Zac Brown Band's John Driskell Hopkins says he's 'chasing the clock' after ALS diagnosis

Zac Brown Band’s John Driskell Hopkins is opting to look at his ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) diagnosis in a different light and is trying to make everyday count.

Over a decade after the Ice Bucket Challenge surfaced on social media, it is making a comeback. During an interview with Fox News Digital about the challenge, Hopkins explained that after his diagnosis in 2021, he’s been “chasing the clock” ever since.

“I’m almost busier now than I was before because I’m trying to get so much done. I’m tryin’ to fit it all in. I’m taking more family vacations. I’m in the studio more than I should be. I’m still on tour with Zac Brown Band right now. You know, my fingers work. My voice works, it’s been compromised, but most of the set, no one would notice,” Hopkins, a founding member of Zac Brown Band, said.

He continued, “And I’m playing different things on stage, but they still don’t make sense. You know, I’m chasing the clock more than I ever have been. And what I worry about is that that is causing me stress which might be exacerbating my condition. So it’s a bit of a catch-22, you know, I’ve created.”

During his interview with Fox News Digital, Hopkins said he’s in a different position than 99% of ALS patients because he is still able to plan for the next calendar year.

“The fact that I still see next year in my future puts me in a different position than 99.9% of ALS patients. The fact that I’m looking to my calendar for ’27. I’m gonna be at the 30a Songwriters Festival ’27 and maybe I won’t be able to sing what I can now, but maybe I will, you know, we just don’t know and I appreciate you recognizing that reaction as strength, but to me, it’s getting up every day that I can and doing what I do,” Hopkins concluded.