2017 January- Southern Squeeze 2- Delmar Carter

[acromegaman]

Let me start off by saying that I do not see a single way to improve how Gil and Maria ran the competition or how awesome everyone there was. I arrived and was immediately met with some familiar faces that I've already met in person and some only on the Gripboard and Facebook. It was an absolute pleasure meeting a lot of the Gripsters from the North, East, and Northeast that under normal circumstances I wouldn't have a chance to interact with in person (I don't want to try and name them all for fear I'll miss one). After signing up and schmoozing a bit it was time for Gil and Maria to read the rules for the first event which were very clear and left no question on how the gripper block set event was to go down.

Event 1: 20mm Block set Grippers

I suuuuccckkkk with grippers and no I do not need help with them (much appreciated, but my fingertip squoosh is a patented movement). I did learn one thing from the last Southern Squeeze and that was not to grab all of my max grippers at warmup and close them and then during the contest only muster 10-15 lbs lower than my max. Rookie mistake on my part, but I did learn to be a bit wiser this year and ended up closing a 118 pounder and almost closed a 128 lb GHP6. The big jump killed me on this but there were no options in between the 2 grippers. I'm pretty sure that this was the only hole in his collection. What was really exciting was guys that I was unfamiliar with closing big grippers and I mean BIG grippers! As I was chatting with a feller named Phil he stated that he was going for the GHP8 on his next attempt and he nearly got it. Mind you he is normal sized guy, but he does have some large hands as well. Great event and I was happy with my results being that they were much better that my attempts from last year (I believe I got 102 lb last year).

 

Event 2: 2 Hand Flask

The Flasks that were used during this event had a great feel to them and I had a game plan with a number in mind, but I fell about 7.5 lbs short of it. I'm sure this is mostly due to being a lazy bum and not training anything but bending for the last 5-6 months, well anyways. This event also had strong guys come out of the wood work (where do they come from?). It was a dual platform event due to all of the entries, which I think there was around 30 +/- a few and it was also rising bar which also sped things along. It was hard to contain myself and not lift a stupid amount during the warmup period, but I was once again able to control myself and for that I was rewarded with a 192.something lift even though it wasn't the 200 lbs I wanted. Several others went on to surpass this and just like in every Gripsport competition I've been to, there is no lack of excitement. There are some heavy hitters flying under the radar so keep your eyes on the results to see who they are.

 

Pizza Break!! Nom, Nom!

 

Event 3: Tips Tester

It was another dual platform event with a rising bar and I'm not going to lie this implement felt weird to me this time. I really need to purchase one to figure the dang thing out. Long story short I ended up around 142 lbs which isn't my best but I'll take. I along with everyone else did get to witness a dual World Record attempt by Tim "Strongman" Fox and another strong dude named Nick. I believe that it was set a little more than a pound over the current Record and Tim went first. He exploded into it and made it look easy. The crowd went wild! Nick was up on his last attempt and although it was a marginal jump from his last lift, it just wasn't happening this time. Tim went for another little jump on his last attempt and it also did not happen. Two freaking strong dudes and it was awesome watching them do stuff not done before. Tim was also kind enough to show us later what helped him improve his thumb strength to help him with this lift. As far a dudes go, Tim is one of the most solid guys I have ever met. He'll help you any way he can and you know that he knows what he's talking about because he can do pretty much anything.

 

Event 4: Medley

By far my most favorite event and that is probably due to me finally getting to play with all of the goodies that I have been doing my best to ignore since my arrival. I was really anxious to get this event started and I ended up being one of the last few people to make my run which game me time to develop my game plan. Everyone did well with this event and there were a few entertaining spots as well because people (Kody  ) was grabbing 2 implements at one time and lifting them and someone else lifted the handle blob by the handle (LOL). Totally legal and a helluva time saver. I ended up getting all of the implements in the 60 second time limit but one, the inch dumbbell.

 

Tim's Old Time Strongman show and Score tallying

Tim Fox was also kind enough to put on an Old Time Strongman show for us while the scores were being tallied. Mind you that this is being done after a Grip competition that he competed in and he still did not cease to amaze us with what he could do. He was doing everything from rolling frying pans (Josh Koenig joined in for this as well), Breaking Baseball bats, driving nails with his hand through 1-1/4" thick wood, Bending multiple steel items and for the finale he let Jorel Koenig which is not a small guy jump off of a ladder onto his stomach. He did all of this after eating pizza (brave man  ). It was very impressive and inspiring to see his strength and stamina and also how helpful he was with anyone who would like to try these feats for themselves. After the show Carl Donati Jr. hammered out a horseshoe that Tim said was so difficult that no one in his shows have been able to move it. It was very impressive as well to see that shoe bent. This is something that I have had no luck with in the past and I truly appreciate how freaking hard it is to bend even an easy shoe. Also a big thanks to Carl for bringing some steel out and even though people kind of fled after the event was completed we still was able to bend a bar or two.

 

All in all I had a fantastic time at Gil and Maria's event and I surely plan on going to any that they may have in the future.

Edited January 15, 2017 by acromegaman
Forgot something.

[Donc101]

Delmar,

It was great to meet you.  I had a great time at the contest!  It was a lot of fun.  What you didn't mention was you bending a KOAB  like it was a warmup bar.  In fact it may have been a warm up bar.  I didn't see you bend anything before it.  That bend was very inspiring to me as I am moving along in my bending journey!

Thanks for the great event Gil and Maria!

Don

[acromegaman]

29 minutes ago, Donc101 said:

Delmar,

It was great to meet you.  I had a great time at the contest!  It was a lot of fun.  What you didn't mention was you bending a KOAB  like it was a warmup bar.  In fact it may have been a warm up bar.  I didn't see you bend anything before it.  That bend was very inspiring to me as I am moving along in my bending journey!

Thanks for the great event Gil and Maria!

Don

It was great meeting you as well Don and I did bend a couple of 60ds away from the crowd just to get the blood flowing 😉. I wish you well on your bending journey and also with your beautiful family and upcoming addition to it. 

[Squeezus]

18 minutes ago, acromegaman said:

It was great meeting you as well Don and I did bend a couple of 60ds away from the crowd just to get the blood flowing 😉. I wish you well on your bending journey and also with your beautiful family and upcoming addition to it. 

And don't forget the new red nail you bent in a single IM pad! 

Great writeup and thank you for your generous appraisal. I'm always happy to get to see you. You're a super strong guy and one of the nicest fellas I know.

Edited January 15, 2017 by Squeezus

[acromegaman]

6 minutes ago, Squeezus said:

And don't forget the new red nail you bent in a single IM pad! 

Great writeup and thank you for your generous appraisal. I'm always happy to get to see you. You're a super strong guy and one of the nicest fellas I know.

Much appreciated and right back at you @Squeezus

[MCrushetta]

Thanks so much for writing this up! Gil and I were just sitting around talking about how amazing grip is b/c of all the wonderful people we have been able to become friends with over the past two years. Thanks for coming out :-)

[acromegaman]

1 hour ago, MCrushetta said:

Thanks so much for writing this up! Gil and I were just sitting around talking about how amazing grip is b/c of all the wonderful people we have been able to become friends with over the past two years. Thanks for coming out :-)

Thanks Maria. Looking forward to the next time 😁

[anwnate]

Great write up...and quick too!!!

I'm paying careful attention to details I can implement at SJ4.  Thanks!

[Adam Juncker]

9 hours ago, acromegaman said:

I ended up getting all of the implements in the 60 second time limit but one, the inch dumbbel

You got 12 points for the medley, and you were one of the very few people to even move it with one hand. I was impressed anyway.  

 

On another note, I can't say enough good things about how professional this competition was. This was my first grip competition, but I have been to a lot of armwrestling competitions. You never know what you are going to get. Gil and Maria kept things moving and, in my opinion, were fair and objective in their judging. 

Edited January 15, 2017 by Adam Juncker

[Buccos1]

It was awesome meeting you Delmar and great write-up!  As Gil mentioned, Delmar bent a newer (hard) Red in a single IMP -- after the comp, and after bending the KOAB.  He's a seriously strong dude and phenomenal bender.  Put a major hurtin' on that bar and made it look effortless.

[acromegaman]

Thanks @Buccos1  It was great finally meeting you and getting to watch you murder that shoe 😁

[bencrush]

Another great write-up, Del!  Fantastic work on the KOAB - not to mention the contest! 

[acromegaman]

5 hours ago, bencrush said:

Another great write-up, Del!  Fantastic work on the KOAB - not to mention the contest! 

Thanks Ben!