Thanks to the Legion...

[Universal Rep]

I've seen thanks go out to the Animal interns, to Corporate and others for makin' The Cage possible, and to the Animal Crew. I've said it before but I'll say it again... Thanks have to go out to every member of this great place who made it out to Columbus to attend the events in The Cage... To those who busted their asses to train in the gym on Friday and Saturday nights with the Animal Crew when others were eating or drinking or partying... I have heard amazing stories and more from the fellas who attended.

To me, Animal ain't a "brand" that Universal Nutrition "owns". Animal is more than the products.... More than the ads, the website, the FORVM, or The Cage... It's more than all this combined. It's about you, the individual who decided to step up and see what Animal was all about and the individual who glimpsed it in the past and decided to see it all over again. In short, it's you fellas who made The Cage possible. It's you who gives Animal life and meaning. Without you fellas, Animal would be nothing more than an idea, a dream unfulfilled.

Now I may be gettin' a little high minded here or lofty in my thinking, and if I am, you gotta excuse me. But every time I get another PM about the Arnold, every time I see another pic or read another post about what went down... It reminds me what we got here. What we all got here. And it's special. Animal ain't a brand. It's a dream that each of you, each of us, owns in our hearts and minds. That dream is alive and it's kickin' and when The Cage comes around every year, those who attend, live it. Even for us who can't attend, we can just taste and imagine for ourselves.

So to all those who went, thanks--on behalf of Corporate, on behalf of the reps, and on behalf of all of us who couldn't make it, but wished they could. We live through you. Thanks.

[InkdMuscle]

The cage in it self is amazing. making the trip from cali alone was awesome. the best part was to be welcomed by the brothers and sisters like you were a part of the "immediate" family who just returned home from a long time away. I walked to the cage with firedrake and was literally welcomed with hugs and hi-fives by all that were there. It was an amazing expierence and it felt at home. To share the same mind set with so many others was out of this world. I cant wait for next years cage.

[Universal Rep]

The cage in it self is amazing. making the trip from cali alone was awesome. the best part was to be welcomed by the brothers and sisters like you were a part of the "immediate" family who just returned home from a long time away. I walked to the cage with firedrake and was literally welcomed with hugs and hi-fives by all that were there. It was an amazing expierence and it felt at home. To share the same mind set with so many others was out of this world. I cant wait for next years cage.

Thanks for going brother... It is home, ain't it?

[InkdMuscle]

Thanks for going brother... It is home, ain't it?

aint that the truth. It is an unexplainable feeling and sense of welcome that was felt when u entered the Cage.

[dannynb]

Thanks for going brother... It is home, ain't it?

U-Rep that is the truth...for the first time I finally felt like I belonged, like i was home...it was almost sad leaving to come back to the real world.

[Little Z]

U-Rep that is the truth...for the first time I finally felt like I belonged, like i was home...it was almost sad leaving to come back to the real world.

danny I couldnt agree with you more..

i dont think i left the Cage for more than a total of 2 hours the entire weekend.. and that was on Sunday..

i felt at home.. when it was over i didnt know what to think.. haha.. almost brought a tear to my eye as the cleanup crew began
taking the banners and signs down..

[Firedrake]

U-Rep that is the truth...for the first time I finally felt like I belonged, like i was home...it was almost sad leaving to come back to the real world.

x2, bro!

U-Rep, Danny and Michi and I were talking about this at the airport, waiting for our flights. None of us really wanted to let go of the weekend in our hearts. It really was a major reality shift coming back to California, and listening to friends tell me they were "glad I had a good time" without really realizing what it was like to be there.

I've been lifting for years, till injuries started taking me out of the gym in 2002. It wasn't till I got my back fixed in 2007 and recovered so well from it that I could consider going back. When I met up with Rage and the SoCal crew in October, it was like I'd come back to my family then, and this past weekend was like a huge family reunion!

The non-iron-addicted don't get what it is that WE get out of pushing our bodies much further than average, to do things most of our contemporaries can't cope with. I am, as they say, "middle aged". Most of my contemporaries, if they exercise at all, play golf or some other "older" sport. There are a few guys my age indulging in martial arts like I've done for years, but the only guys my age in the gym are, charitably speaking, not pushing themselves.

Having the Forvm, the Cage, and the Box encourage a sense of community not found with any other "brand" of supplement. It's that community, that family, that keeps us coming back to those who "get it." Whether it's my homies like Rage, InkdMuscle, SifuSteve, AZN-BEEF, Tempus, Lunatic001, D-Boy, DarkCloud, or Ellie, or the new old friends I met this weekend, we're all part of the same clan.

[Phil800101]

x2, bro!

U-Rep, Danny and Michi and I were talking about this at the airport, waiting for our flights. None of us really wanted to let go of the weekend in our hearts. It really was a major reality shift coming back to California, and listening to friends tell me they were "glad I had a good time" without really realizing what it was like to be there.

I've been lifting for years, till injuries started taking me out of the gym in 2002. It wasn't till I got my back fixed in 2007 and recovered so well from it that I could consider going back. When I met up with Rage and the SoCal crew in October, it was like I'd come back to my family then, and this past weekend was like a huge family reunion!

The non-iron-addicted don't get what it is that WE get out of pushing our bodies much further than average, to do things most of our contemporaries can't cope with. I am, as they say, "middle aged". Most of my contemporaries, if they exercise at all, play golf or some other "older" sport. There are a few guys my age indulging in martial arts like I've done for years, but the only guys my age in the gym are, charitably speaking, not pushing themselves.

Having the Forvm, the Cage, and the Box encourage a sense of community not found with any other "brand" of supplement. It's that community, that family, that keeps us coming back to those who "get it." Whether it's my homies like Rage, InkdMuscle, SifuSteve, AZN-BEEF, Tempus, Lunatic001, D-Boy, DarkCloud, or Ellie, or the new old friends I met this weekend, we're all part of the same clan.

x3!

It was awesome meeting both of you guys this weekend.