Our Story
To give context to the story of The Therapy Pedal I’ll introduce myself first. My name is Alexander Fielding, a young man who has been invested in cars and all things mechanical since my late father handed me a spanner as a kid to help him fix an as per usual broken blue rubber nosed mark II MGB, right up until the present day as I fix an as per usual broken GC8 Subaru WRX.
Despite a relatively privileged upbringing in some respects, an unstable family life in my early years, and a never ending feeling of worthlessness led to me being diagnosed with depression at fourteen years old. Before I could drive I had a few ways to keep the demons at bay, playing cricket, video games, my mates, and tabletop wargaming. As I grew older and eventually got my first car, a two door silver Toyota Echo (which I will claim as the best car Toyota ever made), I realised that the simplicity and freedom of just going for a drive did something to my ever screaming mind… It calmed me. The feelings of worthlessness and existential dread lessened when I raced up through Adelaide Hills roads and went on cruises with like minded friends.
So where does The Therapy Pedal come in?
For context the last few years have been rough on all of us young people. From early 2020 to mid 2022 we had our lives stripped from us due to a worldwide pandemic that left a lot of people already disenfranchised on the edge. Climate change is sending many areas into chaos with worsening extreme weather events. The negative spheres of social media have stripped our personal connection away from each other, sending it into a realm of callousness and fake second lives to appease an algorithm designed to make us feel incomplete and unsatisfied.
Something that has remained a constant source of strength for people even through these uncertain times, however, is car culture. During lockdowns you could spanner on a project car, social media allows people to organise meets, and friendships formed on backroads keep people from giving into their demons.
The Therapy Pedal is a showcase and a highlight reel of all that is good in our world of automotive tastes. There will be regular articles written on mental health and car culture, but most importantly, I want to share the stories of enthusiasts focusing on the individual and their experiences while using their pride and joy as a catalyst for connecting all of us. Through sharing our stories and finding common ground, maybe we can all be a little more empathetic, and just maybe make this fucked up world…A little better.