We've all heard stories of men with super strength and the ability to move mountains, rivers and show artificial things who's boss because real strength comes from man not machine. I've heard stories like this ever since I was little and one of my all-time favorites is that of the Legendary John Henry. The man born with a mighty hammer.
A poor african-american boy born into slavery wanted nothing more then to be free and stronger then his fellow man. That dream came true when he was set free by Honest Abe and the Emancipation Of Proclimation and grew to be a towering man of pure powerful muscle and strength that we still talk of today. After being married to a lovely and beautiful woman, they set out to find work with no more then a few things and the trust of John's powerful sledgehammer.
Working on the railroad back in those days was common for african-americans so building tracks was honest work but very hard labor and bosses tried to find the best they can get to build as many tracks for trains as possible. All were hard working men but none had the strength and might Big John Henry did and he pounded every nail and spike into those tracks until he couldn't stand anymore. As civilization started becoming more industrialized, machines started their trend of taking over the working man of the railroad and most of them just couldn't stand the speed and power that machines had. Machines were building tracks faster and in less time. One man couldn't help but stand and fight the machine and prove that man was better then machine.
Certain stories of John Henry said he couldn't beat the machine, some said he did but either way, the towering man of strength put every fiber in his being to conquer and out power that overloaded metalized machine and almost every story has said he died doing it. No matter what story you remember of old John you must remember its message. Focus on the very thing that gives your meaning and putting your heart and soul into it and everything else won't mean a damn thing. John gave us the inspiration to conquer our own machines in life and that you don't need so many things to live your life, all he had was his hammer, the clothes on his back and a bride that stood by his side till the very end. The point I'm making is never let something stand between you and your dream of success.
Now whether John Henry was real or a made up anecdote to inspire men of that era and from generation to generation onward there was and still is however a reincarnation of John Henry and his name is Lawrence Farman. In the strongman world he is known simply as Slim and in full Slim The Hammerman. A man who worked tirelessly in a rock quarry for over 50 years became the strongest man in hi specialty feat of leverage lifting using a heavy sledgehammer. He performed strongman shows showcasing his power of bending nails, driving through boards, mangle long bars of steel, break chains and of course lifting his mighty hammers. No one will ever beat Slim at what he did and if it does happen I want to see it. Now you too can become Hammer Strong and use Slim's and Henry's inspired strength to lever and beat tires with your own sledgehammer and if you're a Thor fan you can get a set and work hard that will make the go himself proud.
Never try to be a second rate somebody, be a first rate you and build your own legendary status just like John Henry before you has done as well as Slim. Trust the tools you have and let them be your guide to super strength, power and might.
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