Bradley Ryckman’s experience of being bullied left him realizing there is a lacking response to the problem. His concern turned into activism when he founded “The Bullied Experience.”
The Bullied Experience is a program that has him speak about his experiences and create a community centered around anti-bullying activism. He uses this program to put on speaking engagements at schools in regards to the severity of bullying.
He works at Masonic Pathways in Alma and is working towards a nursing assistant certification at age 38.
What happened 28 years ago in school bathrooms and locker rooms had him realize that bullying is an issue that adults are having trouble understanding.
Ryckman’s first instance of bullying happened when he was in fifth grade.
“Those bullies, there was a group of five, everyday would follow me into the bathroom and they would torture me,” Ryckman said. “They would make fun of my appearance and my weight without knowing my background story.”
At the age of two, Ryckman was diagnosed with schwannoma. After being treated for that, at age three he was diagnosed with non-hodgkin lymphoma. He said the results from treating it made him a target for bullies.
He talked to his mother and teacher about the incidents. They told him to stay away from the bullies and not go after them.
“What they didn’t understand was: I wasn’t looking for the bullies, the bullies were looking for me,” he said.
He felt more relieved during the summer since he didn’t have to see them. He said that he was hoping sixth grade would be better, since he was moving to another class.
When school started again, his first class was a physical education class.
“We were in the locker room and it started all over again,” he said, “Now they started torturing me in the locker room and the bathroom.”
He endured the bullying until halfway through the year when a teacher heard what was happening and intervened. He then went to the guidance councilor about the incident. The councilor said they would talk with Ryckman, the kids who were harassing him, and the combination of the two parties.
“The way she did it was that she had me separately and the bullies together,” he said, “Their stories were matched together, where my story didn’t match theirs.”
The bullies were not punished for their actions, according to Ryckman.
After the incident, the teacher who saw the situation asked him to talk to her class about his cancer experience. She also said it was a good idea to talk to her students as well.
From that point, he said that things got better. As he grew into adulthood, he realized that he was still suffering some of the effects of the bullying.
“I deal with mental health issues on a daily basis, such as anxiety and depression,” he said.
A 2017 University College London study saw that exposure to bullying can mental health issues, like anxiety, years after the bullying has occurred.
Ryckman said that he has also had thoughts of suicide, His group of friends were there to help him during those times.
A few years ago, he met with a friend and life coach Loren Michaels Harris. Harris is a motivational speaker, recording artist and life coach based in Chicago. He is originally from Niles, Michigan.
Michaels encouraged Ryckman to write a one-page letter about himself to Michaels as if he was meeting Ryckman for the first time. In that letter, he shared what he went through and his life experience. Ryckman later adapted the letter into a Facebook video.
That’s when a different kind of attention went to him.
“That video went viral,” he said, “It had over 8,000 views, it left Michigan and I had parents messaging me, parents I didn’t know, who said they showed the video to their kids.”
He said that the parents had an honest discussion about bullying with their kids. At that point, he said he started to speak up, not only for himself, but for others as well.
After the video gained popularity, Ryckman has been on several online programs ranging from a radio show to Facebook Live videos. He was also invited to be on Melissa Hull’s television show, “The Ripple Effect,” which he is still working out the details on.
Currently, he is doing speaking engagements. He spoke at Donald L. Pavlik Middle School recently and would like the
“It’s not the same building, but it’s where my adventure began as a victim of bullying,” Ryckman said.
His speeches cover his struggles with cancer and bullying, as well as a “What would you do?” scenario that he presents to the students and teachers. He also includes an anti-bullying pledge that was inspired by the documentary “The Bully Project.”
Several of the students of had favorable responses to the event with some asking for Ryckman’s autograph and telling him how inspiring he is.
Not every student was receptive to Ryckman, however.
“When I ask the kids to sign it, I tell them to really think about what they are signing,” he said. “If they don’t see in your heart that you’re going to follow these guidelines, don’t sign it.”
One student told him that he wasn’t going to sign it, because “There’s always going to be differences in the world, there’s always going to be bullies.”
After that, the student was very hostile towards Ryckman.
“In a situation like that, I can’t tell if he’s a bully or a victim,” he said, “I leave knowing he has the tools I’ve given him and hopefully, down the line, those tools will trigger something in him to understand where other people are coming from.”
He hopes his story will form “an army against bullying.”
“A lot of people put it off as nothing, but we have instances of kids committing suicide,” he said, “I hope to get my message out to other people and hope that, if anything, it’ll save lives.”