Announcement

Hello, As you can see by the posting dates I have not been very active on this Blog account. I would like to let you know that I have been directing my efforts to my other websites and invite you to visit them.

http://www.strongmanchrisrider.com

http://www.handbentdesigns.com

Check back with these sites regularly as I have a lot of new content being added as well as a shopping cart featuring strongman souvineers such as adjustable wrench pen holders, horseshoes twisted into hearts, T-shirts, and my limited edition series of framed and un-framed prints that feature my steel bar sculptures to name a few. I am also working on several DVD projects, some of which are in collaboration with Dennis Rogers and 88 Pound Productions.

If you have any questions for me or would like to schedule an appearance, performance, or personal / group coaching session in regards to Oldetime Strongman direct your email to chris@strongmanchrisrider.com .

Thank you and best regards,
Chris

Notching

Having fun tearing phone books in all sorts of ways. Here is a 1-3/4" thick book with two notches in the top and one in the bottom.

Horseshoe Fish

Another one of my designs.

Remembering A Legend

I received a call earlier today to let me know that "The Great" Joe Rollino has passed. I feel fortunate to have known Joe, and to have heard his incredible stories. He will be missed. Joe was 104 years old.

Tearin' 'Em Up

I have been enjoying tearing all sorts of phone books from around the world, and thought I'd share a few of them here. This video opens up with me doing a "Grip-n-Rip" style tear ,Ala Dennis Rogers, LEFT handed. As one of my favorite movie quotes mentions, "no, I'm not left handed". LOL! After that is a series of right handed "G-n-R" tears with books from around the States and the world. Notice the clean, straight tear line in the book - a sign of legitimacy in tearing phone books.

Sometimes They Break

I've bent quite a number of this particular brand and style of hammer and they had all bent really nice...until this one.

Quartering A License Plate

Quartering a license plate the hard way.

Powerful Message

"Against the grain should be a way of life. What's worth the prize is always worth the fight." Powerful message right there, thanks Nickleback.

StrongMan Monogram

A pair of 1/2" x 23" hex bolts.

From A Filming Session

Here are a few of the feats I performed for a recent filming session in North Carolina with "Pound for pound the worlds strongest man" Dennis Rogers and Aaron "Mighty Mac" McKenzie.

The bolt on the left is 3/8" thick by 7-1/2" long and I bent this in a manner known as unbraced. Basically what this means is that the piece is bent only by the hands - no bracing on the legs or other objects.

The bolt on the right is 3/8" thick by 11" long and this time I performed what is known as braced bending where I pushed the bolt down over my thigh and then supported my wrists with my legs to do the final crush on the now "S" bolt with my hands.

In the center is a pair, yes a PAIR of #2 horseshoes. I duct taped them together and bent them with my hands while the shoes were braced against my leg. Once the two shoes were taped together they measured 5/8" wide by 5/8" thick. That was a fun bend for sure.

When the video footage of these bends is made available I'll post an update for where they can be seen.

Chris Rider, Dennis Rogers, and The Mighty Mac

Being a performing strongman I get to travel all over demonstrating my feats. This past weekend I went to North Carolina for a show with my mentor Dennis Rogers. While there we met up fellow strongman Aaron "Mighty Mac" McKenzie. After the show was over we went back to Mac's house to do some strength feat filming, I'll post a few of the things I did there in the next update.

I did want to mention for those who aren't familiar with Mac one of the many things he did. I had found some really nasty decks of Bicycle brand playing cards - actually they were the hardest "Bike's" I've ever come across. Well, I handed a deck to Mighty Mac and told him what they were and in no time at all he handed them back not only torn in half but torn into quarters. Dennis had named him the world's best card tearer last year and I fully agree! Great job my friend!

A Signature Feat Of Strength

Here I am performing one of my signature feats of strength at the 2009 A.O.B.S. strongman reunion. Barehanded bending a solid steel framing hammer into a “S” shape after the formal festivities were over. Commentary by “Stanless Steel”. Thanks for the video Dan Cenidoza.

"S"ocket Extension

Not too long ago I performed for my brothers 40th birthday party. Among the many items that I used in my demonstration was a socket extension bar. After the show we were talking about the different feats I had performed and my brother said how he thought one of those extensions would look really crazy in an "S" shape. Of course I agreed, and here's the result. What do you think Craig?

Something New

While out shopping yesterday I came across these 4" adjustable wrenches. Immediately I thought "that would look cool bent", so of course I had to get one. Notice how the wrench bent right on the end, that makes a lot more difficult when they do that.

Nasty Handful

These books are 2-1/4" thick while measuring only 5-7/8" across. They are a nasty handful to tear in half. Really fun books, thanks again Joy!

CHI USA Grand Opening

Thursday I was in Houston Texas performing with my mentor Dennis Rogers for the grand opening event at CHI USA. In this photo Dennis and I are standing with Farouk Shami, Founder and Executive Chairman of Farouk Systems, Inc.

It was great performing for the thousands in attendance at this special event. Thank you Dennis, John, and Farouk!

For The Scouts

Here I am getting ready to roll up a frying pan for the scouts at day camp.

F-911 Bolt

The following information is directly from the manufacturer of these bolts.

"In the past, 8640 alloy was used in the manufacturing of only the most critical Aerospace and other special High Strength requirements. Now everyone can have this Superior Quality and Strength, with the "Off The Shelf" F-911 Hex Cap Screws and at prices comparable to other so called "Grade 9" bolts. What does 8640 Alloy offer? For starters, up to 50% more Chromium content and the substantial addition of Nickel, the ingredient that makes this Alloy tough. With higher Rockwell Hardness that the F-911 specification requires to achieve an over 190,000 P.S.I. Tensile Strength average, only 8640 Alloy can reach these lofty goals with superiority."

They are most definitely, in my opinion, an extremely high quality and high strength piece of hardware - fun bend!

Nasty Little Phonebook

This book was particularly nasty to tear due to it being 2-1/4" thick and only 5-7/8" wide. I only had room for a couple of fingers of each hand on this book. That was a fun one!

3/8" x 7.5" Bolt "Short Bend"

I've been posting pictures of some of the bolts I've been bending lately and thought I'd put up a video to go with them. Here I am bending a 3/8" x 7.5" bolt with an overhand grip.