Suggestions for The Cage 2014

[Animal]

Many of us are still riding the high from this past weekend. But I'm sure there were some lows too. It's easy for us to gloss over the problems or issues, but we can't improve unless we know what we need to work on. I can't promise we'll implement every suggestion, every idea, but we will do our best. I've already read some comments here and elsewhere about how we might improve things, but this thread is specifically the place for people to tell us what didn't work. Don't be shy. Don't be afraid. This is your way to tell us what we can do to be better in 2014--we want to do better. Thanks in advance.

[J Wong]

The only complaint I had from my time there was that it was impossible for spectators to see unless they were right there up front. However...I am 99% sure there is no fix for that!

[HIGA MONSTER]

Make sure Met-Rx does not have that fuckin irritating girl yelling out, "DO 20 MORE JUMPING JACKS!"

I was sick of hearing that bitch...it seemed that her voice drowned out the seminars.
Vinny G was right...that was some irritating shit.

HIGA MONSTER

[shortstack]

Forum Event
I think that this was the first year having the forum event on Sunday instead of Sat. I liked having it on Sat when most of the forum members will make the journey in and you could get everyone in there to kind of kick off the Pre National ABC that night. I left Sun morning so I missed it and I really enjoyed the last 5 years of everyone getting together from all the crazyness of the expo and having that time set aside just for us.

The Shop
Having worked the Shop on Sat, we could have used a couple guys to direct traffic for the shirt line. It switched about 3 different ways and you never knew where people were coming from. Also had issues with people waiting to buy shirts in the line for the customization. I just took the money and ran it over to someone in the shop and got them the shirt instead of making them go back around. I'm not sure the best way as both the shop and the t shirt line were huge. It worked but was a bit chaotic.

The Cage
I thought everything worked well there. The box is always jam packed and Ragin Asian and I talked about a small 2-3 tier riser platform to get some more forum members in the cage but that blocks the people from the outside.

I think a few minor changes will make it flow better but for that many people, I think everyone did a hell of a job.

[JUGGERNAUT]

Make sure Met-Rx does not have that fuckin irritating girl yelling out, "DO 20 MORE JUMPING JACKS!"

I was sick of hearing that bitch...it seemed that her voice drowned out the seminars.
Vinny G was right...that was some irritating shit.

HIGA MONSTER

X3!!!!

[SoChillBro]

Make sure Met-Rx does not have that fuckin irritating girl yelling out, "DO 20 MORE JUMPING JACKS!"

I was sick of hearing that bitch...it seemed that her voice drowned out the seminars.
Vinny G was right...that was some irritating shit.

HIGA MONSTER

This. Also the agree with not being able to see unless you are right against the cage. If I remember correctly didnt there used to be a set of bleachers for spectators to sit and watch the events or was that at the Olympia? But I know space is an issue.

[Firefist]

For me, in working the shirt making and selling stuff, I got to interact with the customers quite a bit. I think alot of people really dig deeper colored shirts accented with white writing, namely black short sleeves with white writing or the reds with ox on it. I think more gym bags would be a good thing as they sold out the first day. Call me crazy, but an animal tank would sell like hotcakes. A little less streamlined, more raw version of the Universal cut? Keep the custom shirts for sure and maybe not do em the following year to keep the novelty of it. Maybe run a twosided shop again with the presses on one side to keep the flow of traffic running?

The little changing/locker room in the box for the athletes was a good idea, but I think the placement of it could be worked around. I know some shit went missing from more than one individual, and you cannot blame that on the VIP box watchman. Waaaaay to much shit going on to keep watch of something like that, which should be on the honor code for us guests in the first place. If you stole from there and youre reading this, shame on you.

I guess the floorplan of the cage could be altered a bit to utilize more space. I know the product storage in the back was huuuuuuge and maybe the extra space could have been used for something else?

A two tiered arrangement would be sweet, but with the convention centers rules, id be suprised if they were ok with it. Actually, how did that girl screaming next to us not get her volume turned down like we did in the past? that shit was annoying.

[SlimJim]

Whoever was responsible for the microwave in the cage this year deserves some thanks. That was a fantastic idea, and definitely should make a return next year.

[Ragin Asian]

1. Shortstack mentioned about our discussing portable bleachers or riser platform so that more members/participants can fit inside the Cage especially during the bench bodyweight for reps challenges - that seems to be the time the Cage gets the most crowded. If not in the Cage like where the dumbbell rack was, maybe in the area of the box? I know space is limited in there, so it would be difficult to swing. The only problem with having something like bleachers inside near the performance area is that people outside of the Cage won't be able to see.

So my other suggestion would be to have a couple or few flatscreen displays mounted in key spots so that fans can see what's going on inside if they're too short or can't get up close enough to the fence to watch. Just a suggestion. :)


2. Also, from the athletes' perspective - maybe make plans for and identify who to invite further out from the Arnold Festival. Many athletes train 12-16 weeks out from competitions. So you're dealing with either the athlete who doesn't have a meet to prepare for needs more time in training to really put together a stellar performance, or you have an athlete who has a meet to do the same weekend/soon and had they known they would have the opportunity to be in the Cage, they would have trained strictly for that and not commit to a meet.

I can pretty much state with confidence that most of the athletes in the Cage this year would prefer to focus only on performing in the Cage over doing a meet. The Cage is the pinnacle of fun and enjoyment in our sports.


3. The bench is really nice and very solid! Just a suggestion for moving forward when using it in the Cage for the heavy benching - need a platform for the hand-off guy. Standing on the 100's was a good temporary solution, but still difficult to safely hand-off heavier weight without banging shins against the bar below the bench. It shouldn't be too difficult to build up a wooden or metal platform for the hand-off guy to stand on and have more leverage.


4. Another suggestion about the bench - would you consider replacing the bench pad with a "Fat Pad"? Our good friend Donnie Thompson developed a thicker and slightly wider pad to help protect the shoulders and provide more stability for benchers. He would have the Animal logo put on it with no problem. Basically, this pad is slightly wider so that the lifters back of the shoulders aren't completely hanging off the edges of the bench pad. This helps to prevent shoulder injury, especially during very heavy and extreme benching. He designed it primarily for the big boys that have wide backs, but it's beneficial to lifters of every size and much safer.

We're working on proposing to federations that they amend their rulebooks to allow for the use of this pad in competitions - lifters' safety is a big deal, and unfortunately shoulder injuries are becoming more common as we push the envelope with heavier benching.


I hate to sound demanding with my suggestions - they're just suggestions. We are amazed and extremely grateful for the support Animal provided to us in equipment and handling for our event. They went far above and beyond to help everyone put on a good show for the fans. Anyone who knows Powerswitch and me personally knows we haven't and won't promote any other company but Universal Nutrition, specifically Animal - and for good reason!

[GUNS]

The only complaint I had from my time there was that it was impossible for spectators to see unless they were right there up front. However...I am 99% sure there is no fix for that!

Flat Screens around the cage!

Make sure Met-Rx does not have that fuckin irritating girl yelling out, "DO 20 MORE JUMPING JACKS!"

I was sick of hearing that bitch...it seemed that her voice drowned out the seminars.
Vinny G was right...that was some irritating shit.

HIGA MONSTER

SlingShots that we can launch at her with a pack of Animal Pak!

For me, in working the shirt making and selling stuff, I got to interact with the customers quite a bit. I think alot of people really dig deeper colored shirts accented with white writing, namely black short sleeves with white writing or the reds with ox on it. I think more gym bags would be a good thing as they sold out the first day. Call me crazy, but an animal tank would sell like hotcakes. A little less streamlined, more raw version of the Universal cut? Keep the custom shirts for sure and maybe not do em the following year to keep the novelty of it. Maybe run a twosided shop again with the presses on one side to keep the flow of traffic running?

The little changing/locker room in the box for the athletes was a good idea, but I think the placement of it could be worked around. I know some shit went missing from more than one individual, and you cannot blame that on the VIP box watchman. Waaaaay to much shit going on to keep watch of something like that, which should be on the honor code for us guests in the first place. If you stole from there and youre reading this, shame on you.

I guess the floorplan of the cage could be altered a bit to utilize more space. I know the product storage in the back was huuuuuuge and maybe the extra space could have been used for something else?

A two tiered arrangement would be sweet, but with the convention centers rules, id be suprised if they were ok with it. Actually, how did that girl screaming next to us not get her volume turned down like we did in the past? that shit was annoying.

Agree, I had so many people asking me for tanks, and for short sleeve black tanks! People stood in a long line then when they got to me, and asked about these items, they walked off!

As Kathy said, my wife said the same to me on Sat, there needs to be flat screens around the cage and showing live lifts. It wa shard to see the lifts bad!

Other than that, great job!

[J Wong]

2. Also, from the athletes' perspective - maybe make plans for and identify who to invite further out from the Arnold Festival. Many athletes train 12-16 weeks out from competitions. So you're dealing with either the athlete who doesn't have a meet to prepare for needs more time in training to really put together a stellar performance, or you have an athlete who has a meet to do the same weekend/soon and had they known they would have the opportunity to be in the Cage, they would have trained strictly for that and not commit to a meet.

I definitely agree with this. The lifters would be able to treat the cage as a meet and be able to peak for it starting 12 or so weeks out. Imagine if Jesse Norris had 3 months prep time to pull in the cage? It would have been his main focus and 800+ probably would have went down.

[Ragin Asian]

Flat Screens around the cage!

SlingShots that we can launch at her with a pack of Animal Pak!

Agree, I had so many people asking me for tanks, and for short sleeve black tanks! People stood in a long line then when they got to me, and asked about these items, they walked off!

As Kathy said, my wife said the same to me on Sat, there needs to be flat screens around the cage and showing live lifts. It wa shard to see the lifts bad!

Other than that, great job!

About the tanks - I had many chicks come up to me and ask me if there were tanks available as well. Some knew that there are no baby tees for women anymore and were asking for tanks in place of them.

Which brings me to my next suggestion as I'm thinking about it - might want to bring back the baby tees. I'm not saying this just to satisfy a handful of women who asked. I'm trying to point out that there is a huge following of "power women" nowadays. Several years ago when Powerswitch and I did our first Cage event, sure it was understood that Animal meant MAN. But over the years, there have been more and more women hitting the iron alongside brethren as the sports and industries evolve, they want to be able to show their loyalty to the brand but with a little feminine flair. Sorry if this is not welcomed, but that's the general consensus from the chicks. And like it or not, you're gonna have us there one way or another. The chicks aren't trying to take over anything - we all love that it's hardcore and "not the norm" - unlike other companies who flaunt their teeny weeny bunny chicks. We're not looking for that at all. Just a little sumthin sumthin for us gals to wear so that we can show we are hardcore as much as the guys are. We take the paks too, we drink our torrents and storm, we work hard in the gym and most of us outlift the guys in typical gyms. Not to forget that there are many world class female strength athletes who would love to promote Animal - we would like to do it with a little feminine touch to the apparel. Please bring back the baby tees, at least.

[Ragin Asian]

While I'm at it with my "chick" rant - LOL!!! I know Metro Fitness is great and all, it has served it's purpose for many years. I have no idea what kind of arrangement was/is made with them. But it's too small. Sorry - our ANIMAL FAMILY has grown so much, we need a bigger HOUSE!!!!

I think Beyond Limits gym would be best to accommodate - not just in capacity, but also in equipment - we've got lots of monsters in our family, they do more than just stare in the mirror curling. LOL!!!! I'm not talking about just sponsored athletes, I'm talking about our true Animal family - our brethren and sisters on the forum (even outside of the forum yet loyal) are beyond dealing with foofoo gyms. Metro Fitness was cool in the beginning, but we have outgrown that facility. Not trying to take away from it at all - they've been so accommodating and helpful, not to forget they're so close to the Hyatt. But we have outgrown them and many of us can see that in their staffs' eyes and hear their comments while we're there - we know after the last few years, we have made it difficult for them - despite what the owner tries to do to make money. Trust me, we understand when we have "outgrown our britches" and pay attention to the comments made by the gym staff each year. I don't blame them, if I were in their shoes, I'd be bitching too when having to deal with the huge ANIMAL family. LOL!!!! But that's why we need a bigger spot to accommodate and not piss anybody off. :) :) :)

However, the point of the Animal ABC in Columbus is to accommodate the fans and forum members. Most of them don't stay in hotels in downtown Columbus - they're usually staying in hotels right on the outskirts of the town. I believe Beyond Limits is the best spot to be able to accommodate all of what I have mentioned. The location is 0.7 miles away from the Hyatt hotel. If our own athletes can't walk that, there's something wrong. I would hitch a ride with some Animal's or walk it myself to get there - I know many other brethren would do the same. If convenience is a concern - I'm sure shuttles can be arranged at low price (managed to get a foot in the door on that one with local transport co) :) :) :)

[mritter3]

Make sure Met-Rx does not have that fuckin irritating girl yelling out, "DO 20 MORE JUMPING JACKS!"

I was sick of hearing that bitch...it seemed that her voice drowned out the seminars.
Vinny G was right...that was some irritating shit.

HIGA MONSTER

^^^this...she was annoying as shit!

[mritter3]

Forum Event
I think that this was the first year having the forum event on Sunday instead of Sat. I liked having it on Sat when most of the forum members will make the journey in and you could get everyone in there to kind of kick off the Pre National ABC that night. I left Sun morning so I missed it and I really enjoyed the last 5 years of everyone getting together from all the crazyness of the expo and having that time set aside just for us.

The Shop
Having worked the Shop on Sat, we could have used a couple guys to direct traffic for the shirt line. It switched about 3 different ways and you never knew where people were coming from. Also had issues with people waiting to buy shirts in the line for the customization. I just took the money and ran it over to someone in the shop and got them the shirt instead of making them go back around. I'm not sure the best way as both the shop and the t shirt line were huge. It worked but was a bit chaotic.

The Cage
I thought everything worked well there. The box is always jam packed and Ragin Asian and I talked about a small 2-3 tier riser platform to get some more forum members in the cage but that blocks the people from the outside.

I think a few minor changes will make it flow better but for that many people, I think everyone did a hell of a job.

Agreed with doing forvm event sat..missed it as well, I'm not sure how the abc can be changed but there was just too many people there, I actually planned for that so I got there early and trained before it started, it's a good thing that there are so many to represent animal, but I'd say maybe be more strict and if ya didn't sign up and hour name is not on list that u shouldn't come because some people missed out on stuff who signed up. Gotta say the customization idea was awesome but the line was so long I passed in it...again not sure how that can be fixed people love the LE animal products. Had an awesome time as always.

[Razor]

Flat Screens around the cage!

SlingShots that we can launch at her with a pack of Animal Pak!

Agree, I had so many people asking me for tanks, and for short sleeve black tanks! People stood in a long line then when they got to me, and asked about these items, they walked off!

As Kathy said, my wife said the same to me on Sat, there needs to be flat screens around the cage and showing live lifts. It wa shard to see the lifts bad!

Other than that, great job!

I do like the flat screens idea. That could be cool but don't know how much of a hassle that would be especialy with all the weights being dropped haha.

I do think that the customization shirt area be wider or larger just because we kept running into each other and there never seemed to be enough space getting the letters, getting the nylon cover, etc. I'm curious how the fellas felt about people watching them make their shirts? I know i had a couple people try to reach in and help me align the letters and what not. I kindly said "don't worry i got this but i appreciate you trying to help". I have to admit after the first couple hours my nervousness went away and it became normal especailly once i hit my groove.

[Animal]

I definitely agree with this. The lifters would be able to treat the cage as a meet and be able to peak for it starting 12 or so weeks out. Imagine if Jesse Norris had 3 months prep time to pull in the cage? It would have been his main focus and 800+ probably would have went down.

Establishing events earlier and giving the athletes more time to prepare is definitely on the list. We improved in 2013 over 2012, but we could do more for 2014. Still looking at possibly bringing on new powerlifters to the Animal fold, so that may impact next year's event schedule.

I do like the flat screens idea. That could be cool but don't know how much of a hassle that would be especialy with all the weights being dropped haha.

I do think that the customization shirt area be wider or larger just because we kept running into each other and there never seemed to be enough space getting the letters, getting the nylon cover, etc. I'm curious how the fellas felt about people watching them make their shirts? I know i had a couple people try to reach in and help me align the letters and what not. I kindly said "don't worry i got this but i appreciate you trying to help". I have to admit after the first couple hours my nervousness went away and it became normal especailly once i hit my groove.

We already have some ideas for different kinds of "customization" next year.

[Enforcer]

I just hope to be there

[JUGGERNAUT]

I just hope to be there

I was going to say the same thing! Add Enforcer to the mix!

[Phil800101]

The turnout at the National ABC was nothing short of amazing. Name tags were a great idea, and I think the line to get in, get Rage, and get your shirt ran very smoothly and worked well. The food line ran very smoothly as well.

As has been said though, the turnout is a double-edged sword. The more the event grows, the harder it is to get in a good training session. Not to mention the fact that the numbers are possibly getting close to causing a fire code violation for Metro Fitness. I know I saw some people walk in, get their stuff, look around, and then leave disappointed...you could see that they wanted to train, but that they felt the crowd was just too big. This is nobody's fault, and is definitely a good sign. Look back at the group shot from the first National ABC, contrast that with the one from last year, and it really is incredible how much bigger it has become.

On one hand, you want to be able to include as many people as possible. On the other hand, you want to avoid angering and alienating people. At this point, it's a tough balance for sure. The Cage and the National ABC are an incredible opportunity to introduce people to Animal, and what Animal is all about...that is, not just a brand or line of products, but an honest-to-goodness inclusive brotherhood. It wouldn't necessarily be fair to exclude people just because they weren't on the Forvm before or what have you. On the other hand, you're always going to have those people who take part just to get some free stuff, and there really isn't anything you can do to prevent that. Furthermore, there are the dedicated Forvm members and longtime fans who might be getting a less-than-ideal experience due to the crowds and what not.

One thing to consider is that a person who is unfamiliar with Animal may actually walk away from the National ABC upset and with a negative opinion of Animal. We all know what the ABCs are about and what not, but for someone new it might look to them like a "show up, get a free shaker and t-shirt" deal...especially since there is so much of that going on at the Expo and what not. They're not necessarily going to understand that the crowds are unprecedented, and that the goal is to train together. Given that, they may feel that any ABC is the same thing.

Like I said, it's a tough balance for sure, and you can't please everyone. I think one of the greatest strengths of Animal, The Forvm, and the ABCs is the spirit of inclusion. You can see that every day on here, at the ABCs, and especially at The Cage when the athletes/pros are interacting with fans. At the same time, I think that something needs to be done to keep the numbers at the National ABC at a manageable level. In no way, shape, or form would I advocate leaving it open to only Forvm members or anything like that...doing things that way would go against some of the values that Animal stands for. On the other hand, I think that whatever is done should ensure that loyal Forvm members are not left out.

Off the top of my head, let's say that 200 is a reasonable number that balances a packed house with being able to train. Have a sign-up on the Forvm beforehand, but with a strict number cap...based on this year I'd say something between 100-150 would be a good number. Those who signed up would be sent or given a pass or something to get them in. With the other spots, it would be first come first serve. Something similar to how the Cage "concert" tees are handled. I know that that could suck, and people might be left out, but I can't think of any other way to do it that would be fair.