One of the things that tells me I am not in Brazil anymore is that when I step out of the airplane, I’m just somebody else. I blend in. We all have the desire to be seen as the unique beings that we actually are. Even identical twins, technically genetic clones, are unique. This is […]
Random Sunday: on hate Leia mais »
Nowhere is home. After a while, it doesn’t matter anymore. Home materializes and then vanishes. Home is a transient state of recognition, of self-recognition and of remembrance. I was at home in Detroit but I wasn’t exactly in Detroit. I was at a Marriott hotel, far from downtown, where usually pilots and airlines personnel are
That was the WPC National Bench Press Championship, held this Sunday, April the 20th. The date had a bag full of meanings to me: it would be the first “real” competition I would take part in Brazil. Before that I lifted with the older federation, where, in this part of the world, many weird things
226lbs bench press @129lbs Sunday = I’m alive and lifting, unlike previously predicted Leia mais »
The deal I made with myself was to record, every day, the things and events that I could see as having benefitted me. It was a conscious attempt to confront unproductive and/or destructive mental habits. After so many recent ordeals, I thought I had found an elegant system to avoid self-victimization. I blew it: many
Protests against the Soccer World Cup in Brazil: there isn’t a shred of evidence concerning any advantage of mega-sports events to the host country. Abundant studies show evidence of the opposite. Brazil is not a rich country, has no true sports culture (we can’t call the commercial frenzy around soccer anything close to a
Protests against the Soccer World Cup in Brazil Leia mais »
On October 5, 2012, Gene and Ame Rychlak created the campaign “Power Against Violence and Abuse”. Their mission is as simple and complex as powerlifting itself: to confront all forms of abuse. Abuse, by definition, is an act of violence that takes place between asymmetric players: an adult against a child or an elderly person,
Surviving suicide, rape and abuse through powerlifting: my story Leia mais »
Saturday, September the 8th, the Brazilian Qualifiers for the Arnold’s Amateur Strongman Championship took place in Sao Paulo, Brazil. There were six competitors. The small number of athletes was expected, since this was the first time events were organized precisely following prescribed equipment measures, procedures and rules from the American Strongman. September the 8th was,
Brazilian Strongman Qualifiers: lessons from the hottest day of the year Leia mais »
I once watched a conference by philosopher Denis Dutton who argued that humans have some sort of programmed drive to appreciate and do “things well done”. He was trying to explain why humans, in spite of their great cultural diversity, all have a conception of beauty. I don’t think I agree with him at all,
Sports Patriotism revised: why I am not proud of my country Leia mais »
On July 21st we’re offering a Strongman and Odd object training course in Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil. There will be a short theoretical part delivered by myself and my colleague Luciano Dias, where we will cover very basic issues on history, kinesiology and physiology. All the technical discussion will be “hands-on”. It will be eight
It took a while, it took a number of frustrated efforts, trials and errors, but now there’s no return: we’re on our way to join the international brotherhood in building a Strong world. After the last National Championship, an irreversible organization process began. Isolated initiatives in different parts of the country connected. The Brazil Strongest
The Brazilian Strongman Revolution has begun Leia mais »
