Planes, Photos, and Wussy Behavior
My weekend re-cap complete with bullet points!
“There’s not enough weight on the bar, Lou. I’m going to look like a pussy.â€
1 minute later:
“Hurry! Take the goddamned picture! There’s too much fucking weight on the bar, Lou.â€
Ego vs. muscle fatigue was the name of the game on the photo shoot for my book, Built for Show. And muscle fatigue always won.
Random Tips and Thoughts from my Pennsylvania Trip:
- I can finally say “My publisher is meeting me at the shoot†and actually not be lying. The same goes with “My agent is working on it.†So far I’m unsuccessful with “My people will call your people.†(Of course, I said this all on a 2 minute phone conversation with my mom. She was unimpressed.)
- Facial expressions matter. When you’re performing a barbell clean-pull, for example, you can not have serial-killer eyes. Or rapist eyes. Or deer caught in the headlight eyes. Apparently I had all three.
-Brian, the photo assistant, looked an awful lot like Sam Beam from the band Iron and Wine. I tried to give him a guitar. He refused.
- Shaving your forearms will make you look more defined. It will also make you feel like less of a man. Both are necessary while under the tutelage of Lou Schuler.
- If you have a J-Lo style rump, you’ll look like you have some serious lower-back issues and will be unable to “keep a straight line†while doing a plank. You will also want to punch the next person who says “junk in the trunk†right in the trachea.
- The same goes with a push up.
- Hot water automatically increases in temperature by 10 degrees when you turn on the whirlpool jets in your hotel room and will cause you to shriek like a little girl, scaring the maid outside your door. At least that’s what I’ve been told.
- Adam Campbell, the features editor of Men’s Health, can drink 3 glasses of red wine in under an hour and is way too smart and cool for his own good. (Brownie points!)
- Although he says he doesn’t notice beautiful girls, Lou will “head to the bathroom,†by taking a detour to the table next to us and will begin chatting up four gorgeous girls, one of which has a baby, which Lou uses to his advantage to break the ice: “Well, my daughter…†Adam and I will roll our eyes.
- Jumping up to grab the rim on the basketball hoop on the other side of the gym is a good way to both feel cool and get yelled at for engaging in an activity that could lead to twisted ankles.
- Megan (pronounced “Mee-gan) Newman, my editor from Avery publishing, knows the difference between a cover shot that will “sell books†and one that will “make my mom smile.†They are not one in the same.
- Putting Lou on the cover of a book is also not a good way to sell said book. (That’s straight from him.)
Thanks to Lou, Megan, Michael Tedesco, Robin, Brian, Adam, and the guys at Velocity. And thanks to the magazine rack in the Seattle airport that made me feel cool and may have even impressed the 50-year old lady standing behind me.
Comments for This Entry
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Nice post nate, congrats on your book deal, you gotta be feeling awesome every day. Keep up your positive energy and great momentum!
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I'm sorry, but did you describe your own ass as "J-Lo style?"
I think there are a million-and-one ways to say that that are much less, uh, fruity. :)
Sounds like you had a blast, though. I wish I'd been able to do cool shit like that when I was your age...
Jeff
COMMENT RULES: Critical posts are fine, but if you're rude I'll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your personal name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. But most of all, have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Tim Ferriss for the inspiration.)
Kenny 2:19pm Mar 24, 2008