Ideas for a strongman booth/exhibition later this month...

[Matt Reynolds]

My school does a huge fund raising event each year for the community. (I'm a teacher). This year, the school asked me to do a strongman exhibition and I thought it would be really fun and great way to open our community to the sport of strongman.

My training partner (Jonny Gold) and I will be at the booth and doing the exhibition. I was just wondering for some of you that have done these things before what are some things that we could do?

I'll probably hook up with Dione and see if I can get an ASC and a NAS banner to hang up as well and maybe have a tv and dvd player with strongman shows playing in the background.

I was thinking about maybe doing a stone load, where we offer a prize to anyone who can load a 300lb stone or so. Then for the exhibition, we can load the 300 and up to near 400lb stones.

I was also thinking about maybe some grip stuff - tearing some phonebooks in half, etc.

I wish I could get a car deadlift apparatus, but I don't have one - because that seems like it would be a cool event for an exhibition.

Any other ideas?

[Matt Schumann]

that would be awesome to have someone try to load the stone for a prize... be careful though with the whole law suit thing or which ever,

[NickBrugal]

Then for the exhibition, we can load the 300 and up to near 400lb stones.

So If you and Gold are going to do the expo hows the 400lb stone going to get loaded? :(

HAHA, I'm kidding but you could harness yourself up to a school bus and pull it, I'm sure that would look impressive. I'll mail you my harness if you want to do it and you need one.

[Matt Reynolds]

that's a great idea Nick! I have a nice harness that APT sent me since I'm a pro strongman and all. How did you get yours? :N:

[NickBrugal]

that's a great idea Nick! I have a nice harness that APT sent me since I'm a pro strongman and all. How did you get yours? :N:
For some reason I thought APT would send those things to Pro Strongmen who can actually pull a bus, O Well I guess all the other Strongmen already had one. :M: Since I like you and I'm worried that nobodies going to come to your booth I'll send you some Signed 8" X 10" Glossies of me for free. Your welcome!

[Scott Markowitz]

When I was a sub, I got to be a PE teacher for a couple of days. Two of the classes were weightlifting. I happened to meet the regular coach before school the first day (there was a track meet or something he was going to and they hadn't left yet). When he figured out I had seen a weightroom before and I told him I did strongman, he said something to the effect of "do whatever you want with them." The second day I brought in a couple of stones and a homemade rolling thunder. A couple of the bigger guys loaded the "girly stone" (about 110) and the ones who were up to it tried the RT. The RT went over well; since it was weight-adjustable they could try it with something they could lift, then they could relate to how much I did.

As far as visually impressive, yet easy to transport stuff, aside from stones and the bus pull, maybe some tires/rims to deadlift? A crucifix hold with textbooks?

[Tom Mutaffis]

Big deadlift apartatus with an axle and some tires or something would be cool - and people could come yank on it to see how heavy it is then you guys can tear it off the ground (seen the 700+ lbs vids). Tire flip also seems to impress a lot of people and wont take up much space if you flip it back and forth, just a pain to bring...

Log is easy to bring out and you can have poeple press it empty, then load it up and show them a few reps with a high 200's weight.

Sounds like a great little expo, maybe give away one of the Midwest Barbell T-shirts to any guy who can pull your axle off the floor loaded or something. Stones might be a recipe for disaster if someone laps one and falls over.

Have some captains of crush at the table for everyone to try as well... one of my buddies had one the other night when we were working the door at a bar and told people if they could close a #2 they didnt have to pay a cover. Everyone paid a cover.

[Orie Barnett]

How about a brick lift but use the text books instead of the bricks... Maybe make it a challenge throughout the whole day and award the best lifter, Man, Woman and Student!!!

Orie

[Matt Reynolds]

Thanks for the ideas so far guys. It doesn't have to be school related at all - though the bus pull would be a nice addition. This big carnival like day is a really big show and tens of thousands of people come out to it - so think of it like a big fair. How would you run a booth and exhibition at a big fair where tons of people are going to come through and see you?

I do like the axle/ tire deadlift idea - that could be fun.

Matt

[Matt Reynolds]

and I can get any amount of equip down there - we have huge horse trailors and stuff where we can haul anything - this is the ozarks.

[rod johnson]

Matt,

buy a bunch of decks of cards or get some steal bars and let people try to tear them or bend the bars. less liability.

[Brian Brouwer]

how about a gripper challenge?

[Garrick Daft]

METRx has the inch DB, a stone, and a wrist roller machine.

I think GNC does the blob, and gripper stuff.

Big Tires are always cool to see. Same with Stones.

Get some pamphlets for NAS and ASC, some t-shirts. Let them know that the stongman world is bigger then what they see on ESPN, meaning that they can do it too.

[Kevin McNease]

How 'bout you bring the log, stones, barbell, big tire, and some weights to the booth. You, Jonny, and I will have a mini competition AKA a full out training day. Of course we'll go easy on you so you look good. Think about it...

Do some log presses and shoulder the stone and let the audience take pictures. Tell them the log is 200 lb empty.

Kevin

[Manuel Buitrago]

I would stick with "showy" events like an axle clean and press with tires or deadlift with tires. Bus pull would be good. Log would be good too and tire flips.

[Matt Reynolds]

How 'bout you bring the log, stones, barbell, big tire, and some weights to the booth. You, Jonny, and I will have a mini competition AKA a full out training day. Of course we'll go easy on you so you look good. Think about it...

Do some log presses and shoulder the stone and let the audience take pictures. Tell them the log is 200 lb empty.

Kevin

Kevin,

Jonny is already gonna be there. We are both doing the exhibition. Wha'd ya think, that I was going to be pulling the bus? lol - I'm strapping Jonny's fat butt to that thing.

[Kevin Cronin]

my two cents, people love stuff they can relate to - tires being flipped (or deadlifted if you can get an axle or hummer tire setup), kegs being thrown or run with, stones being lifted and cars being pulled. I honestly think that most people have no idea as to whether a 600lb deadlift is mediocre, really good or world-class elite top 10 - but everyone knows a big truck tire is really heavy and not easy to flip.

[Michael Ambrose]

One thing that I always though would be cool would be to have a 'junior strongman' competition (say ages 5 -10). Use regular car tires for flipping, medicine balls for stones, fill a few lunch pails with some sand and water (wrap the handles with a small towel), sled drag (as in a saucer sled loaded with something and a rope attached), tug of war etc. The young kids would eat it up and what better age to pull em into the sport!

For the exhibition I think the best ideas have been put out there - pull a school bus/fire truck, tire flip, heavy stone load.

[Kevin Cronin]

One thing that I always though would be cool would be to have a 'junior strongman' competition (say ages 5 -10). Use regular car tires for flipping, medicine balls for stones, fill a few lunch pails with some sand and water (wrap the handles with a small towel), sled drag (as in a saucer sled loaded with something and a rope attached), tug of war etc. The young kids would eat it up and what better age to pull em into the sport!

For the exhibition I think the best ideas have been put out there - pull a school bus/fire truck, tire flip, heavy stone load.

Ben Lambousis did this at the NY state Battle of the Bad Ass last year and it was awesome!

[Matt Reynolds]

that is a great idea!

[Michael Ambrose]

If you go with it you have to post some videos!