Attitude Nation Baby

Pre-order the brand new Attitude Nation "I SLAM BARS" poster! at www.jonnorthattitude.com  

Slap this bad boy on the gym wall, spreading the Nation and slamming bars all over the World!  Salute!

Attitude Fucken Nation 2016!

Red Eye

We are caged animals in a gym with no windows.  The holes in the walls are from us trying to dig our way out back to reality.  The year could easily be 1920, and we would have no idea. Well maybe the techno music might be a give away, but I don't know...... I am pretty sure techno was just starting to get popular at that time.  I have completely lost track of the year, date, and time.  A zoo animal is what I am.  I am hamster turning in a never ending wheel.  It's hard not to lose my mind in a sport that keeps me standing in the same place 99 percent of the day.  This is why I can't help but to dance, jump around, run in circles around coach, or scream and yell after making a lift.  I do feel that at times I am really losing my mind, and it worries me.  I will create different characters in training and act them out as if I was in a movie. Why do I do this?  A smile will cross my face with no warning or apparent reason at all.  I will occasionally sit outside staring off into the blue sky with my mouth open wide and my head resting on my hand until coach comes to get me, and then walks me inside leading me to my bar like a horse to water.  "There you go Jon, there is your bar, grab it, good boy, now lift it above your head." All eyes on me, and at times I feel I have no privacy.  The little red light from the live feed camera is always judging me, staring at me, clapping for me, and at times rolling its red eye at me.  Everywhere I look there is now a camera in my face.  I have no idea where Cal Strength gets all that footage from on the YouTube videos.  I don't remember doing half of what's recorded, and if I do I didn't realize someone was filming me. Good Lord, let me dance in peace please.

A long car ride has my head out the window.  A car ride is fun because it means I am not training. A car ride is pure heaven.  In this world the sky is purple, and the grass is pink. My world is black, well besides the red light.  My world looks so fun from the outside looking in.  I watch the videos and they make me want to join the Cal Strength team, and I actually get excited.  "Hey babe, tomorrow I am going to get into weightlifting and train at Cal Strength with this crazy guy named Jon!"  I feel bad for the surprise that kid will endure.

Coffee is my love because it cures the pain momentarily.  I drink so much of it; I cant get enough of it.  I am drinking some right now and it always tastes extra good when writing to you.   I try to escape through the hole in the wall, but coach grabs me by my legs and drags me back in.  He holds me down with force as I put up a fight kicking and screaming.  He jams the coffee straw down my throat and tilts miss brown eyes' beautiful butt in the air, draining the coffee into my stomach.  I soon stop fighting, and become completely at peace.  Damn....They have drugged me again.

Here is the brand new Cal Strength video below.  Prepare to enter the wild zoo of my life.  This is the footage that is not suppose to be shown, the footage of a weightlifter slowly losing his mind in a windowless, four walled prison called weightlifting.  Salute my friends.

Car Rides 2016   

Interview With Coach Glenn Pendlay!

I just had to re-post this 20 question interview I did with coach Glenn Pendlay because.... well.... it was just awesome.  20 random questions that have nothing to do with weightlifting makes it more interesting, fun, never been done, and plus it gets him out of his comfort zone.  It's been over a year since I posted this on my blog, so I thought I would throw it back up in case you missed it.  So buckle your seat belts and get ready, because it's time to get up close and personal with the big guy himself!

PS:  Training was hell today.  Somebody please come save me from squatting! 

Coach Pendlay 2000 and forever! 

Dirt

Once an idea has drilled its way into your a head, that idea is very hard to remove.  Once an image flashes

in your dreams, that image is very hard to forget.  Thoughts are nothing but air, you can't touch them or show others.  Ideas are nothing but dirt.  You are held captive by your own images.  There is no unseeing what you have seen.  There is no turning back from the path you have stumbled upon.  You must walk, you must take one step at a time.  You must sacrifice to reach your dirt, because dirt is all your dreams are to others.  This is why you must be selfish.  You must carry on no matter how painful the journey may be, or how dark the path may become.  Will you take your handful of dirt and run with it?  Will you chase what others say is impossible?  Will you put in the work to get what you want?  Will you go through hell to achieve heaven?  Or, will you throw your dirt on the ground and walk away.  Will you surrender to society and what others say?  Will you call your dirt...  just dirt?  Will you quit?

Long nights in a small garage labeling and pumping product.  We were a long row of family side by side working for the same dream.  With every bottle we pumped product into a smile came over our faces.  With every label we slapped across the bottle our dirt pile became bigger.  My step dad quit his job, and my mother sold her salon.  We were then broke, living in a small house hardly getting by.  We went through hours and hours of work, and hours of constant excitement followed by constant worries and doubts.  The black crow was always there, circling around us, letting us know that if we didn't make it then he would get something out of it.  He would peck at our eyes, and knock over containers full of product.  He would try his hardest to take our dirt, but our strength as a family was too strong.  He soon flew away once we made our first big deal, and bought a small warehouse moving us out of the stuffy garage.  It was a life changing event.  It was a "we made it" event.  Our dirt pile outgrew our small humble house, our 447 Brookside Drive house that brought me great memories that will follow me for the rest of my life.  After school my sister and I would work long hours in the new warehouse. We wanted more, we wanted more dirt.  My whole family would play on the dirt pile after a hard days work.  We would just sit on top of it with silence and comfort as we bathed in our success, still in shock in what we were creating.  Our dream was finally coming true, as we turned our slow walk on the windy path into a full sprint to the American dream.  

Just an idea, thats all it was.  Three more upgraded warehouses, world wide sales, and a company that is worth a lot of rubber band stacks has turned the dirt into gold, and a small idea into an empire.  They were dream chasers, now they are dream catchers.  They were broke, now they are rich.  They were employed now they employ.  They took a chance on their idea, and won.  They held tight to their hand full of dirt and never let it slip through their fingers.  

Here is a video of my mom describing the family business below.  A dirt to gold video.

A family that raised the Attitude Nation!  

Chase your dreams, and get your dirt!   2016

Kit Kat

The Song I wrote this blog to

What should I write about today?  What should I rant on about today?  Should I write a technique article, or a drink five monsters in a row article?  Should I talk about the second Attitude Nation Certification seminar that is taking place tomorrow, or will I just be beating a dead horse?  Donny is back, yes sir, Donny is back.  Take my hand and jump into my mind for a second. First drink this monster with me, chug with me, cheers with me, then smile and slap hands with me.

He walked into the front door and I jumped with joy.  A memory flashed through my head as I was walking through the gym to meet him half way.  Long strides with a smile on my face, long strides as I looked down at the ground excited to look up for the reunion.  Why do we do that?  Look down when we are walking to something important.  I guess it's the excitement we are to nervous to show others, so we bow our heads keeping our smile below our chin.  A memory about my father flashed through my head, cutting off my smile and slowing my walk down to a complete stand still..  A memory of me sitting cross legged on the floor with my sister watching the X Files flashed into my head like a teacher turning on one of those damn projectors.  Late at night, dark room, with the TV's glow covering my sister and I as if the TV was an alien space ship sucking us into its ship.  A big blue house in the country, a gravel bus stop, horses for miles, old rusty trucks and tractors that lay dead in the tall grass, and the common "mom, Jon is being mean!" line that my sister used quite often. A house full of life and love, a farm full of family and happiness, a time that my sister and I will never forget.  A support group that could take down a pro football team is what we were....well, and still are.  But this night was different, this night was like a dream that sticks with you for the next week or two.  A dream that sits on your back like a monkey from the zoo, hitting you over the head while your wife is trying to take a picture of you.  No mother in sight, not even a clue where should could be.  Lost in the always creepy and weird world of the X Files.  Sister by my side, even though I couldn't see her from the glare of the blazing TV light.  The door behind my sister and I opened, how we knew was simple, the door makes a screaming noise, and I could actually see my dad through the reflection of the TV.  Thank God the show had a dark scene so I could see him, if not the noise alone would have given me that fear of panic...you know, the instant reaction of looking for your mom, especially at that young age.  If you can't find her, well, then I think the next move is just to sit there and start crying. Right? My sisters pony tail hit me in the face from her turning her head so fast.  I then followed, starting to stand up before even getting my head all the way around to see him.  Watching TV too long, or playing a video game too long always gave me a "homesick" feeling.  An uneasy stomachache that put me far from reality. Once my dad walked in, that feeling vanished, the TV had lost me, I was no longer trapped in its bright light.  My sister beat me to him, hugging his right leg while she was somehow still able to jump up and down.  I followed like a sprinter taking second place, still happy, but jealous that he was already giving her the attention first....damn.  I held onto his left leg with my eyes closed, and my two feet standing on his one foot.  When I opened my eyes I saw a Kit Kat bar in my dad's big squishy bear paws, yes!  Kit Kat! Thanks dad!  My sister was even more happy and excited than I was.

Soon after the fighting got worse, and my parents got a divorce; but at that moment everything was perfect.  At that moment nothing else mattered.

I then shook Donny's hand and we began to lift weights.

I still don't know what to write about.  I don't even know what I just wrote.  Maybe tomorrow I will write something worth telling.  Today the Monsters and coffee combined took me down a road that has been grown over by tall grass and weeds.  A road less traveled.  One of those old memories that sticks with us for life, and we have no idea why.  Why that memory?  I am assuming there are many more that has escaped our memory. I guess we must hold on tight to the ones we still have.   

Good night, talk to you tomorrow.  Thanks for reliving a very great childhood memory with me.

I love you, dad.  I hope to someday see you again.   

Salute. Dad 2016   

"The Artist And The Olympian"

A short film called The Artist And The Olympian is in the process of being written and directed by Adam Scheiner.  Last night Adam sent me two awesome videos that had me jumping on the coach and swinging from ceiling fan to the hanging lights all around my living room like Tarzan throwing back multiple monster energy drinks. The first video is a update film for the fundraiser of "The Artist And The Olympian", featuring the Cal Strength Mafia and the legendary Dimas.  The second video is narrated by the director Adam, and goes into much more depth of what this movie will be about. I love both of these videos, and I am excited for the growth of our sport.  Plus I am very happy for my team mate and good friend Donny Shankle for landing the lead roll in this movie!  The Attitude Nation thanks you Adam Scheiner for the light you have shined on the most bad ass sport in the world!!  Salute!

Why a weightlifter?..........

The Story

Adam 2016

Run Danny

Chapter one

BW (Before Weightlifting)

He walked with pep in his step.  He wore his Bright Reebok clothing that made him feel athletic and fit.   His smile was of confidence and joy as he hopped down from his freshly washed truck.   His shoes were tied tight; vitamin water in his right and his salad in his left.  My cold Starbucks chair outside soon became warmer, as his glow of light from across the parking lot lit up the whole city.  The two white doves that flew right by him, gave him a corny chuckle and a” gosh darn those birds” fist pump.  His glowing shaved face got closer to our meeting point. He saw me drinking my coffee right outside the green jungle.  His open hand raised high in the air while his heels lifted off the ground onto his toes like a ballerina. His eyes opened as if lightning struck him from above, and he began to wave at me as if I couldn’t see him.   His walk was long and powerful, that created a gust of wind that hit me from his energy. 

He was so excited to start his first session with me; he was excited to become a weightlifter. What he didn't know was that soon his excitement was facing its last days.   My face was half cover by the shade, with my smile showing in the sun, and my sad frown being hidden in the dark.  He reminded me so much of myself when I first got into this sport.  His innocence and determination gave me a warm feeling that made me feel free again.   His arm stuck straight out like a soldier’s sword running at the enemy.  But this was no attack, just a much anticipated hand shake.   His grip was tight, and his eyes burned right through mine. 

Hopefully he saw the tears running down the left side of my cheek, so he could see what I Have turned into.  Don’t come any closer Danny Lehr, please run away.  He was blind from excitement, only seeing my USA weightlifting shirt, not the blood stains around it.  He saw my happy mask, not my sorrowed beat up face. 

My national gold medal looked intriguing to him, like a new drug you want to try for the first time, or the first time you fall in love on the football bleachers under the stars.  He had no idea what kind of world lived behind the gold medal, and what kind of creatures lurked in the darkness.  His mouth moved a thousand miles an hour, but I couldn’t hear a word he was saying.   It was like I was seeing my mother for the first time.  

I was drawn to his positive presence and enthusiasm.  I wanted to reach out and touch his face.   I am trapped in this dark symphony, screaming at him to save me, but he could only see my smile.   Why can’t he hear me?  Please Danny Lehr save me, and then run far away and never look back.  Every minute you sit with me, you fall further away from reality and deeper into my dark world.  You are not talking to me Danny; you are talking to a weightlifting slave that has trapped me for life.   Can’t you see! Can’t you see the black bird that sits on my shoulder?  Can you see that my coffee is red and not brown?  Your tree is green and blooming, mine is burnt and dark.  How can you not see the handcuffs I wear and the thorn in my heart? 

Please Danny Lehr, run away while you still can. 

Chapter Two

(AW) After Weightlifting

He walked with a limp, dragging his right foot behind him.  His loose gray sweat suit was stained with coffee and ketchup from McDonald's.  His eye lids were heavy, as they drooped down his face like window shades.  His presents was followed by a red sky, and a barbell tied to his ankle.  The black bird was now sitting on his shoulder, while he started mumbling to himself.  The mumbling is the first sign of insanity, and that’s when I knew I had ruined his life.  Danny’s five fingered shoes were now broken sandals that made a sound of a chain rather than a flop.  We made eye contact from a distance, but this time there was no wave of excitement.  Just a sad look, that spoke two words that said “save me”.   This time I was completely in the dark sitting in the chair outside the green jungle, and my half smile was now a sagging smile of hot dripping wax.  

I feel for him, I really do, but there is nothing I can do now, I already tried.  Every PR he gets he slips deeper into hell.  We are now brothers, we are now just alike.  The white dove’s now lay dead on the ground as he walked over them.   This time he had nothing corny to say, just a small ache in his lower back and shaky hands from his coffee withdrawals.  Now we can play together Danny, now we are best friends forever.  I wanted you to run and be free, but now that you are here I am happy.  We can train together and cry together.  We can play tag around the concert hall, while the others sleep.  Don’t worry Danny; I left the green light on in case they need to find us.   You are family now, and I will never let anything happen to you.  We will ride the monsters together and slap hands while the skeletons try to kill us.

See Danny your loneliness becomes your best friend, and your eyes will adjust to the dark over time.  Please trust me. It will make this a lot easier.  Danny stop looking around….there is no way out, now come help me lift this bar.  Danny to answer your question, the white eyes you keep seeing are the blog viewers who check up on us from time to time, don’t be scared, they are friends.  Now go back to your cell for the night Danny Lehr, we have a big day ahead of us.  And Danny………I know you miss your old life, family and wife, but your crying is keeping me up at night, so please keep it down.  Good night brother, and welcome to hell. 


Here Is a video of Danny Lehr in his new world of weightlifting attacking a PR.

Danny Lehr 2016