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HIGA MONSTER
03-09-11, 12:58 am
My second year in the Cage.
I came in more relaxed than last year because I guess I knew what to expect with the madness of the Arnold. It was actually cool to see how the eyes of Seath242 and BIG BEN were when they first walked into the Expo cause I had the same look last year.

Our flight from Seattle to Columbus was a hell of an experience.
I got there at 6:40am for the 8:30am flight. Apparently, our plane didn't even show up yet so they needed to reroute us to Ohio. I got sent to a US Airways flight to Phoenix, then Columbus while the 2 Ben's got put on a Delta flight to Minnesotta, then Columbus.

I ended getting screwed because they said the US Air flight was oversold so I had to go back to United and reroute. I got sent to Washington Dulles instead, then connect to Ohio.
Instead of landing in Columbus at 6pm, I checked into the Hyatt after midnight.

Day1: Went to eat breakfast cause I know how long of a day it was going to be. As soon as I sat down, here come some of the people from Corporate and I said "good morning" to them. After that, Vinny G walks in. I told him to sit down if he wanted and we caught up with life.
Soon, others would join us and all the layovers of the airport went away. Back home with the Animal family!
First thing that blew my mind at breakfast was how HUGE Wycked was. Holy shit, that guy is huge but so gentle when he talks.

Walked into the Expo with the 2 Ben's early cause we wanted to see Zack compete in the Amateur Strongman. Then, we headed to the Cage.
Corporate, I LOVE the idea that you split the store into 2 sides this year! I think that was great and hope you continue that because product & shirts were flying off the shelves.

Everyone was asking about the RAGE. And we were happy to oblige. Powder or pills...whats the hype about? After explaining, people were buying them.

Day 2: Big day for the Washington boys because later that day was going to be "Pros vs Bros" and we wanted to put up some good numbers. But first, we had to work the booth first. Next thing you know, all the Animal Pak was sold out by the end of Day 2.
Limited edition shirts were a hit too, and House was signing autographs on the new RAGE posters on the end of the Shop and alot of people were lining up for them.
"Pros vs Bros" will end up being one of the best exhibitions of CAGE history. I was excited to lift and throw down with all these great lifters. Then, I hear this guy Richard was going to lift too and to watch out for him. I had no idea who he was but when he started lifting 500 lbs while weighing 125 lbs, holy shit!
My former Powerlifting coach when I lived in Hawai'i is a Category 1 IPF Referee, and he knew I was going to be lifting. He had scheduled his break so that he could possibly come by to watch me lift, and also made a side bet that if I hit 20 reps, he would buy me a steak dinner.
When he came to the Cage, I was so stoked and got even more focused because he is known as one of the strictest referees in the IPF. Getting 19 reps under his judging is an honor.

National ABC: BIG BEN and I walked in the wind and rain to get to Metro Fitness and it was already packed. Ben has a Powerlifting meet coming up on April 9th, so he needed to do some Squats. Why not join him? I've only deadlifted 4 hours earlier, right?
We had a sick workout. Even "Furious Pete" and his girlfriend attended the ABC and I was stoked to workout with him a bit. I met Pete at the Boise Fitness Expo last year and I am a huge fan of his eating contests!
Met "Raigin Asian" too and we did some deadlift work together. That girl is strong!
Ghost and BIG BEN decided to get stupid and work some forearms with "Wrath" and I thought they were crazy. But it was a great fuckin time and we all were stumped by the amount of "beef" in there working out. Stan Efferding, Hoss Cartwright, Wycked, House, Wrath and many more.

After the ABC, I got a text from my strongman friend Karl Gillingham and he told me that he had extra tickets to the Strikeforce fight that night and he should have called me. (bastard!!) So instead, after uploading all my videos of the Cage to YouTube, I went down to the hotel bar and had some drinks with Aggression, Coronato, Big D, Enforcer, Tiny Meeker and Powerswitch. What fuckin happens? Tiny ends up showing me all the cool pics from the Strikeforce fight and he actually sat behind "Bigfoot" Silva. I was even more mad at Karl Gillingham! LOL

Day 3: A bit tired from the day before, but I had to get up early and pack my bar since I had to checkout before heading to the Expo. Funnies thing at breakfast was that Jay Cutler walked in and he was loading his plate up by Sam Byrd. When Sam came back to the table, he said that "Jay asked me for an autograph but I told him "NO!". LMAO
After another good breakfast, we headed to the Expo and finish up what we had started.
"Ox" came down at about 1pm and man, was the line long for fans to see him and get an autographed poster of him.
One of the best contests of the day was the "Curl for most reps" because I was laughing when I saw that Big D was going against house.
It ended up being a six man tag team match because Vinny G, Coronato, Brad Rowe and Shaun Clarida jumped into the contest. Big D, the powerlifter that probably never trains biceps (according to G Diesel) actually took the lead before House came up to the plate. House ended up winning and its crazy at how easy he makes that look.

Closing: It was another long, hard weekend but we kicked ass in the Shop and sold a stupid amount of product and shirts. Their was hardly anything left!
Great to meet some other members of the FORVM and to hang out with them in the booth. I hope you all had a great time this weekend, and I am proud to be a part of this Animal family. I strive to be the best athlete that I can for Animal and am proud to rep the brand where ever I go.

Much aloha,
HIGA MONSTER

Phil800101
03-09-11, 2:53 am
Great write up there bro! It was an honor to get to work alongside you again.

freighttraindane
03-09-11, 7:49 am
It was great meeting this weekend at the Cage Higa.

HIGA MONSTER
03-09-11, 9:03 am
Great write up there bro! It was an honor to get to work alongside you again.
Always good to see you Phil. Thanks to you too for helping out in the Cage.


It was great meeting this weekend at the Cage Higa.
Same to you bro. I would love to workout at your home gym one day.

HIGA MONSTER

freighttraindane
03-09-11, 9:06 am
Hell yeah brother, it would be an honor to toss some iron around with ya in the Asylum.

smoothballer
03-09-11, 9:07 am
Great to see you again Higa

HIGA MONSTER
03-09-11, 9:11 am
Great to see you again Higa
You too bro. Still jazzed from this past weekend.
That's what makes the Cage special...Animal stands out everytime.

HIGA MONSTER

smoothballer
03-09-11, 9:13 am
You too bro. Still jazzed from this past weekend.
That's what makes the Cage special...Animal stands out everytime.

HIGA MONSTER

Oh I know what you mean. My workouts have been off the charts with intensity and motivation.

J-Dawg
03-09-11, 10:35 am
HIGA you were awesome all weekend bro. One of the hardest working in The Cage as always. Gotta give you props for lifting hard, giving a great seminar and busting your ass in The Shop. Thanks for posting up pics and giving show feedback online throughout the weekend as well. Can't wait to work another show with you bro.

HIGA MONSTER
03-09-11, 11:39 am
HIGA you were awesome all weekend bro. One of the hardest working in The Cage as always. Gotta give you props for lifting hard, giving a great seminar and busting your ass in The Shop. Thanks for posting up pics and giving show feedback online throughout the weekend as well. Can't wait to work another show with you bro.
Always in honor to rep the Animal at these shows J-Dawg.

I'm glad everyone got to see some pics and uploaded vids while I was there. Maybe this will make more of our members plan a trip to Ohio next year!

HIGA MONSTER