Can you tell us the titles of some of the series he’s into that you’re worried about? Have you tried to find some middle ground, like in badass anime like Golgo 13?
If it’s something like Ro-Kyu-Bu then just try to appreciate it for the basketball and protagonist who can do 1-arm pushups.
A show primarily focusing on female protagonists doesn’t mean it’s only for girls to watch. Spike’s a bro dragon and his obsession for gems is hilarious. If he’s spending too much time on interests you have no interest in sharing I can understand growing apart, you’re not obligated to force yourself together because of your history, but it would suck if you intentionally abandon him in regard to any interests you guys do retain in common (like gaming) for essentially unrelated stuff that isn’t hurting you.
[quote]He’s 29 years old and still lives with his parents. He’s currently unemployed and the last job he had was at Wal-Mart, he’s been unemployed for about a year and a half. He ONLY JUST got his driver’s license a few months ago and he acts like its the greatest accomplishment of his life, sadly he has a bit of a point.[/quote]Sounds rough.
[quote]He’s told me he wants to become a personal trainer like me and I was thrilled at the idea of helping him out. I also have the certification materials for ACE which doesn’t require a college degree so I happily lent him my study materials. He seemed really determined to study and get certified and get a job in the fitness industry which made me think he’s finally getting his life around.
Problem is that was 2 years ago! ACE is one of the most piss-easy certifications to get and he keeps telling me how worried he is since he’s never been good at taking tests. He blogs on Facebook about his determination to become an ACE-certified trainer[/quote]How fit is your friend? As easy as ACE may be, perhaps he lacks confidence pursuing it because he doesn’t want to spend money (which being unemployed, he may not have much of) for something he doesn’t think can earn him money, since certified or not, if the trainer doesn’t look fit, most people won’t want to hire them.
Well first, try not to think of him as a ‘complete’ loser (he did at least win at getting a driving license) since he might pick up on that attitude. If our friends have exaggerated CD-thinking about us then we are also prone to indulging in it, and the last thing he needs is giving up on himself.
I’d just keep sharing the stuff you have in common (interest in fitness and games, sounds like) and if you’re not interested in discussing anime or conventions, you can just say so. There might also be ways to bridge the gap in terms of interests. You could for example, move to conversing about anime that have muscular characters (such as the Strongarm Alchemist) to get him enthusiastic about fitness.
If he wants to attend anime conventions (or even brony conventions) get him interested in how he could cosplay a muscular character and help set an example that geeks can be fit.
As for the ACE thing, it’s all well and good but he should probably keep his options open and try to learn a trade or something along those lines. If he’s not passionate about most careers, if you could mention what anime series he’s into maybe somebody would know a character in one with a career he could try to emulate. Winry Rockbell is a mechanic and prosthetics expert, for example, basically real careers.
Heck even going pony-wise, though I’m doubtful this guy would be a fashion designer like Rarity, maybe he could go work on an apple farm and learn to make apple pies or some shit. Then go burn off the carb by dashing up hills 20% faster. Perhaps if he aimed to seduce some special pegasister via a pie-tea party combination he would be more motivated to do other things to better his life.
[quote]Does anyone know anybody like this or has ever met someone like this? Is there any hope?[/quote]There’s always hope, but there’s also never any guarantees.