“Don’t worry about it. I told you my parents understand about that stuff. Just come over and meet them, ok Nick?”.

That’s all it took to persuade me. HotWheelz was adamant about me meeting his parents. I was nervous to meet them, especially Wheelz. This is someone I’ve talked to for two and a half years over the internet. For one of the first times in my life I doubted myself, “fuck, maybe I’m not money in person like I think“, “what if he thinks I’m a fucking moron“. That’s the up and downside about having smart friends. You never know what they are going to think.

My good friend Raul a.k.a HotWheelz and I had been friends for a couple years. I met him through Tucker Max’s message board via the “Ask A Cripple” thread. I was so taken back that someone with an undiagnosed form of muscular dystrophy would put himself out on the internet like that. Right away I admired his candor, honesty, and spirit. I knew this guy was something special but I didn’t know how special he was and how much his awesomeness would end up affecting me. I followed the thread and eventually forged a personal friendship with him over the internet. We would chat most nights about innocuous things like my failed relationships, my drinking misadventures, and other things that most people can read on LifeAsNick.com.

We kept up our internet friendship and stayed in touch throughout my travels and his tribulations. I was legitimately sad that I missed his 18th birthday party because I didn’t have a car. I was stuck in Victorville, CA at the time with friends. So I rallied what I could and asked a girl with larger than life breasts if I could sign his name on them and take a picture of it. I forwarded him the picture as a belated 18th b-day gift. That’s the type of friendship we have.

When I was in Virginia late last year he told me about how he caught one of his nurses stealing and if I knew anyone to replace her. I recommended my mom. For reasons that don’t make any viable sense now, my mom declined our job offer. I told Raul that if I was in California at that moment I would take that job on the spot.

As fate has it, three weeks later I was back in California. Becca flipped out and I flipped states and came back to San Diego. He offered me the job again. I declined. He lives all the way past downtown San Diego and I’m in north county San Diego, 50 miles away. I don’t have a car and borrowing my mom’s battered truck is about as likely as Paris Hilton joining a convent. I had to politely decline his offer for employment again.

Weeks later I was having beers with Juan and I told him that because of my criminal record I couldn’t get a legit job, but if I had a car I’d be able to work with HotWheelz as his non-nurse companion/best friend/badass/bodyguard. The state would pay me and the family would hire me. Wheelz had already persuaded his family that I’d be a viable candidate for his weekend shifts. Juan told me, “you need a fucking job and I’ll drive you every weekend. Just tell me when”. When I joke that all my friends love me, I’m not joking that much. They really do love me.

“Raul, are you sure about this? I’ve never worked with anyone with your… type of disability. I’m a fucking drunken lunatic, are you sure?. You are sure, right?? Ok, fine. I’ll be there at 3pm”.

Nickluck was not in affect that day. I hadn’t slept in two days and my body was going through a panic attack. Here I am at my first job interview in four months, a serious one at that, a job where my great friend’s life is in my hands and I’m trembling like a leaf in a blizzard.

I met his parents first and then his dog, RP. Then I met HotWheelz for the first time and I walked head first right into his living room’s lamp. I think to myself, “if first impressions really mattered, you’d be a fucking dumbass right now Nick Sterling”.

I met his mom, dad, his awesome sister, Leti, and his brother Pablo. I spoke with the family for about 30 minutes and told them what I could do, what I couldn’t do, what I was about, what I am not about, etc. I was honest about my faults AND my gifts. I wanted to alleviate their fears and let them know that their son didn’t pick a loser to be in his life–even though I may look like one, I just wanted an opportunity to prove myself. I guess my rhetoric worked (or Raul bribed his parents), because a week later I was officially hired.

“Fuck, is he dying? RAUL? ARE YOU OK??? FUCK FUCK FUCK!!!”.

HotWheelz laughed at me. He was yawning. Have you ever seen someone with M.D. yawn before? I had been warned about the seriousness of his trache, ventilation, and all the mandatory stuff that keeps him breathing, but seeing him yawn scared the piss right out of my boxers. Good thing I was wearing jeans that day, sheesh. He thought it was funny and still laughs at me about it to this day. And I’m still wary of it… when he yawns I look at him and say, “yawn?”, and he nods with that mischievous smirk.

Slowly but surely Raul and Leti eased me into the day to day mechanics of his (anything but normal) life. Each weekend that went by I learned something new. I was medically vanilla in all senses of the phrase, but I did my best to shut my mouth and listen and learn what I could. Each week my confidence with my ability to be able to save Raul’s life if something happen solidified. To me, he’s a normal guy with no disability whatsoever. He thinks like me, laughs at the same jokes, makes fun OF ME, and we are able to argue/agree/disagree and just maintain a healthy friendship. But if something happens when we’re out and about I need to be prepared to handle that situation immediately. Getting me to that, “Are you ready?” point was the entire purpose of my quasi-training.

I joked with him last week, “bro, you’re totally saving my life right now”. He remarked, “well, you’re going to save my life many, many times“.

“Nick, you’re a good guy that’s just had a lot of unfortunate experiences…”.

Hotwheelz has been a silent angel to me for months now. I told him everything about Sophia, Cari, and more recently he’s been apart of the Becca and Jammie shituations of my life. He knows I try. I struggle with a lot of personal dilemmas that I don’t make public. HotWheelz is there every step of the way for me. We chat every day of the week. He knows I needed a cell phone because my phone was getting shut off. In typical HotWheelz fashion along with his sister, Leti; they both bought me a brand new cell phone and surprised me with it.

I had a personal situation last month. Raul helped me with it so much and he literally DID save my life. If God told me I had a guardian angel and he pointed to Raul, I’d laugh. I would say, “Oh, God, THIS GUY?”. That’s because I’m a fucking idiot. My selfish mentality would say, “what could HE do for ME?”. That’s poor thinking. Not only has Wheelz given me a job, he has given me the greatest thing to happen to me in years. He is constantly helping me realize my potential. HotWheelz is giving me an opportunity to live my life to it’s fullest potential. Yeah, the guy with M.D. is doing that for me.

I tear up thinking how unselfish he is. I’m beyond grateful now. I’m just fucking lucky.

This man believed in me when everybody else wrote me off. “Oh, Nick has a criminal record”, “Nick isn’t qualified to do this job”, “Nick doesn’t have a car to get to work”. Raul didn’t care. He kept urging me to take his offer even when I gave him every reason not to offer it, yet he saw something in me. It was the same thing I saw in him when I first read his writing in 2006: this guy is special… I don’t know how or why, but he is a diamond in this world. I just know it.

“Dude, Wheelz, I love the last story you wrote. Man, you’re a fucking TALENTED writer bro, in fact, waaaay more fucking talented than my dumbass”.

Not only is HotWheelz one of the best friends I have, he’s a miraculously talented writer. I don’t think he gets enough credit for it. Yes, he writes for his very own kick-ass web site, Love On Wheelz, but what he says inspires and amazes me.

His latest story called “Virgin Wheelz” is just that. You have a guy that has a heart of gold, a mind of steel, and a body of… well, he can stop and start his pee mid-stream, so he must have a strong penis. Either way, I want every single one of my friends to pay attention to this man. He is one of my best friends in THE WORLD. I would not be here right now if it wasn’t for his kindness, love (he hates when I’m nice), and generosity. I think the world would benefit if he was everybody’s friend, acquaintance, and some hot girlie’s awesome boyfriend.

Guys like Raul a.k.a HotWheelz only come along once in a blue moon… so girls, I think it’s time you stop sucking dick for diamonds and appreciate one of the best men in the world right now. And no, it’s not me… it’s my great friend, a true life saver, and a man with more personality than Robin Williams on mescaline:

The HotWheelz!