2023 Stronghold Grip Competition - Vin's Report

[Vinnie]

When I saw the event lineup for the Stronghold Grip Competition promoted by Ronni Bossie, I thought:  Wow, those are good events for me.  I could probably win my weight class in those events.  The events were 20 mm grippers, 2-inch Saxon bar, 2-inch one-hand Napalm's nightmare, Inch Pinch, and medley.  Grippers are my best event, and pinch second.  And if we are talking thick bar, 2-inch is better for me than thicker.  So it would be hard to find a better lineup of events to favor me than this.  It made me want to go, despite it being in Fort Fairfield, Maine.  Where?  Right, I had never heard of it either.  Because it is far away from the rest of the country.  Like, at the very tip top of Maine, unless you are from there, in which case you will boast that Maine goes on for yet another few miles north from there.  But to a NYC dude who just drove 14 hours practically to the tip top of the country, the fact that there's an hour or so left is not really going to make me say oh, then you're not really too far north.

Well, somehow I convinced Tim Butler and Anthony Clarino to sign up with me and make the trip.  They hadn't trained for it, but they really, really waned to see a bear and a moose, and Ronni said those guys are all over the place up there in the wild.  We booked an excellent cabin in Mars Hill, about a half hour from the comp, and we drove up Friday.  I left home on Long Island around 10:00 a.m. and got Anthony in NYC around 11:00 and Tim in New Jersey around 12:30.  We loaded up a bunch of stuff to bring for the medley and hit the road.  But it was slow going; we had traffic and lousy weather a lot of the way, and did not get into the cabin until after midnight.  Thankfully we did not have to be at the comp until 11.  That worked out fine. 

Ronni was an excellent host.  It was evident immediately: the venue was a real gymnasium, and he set it up with spectator seats and a stage (and he had spectators there watching us).  He also had sponsors who included real swag in the goody bags that every competitor got: $10 gift cards to Subway and a local restaurant called Ferris, Cannon Power Works skull blocks for grippers (engraved with SH23!), some protein and snack stuff, a little candy, and a thank you note (for coming).  And he had a nice tee shirt memorializing the comp.  Classy all around!

Ronni also had his wife and some friends keeping track of all the stats, and a few high school kids loading and changing the weights.  He drove them hard and they delivered.  We had 5 events to do starting between 12 and 1 pm, and we had dinner reservations at Ferris for 6pm, and had to empty out the gym between ending the comp and driving 15 minutes to the restaurant.  Tall order, for a 15-competitor comp!  But these kids managed, and we did make it to dinner just 2 minutes late.

Anthony was easily in the 74kg weight class, I was easily in 83kg (at 181 pounds, about a kilogram to spare), and Tim -- after he took two pisses, removed his earring, and blew his nose, just made 93kg by about a gram (or less).  There were a few guys bigger than Tim (Emmit Samon and one or two others), and a few smaller than Anthony (two teens).  And some in the middle, and Kristi, a woman who was new to grip but not to lifting (she deadlifts over 300 easily).  I wouldn't be able to name everyone, but 15 in all.

OK, so the events.  As always, I will try to pepper this review with comments of general interest where I can, but it is mostly my recap of my experience there, so please forgive the self-centered perspective.  For reasons that will become apparent later in this writeup, you may understand why I'm especially amped up about this comp.

-20 mm block set grippers: My 20mm PR was 165 and my goal was to PR at 170, although I had very little basis to predict whether it would work.  I got my PR at Jedd's this year, when I closed his Tetting rated 165 with the 20mm block.  I've also closed my COC 3.5 rated 165 for an MMS single a few times in my life, and doubled my COC 3.5 rated 159 a couple of times.  I was stagnant for a while before this year but have been training grippers again for the last six or seven months, and I may be at about my best ever with crush.  But, I had never closed a gripper rated more than 165, even MMS.  So I asked Ronnie what grippers he had available for the comp, and he replied with a very comprehensive list.  But what jumped out as me was that he had a COC 3.5 rated 165 and then a COC 3.5 rated 173, with nothing in between.  A pretty big jump!  Ronnie invited Tim Butler and me to fill in any gaps we perceived.  But I actually don't own a gripper over 165 (I know, I need one, I'll get there).  Tim has one though:  a Tetting rated 170.  I asked him to bring it, so at least that would give me something to shoot for as a PR.  Still a bit of a jump, but I find Tettings easier than COCs, and I closed a Tetting rated 160 with a 30mm block in September.  So I'd have a better shot at that than at the 3.5 rated even higher.

Ronnie decided to do grippers in reverse order of each person's opener, so that lowest went first.  A lot of the folks had no grip experience, so everyone else had opened with grippers rated below 100 when Anthony Clarino opened with 105.  I heard a murmur or two; "Wow, look at this guy, he's doing more than 100 for his first attempt!"  Of course Anthony was just opening low to get on the board and warm up, and got that easily, and then Tim opened with and easily got 130, inspiring a new wave of murmur.

But grippers is my strength, and the one event at this comp I thought I had a good faith belief I might win.  I opened with 159, figuring I'd get on the board with that, and maybe win with it because I had no idea if I'd do more.  And I got it first try.  So I decided for my second attempt, I would go right to the Tetting rated 170.  Getting the 165 wouldn't do anything more for this comp than getting the 159, and wouldn't get me a new stat, since I've done that.  Also, I am better with Tetting than COC.  So even with the higher rating, I might have a better shot at it.  Well --  I got it!  I was surprised at how fast Ronni called it good, but I was pretty hyped at how good I felt.  And boy do I love Tettings.  If you had told me before the comp that I could have the 170 close but I'd have to zero the remaining events to have it, I'd have accepted that bargain.  I was ecstatic.  But I do sometimes surprise myself with my performance at comps.  I just get extra amped.  It worked.  Of course for my third attempt I took a stab at the 3.5 rated 173; I got closer than I had any business expecting to, but missed it by enough that I knew I wouldn't get it on a fourth attempt and just took my 170.  Tim ended with the second highest close of 150, and Anthony third at 130.  NYC swept the quintessential grip event.

-2-inch Saxon bar: I am better at 2-inch Saxon than 3-inch, but I've never done it in comp (I actually thought I had, but I cannot find any record of it in the GS top 100).  I knew I had done over 200 in training years ago, and have been inching closer to 200 on the 3-inch.  So I decided to open at 180.  It was here that I began bugging the assistants who were keeping score:  we were supposed to tell them after each attempt what our next attempt would be.  But I kept strategizing and changing my mind.  Tim opened at 180 also, and we both decided to go for 195 as a second attempt.  We both got both of those, and I thought it felt really good.  I asked Tim if we should both go for 210 next, but he suggested 205, and I decided to keep things simple and do the same.  But Tim missed and I got it.  So I jumped to 215 for my fourth.  I felt really solid.  I stopped at the top and whooped or grunted or something.  I felt like I could stand there for a while and just hold it.  But there were more events.  I put it down and we moved on.  I was now in first place in the first two events (Tim in second), and Anthony whispered to me, "You know, it might all ride on the Inch Pinch - you might win the comp."

As an aside: there was a boy named Gage there, who at age 15 and 125 pounds was beating some of the men at every event.  I just wanted to give him a shout out in this write up, because if he chooses to get involved in grip going forward, I think he will be a key player.  He's very very strong for his size, and a decent kid.  

-2-inch one-hand Napalm Nightmare: When Anthony said it would all come down to pinch, he was referring to the fact that NOBODY puts Temmmmeeeeeeeeememeeememeeeem in the corner.  It was beyond peradventure (my geeky way of saying that Anthony and I both knew) that Tim would win the thick bar event and the medley, which was strewn with blobs that have names like the Next Gen and the Fat Man, as well as the Inch dumbbell.  Tim is even more a thick bar and blob man than I am gripper and pinch.  So by winning the first two events, I was far from being the favorite:  I had only potentially offset Tim's sure wins, but even to do that, I had to do my best to be second to Tim in the two events he would surely win, since he was second in the ones I won.  If I could make a good showing in the events Tim won, the Inch Pinch would matter.  

Well, I tied for second:  Tim pulled 225 on the handle, and Emmit and I each pulled 200.  This was getting precarious!

-Inch Pinch.  Tim and I both opened on 60 and got it easily.  But on 65, I got it and Tim missed.  When he tried it (and got it) for his third, my third was 67.5.  And Emmit snuck up to 70 for his third, taking the lead.  Tim got 65 on his third and went to 67.5 for his fourth, to tie with me.  I decided to take my final attempt at 70, figuring that 67.5 was hard enough and the Inch gets harder fast.  If Emmit could make his fourth attempt, he could have this event.  I'd be very, very pleased with hitting 70.  And wow was this a good choice.  I think this was the most precarious lift I ever made.  The thing felt like it might drop the whole (excruciatingly slow) trip up to a mere kiss of the cross bar, and I put it own fast.  JUST made 70.  Emmit, for his part, made 72.5 and looked like if it hadn't been his final attempt, he might have gotten a little more.  Emmit first, me second, Tim third.

-Medley.  As noted above, half the medley was stuff Tim brought.  A/k/a stuff Tim can lift.  Half-hundred blob things, the Inch dumbbell, and assorted other stuff Tim does.  All 15 of us went through the 20-ish items doing what we could.  I won't try to list every item, but in the end, before Tim went, I was in the lead; I didn't even try the Inch, and I got more blobs than anyone else but not all of them, and I missed a couple other items no one else had gotten either. 

And then Tim went through the entire medley, lifting every single thing easily, as if to say:

"VIN:  congrats on winning the comp!  But I'm still stronger."

And that is exactly what happened.  At a comp where the events were skewed exactly to my strength, and at which I put forth my best performance (other than that I could have gone a little higher on Saxon bar, but that wouldn't have changed the placing), I just edged out Tim on a lackluster day for him doing events that were not all his faves.

I'll take it.  It is not likely to happen again.  I know I am reasonably strong for my size and age, but not elite like Tim.  This was something to remember!

Many thanks to Tim, who is a close friend and threw me no shade for the upset.  Many thanks to Anthony, for completing our NYC "three gripsketeers" crew.  Many thanks to Ronni Bossi and his many minions, for throwing such an awesome comp.

At the end of the comp, standing by the trunk of my car, I sold Ronni my arm wrestling table and some grip equipment, and it covered my trip cost, which was helpful.  Then when Ronni asked me whether I wanted to sell my crusher, I said no.  I turned to 15-year-old Gage, who had so impressed everyone at the comp and was helping us clear out the gym, and I gave it to him.  I chanted, "Go forth, young padawan!"  No, I did not say that.  No, I think I just said here, you can have this.  Or something more mundane, but basically, I wanted him to get a taste of the general positive vibe that I see all around in grip.  

After the comp, most of us went out to a barbecue place, where we got to use our $10 gift cards from the goody bag.  The food was really good, and the conversation better.

This weekend I got to experience what some of the big grip guys get to experience when they win a comp, and it was fun.  It was motivating.  Maybe once in a while something like this can happen again, but it's fine if not.  It was a great weekend and I will remember it.

Also on the way home we saw a bear and a moose.  They were fake, but at least we got what we asked for.

Cheers!

 

 

 

 

Edited October 23, 2023 by Vinnie

[Aroostook Barbell]

  Boy, that was the best recap of an event I have ever read! I really enjoyed reading that. Well done Vinny! You deserve every bit of it brother!

 

  I have to say, the bit at the end made me laugh. Lol.

 

 

 

[liftyzig]

Congrats on your victory Vinnie!

[Douglas Carney]

Congratulations Vinnie!  And thank you for both the detailed write-up and interview on The Grip Show.

Your posts are so well written, I think of you as part poet laureate and part grip historian.  Really gives us all a feel for the experience.

[Vinnie]

18 minutes ago, Douglas Carney said:

Congratulations Vinnie!  And thank you for both the detailed write-up and interview on The Grip Show.

Your posts are so well written, I think of you as part poet laureate and part grip historian.  Really gives us all a feel for the experience.

THANK YOU!  My career is mostly writing -- I write criminal appellate briefs to New York's state appeals courts and sometimes federal courts.  I am a prosecutor, so I am usually on the side of keeping the convicted prisoner in prison (unless he raises a correct reason he should be let go, of course, but most can't).

Edited November 4, 2023 by Vinnie

[Douglas Carney]

On 11/4/2023 at 12:03 PM, Vinnie said:

THANK YOU!  My career is mostly writing -- I write criminal appellate briefs to New York's state appeals courts and sometimes federal courts.  I am a prosecutor, so I am usually on the side of keeping the convicted prisoner in prison (unless he raises a correct reason he should be let go, of course, but most can't).

NEW THOUGHT - As I watching part 1 of @ZRMMA's interview with @pancho_grip_lift last night and they were walking about The Grip Show content, I had this fleeting thought that in addition to the predictions and outcomes, they could have Vinnie as a "special reporter" with a travelog segment.  All he'd need is a few photos to go with his detailed artful narrative.