MANSFIELD — Hayden Schade of Auckland, New Zealand has a magnet on his refrigerator that reads, “Do more of what makes you happy.”
This phrase relates closely to the quote “Get busy living or get busy dying,” from one of his favorite films, “The Shawshank Redemption.”
For Schade, “living” is visiting and recreating scenes from movie sites. That’s what prompted him to travel to Mansfield last week to follow the Shawshank Trail and run in the Shawshank Hustle.
“I got to a point in my life where I was pretty burned out. My job had taken its toll, and I wasn’t very happy,” he said. “I decided to do more things that would bring positivity into my life. So, I stated chasing film locations.”
Schade, 34, works in an operating role at Television New Zealand (TVNZ). Previously, he spent nine years employed by Al Jazeera English in the Middle East.
“I was fortunate to have a good job when I was working overseas, but it certainly took its toll on me,” he said. “The work was long hours and after many years of doing it, I decided that I needed to leave that job and make my way back home to New Zealand.”
He decided to take full advantage of future travel opportunities and began planning trips based around movie sites.
Schade visited all 15 stops on the Shawshank Trail. In fact, his first stop was to one of the final movie scenes, the beach in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, where Andy and Red meet outside of the prison in the movie’s final scene.
But his favorite stop was the Ohio State Reformatory, where Andy and Red first met and became friends. He cited the “friendly and helpful” staff there.
“I feel like I have made new friends and that really is one of the coolest things about going on these zany adventures,” he said.
When first watching “The Shawshank Redemption,” Schade hadn’t seen any previews. He only knew it was a prison film.
“Shawshank is a film that I wish I could go back and see again for the first time. I was completely unspoiled on my first viewing,” he said.
He called the poster reveal “one of the most classic moments in film,” and further explained that he identifies with the story’s message of hope.
“It is easy to say you identify with Andy because he is the hero of this film. However, I also identify a little with the character of Brooks,” Schade said. “Not every story has a happy ending, but the ending for Brooks makes Red and Andy’s ending all the more satisfying.”
His first adventure led him to Brownsville, Oregon to see sites from “Stand by Me.” Later, he visited locations from “Back to the Future” and “The Goonies.”
“Visiting real locations from movies brings me joy,” Schade said. “It is awesome to see the locations, match up the spots with scenes from the film.”
He finished his Shawshank adventure by participating in the annual Shawshank Hustle Saturday.
He intends to make a video about the movie sites he’s seen, but for now, he’s already on to his next adventure in New York City. He will see friends and possibly some more movie sites while there.
“I wish I had some more time to explore,” Schade said about the Shawshank sites.
