A Life Full of Play

Brock Borman, a life full of play.

When I began Advanced Recess and told my husband, Chris, about my goal to tell the stories of people who bring a great spirit of play into the world and who are great examples to inspire others to include more play in their lives, Chris immediately told me I had to reach out to Brock Borman. Brock was literally the one person Chris suggested to me and given he knows a wide variety of people who include play in their lives, I took his suggestion immediately and within a couple days, Brock had shared more about his “life of play” with me. That was in January and I have been working on these stories over the past months as time allows, adding them to our site and sharing them in our community. I was likely within a few days of writing up Brock’s story given we are in the middle of our Summer Recess Games and Brock really brought our motto of “Pursue a Life of Play” into the world. But, unfortunately, I’m writing it now, Saturday, July 31st, and I won’t have the pleasure of personally sending it to Brock because he lost his life in a car accident late Monday night while returning home from an evening of playing table tennis.

Brock was an avid athlete of racquet sports - including paddle tennis - and this is how Chris knew him. Chris plays a lot and, as much as I know he loves playing the sport, I think he was always equally excited to hang out with Brock. It seems to me that they shared a passion for the game but also for being around people and the joys of tequila:). In my initial review of what Brock sent me about his “life of play”, I was really impressed that he truly seemed to find a really unique way to incorporate a steady stream of play in his life - including all the games and sports he loved - but also, as you’ll read, not even taking for granted something as simple as a thank you or a handshake. Here is more with Brock and I hope it inspires you and encourages you to think how you can include more play in your life. I know, for me, it had me revisit my favorite Alan Watt’s video of all time and ask the question that Alan asks in it…”What sort of situation would you like to be in?”. Brock shows us that his answer seemed to always include a little bit of play. Thank you for this, Brock.

Describe a little about yourself:

I'm a soul who has had the inclination and privilege to experience a very diverse career path. I get satisfaction from vocations where I can help people achieve their goals whether that be creating print ads or design logos to increase sales or to revamp a forehand to reduce elbow pain and improve power and consistency. A sincere Thank You and handshake has given me more joy and fulfillment than anything else.

What do you do for play?

Platform tennis, table tennis, exercising at the gym, riding the hills around Boulder, planing walks and talks with friends, snowboarding, golfing, hiking, and dozens of other activities that friends invite me to share.

Are you able to make a living from your version of play? If so, tell us more about that.

I do. I've played tennis most of my life and still teach as part of my income. And recently I've taken on a paddle venture where I've invested, organized, facilitated, taught and played in. Mind you, it's a very modest income but my footprint is small and I get a lot of fulfillment from it's success and member satisfaction.

How does play motivate you in your life?

It lifts my health, it gives me purpose. It's a healthy diversion from other daily realities, and it often is a medium for both developing and maintaining life's essential relationships.

When you think of your ideal day spent playing, what is it?

A day spent with friends that involves, laughing, exercise, winning, loosing, and the loss of a sense of time.

Our motto is Pursue a Life of Play. In your own words, what does this mean to you? How do you live it?

To prioritize regular facilitation and participation in recreation whether directly correlated to a profession/vocation, or for personal happiness.

Thank you for leading a life of play, Brock. I’m dedicating this post to all of his friends and family in addition to the paddle tennis community at Meadow Creek Tennis and Fitness Club. Play on.