Then Along Came Jumper
I walked into the Satellite Art Show on March 16 at about 5:00p and was taken aback at the grandness and uniqueness of each of the 30+ exhibits all of which told their own story.
It was a weird and wonderful place. I enjoyed the exhibits, but I was there to see a gentleman by the name of Ben Workman.
Workman, who grew up in Corpus Christi, always knew there was something... different.. about him. He was picked on and bullied his whole childhood. He learned to hide the fact that he was a gay man in certain circles for fear of discrimination.
In 2011, he suffered from sexual discrimination while on the job at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs after a co-worker "outed" him.
While fighting for his right to be not singled out for being homosexual, fighting through two U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Actions, he remembered being at a breaking point. It was that point where the persona of Jumper Maybach entered Workman's life.
Jumper Maybach is an artist. He is a painter, he is an activist and he is a clown.
When Workman channels Maybach, he can do some amazing artwork.
In fact, Jumper Maybach has painted over 600 paintings in the last 8 years and has been compared to a modern day Jackson Pollock. But unlike Pollock, Maybach is producing art and becoming an advocate for anti-bullying and LGBTQ+ Pride.
His art has shown and sold in several countries and was the Official Artist of Pride Houston 2018 where he launched a series entitled "The Pride Collection: INTROSPECTION."
Perhaps more than this, he had the chance to meet Pepe Serna (Scarface) who, when learning about the Workman/Maybach story decided it needed to be told. In 2015 the Jumper Maybach Story was produced.
It is currently in post-production as they are shopping it around to different distributors.
Maybach hopes that his story can serve as a beacon of hope, a story of overcoming bullying and negativity. He hopes that this story can reach people where they are and let them know that whomever you are on the inside is good enough and you should embrace yourself and be proud of who you are.
We had a chance to talk top Jumper a bit about the impetus of his creation and his mission as a champion for the LGBTQ+ community and those who have been discriminated against for just being themselves.
Find out more about Ben Workman / Jumper Maybach at jumpermaybach.com.
Sean Claes is the owner of Austin's INsite Magazine and has been a freelance entertainment writer since 1996.
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