From far left to right: Ronnie Paras (in the chair), Stewart Blackton, Rich Hayes, Sherri Blackton, Mike Torrance, Melanie Flesh, Rey Cunha, Richie Hayes, Neal Cotton, Katie House, Hans Hinnershitz, Jo Jordan, Demi Durkin, Brent Johnson, Rob MacLennan, Anthony Krokovich, Sean Mccormick, Isaac Sullender, Tyler Marino, Camille Ramirez, Jonathan Miller, Keegan Laud, Me, Alex Perez, Ethan Wash, Jesse McGrath, Trinity Schwab, Greg Norris, Tyler Deans, Michael Frye, Yohan Montalvo, Kaveh Albekord, David Chills, Simeon Thibeaux, Rebecca Brennan, and John Stearns

In October of last year we tragically lost one of our brothers in iron and member of the OBB family, Andy Blackton. Andy had a kind soul, a devout dedication to training, a helpful heart, and had found a profession where he could benefit those in need as a sign language interpreter. He positively affected many lives.

As much as Andy loved lifting, he almost never had a workout where he didn’t do some form of outdoor activity. We decided to honor this by hosting the Inaugural Andy Blackton Memorial Strength Challenge which we held last Saturday, on April 15th. It included the following events:

Tire flip- set distance for time
Farmer’s walk- set weight and distance for time
Viking press set weight for reps within a time frame
Prowler push- set weight and distance for time
Bench Press- Body weight for reps for men (1/2 BW for women)

The entry fee was a $25 minimum with a $50 suggested donation. Donations came in from non-competitors as well. We ended up raising $1,200 with half of the proceeds going to the National Association for the Deaf (NAD) and the other half to the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation

We had a great turnout with many people from OBB who knew Andy.

- Carley Camarotti won the women under 150 with Camille Ramirez coming in second.

- Veteran Strongwoman and Powerlifting competitor Demi Durkin won the women over 150 with Rebecca Brennan coming in second.

- Tyler Deans won the male under 200 with Keegan Laud coming in second and John Stearns coming in third.

- Simeon Thibeaux won the male over 200 with Jonathan Miller coming in second and Greg Norris coming in third.

We had a keg donated by Jeff Sevor, the Bem Bom Food truck which had some great Portugese food, and giveaways for winners from Massage Envy and Chili’s courtesy of John Stearns.

Andy’s parents came, which made the event more emotional, but they seemed pleased with the turnout. It really was a great way to remember Andy.

They say that a man dies twice; once when his body dies and again when people stop talking about him. We're going to do our best to make sure that Andy is never forgotten. #FYA

Andy event pic2