John Driskell Hopkins.Photo:Emilee Chinn, Cincinnati Reds
Emilee Chinn, Cincinnati Reds
Since hisALS diagnosisin 2022,Zac Brown Band’sJohn Driskell Hopkinsis striving to make a change in the health industry.
Speaking to PEOPLE about Zac Brown Band’s post-concert event on the MLB’s third annual Lou Gehrig day, the musician opened up about his health and revealed what keeps him motivated.
“I don’t feel a lot different than I did last year. I can tell that some things are continuing to slow down,” Hopkins, 52, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “My voice is being affected and that’s something that I really notice as a singer, but I’m still playing and I’m still performing and still singing.”
Zac Brown Band.Emilee Chinn, Cincinnati Reds
Hopkins also makes every effort to maintain his clever sense of humor: “I like to poke fun at myself. I told our guitar player, Coy [Bowles], that I was going to come kick his ass. He was in the room down the hall and I was like, ‘I’ll be there in 30 minutes. Don’t leave.’ I love him. But it was one of those moments… I’m really slow.”
ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is a degenerative disease that causes progressive paralysis of the muscles responsible for chewing food, speaking and walking. It eventually leads to complete respiratory failure, usually within five years.
John Driskell Hopkins and wife Jennifer.Emilee Chinn, Cincinnati Reds
“She is an incredible force of nature and she is doing so much of this work every day with a small team of incredible people and that’s my motivation is to be there for them.”
He is also motivated to give back to his cause, which he holds near and dear.
After Friday’s Cincinnati Reds vs Milwaukee Brewers game, which set a regular season attendance record, Zac Brown Band held a benefit concert. A portion of the proceeds from every ticket sold benefitted theHop on a Cure Foundationto fight ALS.
After the game, the Reds also presented a check toHop on a Cure— which Hopkins founded after his 2022 diagnosis — for $125,000. Overall, the event raised $200,000 for the foundation.
“We need more weekends like that. We need more funding to fight ALS. We’ve been saying for a long time that ALS is not incurable. ALS is underfunded,” says Hopkins. “So we really need to continue to raise money and get it out the door.”
For Hopkins, giving back is everything — but he also loves that he gets to inspire people.
“It’s fulfilling to know that we’re inspiring people. It’s the kind of disease where you’re shooting in the dark and we need to make it livable, the way that we’ve made HIV livable. It’s not cured, but if someone gets HIV today, they live a normal life,” he says.
He adds, “They have the medications to do that, and we need to do that for motor neuron disease so that people don’t become these living statues and have their bodies shut down and just not be able to function.”
Zac Brown Band.Gunnar Word, Cincinnati Reds
Gunnar Word, Cincinnati Reds
Looking ahead, Hopkins says he’s excited for the holidays as he prepares for the release of his fourth holiday album. He is also looking forward to the 4th of July.
“I’m hoping to be on the lake, and I’m looking forward to being out there and touring with Zac Brown Band,” he says. “Every year I get to do that is another year that I feel immeasurably blessed.”
source: people.com
