What a guy.

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Outfielder Colby Rasmus is known for having the greasiest hair (and highest pants) of any player in Major League Baseball. When the Astros clinched their 2015 playoff berth, Rasmus went shirtless during the celebration.

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Prior to 2015, the Houston Astros' last playoff appearance was 2005. They were swept in the World Series by the Chicago White Sox.

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This is derived from one of Charles Bukowski’s most famous quotations:

My dear,
Find what you love and let it kill you.
Let it drain you of your all. Let it cling onto your back and weigh you down into eventual nothingness.
Let it kill you and let it devour your remains.
For all things will kill you, both slowly and fastly, but it’s much better to be killed by a lover

Mike’s lifelong passion was baseball, so having to give up his big league dream after Tommy John surgery was a punch in the gut. As it turns out, closing the door on baseball allowed him to open another with music, so things turned out all right in the end.

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As Mike set records with his success at Duke, he began to climb as one of the top prospects. Unfortunately, he took a step back when he suffered his elbow injury and needed Tommy John surgery.

His baseball career was over, but Mike spoke about how music gave him a fresh outlook and saved his life:

Even from when I was really young I was somebody and probably gonna go to the big leagues. I was always on my way and then it just got completely wiped out. I was really trying to stay positive. I publicly appeared positive, but at the same time, it was a really tough time for me.

Music, the fact that this happened, is weird and I’m fucking so grateful that it did. It definitely saved my life because I’m really happy now and I’d probably be really unhappy if it none of this happened.

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Alexander Graham Bell once said:

When one door closes, another door opens; but we so often look so long and regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.

Success may seem impossible to reach, especially when every opportunity (“door”) seems to close on you. It’s important to keep a positive outlook and realize there are multiple ways to reach the top—even if it takes you a while to get there.

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Mike Stud used to be a pitcher for Duke, until he needed Tommy John surgery, which led to the launch of his rap career—as well as a scar to remind him where he came from.

Throwing a curveball is hard on the elbow and often leads to the need for Tommy John surgery, but it’s also an idiom for an unexpected life event. Due to his baseball background, it’s poetic how “being thrown a curve” changed Mike’s life for the better.

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Young baseball players (elementary/middle school age) dream about striking out the final batter in Game 7 of the World Series. Mike was no exception to this, and strived to reach the majors to one day fulfill his dream.

Unfortunately, never fully recovering from his blown out UCL stomped that dream out.

http://instagram.com/p/oEzKWkvd5j/?modal=true

(Mike in a return trip to Duke University)

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Mike sets the tone for his upcoming album here in the hook: closer to greatness, closer to the top, closer than he’s ever been.

He achieved great success with Relief, but still isn’t at the top yet.

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The adage is “if you go looking for trouble, trouble will find you.” Mike flipped this by asserting he was prepared for the “trouble” thrown at him in his music career.

Drinking copious amounts of liquor and toking up will get you into trouble, too.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKbfFzoh5VV/?taken-by=mike_stud&hl=en

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