The Blue Funk Story
Marc Watkins - Founder of BLUE FUNK
I’ve spent three and a half decades building a career. I thought being a "veteran" meant being unbreakable - I was wrong.
For years, I lived with a secret: anxiety, depression, and a crushing lack of self-worth. I was successful on the outside, but I was disappearing on the inside. I had to learn the hard way—how to find myself again.
It didn't happen with a big epiphany. It happened little by little, step by step.
As I began to heal, I looked around at my colleagues and peers. I saw the same tired eyes. I saw the same masks. I realized that our industry has a "silent struggle" problem.
That’s why I’ve founded Blue Funk.
We aren't just another group nor are we a charity; we are a movement dedicated to the idea that humanity belongs in the touring workplace.
I’m tired of seeing good people burn out in silence. It’s time to change the culture. Not through massive corporate overhauls, but through small, honest conversations.
If you’re in a "Blue Funk" today, know this: You are not your job. You are valuable. And you are not alone.
By turning his vulnerability into a catalyst for change, Marc is proving that even after decades in the industry, the most important work one can do is helping others find their way out of the dark.
It arrives without an invitation—a heavy, low-tide of the mind that I call the Blue Funk. When it settles in, it doesn't just dampen the mood; it distorts the view. The things I’m usually proud of start to look like failures, and my sense of worth feels like it’s drifted just out of reach.
In the middle of the Funk, my mind feels crowded and noisy, yet strangely paralyzed. There is no external map to navigate out of this place, and no amount of logic seems to cut through the static. It is a solitary weight.
The Funk lives within me, the exit does too. I am the only one who can eventually clear the air. It’s not about a sudden burst of sunlight; it’s about the slow, internal work of waiting for the tide to turn and finding the strength to step back into the light on my own terms.
"We're taking the mask off the touring industry. It's time to talk about what happens when the gear is packed away and the silence sets in."
Blue Funk 2026