Ahh where to begin. When threads began popping up with info regarding the Cage at the Olympia my brother and I began to think about trying to make the 7 hour drive down from Reno. We finally decided to go for it, spend some time together and get to hangout and meet with guys who inspire both of us on the daily. Few weeks go by and the day for us to leave has finally come.
Thursday: We're both up at 6:30am eating breakfast and loading the car. Neither of us slept well because of how anxious we were. Hit the road at 7 am looking to arrive in Vegas around 2 pm. Couple of hours go by then we hit construction, after three 40 minutes stop in BFE with no air conditioning, we're almost there. The skyline begins to take shape and my brother is smiling ear to ear, busting out his camera and taking pictures of everything. We check into the hotel then grab some grub. Cascade's flight got delayed until 11 pm, so we said fuck it and decided to hit up Gold’s Gym Flamingo up and get a workout in. We walk in and I see some familiar looking faces, we make our way towards them and see G, C.Coronato, Scals, Aggression, NG, J-Dawg, and Vinny G. We shake hands and chat for a bit, my brother is fuckin jazzed already and that got me stoked. Wrap up our workout and head to the airport. Pick up Cascade and have an awful Dennys experience then back to the hotel for lights out.
Friday: Another night with little sleep. We wipe the morning fog from our eyes and twist the crinks outta our backs from shitty hotel beds. We walk over to the Hilton to have breakfast with Higa and the rest of the crew. After a few plates at the buffet I head over to the convention center with Higa since I was interning while my brother and Cascade head back to the hotel to wait until the expo opens. We get there and I can’t get in till 10 since I have a wristband not a badge, so I wait outside for a while. The crowd begins to gather and I'm getting anxious. Finally we're let in, I look high and immediately see the ANIMAL banner hanging above the Cage, go. I set in the Cage and do a quick meet and greet with everyone, throw on my t-shirt, and begin signing up people for the Bench Your Bodyweight event. The rest of the day flew by, walking with House over to the GNC booth, watching seminars, snapping pics, and selling merch (couldn’t quite talk Scals into buying one though). Things slowed down for a bit and everyone was mixing up shakes. I walked over with my shaker half full of Rockin Razz A7 and asked G for a scoop of the mochachino UWP, I had never had it but didn’t really wana down the A7. Fortunately G was looking out for me and made me finish off what I had before giving me a scoop. Good lookin out G, it woulda been a disaster haha. Finished off the day singing up people again then cleaning up a bit. Walked back to the hotel with Cascade and my brother, grabbed some Subway (I know terrible choice), sat around for a bit then took our pre’s and made our way to Golds again. Met up with some of the Animal crew again, got a swole on and bounced. Grabbed some PWO grub at a brewery then to the hotel for lights out.
Saturday: Woke up to Cascade waking me up sayin let’s go! Since it was his day to intern, but there was no fucking way I was getting outta bed haha, sorry brudda. My brother and I got some breakfast then headed over to the Cage. Missed Hawthornes lift by a few minutes which sucked. Stayed around to see The Rhino walk into the Cage, press 500 lbs for 6 reps like it wasn’t shit, then casually get up like nothing happened. G and Wrath had a dope seminar about Wrath coming back from near death, always inspiring. Then Big Byrd decided he wanted to show everyone at that expo what the fuck was up. He did a few warm up sets, the crowd began to gather, and the bar kept getting loaded with more and more plates. Not 45s though, 100s, Animal style. By now the crowd was huge, the bar loaded with 825 lbs for a 220 lb powerbuilder 4 weeks out from a contest. Can you fucking believe that? Other companies can try and bite the Cage idea all they want, but I promise you none of those motherfuckers can pull this off, ever. Sam walked back, got set, dropped down, and the whole Cage, inside and out, erupts in screams. The bar rises slowly, but with no help from the spotters. I lost my voice yelling during that rep, but it was fucking worth it. Then onto Higa moving that 250 lb stone like nothing and the keg press. Always impressive. I made my way back to hotel for a night a much needed rest. I knew the ABC tomorrow would be big.
Sunday: Wake up, down a shake with my brother and Cascade, take our Rage and make our way to Golds. There’s a solid 20 people waiting in the lobby, we’re all chatting and introducing ourselves. Aggression was mixing up some Rage shots for everyone, and you cant turn that down. With about 20 of us gathered together, G gives a proper toast and it’s down the hatch. Meet up with House and begin warming up for our arm workout. Everyone’s all smiles but you can see the intensity in everyone’s eyes. Big weight was being moved and by the time House and I were half done with our workout it was picture time, oops hah. Everyone is all laughs and smiles, then the food arrives, fuck yeah. We grab our sandwiches and dig in. The poor dude who got to train with Ox was sitting down against the wall looking dead, didn’t even wana eat haha. We snapped a few more pics then it was time to hit the road.
Overall, this was probably the best weekend of my life. Hanging out and chatting with guys who I’ve had posters of on my wall for two years. Representing the best company in the game. And just fitting in. It was a beautiful thing that I’ll never forget. But I think what really made the trip worthwhile for me was how stoked my brother was, he even got a shirt signed by everyone there. Check these pictures below and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about. Till the Arnold brothers.
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Thread: My Cage Experience
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Originally Posted by Universal Rep
