Weird Al is a massive source of inspiration for me. The guy has been doing nothing but making whacky music through decades of music trends coming and going and never missed the mark.
From a really young age, I appreciated that not everyone has to take everything so seriously.
From all accounts he’s also just a really decent, normal kind of human being. Hell even tragedy that hit him is mundane and relatable (his parents died from carbon monoxide poisoning). You never hear about his kids being a menace in the news or social media, and it all seems very wholesome and positive.
It doesn’t hurt that he’s a genius when it comes to music. His ability to create accurate to source parodies based solely off of listening to music is rare and extraordinary, and his ability to write stuff to go into his parodies is pretty legendary. He’s got a talent for rhyme. IIRC he wrote the Star Wars ep. 1 parody before the movie was even released, based solely on what he figured out from the trailers. And then with all of that talent he didn’t go trying to be a big shot, you just played the goofy instrument he loved it was a decent person.
So yeah, good pull.
Steve Irwin for sure. I always loved watching his show and learning about the different kinds of animals. He always taught kids to respect nature and be curious.
Good: Mr. Rodgers But more influencal (unfortunately): Tyler Durdin
Captain Jean Luc Picard and Captain Benjamin Lafayette Sisko
All 5 of the Mythbusters. Adam and Jamie in particular really embodied two aspects of my own neurodivergence, respectively showing me that it’s okay to have ADHD and Autistic traits, and what it looks like to be successful while also having those conditions.
(Yes, I know Jamie has never been publicly open about having ASD, but c’mon, it’s obvious. Even Adam, who worked closely with him for decades has said publicly that he’s fairly confident Jamie is on the spectrum)