Vinnie Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 (edited) Sorry for yet another late one! This one not as much my fault. I wasn’t able to reach the previous month’s profilee’s nominee, so I decided to go with someone who hasn’t been profiled yet and definitely needs to be: my good friend Tom Flesher. Tom has been a frequent competitor in grip for about five years, making his debut at the same comp where I made mine: Nate’s Four for February in 2018. Oh that’s six years. Wow, time flies. Tom and I just got back from a road trip to Chris Rice’s comp. In the interim, Tom has also become a well known bender. So here we go with Tom’s questionnaire: 1. What are your stats? GripBoard name: Tom Flesher Age: 41 Height: 5’11” Weight: 265 Dominant hand, and hand size: Right hand, I’m sure I’m measuring incorrectly but I’m getting 8” from middle finger to wrist crease Country/City: Long Island, NY Relationship Status: Married Children: Carter (6 month old boy) Occupation: Economics professor at Suffolk County Community College 2. Why did you start training grip (and how long is it now)? I started training over the summer of 2017 when I was working at a summer camp and was asked to have the kids do a (fake) strongman show. I started trying to learn a few old time feats like nail bending and card tearing, and it was all downhill from there. 3. What are you most proud of accomplishing in grip already, and what is/are your grip goal/goals? I don’t set many records - I’m just not that kind of athlete. I consider myself a “gentleman strongman” who is a professor first and an athlete second, so the things that make me feel the best are pushing things that approach the best in the world a few years before. For me, this is stuff like bending 3/4x40” and getting below 1/2x12”. From September 2022-September 2023 I was Long Island’s Strongest Master, but I lost the comp this year. Onward! I also have an RPF state deadlift record for my narrow slice of age, weight, and equipment - 575 (Raw classic masters 40-44 275). I also had no right to win the North Carolina bending contest in November of 2022 and am inordinately proud of my big Golden Bender trophy designed by Gary. 4. How do you currently structure your overall training/how do you incorporate your grip training? I build my week around a Strongman Saturday group. We usually do a lot of carries and deadlift variations. Usually I’ll be working toward a particular show and training for that - right now I’m focused on an show I’ll be doing in March that has a lot of moving events Saturday and a whole powerlifting competition on Sunday. I look forward to hurting for days. 5. What hobbies (other than grip/bending/lifting) do you enjoy? I am a big Mets fan and am very into statistics. I’ve expressed interest in being commissioner of baseball, although there doesn’t seem to be any interest on the other side. I also enjoy doing research on law and economics and wrote a law review article recently about price-fixing in the canned tuna market. 6. Do you have a personal anecdote, topic or thoughts you'd like to include in your profile? The most fulfilled I’ve ever been as a bender was when I realized that there were a couple of people who got started bending because of a Reddit post I wrote at the beginning of the pandemic. I did a quick explanation about what hardware store materials you could use to get started, and apparently it was very popular. During the pandemic I struggled with the fact that a lot of people who I encouraged to bend and gave tips to had surpassed me quickly, and it took some time to get over that. I had to stop and think about my why, and overall I think it was really good for me, because it helped me understand that while I’m never going to be the best in the world, I have a place in this community. I hope everyone else feels as welcome and encouraged as I did the first time I went to a grip event. 7. Whose Grip profile would you like to see next? Devin! (Hoover) Edited January 20 by Vinnie 8 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahChappelow Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 On 1/20/2024 at 3:02 PM, Vinnie said: 2. Why did you start training grip (and how long is it now)? I started training over the summer of 2017 when I was working at a summer camp and was asked to have the kids do a (fake) strongman show. I started trying to learn a few old time feats like nail bending and card tearing, and it was all downhill from there. This is probably the most interesting way I've heard of how someone got into grip. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted January 22 Author Share Posted January 22 On 1/20/2024 at 5:02 PM, Vinnie said: 5. What hobbies (other than grip/bending/lifting) do you enjoy? I am a big Mets fan and am very into statistics. I’ve expressed interest in being commissioner of baseball, although there doesn’t seem to be any interest on the other side. I also enjoy doing research on law and economics and wrote a law review article recently about price-fixing in the canned tuna market. Um. (Craft) BEER?!?!? On 1/20/2024 at 5:02 PM, Vinnie said: while I’m never going to be the best in the world, I have a place in this community. I hope everyone else feels as welcome and encouraged as I did the first time I went to a grip event. Hear, hear. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted January 22 Author Share Posted January 22 20 minutes ago, SarahChappelow said: This is probably the most interesting way I've heard of how someone got into grip. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted January 22 Author Share Posted January 22 21 minutes ago, SarahChappelow said: This is probably the most interesting way I've heard of how someone got into grip. Mine was similar: 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Flesher Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/22/2024 at 8:10 AM, SarahChappelow said: This is probably the most interesting way I've heard of how someone got into grip. I had dabbled a little bit in high school. My wrestling coach had a real hardon for the broomstick wrist roller as a finisher and I was the heaviest indoor climber ever. That made it easier 15 or 20 years later to bend little nails without hurting myself. But yeah, it was mostly to impress six year olds. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Flesher Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/22/2024 at 8:16 AM, Vinnie said: Um. (Craft) BEER?!?!? Hear, hear. Beer and whiskey for sure. Recent travel has been to Ireland and a trip through kentucky to visit distilleries. If UK in Lexington hires a clinical professor of economics in the next few years I’ll just move there. I might retire to work in the barrel factory there anyway. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith513 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 (edited) 22 minutes ago, Tom Flesher said: Beer and whiskey for sure. Recent travel has been to Ireland and a trip through kentucky to visit distilleries. If UK in Lexington hires a clinical professor of economics in the next few years I’ll just move there. I might retire to work in the barrel factory there anyway. It doesn't get much better than beer and whiskey and grip. They all go hand in hand. great read like always @Vinnie Edited January 25 by Blacksmith513 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.