I’m smashng this log out on a tiny keyboard from the Columbia, South Carolina Airport.
Spud (Marc Bartley) just dropped me off after a whirlwind 24 hour trip.
Spud and his lovely wife Susan flew me down to shoot a few videos for their newest product, the Dr. Squat strap.
I got up at the 0300 yesterday and made my way to Logan for the flight out.
I hit the ground running as soon as he picked me up at the airport, which was a nice surprise. I figured I’d just take an Uber, but nope.
Southern Hospitality is a real thing.
Maybe us Northerners should adopt it….
My boy was there in the Spudmobile waiting. No Uber for me thank you.
As soon as we got to the gym I got the grand tour and was told that we are shooting a Crossfit video in a few minutes.
Wait one minute.
I was not informed about this. Do they expect me to do a Crossfit session?
That was not in my contract.
I’m not spilling the beans but make sure that you keep an eye on Spud’s site for the video. It’s going to be awesome.
When Powerlifters do Crossfit. It will not disappoint.
Once that nonsense was done and a few beers were downed we got to filming.
Spud interviewed me about Fred Hatfield, our relationship, what I knew of his training and he tried to get me to squirt a few tears as I talked about Fred.
Since we pretty much share the same brain, I knew what he was up to so I kept it together.
I think that interview is going to come out good, and will honor the memory of a man who gave so much to so many.
Now, on to the gym to film the informational video on the new Dr. Squat strap that Spud is launching. Spud and I have discussed this strap for a few years now and as with most stuff we discuss, it took a while to get going, but it is ready to launch and it is even better than the original.
Many years ago, Fred taught me the Hatfield Back Raise and explained all of it’s benefits to me.
At the time I had never seen it, nor had too many others to my knowledge.
Fred credits this exercise and few others as critical in his success on the 1014 squat in 1987.
It’s been a staple in my training and programming since.
Why?
Because it works.
Fred also sent me a strap that he made that allows you to easily handle a ton of weight on the lift, and it also targets the erectors like a guided missile.
Looking at the strap you don’t get why until you use it.
Then it is crystal clear.
Fred never did much to sell these so not too many people have ever even seen one.
Spud started working on an new and improved design for the Dr. Squat strap and he killed it. He made it out of a superior material and added some loops on the the ends so you can attach it to sleds and cables too.
This was ingenious as it makes the strap about 1000 times more versatile.
Another really cool and classy thing he did was to ask me to get in touch with Fred’s family and get their blessing before it was released. I called Fred’s wife and had a few conversations that may or may not had a few tears and Gloria happily agreed that this would be something Fred would have wanted.
I also told her that Spud wanted to donate a portion of each sale to a charity that Fred supported.
Classy right?
So now with the approvals out of the way, the videos shot and the whiskey and Porter consumed, I am sitting here in the airport on a three hour delay writing my log for all five people that read it.
Did I forget to mention the whiskey?
When me and Spud get together it is usually legendary, just ask our Elite FTS team mates……
I’ll leave the stories out of the log for now, and leave you with this:
- Flight delays suck
- Fred Hatfield was a great man and I miss him
- You all need a Dr. Squat strap
- You can’t get one yet, but can soon.
- I don’t see Spud, Susan, Dale and Lindsay nearly enough
- I need to make it a point to see the people closer to me more, even if they are far away
- Southern Hospitality is real and pretty cool.
Thanks for reading.
Did you miss lat week’s log?
