Just before Thanksgiving, there was a strongman traveling to
a town to do a show, when I found out he was going to be heading only an hour
away from my city, I couldn't pass up telling him I was near there. After his
show we met up and trained outside in my backyard smashing tires with my Thor
Hammers along with his Stronger Grip Sledgehammer and after getting my ass
kicked while needing a few breaks this dude finishes with 1000 swings in 21
min. We ate dinner down the road and the first half was how awesome his son is
doing, the other half was about training, putting knowledge and wisdom into my
head and even talked some stories about Strongmen and even about his time with
Matt Furey. We said our goodbyes but the story doesn't end there, there’s more
to come.
After Thanksgiving has passed, the strongman came back
because he had some traveling to do shows and I caught up with him again, this
time it was more than just a few hours, it was for more than a day. He did a
show no more than a couple miles from where I lived, I got to help out with the
show and be apart of it by ripping a phonebook in front of 400 kids plus their
teachers. It was an experience I’ll never forget and being a performer from a
different era of my life it was nerve-racking but exciting at the same time. I
learned how he performed and spoke in his shows and how to get an audience’s
attention but getting his own message across in different types of situations.
I’m sorry you’re probably wondering who the hell I’m talking about, my
apologies. This is Professional Strongman and Motivational speaker Bud Jeffries.
After the show, Me and Bud packed up and were about to grab
some food when he needed to get his oil done for the truck so we stopped at a
shop and sat in the truck while we talked about wrestling, the old-timers and
even about a cousin that was legendary in his own right, it was the Boxing
Legend Jim Jeffries. He told me a story about him and Jack Johnson that was
pretty awesome. After the oil was done, just before we left, he rips up a deck
of cards just for kicks for the mechanics and one guy even said jokingly
“Thanks for making me feel afraid of you.” We get a bite to eat at Subway and
before we did this, this powerful and humble strongman tries to hook me up with
a pretty girl not once but twice. Messing with him calling an a-hole it was
pretty funny and I literally nearly turned purple from blushing really hard. We
get dinner than its back home for the evening.
Before I continue with this story I just need to point out
that being in his presence and admiring him for years it was like if a baseball
fan spent the day with just a Barry Bonds or a Albert Pujols, it was that
awesome. Training alongside him was an experience you can’t comprehend, not even
at a workshop and I’ll tell you why later on. I couldn't keep up with him at
times but how can I? I’m just learning the tip of the iceberg on conditioning
and here he is just pounding on those tires. For the most part despite needing
breaks quite frequently, he just about literally broke me down because I had
jut gotten my ass handed to me and although he never said it I kept thinking of
him saying “Come on man, keep going.”
This guy I felt took me under his wing and wanted to help me
put things in perspective and understand what you can do to help people even
more than what you’re doing now and make something happen. Learning from him
was surreal and it gave me something to use for the rest of my life and do
something nobody can do. I’m still young and I have far more to learn but for
one night, it has given me a lifetime to use.
Continue on with the story, we’re eating and decided to put
on the Expendables 2 and while watching this, we broke into little
conversations about the actors and than for a brief pause during the movie we
got to talking about each other’s obstacles and sharing funny stories and let
me tell you and I know he may not admit this but Bud had stories that made Jeff
Foxworthy sound dull and I just couldn't stop laughing at times because the way
he expressed them was just priceless. If you truly want to know Bud, making you
laugh is one of the best things he can put on you and it shows that we as
strongmen are not big, tough and demeaning guys; we’re just like everyone else
with different backgrounds and finding ways to make each other laugh.
After the movie was over we set everything back up, sat in
the lounge chairs and went over stuff about the old-timers, steroids, guys in
the upcoming Superhuman Workshop and helping me move more forward with my
passion for Physical Culture and although it lasted only a couple hours, it
felt like a lifetime in a good way just listening and sharing knowledge and
wisdom. He truly is one of the best guys in this business and I’m proud to call
him one of my brothers. He’s not just a mentor or a guy who helps you out a
little bit in time, he was like an older brother and passing on his words of
the business onto me. It was one of those things you just never forget.
Before I end this I want to tell you the difference between
being in an idol’s presence one on one vs. being at a Seminar or Workshop.
Being at a workshop, you connect with them and get to learn what they know so
you’ll get better but no matter how you slice it, there’s another person sitting
right next to you getting the same teachings and doesn't have that same feel if
it was just the two of you. One on one however is a whole different experience,
it’s not even the same league as being taught at a seminar, it’s just the two
of you and going into much deeper levels of knowledge, stories and getting to
know your idol on a very different level to the point where it’s not just a few
conversations, you literally feel compassion and hold a place in your heart for
them that you just can’t get anywhere else.
With Bud it wasn't just being with one of the strongest guys
in the world, it was like being with that older brother you wished you had
growing up and being apart of something that has a mystical feel to it and
feeling like you’re a part of a family that you’ll always be happy with.
Spending time with him was one of the greatest experiences of my life and I’m
already getting a bit emotional just looking back on it and it’s something I’ll
never forget until the day I die. I hope I get the chance to do it again in the
coming years and learn from him as much as I can stand and pass on to my kids
because he’s one of those people that you can’t help but like and get to be
apart of something that you love and cherish. Thank you Bud and I’ll always be
there if you ever need me, you truly are one of my dreariest friends and you’ll
always welcome. Stay strong brother and never stop what you’re doing, you are
an awesome friend, a loving husband and a damn good father to Noah, he is the
luckiest kid in the world.
