Friday, July 24, 2009

A visit at the hospital with a "Strong" girl.

Me with Ali (green shirt), her roommate and other competitor. (5/21/09)
Ali flipping a 400 lb tire.
Ali trying to lap the 116 lb stone.
Ali with her 1st place trophy, and the Bulky Boy shirt/stickers I gave her.

On July 13, 2009 I was on a connecting flight in Phoenix. I received an email from a client, asking if I knew this young lady on a KOMO4 News video clip.

I opened up the email, and almost cried on the plane when I saw that on July 4th a boating accident had happened in Vantage, WA. A girl had her left leg cut off above her knee in that accident.

That girl's name was Ali McWeeney. I had met Ali earlier this year at a Strongman contest in Ellensburg, WA.

On May 21, 2009 I was the MC for the "Central Washington University's strongest man & woman" contest.

Ali was one of 4 girls that competed. She was a track athlete at the university, and threw discus, shot put and the hammer. She will be a senior this Fall. She did unbelievably well, and WON this contest. BULKY BOY was kind enough to have me donate a t-shirt to each class winner, along with some stickers for the students.

When I found out it was her, my heart just dropped. However, what stood out in that newsclip, was that she is ready to accept this challenge of rehab.

Here is a link to the news clip, after the accident:

This past Tuesday, I went up to Harborview Medical Center to visit Ali. She had no idea I was coming.

I got to the room, and she was shocked to see me and asked how I found out about the accident. Poor girl was so drugged up on painkillers because they had changed her dressings earlier that day. But, she was trying her best to stay up and talk with me.

I made her day when I gave her a contest t-shirt from my recent "Washington's Strongest Apple" contest, and told her that I hope to have her come by next year to watch it. She said, "Grant, I am going to compete in your show one year with my prosthetic leg!" Hearing that, just made me melt, and I am so glad that she has this spirit within her.

She even had 2 pairs of dumbbells by her bedside, so that she can do Incline Dumbbell presses in her bed and Bicep Curls. Ali even hopped off the bed on her one leg, and showed me that she was able to do some tricep dips on the chair in her hospital room.

With this kind of attitude, Ali will be able to recover quickly. It was so funny....she said, "Grant, I lost those Bulky Boy stickers you gave me at the CWU contest. I was so upset! Do you have any more? I want to put them on my wheelchair."

Don't you worry Ali. I'll get more stickers for you, and if you ever need any help, I will be there to help keep pushing you along.

HIGA MONSTER.

Washington's Strongest Apple 2

Jon Eklund (California), pressing a 209 lb Axle.

Two heavyweight competitors getting ready to pick up 287 lbs in each hand!
Group shot of some of the competitors.
Erick Rasmussen (Idaho), walking with 287 lbs in each hand.

Tyler Scott (Washington) vs Chris Roth (Oregon) in the keg load. That box is 50"tall!

Mahalo Bulky Boy! We all appreciate it!
Whats up Bulky Boy viewers? 
This is Grant Higa, the "HIGA MONSTER" with a little write-up of our recent Strongman contest we just promoted.

The "2nd Washington's Strongest Apple" was held on July 18, 2009. The location was the beautiful City of Des Moines Marina. This majestic setting is on the banks of the Puget Sound, with the Olympic Mountains in the background.

I had 39 amateur strongman competitors, including 2 women. They had 4 tests of strength.
TIRE FLIP (up to 775 lbs)
AXLE CLEAN & PRESS (up to 263 lbs)
FARMERS WALK (up to 287 lbs in each hand)
KEG LOAD (up to 290 lbs)

Big mahalo to Bulky Boy for designing the contest t-shirts! All of the competitors thought they were the SICKEST design they have ever seen!

I also bought some "SECURITY" shirts for my staff/loaders, so that the contestants knew that we are not to be messed around with. :)

Here is a video link to a media clip I had with the local NBC affiliate here in Seattle:

It was alot of fun doing that clip! Notice, I am wearing the "ICON" Bulky Boy shirt in that video. Gotta give the viewers a taste of what Bulky Boy designs look like, right?

Thank you again Bulky Boy for helping me out with this contest! You guys are the best! This show will be bigger & better in 2010!

Aloha,
HIGA MONSTER.