Human Flag Antarctica!

 HAPPY NEW YEARS FROM ANTARCTICA!

HUMAN FLAG OFF ALL 7 CONTINENTS ✅

Happy New Year 2023

 LA Fitness Scottsdale, AZ USA Late December 2:30pm

     It's the last bench press workout of 2022, always an exciting day and something I look forward to. It's many times been where I have hit a new one rep max, and the feeling leaving the gym with that is a timeless euphoria that never fades. But this time is different. I have 275lbs on the bar over my head. I have a great song playing, and my mind playing the year that just passed, and what a year it has been. I put my hands in the same exact spot on the bar I've been placing them for now more than 25 years. It goes up easily on the first, and pretty easy on the 2nd. A third? No. No need, and no purpose. 275 is by no means a new one rep max. In fact it's over 50lbs lighter than my best one rep max of 345 several years back. But I'm not sad, I still have the euphoria.... The gym high as Arnold calls it, and it's not because the 275. It's because I know there was a bigger purpose this year. In years passed I've done bulking, egg white loading, pretty much every supplement in the books, and a great deal of it worked a great deal to bring the bench press to over 300lbs easily, many, many times. But this season, it was of the utmost importance, not to lift heavy, and not to bulk. And it wasn't because of injury. It was because of the other thing I have wrote about many times here, the Human Flag.

Early Human Flag training

Port of Ushuaia, Argentina December 23rd 2:30pm

     The gym brought me here, I have no doubt in my mind about that. The gym changed my life when I started lifting with my Dad's old weight set in Brooklyn in 1997, and that same year on a cold winter's night, while walking down 3rd avenue in Bay Ridge Brooklyn I saw a place called Empire Fitness. The rest was history. The gym not only got me in shape, it brought me confidence, self-esteem, motivation, it brought me my career. After 9/11 I dropped out of college and left a career in a big advertising company. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. It was the friends, or really I should call them family of Empire Fitness that pushed me into becoming a firefighter. I would have never done it without them. Not a day goes by I'm not grateful for it.

     And then the Human Flag.... I don't know exactly where or how I learned about it, but I know I wanted to master it, which arguably I would say I never have. My record is maybe 10 seconds, while the world record is over 60. But it's not a failure, I still know I've achieved it, and it too has become a big part of my life. Somewhere along the way in my travels I started doing the flag for travel pics. Sometimes to maybe impress a girl, or a group, other times to mark the spot with something different than a normal travel photo. But somewhere along the way, I realized my Human Flag passport had grown. I had hung the flag in North and South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Then one fateful New Year's eve in front of the world famous Opera House in Sydney Australia. 2019. It was then I accomplished a big life goal to hang the flag on 6 of the 7 continents.... But I wasn't done.

     So here we are, the port of Ushuaia, I'm about to embark on a ship to Antarctica. The 7th continent. Can this be done? Can I hang the flag on all 7 continents? I mean, there's not really any poles down there unless we visit a science base? Maybe do it hanging off part of the ship in a safe area of course? Or maybe on the ice. The added challenge of weighted boots has been taken into account as I've been hanging the flag with my fire boots which should be around the same weight. So here goes nothing... From a cold winters night in front of Empire Fitness when I was a college drop out, broke and lost... To God willing, and everything else willing, I will hang the Human Flag on all 7 continents.

      One of my friends once asked me why I don't do an American Human flag on the 4th of July or similar.... I was happy to explain. The Human Flag, is just that, human. it doesn't represent a state or a nation, it represents something more powerful, the power of the human mind, the human body, and the human heart. That's more powerful, and more important than anything else. So... we set sail today. 2 days at sea, 8 or 9 days on the ice. And hopefully, with all the hope I have, a proper place to hang the flag on the 7th continent.

From "The End Of The World" Ushuaia, Argentina.... Happy New Year

Human Flag Las Vegas And The Fight Against Corona Virus

Las Vegas, NV USA
June 20th, 2020

       It was a hot June day in summer of 2020 (the year of the Corona Virus lock downs) as I approached the famous Las Vegas sign. I had been to Vegas a dozen times or so and never checked it out so me and my girlfriend decided to take a walk and pay homage to the historical sign, and of course if possible pop a Human Flag in front if the opportunity presented itself. I don't know if it was by chance or if a poll is always there, but the poll that happens to be there is a sign related to the 2019 Novel Corona Virus. There also weren't that many tourists around so I went ahead and popped a human flag in front of it.

        Walking back to the hotel I considered the irony of the photo. If you take a look on my right arm I have a face mask attached (I respected the 6 feet rule at all times, no one was around us for the photo as mentioned). We are in a time where something we can't see without a microscope is affecting everyone of us on this planet and everything we do. All 7.5 billion of us are to some degree affected by something we cannot smell, touch, feel, see, and certainly cannot understand. It's a horrible disease and horrible atrocities are coming of it from the people that cannot fight it.

     When I'm not hanging the human flag in various places in the world at my day job I have seen & treated my fair share of Corona patients. Both minor and of course in the worst states as well. It's a terrible disease that I think I can say now I know first hand. Ironically the poll I hung the flag on by the Vegas Sign said something about being lit up as a tribute to those suffering from the Corona Virus.

           

      And that's when it occurred to me, we are better than this thing. The Human Flag represents a lot more than a gym move. It represents the power of the human body, but more so the power of the human race, all 7.5 billion of us. So far in our lifetime we as a species have beat every disease that has come across our paths (although obesity is certainly gaining ground in some countries), we are stronger than this virus, and we are stronger together, as one against this virus.

      We will overcome this. It will not be a single country. It will not be the effort of one doctor, one scientist, but rather all hands on deck as we have already seen a profession such as grocery clerk rise above a profession of a rock star. It won't be an over night miracle, yet the countless efforts of all of us together, one body, one heart, one mind, as one flag, the human flag, and the human race.

From Las Vegas, USA to wherever you are in the world, 

stay safe, stay healthy & never give up hope for this world and our people.

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Obesity: An Epidemic More Dangerous Than The Corona Virus

     First and foremost, before I start the rant, Coronavirus is deadly, it is dangerous, and it is tragic. This article is in no way meant to disown that. My heart goes out to the survivors, the families of the lost, and of course the deceased. This is something no one would have ever wanted.

      Now that we got that out of the way.... As terrible as the virus is, I can't believe how little coverage as usual is being pointed at pre-existing conditions, one of those principally being obesity. According to this study nearly 300,000 die from obesity in US annually.  That is just the USA. As I have written about this before here, and this study as well here the worldwide estimates for obesity related deaths are up to 3.4 million in a given year. To put that in perspective at the time of writing this the current number of coronavirus deaths is about 200,000. Less than the total USA annual deaths from obesity, and only 5 percent compared to the world deaths from obesity.

     Now, we can argue that coronavirus is not a choice, and obesity in most cases certainly is. But we really don't need to, because as more and more studies are coming out, these two diseases are not separate warring nations fighting against each other on the battle grounds killing people, rather they are close allies, that are working together quite synergistic, and terribly deadly together.

     It is being highly reported that elderly are one of the main victims, but it's also being highly reported that underlying health problems are the other culprit in this pandemic. What bothers me, is that underlying health problems is the tip toeing, nice way of not touching on the real problem, obesity. Heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, to name a few big ones can be in many cases completely preventable with diet, nutrition, and exercise. Yet this is BARELY being mentioned.

     One of the scariest images I personally saw in this epidemic was the one below:

                           

      This grocery store was depleted of course of toilet paper, depleted of paper towels, frozen pizza, boxed foods, TV dinners, chips, and soda... But in this grocery store, and every single one I was in, the fruits and vegetable section were abundantly stocked well. My favorite meats were out of stock, but a nice chicken breast is easily ruined by frying it or adding too much to it.

     To me this shows the real problem in America, it's not the coronavirus or masks or toilet paper. It is our blatant disregard of health, diet, and exercise. I started this blog almost 10 years ago, and have been writing about this for 10 years, and even now in the face of the deadliest epidemics in our lifetime, we do not see the true disease being called out, and no plan to stop it.

      We will cancel concerts and festivals. Stores will restrict how much TP we buy. We will have police actually arrest and fine people for playing outside. We will close schools, retail stores, and of course gyms all for the "safety" of the American people. But for the last 25 or so years as obesity has been deadlier than any of this we make no measures to curb it, we don't close fast food chains, we don't encourage eating natural, we pump billions into pharmaceuticals to medicate our health problems, rather than solve our health problems. The death rate of coronavirus for a young or even middle age person healthy and in shape is painfully low, yet the death rate for obesity grows larger and larger with each passing year, and this year in addition to the estimated millions it will kill it has in no doubt aided the coronavirus in killing countless more.

      The coronavirus has hit us all hard, and their are well deserved fears that it can be here to stay or can come back again and hit us even harder. But it doesn't have to be this way. While there is a lot of crap on the internet about diet, there are also countless great places to read and learn, you have youtube to learn training, healthy eating, even healthy shopping. We have digital body fat scales, tape measures, fitness apps, calorie counting apps, step watches and more. While the coronavirus has broke us down on some level, it has never in the history of the world, been easier to come back stronger, and healthier than ever before.

           

     It's my hope and dream that tomorrow I will wake up and this was all a nightmare, life will be like it was a few months ago, I'll be heading to the gym as a dark memory fades into something that was just a dream... But a more realistic hope, is that this is the wake up call. This is the time we can turn around and know that obesity doesn't just cause chronic long term health problems, it also puts you at life threatening risks for something short term like COVID19. I hope that we can join together to help our weakest, and our most vulnerable people to come together as one and get in the best shape we can be in. So that we can wake up tomorrow, with or without coronavirus, and breathe the air of hope and joy as we would know that we have done everything in our power to be the fittest and healthiest we can be, and a little virus is not going to knock us down. My home workout tomorrow is dedicated to all those lost, but more importantly all those that are going to fight this, get healthy, and not be amongst lost. Thanks for reading.

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This article is solely opinion of the author and written for entertainment purposes only.

Consult a doctor or medical professional before beginning any fitness, diet, or weight training program.

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I Hung The Human Flag On 6 Of The 7 Continents

Sydney, Australia December 30th, 2018

     I landed and set foot upon the continent of Australia in the beautiful city of Sydney. It was my second time there, the first being 10 years prior before I discovered the human flag. Before I knew the power and meaning of the human flag. And of course, before I could do the human flag. I arrived mid morning as most international flights do. In order to save money I somewhat foolishly booked through a long connection in China. This means I was on a plane sitting for over 24 hours. The total was somewhere over 36 hours in transit from USA till Sydney. I checked into my hotel, suffice to say, I was tired. Resting however, was not an option. I was coming to explore the country and celebrate the start of 2019 in Sydney, but my time was limited to only 2 days there as I had already extensively explored that part of Australia. There were two things and two things only to do in Sydney, celebrate New Year's, and hang the human flag.

     Although it had been 10 years memory and google map research kicked in immediately as I arrived at the CBD of Sydney where the most iconic building the Sydney Opera House is located. I needed caffeine to make up for almost no sleep on the plane, I found an energy drink and began to close in to where I saw the Opera House. Leading up to the trip I had used street view to virtually walk around the area and I knew several potential areas where poles would be. Mind you, anyone that has hung the human flag knows that you can't just do it on any pole, my personal favorite is a thin bottom vertical bar with a horizontal bar on top, think metal fence. A pole that is too thick is hard to grip, a pole too thin will topple, especially with my weight (200lb/90kg that day).

     Suddenly I closed in, the Opera House, it was the day before New Year's eve, a minimum of 5,000 people had to be there, taking photos, enjoying wine, enjoying the ocean and beautiful Harbour Bridge.  But not me... all I wanted was the pole to hang the flag. I literally stopped and glanced at the Opera House and laughed as I gave zero shits about it for the current second. 5,000 people looking at one of the most marvelous buildings in history and I'm looking for a pole. 

     One more shot of espresso at a cafe and it was time (seriously I was tired!). I put on the MP3 player. U2's Love Is Bigger Than Anything In It's Way Beck Remix was the chosen track as it had carried me through the year of 2018. The pole that had looked too thick on maps suddenly in person became doable. I set the camera down on timer. I took a deep breath, in that breath the first broken half flag of 2012 came, the dream of hanging it everywhere came, first in the famous gym Muscle Beach Venice, California, then in the dangerous ghetto of Communa 13 in Medellin Colombia.. In front of the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, and in front of the Flame Towers of Baku, Azerbaijan. I don't know if I will ever set foot in Antarctica, it's close to $20,000 to get there, and I'm not really sure if I could find a pole or wall to do the flag, science base maybe? So the goal was 6 of the 7 continents, hang something that to me means the power of the human body and the human emotion. The human flag to me symbolizes that the human is more powerful than the flag of any nation, that we are all one human race, and that is more powerful than any nation, any religion, any race. It symbolizes that wherever you came from, whoever you are, whatever you are, we are all human and  we are all in this together. 

    I'll go out and address any keyboard warriors, my human flags are 2 to 10 seconds, I know this is NOWHERE near the record, I've done a human flag push up a few times, and I know there are people can do 10 to 20. My mission was never to be the best at the human flag, at my weight it's not in the cards, and I like lifting real heavy sometimes so leaning out to gymnast weight is not an option. The mission was about spreading the human flag, it's art, it's meaning, and it's beauty.

So late post, but from Sydney Australia to wherever you are, Happy New Year 2019 and may the human flag become a movement bigger than anything in it's way.

The other 5....

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