30 Oct The Wheelbarrow

By: Adam Driggers/Team Samson

I started Team Samson in 2003, from that time, until now, I’ve only kicked one guy out. There have been others who have come and gone, asked to return, and weren’t allowed, but only one has been asked to leave. I don’t charge anything at my place. There aren’t any membership fees or team dues. I occasionally ask for help when I’m replacing something, but that’s rare. I’m saying all this so that I can set up the following story without sounding like a complete asshole.

[wa-wps]

I had a guy in my gym who pushed my patience for almost the entire year and a half  that he was a member. I could tell story upon story about this guy, but that would be pointless. The guy was a pain and needed to leave. He wasn’t just a problem for me, he was a problem for everyone. Not only was he ignorant, he was dangerous as well. Missed spots and incorrectly loaded bars happened regularly with him.

There was a point that I couldn’t handle it anymore, and I asked him to get his stuff and leave, which he did without complaint. I’m pretty sure he knew it was coming. A few weeks later, a mutual friend came to visit and train. While he was there, he delivered a letter from the guy I had kicked out, asking me to give our friend a few items that he had left at my gym.

Let me give you some background here. My gym is at my home in a rural area, so we go piss outside. However, if someone needs my restroom, they’re welcome to use it. This rarely happens. I think most people would rather not because they have more respect for my family than to use it for anything but an absolute emergency. Not this guy though. I let him use it one time and it became an everyday occurrence. One time he used it twice in one training session. I finally had had enough and told him that he couldn’t use it any more. I told him to bring some toilet paper and hit the woods if he needed. And so he did.

Back to the main story. One of the things this guy left behind was a partial roll of toilet paper. It was on his list of things to be returned. Maybe I reacted harshly, but this didn’t sit well with me. This guy had trained at my house for eighteen months without a penny asked of him and he was asking me to return a partial roll of toilet paper. When I read it, I said nothing. Our mutual friend was embarrassed. You could see it in his face.

Without a word, I walked to my shed and grabbed a few things. Gas, a wheelbarrow, and a lighter. When I returned, I gathered the things that he wanted: a pair of wood platforms that he put his feet on to bench, a pair of wrist wraps, and that partial roll of toilet paper I spoke of earlier.

Everything went into the wheelbarrow except for the toilet paper. I used the gas to soak everything and then I lit the toilet paper on fire and tossed it in the wheelbarrow. I told our friend that when it was finished burning, he could take what was left.

I know it sounds harsh, however, I was offended that a guy, who trained for free for such a long time, would ask for such an insignificant thing to be returned. I could lie and tell you that it didn’t make me feel better, but it did.

Moral of the story? Well, I guess there is no moral of the story.

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Team Samson Powerlifting

Team Samson was founded by Adam Driggers who built the Team Samson compound. Some of the biggest names in powerlifting have trained with Team Samson including Dondell Blue, Al Caslow, and Gary Frank. What began as a small group of members has grown into an accomplished team of lifters that continue to chase after new strength gains. Team Samson is made up of pro lifters Brian Carroll, Clint Smith, and Jonathan Byrd along with lifters in various stages of their lifting career including Adam Driggers, Keith Price, Filipe Gusmão, Mike Holman, Paul Key, Shane Ford, Shane Shepperd, and Tony Garland.

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