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.

Quartering A License Plate

Quartering a license plate the hard way.

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!

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!

Sheared

Another way I like to tear phonebooks is with a shearing motion.

Shreaded

Earlier this week I was very fortunate to have a large quantity of new phonebooks given to me. As you can imagine I have been like a kid at Christmas with these, ha-ha. The first evening alone I went through ten of these books, just having some fun. Today, as part of my workout, I decided to do a quad vertical tear. I just kept ripping a piece off the book in between sets of my other exercises. Before I knew it, I ended up with five strips of this 1-5/8" thick Baltimore phonebook. Thanks Rena!

Vertical Tears

While working at the computer tonight I thought I'd have some fun with cards. Shown are a full sized deck and a mini deck of plastic coated playing cards torn vertically. They were lots of fun to do.

Performing

Here are a few video clips from a performance I gave this morning. Some of the other feats I performed while there were tearing phone books, tearing decks of cards - tore a deck hand cuffed as well, bent a horseshoe, and broke chain with my HAIR. The video was rolling and we captured this crazy #8 break, I ended up breaking a total of 27 links on this one! Stay tuned, this one will be on my upcoming DVD release - it's almost complete and you won't want to miss it!

New Years Eve Tearing

For the last workout of 2008, New Year's Eve, I thought I would tear 9 phonebooks to celebrate the coming of '09! Get ready everyone, BIG things are coming for the new year!

Tragic...

The Joker had seen me coming, then he met a "tragic" end.

Grip It And Rip It

One of the first things I am usually asked after someone learns I am a professional strongman is "can you tear a phonebook?". Yes, I can. Inevitably, the second question is "what's the trick?". My response? I am a strongman NOT a magician. If you are interested in viewing tricks and illusions, you are talking to the wrong Chris.

Now, if your interested in REAL feats of strength performed by a proven professional strongman, your in the right place. As you can see in the video, I just grab the book, squeeze tight, and pull. No fancy technique, no dried out books. It's just like my Mentor says, you just "grip it and rip it".

Plate Confetti

After the blog entry made by Grandmaster Strongman Dennis Rogers, I was approached about doing another multiple tear license plate for a private collection. This is the end result. It is a Pa plate that I tore into 52 pieces. The smallest tears were completed by pinching with only the index fingers and thumbs, then by using a motion similar to the way I tear cards.

A Visit to New Jersey

I recently visited with my friend Greg Matonick in New Jersey. Greg has been performing feats of strength for several decades and has been named "New Jersey's Superman" by ABC News. While there, one of the many feats performed was the tearing of a license plate. Check out the video above to see me in action.