Last Saturday, May 19th, I embarked on a spur of the moment journey from Duluth, MN to Waterbury, Connecticut. For those of you who don’t know, my girlfriend and I have decided to move out to Waterbury, CT this fall to train with one of the world’s strongest men: Derek Poundstone, and his wife Kristin at their newly founded gym, the Poundstone Performance Training Center. Neither of us had ever been to Connecticut before this trip, and unfortunately due to logistical conflicts, only I would be able to make the trip.

The whole reason for this surprise adventure was an unexpectedly quick job interview opportunity with AmeriCorps. I had a phone interview for a position out there and was told that if I was selected to move on to the next round that I would have to come out for another interview. I expected this to be sometime in June and was (pleasantly) shocked when I received an email with two dates to choose from for the second-round interview which were about a week from that day. We immediately scoured the travel websites trying to book a reasonably-priced flight from Minnesota to Connecticut. I discovered, after a brief time, that this was just not happening with such short notice. As a current AmeriCorps VISTA, my $800/month stipend wasn’t going to cover a $750 flight/rental car package plus gas and food.

I was in a bit of a pickle as I tossed around how I was going to make this happen without draining our savings. I decided to roll the dice and send my Dad an invitation to join me on an epic week-long road trip out East….the next week. I figured the odds were pretty slim, but he got back to me right away and said he’d check his schedule. After moving a few meetings around he was in! Talk about having family support 🙂

I left Duluth on Saturday, stayed at my parents’ house near Green Bay, WI for the night and on Sunday morning, the journey began.

Eagerness, anticipation, nervousness…..none of these words come close to describing how I was feeling as we made our way East in my trusty 2008 Toyota Yaris Hatchback.

The miles went flying by as we drove over 750 miles on our first day and stayed in the quaint little town of DuBois, PA. If you ever find yourself in DuBois, PA, stop by the DuBois Diner for breakfast. You won’t be disappointed. Also, watch out for dinosaurs. (I guess you’ll have to go to DuBois now to find out what I mean).

Our first destination was New Haven, CT. That was the location of the job interview on Tuesday afternoon. I went in feeling confident that I could handle whatever they threw at me and left feeling like I had done just that. I’m excited at the possibility of working with AmeriCorps out there and believe that I could really fit in well with their goals. After the “work” part of the trip was over, it was time to drive the 30 miles north to Waterbury and ground my dreams in reality.

Contrary to the gritty, “concrete jungle” feel of Bridgeport and New Haven, Waterbury was lush and green and reminded me a lot of Duluth actually. It was a nice surprise. Keep in mind I had decided to move there without any idea of what it actually was like. When we tracked down the location of the gym, behind an old auto parts store, I could feel my heart in my chest. My girlfriend and I had been stacking all our eggs in this basket for the past few months and I was going there alone, to determine if this was really what we’d dreamed up or if it was a huge mistake. No pressure 😉

As we pulled into the driveway, the first thing I saw was two huge dudes, one doing tire deadlifts in the parking lot and the other giving him tips. The one deadlifting, I didn’t recognize, but the guy next to him was the one and only, Derek Poundstone. I had seen Derek twice before, but always on a stage and at a distance. We had never actually met. Again, I had placed all my hopes and plans for the foreseeable future on this guy being a nice guy who would be willing to let me train at his facility. He was nice in his emails, but what if he was an asshole in real life?

That fear couldn’t have been further from the truth. He recognized me right away and even though I interrupted his workout, he made sure to greet my Dad and I and to make us feel welcome. Kristin also came over and greeted us. She was as warm and welcoming in real life as her emails suggested she would be. Derek suggested we go check in to our hotel and come back for a workout. I of course was ecstatic at this idea, but then realized i hadn’t eaten in 6 or 7 hours and had been sitting in a car for the majority of the last 3 or 4 days. So then I got nervous about looking like a 90-lb weakling at my hero’s gym.

I told my Dad we had to get some nutrients in my system quick otherwise I’d be too weak to train. After downing a protein bar and a quart of whole milk, I felt a bit, just a bit, more prepared.

We got back to the gym and I realized that this equipment was nicer than anything I’d ever used and actually quite out of my league at that moment. The gym is filled with Sorinex brand racks and benches and an amazing collection of strongman implements such as logs, stones, kegs, and yolks. In my pathetic little 24hr facility in Duluth I regularly feel like the strongest guy in the room, but here, in such great company, I felt positively tiny and inexperienced. (When Derek was describing the quality of the equipment, he casually mentioned that he dumped a 900-lb squat on one of the racks without it even denting). I figured I would just do a simple, basic workout of squats, bench, and pull ups. These are staples in my routine that I’ve done for a long time and I was less likely to screw them up than trying to hoist a log with no prior experience. Mind you, this felt like a second job interview, like I was being analyzed to see if I was worthy of training in such a marvelous place. This was mostly my imagination, but I later learned that they were watching closer than it appeared.

….Predictably, the nervousness got to me and my 315 lb squats looked woefully sad. I came up on my toes and leaned forward and back. It was as if all my training and preparation had gone out the window and I was back to fumbling around with 135 on the bar. My bench press was a little better, but I still felt awkward and weak. At least I had good old pull ups to boost my fragile ego. I got 16 reps on my first set and felt good.

Even though my first workout experience was awkward and kind of sad, I fell in love with the facility and can’t wait to train there regularly, familiarize myself with the equipment and use it properly to take my training to previously unfathomable levels.

As my lifting session came to a close, I figured my time with the Poundstones had ended for this trip. Much to my surprise they asked if we wanted to meet them for dinner. At this point it didn’t seem like I was existing in reality anymore. Why on earth would the Poundstones want to have dinner with me? What did I do to deserve this honor?

Dinner was a fantastic experience. We talked about training and life and he and my Dad talked about police work. We spent almost 2 hours getting to know each other a little better. It was at this point that it finally clicked in my head that these two were just people, not so different from my girlfriend and I. The only thing separating them from most other people I meet is that they have stayed true to their dreams and goals and have gone after them with every fiber of their being. As I sat there eating my lamb gnocchi, I knew that I too had the stuff within me to succeed at the game of life. In fact, just taking this giant leap and moving out East to chase opportunity is the most important step I could take toward realizing my goals in life.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of comfort. I am comfortable in Duluth, MN. I’ve put in my time getting to know the area and making new friends. I have established connections here with employers and professors. It would be easy to stay here and lead a comfortable life. But at what cost? I would be selling myself, and my girlfriend short on our ambitions and dreams. Things don’t just happen. You have to make them happen. Derek and Kristin, thank you for encouraging us to take this leap and supporting us in our transition. Mom and Dad, thank you for supporting my decision to move my life halfway across the country and try my hand at a crazy dream. And to my love, thank you for always giving me that extra push to take the steps necessary to achieve these goals. Without you, I’d be lost. This summer, I will train harder than ever to prep myself for Connecticut. The saga begins……