Jason Hairston Founder of Kuiu deceased

[Nwgunner]

Nothing more selfish than taking a "normal childhood" away from your own children.  I don't know how old his kids are, but imagine being in his wife's shoes.  How would you explain this to your kids and then attempt to resume a normal life.  The only victims here are his family, especially the children.

[pashok23]

Very sad, love their products. RIP

[Curly]

Who is he ?

https://heavy.com/sports/2018/09/jason-hairston/

Jason Hairston Dead: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
 Hairston, a former linebacker with the 49ers and hunting clothing guru, has died at the age of 47. Hairston was the founder of KUIU hunting gear and a friend of Donald Trump Jr. Hairston’s death comes just days after he went on a hunting trip with the president’s son.

A post on the KUIU’s Instagram page on September 5 said, “We are shocked and saddened to announce the tragic passing of KUIU founder Jason Hairston. His legacy lives on in KUIU’s spirit of relentless innovation.”

[bearpaw]

I don't think any of us who are living can fully understand how/why anyone would want to end their life. This is kind of hard to write about but one of my best friend's (was in my wedding) and a long time hunting partner took his own life. I had a good conversation with him only days earlier, we talked about our next hunt, about my business, about his business, and about his next business venture that he was thinking of pursuing. He was one of the most positive minded people I have ever known and an inspiration to me, he invented items, he wrote a golf handbook, he was a custom home builder, he could do anything, for that reason it's hard for me to believe he took his own life. I still think about him often and I still question if he actually took his own life or if there was fowl play and no evidence exists to prove it. But I know a few other people who have committed suicide that I would not have expected to do so. All I can say is that it's very sad for everyone involved and I can only hope that people contemplating such an action will seek help. Perhaps we as a society should be more proactive at helping/encouraging people who have these thoughts to seek professional help? Perhaps confidential professional help should be more available? Like I mentioned I had no idea one of my best friends whom I'd known for decades was even considering ending his life.

Rather than judge anyone with mental issues, I would rather show them compassion and encourage them to seek help. Please seek professional help, do it not only for yourself but for the people that really matter in your life! 

[cem3434]

Very well put Dale. Its obvious through your post that you  still feel the pain from the loss of your friend to this day.

[CAMPMEAT]

Who is he ?

https://heavy.com/sports/2018/09/jason-hairston/

Jason Hairston Dead: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
 Hairston, a former linebacker with the 49ers and hunting clothing guru, has died at the age of 47. Hairston was the founder of KUIU hunting gear and a friend of Donald Trump Jr. Hairston’s death comes just days after he went on a hunting trip with the president’s son.

A post on the KUIU’s Instagram page on September 5 said, “We are shocked and saddened to announce the tragic passing of KUIU founder Jason Hairston. His legacy lives on in KUIU’s spirit of relentless innovation.”

Thanks Curly.......

[BeWitty]

For those that need to understand CTE a little better and symptoms Jason experienced. His brain has been failing for years.
https://people.com/sports/jason-hairston-wife-speaks-out-about-cte/

[jackelope]

“Just weeks before his suicide on Sept. 4 at age 47, former NFL player Jason Hairston struggled with worsening symptoms associated with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), his wife, Kirstyn Hairston, tells PEOPLE.

“We were sitting in our bedroom, and Jason’s a tough guy, but he finally had a vulnerable moment with me,” Kirstyn, 46, shares. “He said, ‘It’s bad, I can’t remember anything anymore, I can’t remember people’s names.’ Then he said, ‘Please don’t leave me.’ I told him I never would — I told him, ‘I promise you, I will always take care of you.’ ”

Jason — who spent much of his early life playing football in high school, college and briefly in the NFL — first showed symptoms of the degenerative brain disorder a few years following his retirement from professional football in 1996. When he became concerned about the fluctuating emotions he would experience after consuming even a small amount of alcohol, Jason asked his wife to closely monitor him one night as he sipped a drink in their home in Dixon, California.

“He wanted me to see what happened to him,” Kirstyn says of that moment, more than a decade ago. “He had two drinks, and he was 100 percent different. He just started crying. I looked at him and I said, ‘My god, this isn’t alcohol. There’s something wrong with you.’ ”

It goes on.

https://people.com/sports/jason-hairston-wife-speaks-out-about-cte/

[Ironhead]

Thanks Jackelope, Its good to know what really happened, so all the guessing can stop. No matter what anyone thinks the facts are, that he was a brilliant business mind with so many innovative ideas that helped the hunting community immensely. He also was huge into conservation. The hunting community lost a true icon.

[magnanimous_j]

Judge judge judge, is that all any of you can do?

It's just fear. Look at any thread about suicide, poverty, addiction, anything like that. It's all the same. Some people think that if they puff out their chests and make harsh, black-and-white judgments about something they don't understand; it insulates them from it. As if these issues are some kind of plague that you can catch by not being resolute enough.

It's also counterproductive. It creates stigma around these things and makes people suffering even less likely to seek help, lest they be viewed as weak or immoral. Suicide rates are rising all over the board, but they are exploding among white, middle class, middle aged people. This tough guy posturing is doing nothing but hurting people in their own demographic.

[bradslam]

Judge judge judge, is that all any of you can do?

It's just fear. Look at any thread about suicide, poverty, addiction, anything like that. It's all the same. Some people think that if they puff out their chests and make harsh, black-and-white judgments about something they don't understand; it insulates them from it. As if these issues are some kind of plague that you can catch by not being resolute enough.

It's also counterproductive. It creates stigma around these things and makes people suffering even less likely to seek help, lest they be viewed as weak or immoral. Suicide rates are rising all over the board, but they are exploding among white, middle class, middle aged people. This tough guy posturing is doing nothing but hurting people in their own demographic.

Absolutely spot on.  In the fire service, there is currently an emphasis on getting help for psychological issues, including suicidal thoughts.  In the past, firefighters felt that they would be seen as weak if they talked about issues they were experiencing, but that only led to increased levels of alcoholism and suicides, among other things.  It's difficult to change culture, but you can't repeatedly see some of the things we do and bottle them up inside, then expect to just go on about your life like it's no big deal.  It will catch up to you.

[addicted2hunting]

I think also with all the gun control being pushed, it deters people from seeking help because of the eventual risk of losing your civil rights due to mental illness even if it’s temporary... there is no such thing as true confidentiality in mental health...

[Jpmiller]

I would also venture that hearing people constantly defend and build up the people who end their own life makes it easier for those contemplating it to do so. Mental illness is no joke but I'd bet if you were having suicidal thoughts and you heard every Tom dick and Harry making this guy out as a hero after he ends himself it would encourage rather than deter you.

It's sad, people who contemplating it need help and should seek it. There's no shame in not being bulletproof and needing help. There's shame in needing help and pretending you're bulletproof until it's too late and you do something you can't come back from. People struggling definitely need compassion, grace, and understanding but they don't need to hear people glorifying suicide and those who chose it.

[ipkus]

Who is glorifying it??

[opdinkslayer]

Who said anything about a hero? Great innovator in business that helped out our sport. Think the point being lost is that mental issues are not a choice but the results from the mental problems can be fatal.