Beyond the Byline: Ryan Evans’ voice must be heard

WILKES-BARRE — Ryan Evans again delivered a brilliant speech — this time to a group of “young professionals” at the Greater Wyoming Valley-sponsored forum at the THINK Center.

A perfect place to hear Evans speak, because he really does make you think.

On this day, Evans offered a candid, brutally honest account of his struggles, all told as the crowd sat in awe as each detail came out.

Evans, 31, of Kingston, offered quite thought-provoking insights into the real world of 2024.

“This life, at times, will be absolutely brutal,” Evans told the group. “It will take everything from you — it’ll take your desire to keep going from you. It’ll take your self-respect and your self-confidence, it’ll take your self-esteem and your love. And at moments, it’ll be incredibly vibrant and full of love and understanding. Just remember that no matter how ugly it gets, it does not make the experience any less beautiful.”

See what I mean?

Evans spoke for only about 20 minutes, keeping his audience riveted to every word, and at the end, they gave him a rousing round of applause.

“I am not what happened to me,” he said. “I am how I choose to keep going. “

And using a self-deprecating approach, Evans had this to say:

“Now, as I’m sure you all can tell by looking at me, I am not what you would call traditionally or classically professional. I have visible tattoos — I’ve even had one removed off my neck. And once upon a time, I had a fire-engine red Mohawk, a lip ring, a nose ring, gauges in my ears, and a sub-dermal implant right here in my face. In my casual conversation, I swear profusely. I hate wearing a tie. I listen to heavy metal and punk rock and hardcore music way too loud, and I have an innate issue with authority — which admittedly made getting through an enlistment incredibly challenging. But that’s a whole separate keynote.

“So, with all that said, you might be asking yourself, ‘why is this doofus this year’s keynote speaker?’”

Easy answer is, Evans has a voice that must be heard.

“Take it from a guy who has failed more than he’s succeeded — failure is where the greatest lessons are,” Evans said. “And the larger a stage you can fail upon, the better. Failure is nothing more than a catalyst for improvement.”

And he was just warming up.

“My understanding is that I am here today to light fires under your collective asses,” Evans said. “I’ve simply just had my experiences and learned a thing or two along the way. A lot of it was bad and required me to either stagnate and accept my circumstances, or change them.”

That said, Evans told his story of pain and suffering, of being down and out, of being strung out and aimless, and of redemption and embracing all of the negativity a life can contain and channeling it into something greater.

Evans also said he hoped to redefine what the ‘Young Professional’ really is.

“Because to me, it’s not a suit and tie anymore, sitting in a boardroom,” he said.

Evans said his life has been one of heartache and hard work and dusting himself off repeatedly and wanting the throw in the towel.

“I just wanted to stop hurting,” he said. “For the longest time, I was a depressed, drug-addled, sensitive kid just trying to come to terms with his past and find his place in this life without having to suffer any more heartbreak.”

A couple of years ago, Evans, then a Wilkes University student-veteran and a staff writer at the Times Leader, delivered a poignant speech about his service in the U.S. Navy and the bond all veterans share.

Evans was speaking to a group of Korea War veterans who were being honored by then-U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey.

“We all have that one thing in common — no matter how many decades may exist between our service — we served,” Evans said. “And it is immensely humbling to me to be able to share that with you all, across generations. Thank you for your service.”

Evans said he never had intentions of serving — he said his enlistment came about out of necessity.

“Roughly 10 years ago, when I graduated from Coughlin High School, I was closer to rehab or prison than I was to boot camp,” Evans said. “My father had passed away the year prior and I was heading down a dark road of depression and drug use. In a last-ditch effort to make something out of the mess I created for myself, I went to see a recruiter.”

Evans went on to say that enlisting not only saved his life, it gave him the tools to create a life worth living.

“I found my self-esteem and self-respect in the military,” Evans said. “I found my drive in the military. I found my discipline. And most importantly, I found the best friends I’ll ever have.”

See what I mean about Evans? He just throws it all out there and he makes point after point.

He makes you think.

Last week, Evans told those young professionals, “It’s simply a matter of doing the brutal, yet necessary work of self-love. And yeah, that requires honesty, and sometimes we don’t want to be honest with ourselves, but once you are, you’ll learn just how much of any outcome is up to your own control.

“We are not the products of our environments — we are the architects of them.”

I can’t wait to hear Ryan Evans speak again and again.