The Arnold Classic is probably the most popular event in Columbus, and one of the events I look forward to because it's all of us meat heads under one roof. It's weird to think about how I used to fly to Ohio for this event, and now I live here.
So everyone's heard of the saying "ask and you shall receive", right? Well, an amazing opportunity transpired during a conversation Wes (owner of Rogue American Apparel/Disciples of the Iron and former Marine) and I had and the next thing you know, I was working his booth Arnold weekend. I've worked the Arnold before with IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Toney Freeman, and I remembered how much fun it was meeting and interacting with people. I really enjoy it!
Was truly honored given the opportunity to help them out; I've been following them for awhile now and respect what their brand stands for:
"with warrior history, pride, culture and ethos. Vitality, War, Life and Death are commonly found in our designs, symbolic of the dangerous environments and challenges many of our customers face each day. Labeled as “rogue or of rebellious attitude”, due to the lifestyle we chose to live and the dangerous environments we operate, we embrace this stigma. We don’t care what the masses think or say; we care most about those closest to our left and right."
My brother flew in for the Arnold weekend, as well, and even though I couldn't hangout with him much, I knew Casey and him would have a great time. Plus, my brother is an adventurer- the fact that meat heads were everywhere, it wouldn't be long where he'd find someone to get to know and ask questions about training. He doesn't get "star struck" as much as he used to, but you definitely see the gayness when he sees people like Chris Duffin- and even Casey Williams haha. I'm pretty sure I received like 5 texts during work when he was training with Dave Tate with the words "omg, I'm training with Dave Tate."
Casey was a great host to my brother treating him to breakfast. We may or may not had a minor detour picking my brother up at the airport that Friday, but hey, whose keeping tabs (right hun?).
Saturday I worked all day. Casey picked me up and treated me to a delicious dinner at some Brazilian Steak House near the convention. Then, we headed to the compound for a party - which is basically a seminar that involves whiskey. Which also means Chris Duffin is dropping knowledge bombs on how to fix your squat.
Sunday I worked and Casey and my brother came by the booth to visit. They also met Wes and the guys and hit it off. It was a successful weekend for RAA, not only in sales, but we all really bonded and worked well together.
Wes and Omar (known as "Crispy") invited us to dinner at Mitchell's Steak House. Casey was planning on heading back home to Pittsburgh (about 3 hours away) but I asked him to stay with the cutest face I can put on, and he said "yes, I'll stay."
Casey and I headed home to shower and change and met up with everyone there. We sat next to Crispy and Josh (both wounded veterans). Amazing and humble guys. Crispy was a trip entertaining us most of the night with his one liners "once you go Crispy, you'll always miss me." Casey and I are looking forward to seeing those guys compete at Relentless in July. They will do great things.