Back in 2011 I first went to the Arnold Sports Festival, affectionately know simply as “The Arnold,” and was in many ways awestruck. The event is huge and more over very crowded! I got it into my head that I wanted to go again this year. So, last Saturday off I went – along with a young man on my staff who has recently decided to give bodybuilding a try (and who, in my humble opinion, probably has better genetics and will power to succeed in bodybuilding than anyone else I’ve ever known – except for one other person who also, coincidentally, worked for me a few years ago. But, I digress…).
We got to Columbus without incident quickly found parking near the convention center and followed the crowd to the doors. There we found the convention center literally packed with people! I’ve seen smaller crowds at Big Ten football games. However, the event did not disappoint.
The Expo was the centerpiece of the day and there were plenty of supplement companies there. The ones you’ve heard of and ones you haven’t heard of. Compared to last time I noticed that there were fewer exercise equipment companies which was a shame since I’m not much into supplements anymore. The amateur bodybuilding finals were going on most of the day at one side of the Expo hall and the WWE “experience” crowded them in at the other. There were lines everywhere! So much so that we didn’t get much in the way of supplement samples – and I gave most of what I had away to my young protege (ha) since chocolate was the flavor of the day and I don’t do chocolate. The longest line of the day appeared to belong to Bodybuilding.com and a lot of people seemed willing to wait probably two or more hours to get a t-shirt and a picture with a celebrity or two. But, not us!
However, we met some famous people in the bodybuilding world include Ed Corney who competed until he was about 70 years old. An inspiration for us older lifters.
We broke away from the Expo a couple times to see some gymnastics, martial arts, boxing, almost saw fencing, artwork, and I caught a glimpse of the jump rope finals (yes, really). All for the $15.00 entry fee – and there was more going on in other venues around Columbus. This event seems to take over Columbus. I’m impressed with how many people it draws.
Oh, and the extrovert part of this? Despite my usually reserved nature around strangers my brother-in-law insists that I am an extrovert. Not because I am gregarious and outgoing (unless I know you) but because he has noticed over the years that I seem to be drawn to crowds and am energized by them. It was late afternoon at The Arnold while surrounded by a crush of humanity that I realized something. I felt good. I wasn’t tired and actually seemed more energetic than I was in the morning. This led me to think about the places I like to frequent in general, amusement parks, NYC, etc. and it dawned on me…son of a gun, my brother-in-law is right. I am an extrovert.
I hate when he’s right…
Oh, and I finally got my picture taken with Jay Cutler. I seemed to be the last gym goer on earth to not have a picture of him! Nice guy but by the time I got to meet him at the end of the day it was clear to me that he’s an introvert!
Onward!
Journeys With Dave 