we connect, with others and also ourselves. It's so important to talk about this .... This is real, its honest and its human... Thank you

[@belgand5555]

Thank you.. I know you have been through alot.. I think that makes us appreciate Ren even more!♥️🎶♥️

[@glennhansen6794]

Much love to you brother. Great reaction.

[@sussel1618]

REN is Real!

[@didierblasco8116]

❤ to all the aunties out there!

[@Aurora-cv5to]

Re: "you choose your karma." The full lines are "Truth is, my father, you choose your karma. Draw the sword from the stone, drive through the armor." I think this is the only time Ren has mentioned his father: I don't think we can separate the idea of choosing karma from how he used it. Feels like a message to me. "Draw the sword from the stone" references King Arthur - Arthur was fostered out very young and grew up not knowing his father, King Uther. It was when Arthur saw the sword in the stone (his magical power) and pulled it free that he was able to "drive through the armor" - defeat all who would stop him and assume his fathers' throne. Interesting since Ren's own father divorced his mother when Ren was still young, and Ren was raised by his mom. Sounds like Ren may be telling his dad he chose his own path, and Ren doesn't need him now. Sometimes parents try to claim children they neglected or ignored if they become famous. In most cases, it's too late. Ren's dad, a psychiatrist, recently reached out online to one of Ren's reactors, also a psychiatrist, to establish contact and leave a comment about Ren. By any normal standards, that was a profound violation of professional conduct. To me, it suggests potential manipulation of Ren's reputation, and that's not a good look for his dad.

[@patisan]

I took that line as a jab at his dad too, but I’m pretty sure they’re not estranged. I’m very curious what their dynamic is. Ren’s dad has posted about Ren over the years in his Facebook, always in a supportive way and there are pictures of them together when Ren was older. Ren also mentioned in his Lyme disease blogs when he was having stem cell treatment that his dad was worried about him having the treatment. Also his dad was at the Brighton Dome for the last Big Push concert last September so they definitely have a relationship, post divorce although his dad does live fairly far away from Brighton. Also, any time that Ren needed help with his health he’s always mentioned being with his mum, moving in with her, her having to stop work and look after him in Brighton and I do wonder why his dad doesn’t get mentioned when he talks about relying on family care at his sickest. That’s not to say his father wasn’t there for him, but Ren always mentions his mum. I do get the sense there may be some unresolved animosity but it’s pure conjecture so I think we should comment on it carefully and respectfully. I do wonder though!!

[@Aurora-cv5to]

@@patisan Agreed that we have to step carefully here, and I hope I didn't sound like I was making a declaration. I was voicing the strangeness that I've observed. The only one who can unravel it is Ren, and it's his story to share or not share as he chooses. I appreciate that his dad has made positive comments through the years, but that doesn't automatically reflect a positive relationship between them, nor does it automatically make his intentions healthy. I remain put off by his bonding with one one of Ren's reactors. It was unwise at best, and more likely an ethical violation. Perhaps I'm unfairly suspicious: my dad bragged me up a lot, but it was to burnish himself, while his behavior towards me was problematic. Sometimes parents do this. We see it frequently with celebrities. So - I'm troubled by the incident, and his ethical lapse makes me skeptical.

[@patisan]

@@Aurora-cv5to I get where you’re coming from! I thought it was a bit strange too, but don’t have the whole context so I keep observing. I was watching his face carefully when he spoke to Black Pegasus but he gave nothing away 😅 Which just makes me think there’s more to it, along the lines of “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything”. He praised his sister a lot, I enjoyed that. She’s a bit of an environmental activist I gather

[@jenniferclarke8879]

Thank you Auntie.....thank you for saving this man so that I could see this video and have a true emotional connection thru music. They say "Take things one day at a time" but sometimes, when you're climbing what seems to be the tallest of mountains, we need to say "Take things minute by minute, hour by hour." Sometimes looking at a full day ahead of you makes you want to stay in bed to try and sleep it away. I see you brotha...🫂

[@kevinkrochak2546]

Hey glad that you came through the fire, man! And thanks for the wise words...you may have saved someone out there and not even know it. Cheers and appreciate your work.

[@Cnawki]

And here's (part of) the writeup that Ren shared before the premiere and sent to his email list: I first met Joe when I was 8 years old, my friend Josh said I had to meet this guy, so we both walked over to his, it took about 10 minutes from my house. I was greeted by this kid covered head to toe in freckles, he grinned at us, climbed onto the back of his sofa and screamed “Swanton Bomb!” then front flipped off the top and landed right onto his back on a stone floor. He lay still for a moment, twitched a few times, then got up, grinned at us, brushed himself off, and did it again. This was Joe. He’d do anything to make people laugh. He ended up becoming one of my best friends. He was there when we stole our first cigarettes out of his mums pack, way too young. He was there when I had my first kiss, with a girl twice my size on the back of the 42 bus. He was there when I first got so drunk I threw up in the woods after drinking as much white lightning Cider as we could. I was there when he did his first backflip on skates, and saw him do a 720 off of the pier cave, that moment became legendary. Joe was the funny one in our friend group, he’d make us laugh till it hurt. No one had a bad word to say about him. It was impossible not to like him. Usually we put celebrities, athletes and actors on pedestals, turn them into role models and admire them from a far. The person I admired was Joe. Him and Sagar knew every word to the songs id write, we’d get drunk at parties and they’d be singing along as loud as they could. It gave me a lot of confidence back then. On Christmas Eve 2010 I was sitting in a pub with Joe, he’d been feeling low after a couple of consecutive break ups. He tried to check himself into a mental health outpatient facility a few weeks earlier but they turned him away because he didn’t have an appointment. He turned to me and said that sometimes he wished he could just walk into the sea and keep walking. He said it in a kind of half joking throw away comment type of way, then took a sip of his drink, walked over to the juke box and put Dig by Incubus on. If I knew that was the last time I’d see Joe id have hugged him, told him how much I loved him, how much I looked up to him, how much we all loved him, and I wouldn’t have left that pub. I didn’t know that, so I finished my drink, said happy Christmas and left. Two nights after Christmas I got woken up by a phone call at 3am, it was my friend Ella. She told me Joe was on the Menai Bridge, a large suspension bridge connecting the main land to the isle of Anglesey where we lived. He’d been on the phone to her in tears saying goodbye. He told her to tell everyone he loved them. I pulled on my clothes as fast as I could and started running toward the bridge. It was up a hill. I lived about a ten minute walk away, I could run it in five. As I ran I started dialling then redialing his number. The line was busy, which was a good sign, it meant he was still on the phone to someone. As I got about halfway, the busy tone changed. It told me the line was out of service. I got a sinking feeling and picked up my speed. I arrived to the bridge minutes after I left my house. It was deafeningly quiet. I was the first person to arrive. I got there probably about 2 minutes too late. Joe’s body was never found. Initially we refused to believe he was gone. The coastguard came out that night, with boats, and helicopters. Me and my friends spent the next 10 days putting up missing posters everywhere we could, walking up and down beaches with flashlights, getting about 3 hours sleep a night. When you’re walking up and down a beach with a torch when its dark everything looks like a body. We still haven’t found Joe. As his birthday came around, I wrote a song, freckled angels, a song I dedicated to Joe which I sang in front of his friends and family. A charity football match was put on for him, raising money for the RNLI where I won two bottles of wine in a raffle, I drank them both as quickly as I could, naturally, turned to my friend and probably slurred something along the lines of “This is the last time I ever drink” That was 12 years ago, I haven’t touched a drop of alcohol since.

[@Professor_Greenleaf]

Ren is a true artist.

[@ScottJones12stringscott]

Dude you madenme cry to your reaction to a song that has made me cry more than once

[@amandabennett8346]

Never heard of this band (artist) before. I'm here for all of this. I love hearing new artists (new to me, anyway). My friends are about to hear all about this.

[@sammyd8860]

Ren added the last couple of minutes immediately after he had done his interview with Knox Hill, in which, for the first time, he really talked openly about the circumstances around Joe's death. It feels like he had kept so much buried inside himself and it came out in the interview, and it felt good to honour Joe properly. Here he talks about his guilt for being too late to save him. This is just so tough, being far too tough on himself. I am glad that Joe's story is spreading wider and that people are honouring him but Ren, man, please stop beating yourself up. It was not your fault.

[@adamwheeler6326]

Ty for keeping it real, for being here, knowing your value, and promoting REN❤

[@lunchbox9864]

Love to you and your aunt. There’s ALWAYS a tomorrow.

[@ScottJones12stringscott]

I feel you on your react at the poem on the end. Bless ya for being here still and thanks to your auntie

[@SimplyNotSimpleYT]

I appreciate that and thanks for watching my reaction glad you enjoyed 💯🚀

[@craigmitchell604]

Beautiful words. Beautiful reaction to the words. And yes…protect Ren. ❤

[@clarelwc2849]

Thanks for such a great reaction. Much love to Ren and to yourself!! -from North Wales, UK

[@angiepanaexx]

Beautiful reaction. Thankyou sweetie 💔💔💔

[@andrewmagill]

You aren't alone Brother! Peace & Light x

[@M0S3ST0NE]

To be vulnerable is a human experience that can be shared with those who have subscribed to you brother, share and you will be rewarded with love and empathy and truth. You have unknown friends

[@fourcornersofbrighton]

This one has been hard for most of us; fans and reactors both. I have dealt with depression for most of my life and much of what has kept me here is the realization of how it would hurt those I love. The second half of this song is brutal but it is also a good reminder of how it hurts those left behind. Musically, it's another masterpiece! The video is beautiful as well. I think the animation was a great choice for this one. Louis Mardlin is the video editor for Ren's animated type videos and he did a fantastic job. Thanks you for your honest reaction and willingness to share. In regards to choosing your karma, it is true to a certain extent. It's the idea of reaping what you sow. There will always be obstacles along the way, accident, where you are starting from. People who get in the way or keep you down. There are also always lucky and or privileged people who don't necessarily deserve what they have but in most cases; I'd say that the energy and enthusiasm that you put in will be reflected back.

[@pudermcgavin4462]

It won't always get better but if you have good people see and watch over you it can!

[@ZanOrion]

I love Ren and I love you, man. So glad one lead to the other. Goes to show we don't know the impact we have each other. I need you guys. We are going through stuff that so many of us relate to. Thanks for the encouragement to "hang on or hang in there." Many days, it's all I get. So, for inspiration and stick to it ness. I am once again here. And I feel seen. Blessings man! About karma, I do believe we play a hand in it. Especially as we become more conscious of our actions. I also feel we can understand how our actions effect others by looking at how we accept ourselves or not. Also, so sorry about your dad! It's a hard one. Lost my dad in '78(was 21 at the tome, miss him still). I know that hole, that emptiness. I try to do him proud. Live the life he hoped for me. One of peace and love for self and others. And a deep love for the Northwoods. I meet him there. I visit the Northwoods often, the places that soothed him. He was a man that soothed many. The stories are all different, but, there's always leatning, and there's love, even when it may not be seen, or fear is covering it. Thanks so much for your channel, for community.

[@testpattern23]

Ren is hitting homerun after homerun

[@VideosbyLisaLisa]

So glad you're still here. This one ends with a punch for sure - especially if you've ever "looked down and seen tranquility."

[@Lulabee2024]

I heard this from the source ... after Ren's interview with Knox Hill ( where they spoke on his best friend Joe and his su$i*de) Ren wrote the verse at the end. Its 100% TRUE. I've watched like a half a dozen reactions to this today and I bawl... every time. Great reaction Man and I'm so glad that your Auntie was there for you ❤❤❤

[@jameskelly3764]

Bless your aunt...you are worth it. Love your videos

[@jameskelly3764]

This hits hard my 15 year old son just list a frien to suicide. SHE WAS 16 AND WALKED IN FRONT OF A TRAIN..And i dont know how to help him. He won't talk to me it scares me. Internalizing it all. So scary how it effects everyone they leave behind. Hope should be for everyone.

[@helenajrgensen3157]

This track is so rough, so beautiful and so real. Ren teach us, or me, to feel again. I have never cried so much as after I met him. His ability and strength is that he puts words and music to emotions on a level that is so high. He is so deep. I find beauty in how I myself come into contact with feelings and dare to stand by them. How he thereby creates contact between people. The comments under his music are people from all over the world and all ages sharing. It is beautiful. Thank you for your profound response. ❤ Thanks to all the aunties of the world - and to you ❤

[@stacie9229]

One line sticks out to me, when he says "look down and see tranquiilty". I can imagine if your mindset. Youd look down and feel life if you just jump, the water would end the pain and give you peace.

[@SuzanneO707]

Y tubes your karma. Calmer. Ren and friends doing special things, transcending borders. You have a natural and humane reaction. Best wishes.

[@brigittemainella6412]

Appreciate you and how you reacted to this song! It's a tough one! Ren was brave for all of us and shared his personal experience of loss. His song will save lives! My heart goes out to Ren and everyone who has lost someone to suicide! Subscribed! 😊

[@oceanlover650]

Thank you for such a real reaction. I'm sorry you went through such a rough time, and so sorry to hear about your dad. I'm so glad you're still here, though. Big hug to your auntie. Your heart is changed when you go through times like that, but you also have a unique perspective because of it. It's pretty obvious you care very much about others. I hope you're OK now. Great reaction. Subscribed!

[@PeteFindsObscureStuff]

Bless you and your auntie brother. Thanks for doing what you do. Stay positive my friend!!

[@mickgieskes4950]

Hey man. Love this reaction, and so damn glad you are here to react and to appreciate and to share your love

[@bethcote9978]

Bless you 🙏 ♥

[@lafatte24]

You are really sweet. I'm sorry for your loss, and I am glad your Aunt was there for you.

[@mama-llama4527]

Beautiful reaction. You are a strong young man. Go auntie and I’m sorry to hear about your dad 😢

[@stevebrown9955]

In my life I lost two friends to suicide one when I was 13 and one when I was 17 for years I blamed myself if I could have done something it drove me nuts I thought about suicide myself I am 57 now I still think of them I don’t think you ever get over it

[@dawnlangton3459]

Thank you for this reaction ,keep in flying my bro

[@eddieworsdell517]

Love and blessings bro, the raw honesty and clarity in expression is humbling and inspiring in equal measures 💚🙏💚

[@adrianadrianadrian4388]

Nice reaction, the only thing I can say, if you are drowning with your feet on the ground, look for help, a friend, a family member, professional aid ..... Don't give up, you are the main character in your own life, you can change the story. YOU ARE WORTH IT. Have a nice day 😁

[@jimmyhughes5392]

yesterday before this was release i had a "wren" fly into my bedroom window, luckily it wasn't "suicide" and was only knocked out. i'd forgot about it until Ren made me think of suicide so i googled bird images and just discovered it was a "wren" and now my mind is melting after going nuclear

[@woodywoodman2319]

Watch his interview with Knox Hill... he explains that night! Can you Imagine being 2 minutes late from saving your best friend! Then spending years misdiagnosed, fed poisons, in so much pain! Imagine all that!!!

[@Microplancakes]

I love your reaction!! I subscribed as your video ended!! Thank you for being here!!! You made this old white lady (59) smile!! Stay with us, on earth!! You have a giant heart and I hope many others get to see that too!!❤❤❤

[@smle34]

I loved ur reaction…..I’m sorry about ur loss.

[@truedistortion7673]

i think you really do chose your sword and your armor. the way you wanna live, comes down to how much you're gonna hate, or how much you're gonna love. and love is the best amour and the best weapon anyone can have

[@SuzanneO707]

True.

[@GW-kf1be]

❤❤❤

[@peterveste6976]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@serenitywalters8668]

Posted by Ren Ren: Today I want to write something beautiful and eloquent but I’ve been staring at my computer screen for the past 10 minutes blankly. So I’ll just write. Today, the 1st of June is my friend Joe’s birthday. I first met Joe when I was 8 years old, my friend Josh said I had to meet this guy, so we both walked over to his, it took about 10 minutes from my house. I was greeted by this kid covered head to toe in freckles, he grinned at us, climbed onto the back of his sofa and screamed “Swanton Bomb!” then front flipped off the top and landed right onto his back on a stone floor. He lay still for a moment, twitched a few times, then got up, grinned at us, brushed himself off, and did it again. This was Joe. He’d do anything to make people laugh. He ended up becoming one of my best friends. He was there when we stole our first cigarettes out of his mums pack, way too young. He was there when I had my first kiss, with a girl twice my size on the back of the 42 bus. He was there when I first got so drunk I threw up in the woods after drinking as much white lightning Cider as we could. I was there when he did his first backflip on skates, and saw him do a 720 off of the pier cave, that moment became legendary. Joe was the funny one in our friend group, he’d make us laugh till it hurt. No one had a bad word to say about him. It was impossible not to like him. Usually we put celebrities, athletes and actors on pedestals, turn them into role models and admire them from a far. The person I admired was Joe. Him and Sagar knew every word to the songs id write, we’d get drunk at parties and they’d be singing along as loud as they could. It gave me a lot of confidence back then. On Christmas Eve 2010 I was sitting in a pub with Joe, he’d been feeling low after a couple of consecutive break ups. He tried to check himself into a mental health outpatient facility a few weeks earlier but they turned him away because he didn’t have an appointment. He turned to me and said that sometimes he wished he could just walk into the sea and keep walking. He said it in a kind of half joking throw away comment type of way, then took a sip of his drink, walked over to the juke box and put Dig by Incubus on. If I knew that was the last time I’d see Joe id have hugged him, told him how much I loved him, how much I looked up to him, how much we all loved him, and I wouldn’t have left that pub. I didn’t know that, so I finished my drink, said happy Christmas and left. Two nights after Christmas I got woken up by a phone call at 3am, it was my friend Ella. She told me Joe was on the Menai Bridge, a large suspension bridge connecting the main land to the isle of Anglesey where we lived. He’d been on the phone to her in tears saying goodbye. He told her to tell everyone he loved them. I pulled on my clothes as fast as I could and started running toward the bridge. It was up a hill. I lived about a ten minute walk away, I could run it in five. As I ran I started dialling then redialing his number. The line was busy, which was a good sign, it meant he was still on the phone to someone. As I got about halfway, the busy tone changed. It told me the line was out of service. I got a sinking feeling and picked up my speed. I arrived to the bridge minutes after I left my house. It was deafeningly quiet. I was the first person to arrive. I got there probably about 2 minutes too late. Joe’s body was never found. Initially we refused to believe he was gone. The coastguard came out that night, with boats, and helicopters. Me and my friends spent the next 10 days putting up missing posters everywhere we could, walking up and down beaches with flashlights, getting about 3 hours sleep a night. When you’re walking up and down a beach with a torch when its dark everything looks like a body. We still haven’t found Joe. As his birthday came around, I wrote a song, freckled angels, a song I dedicated to Joe which I sang in front of his friends and family. A charity football match was put on for him, raising money for the RNLI where I won two bottles of wine in a raffle, I drank them both as quickly as I could, naturally, turned to my friend and probably slurred something along the lines of “This is the last time I ever drink” That was 12 years ago, I haven’t touched a drop of alcohol since. My first ever album I named Freckled Angels in tribute of one of the best people I ever knew. Skip forward some years. I’d been sitting on this song I wrote a few years ago. It always felt a little incomplete. It was going to be my next release, but I was dreading it because of this feeling of incompletion. I decided, very last minute, to do something about it. I sat by my piano, and the rest of the song fell out of me. I hadn’t thought about Joe in a little while, and the song initially wasn’t going to be about him, but the words all fell out of me. I wrote and recorded a whole 2 minutes extra, recording each part as I wrote it. Tears spewing out of my eyes pretty much the whole time, and decided not to do my usual thing of perfecting each line, I just recorded every line as it came. This will be my next release. You can turn on notifications by following the link in the comments below During this campaign I will be raising money for the RNLI, the group of brave men and women who spent hours tirelessly looking for Joe after the night he went missing. I'll also be donating 50% of the profit on all copies of the 'Freckled Angels' album directly to Joes family as a nice surprise gift. I will include links to the RNLI donation page below where 100% of the money will go to support them, I will be travelling to the UK later this month to make a music video, and have carved out a couple of days where I will travel to my home town on the isle of Anglesey to present the royal national lifeboat institution with a cheque of all the money raised.

[@tinymusikcodottv-Musikverse99]

great reaction ~~~~ I wrote what I think peole have made Ren or The Ren out to be. They've named me a wandering bard, A timeless and enigmatic nomad, But I feel lost within myself, Unsure of where my heart is at, A chameleon of the human race, A trickster, a sage, a shifting face, THE SAGE OF TALES, untamed and wild, Unraveling truths with a knowing smile. I wonder if I still possess, The fire, the strength, the tenderness, To sing with the voice of countless years, And dance like dreams that never wither, Can I still weave a web of tales, Drawing wisdom from hidden wells, No longer certain, I hesitate, As I stand at destiny's gate. My goal was once to bring delight, Through melodies that dance in flight, Yet now I question my own role, In the grand scheme of the cosmic whole, Is it laughter or the bitter truth, That I must share with the world uncouth, As the minstrel who sees the core, Of what humanity's striving for. The jester, they say, can speak the truth, While others hide in masks uncouth, A voice of reason in a world of lies, I am the proof, the truth that cries, But now I wonder if I have the strength, To bear the weight of truth's full length, To guide the lost and heal the blind, And bring the world a peace of mind. To break the chains of false belief, And offer solace, hope, relief, I must return to innocence, Embrace the child within, and hence, Confront the lies, the pain, the strife, And start anew, a fresh new life, For I am stronger than I know, In this journey where truth must grow. No longer here for jest or scorn, For kings and queens who've long been worn, I stand before you, truth in hand, To save mankind from its own demand, From savagery and cruel fate, I share my wisdom, love, and hate, A guide, a friend, a soul reborn, Just a human, seeking truth's forlorn. Keith B Moran

[@seagull01-cp8pb]

Thank you for reacting on such a hard topic. Hugs to you.💕🦇

[@MtHermit]

"Dig deep, resist the feeling when it hits ya." That line is profound and repeats in my mind. Just remember, that feeling of complete aloneness and being lost, will pass like all other things. You can and will come out on the otherside if the fight as a more resilient version of yourself. I love you all

[@Bethany0420]

Sending some love to you bro ❤️

[@polyesterspecter]

My condolences on your loss. Hugs.

[@gavinwilson2071]

🤜🤛💯

[@kazpwright]

Great reaction. The bit you wanted to gloss over at about 2:50 made me laugh out loud. Then we get the ending... heartbreaking for a 20 year old to lose his best mate like that. I think most families are touched by suicide in one way or another. And we don't talk about it - being taboo - well, let's be real - we don't talk about death very much any way. His 'For Joe' is beautiful.....Your aunt is to be cherished. I'm glad you didn't succeed. Laters 💟

[@helenjarvis7755]

💖

[@jessmichaels1973]

❤🙏💖

[@seancptjackthornton4388]

Your Aunty is a legend!

[@karrettthewise]

Got my sub brother. So glad to know you.

[@TKGR77]

5:25~ 10:52~ i really hear you

[@pudermcgavin4462]

And not saying a thing but folks please talk say something don't hide it please!

[@DjAether8]

You say bro alot that I've become your bro, bro. Glad to know you got over your demons and that your aunt was there, somehow some way. You have a purpose in this life, whether small or big, we all do. I've lost so much family in the last 13 years, one by suicide some years ago, almost 10. Lost a cousin a month ago, I put him in the suicide column also because he refused treatment for the cancer he had. Just know, we all have our demons to battle. Some of us are just good at tucking them away and some of us learn to move them aside.

[@PayitForwardEnt]

RIP Pops. I'll be better.

[@SimplyNotSimpleYT]

Thank you 💯

[@felicitygreendoor]

Hope you are ok.

[@shelleygriffith3243]

🫶

[@AprilJMoon]

Easy to say, but shit happens. But the whole of your life is NOT shit. Even the poorest person can walk in the woods and smell the flowers. Maturing as a person is learning how to get over hurdles and cope with the wounds, all the time giving out the love. Hate, anger, stress, desperation, anxiety, depression etc... find a way to get away from the negativity, we are all different but all want peace. Find it in life, there is NOTHING in the alternative. HOPE is a personal weapon

[@MamaJ1975]

Loved your reaction. (((hugs to you)))

[@christilehman-starr4428]

Largest way we can choose our karma is to respond rather than react. If you do the other way you are also choosing a different karma. It’s about being aware which you are choosing. One is a victim mentality (actually a choice) and the other is free will choice and sovereignty. That absolutely affects your karma. The state you are in mentally and emotionally when you pass out of your body at death determines what echelon or level you enter the next experience. Ancient mysteries talk about this, specifically the Tibetan book of the dead, but not exclusively. So, yeah I’m in agreement. Victim mentality invites confusion and so many other unwanted things into your energetic field It’s not a happy place. I’m glad Ren is aware of this. Sorrow can be fatal in that state. Much love to everyone in sorrow…. I feel you…. 💔🫶🏼💕🙏

[@pudermcgavin4462]

To @therealtech9 Collab with this man!

[@StelFiRu]

❤❤❤

[@janebird723]

❤

[@nidaladil4150]

❤❤❤

[@aaronb4493]

❤️