Raleigh Local Music

I just created the blog, Raleigh Local Music, out of my frustration due to the lack of support for original, hard-working local music in the Triangle. Stay tuned for more information

Third Friday Durham at Kung Fu Tattoo

On Friday, May 15, Kung Fu Tattoo hosted its first ever Third Friday Durham art exhibition. The event showcased the works of local artists Jason Strutz and Franco. Kung Fu Tattoo was the first stop on the Third Friday route, which winds its way through Downtown Durham and the surrounding vicinity. Third Friday events are free to the public and showcase the Bull City's cultural scene. Kung Fu will host its next Third Friday Durham event on June 19.



Following is a video highlighting Friday's event. More than 50 visitors came and went throughout the evening, enjoying refreshments, the work of some of Durham's talented artists, and many got a chance to speak with the artists themselves to discover where they get their inspiration and learn their thoughts on the blossoming Durham art scene.

Downfall makes the 96 Rock Garage Band contest semifinals

In what turned into a mad rush to prep three songs - yeah three - 96 Rock let us know on Saturday that we had been selected to the 96 Rock Garage Band contest semifinals. They then informed us on Monday (yesterday) that the semis will be held on Wednesday (tomorrow) at the Carolina Ale House in Cary. We were told that there would be three bands performing form 8-11, so we figured we had six songs or so to perform. That would give us enough time to set up, play and set down. Nope. We were then informed that we'd be allowed to perform three songs. That's it. Under normal circumstances, meeting at the studio, loading equipment, driving to a venue, loading in, playing three songs, loading out, driving back to the studio and unloading - all for an unpaid gig - would have been out of the question; however, 96 Rock has provided us with some incentive.

The 96 Rock Garage Band contest asked Triangle-area rock n roll bands to submit demos. From those submissions, nine bands were selected by 96 Rock staff & area music "people" as semifinalists. For each the next three weeks, three bands will perform a three-song set at one of the area Carolina Ale Houses. The three finalists - one from each night - will battle it out for the finals during a show at the Lincoln Theater. One winning band will be chosen that night, and the winners will receive eight hours of studio time at Osceola Music, $125 worth of Carolina Ale House gift certificates, $500 worth of music gear and - best of all - an opening slot at one of this summer's Raleigh Downtown Live shows.

If you have some free time tomorrow night, come check out the show from 8-11 at Cary's Carolina Ale House and show your support for Downfall.

As always, please check out are music and tell your friends - Downfall on MySpace Music.

A Penguins fan in Canes country

Well, it’s finally here; the NHL Eastern Conference finals. And, in an exact chain of events, the match up will be between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Carolina Hurricanes. I’m a Pittsburgher - born and raised - and therefore, by definition, an unwavering Penguins fan. As luck would have it, life has me currently residing in the home of the ‘Canes, Raleigh North Carolina. In all sincerity though, if I had to be living in the city of the enemy for any part of any sports playoffs, I’d probably pick the one I’m in. Suicide would be a better option than living in Philadelphia or Manhattan during a Pens/Flyer or Pens/Rangers series. Even Boston would be hard to handle. But I’m here in the heart of the Triangle, and it’s really not such a bad place to be.

I attended the very first Carolina Hurricanes home game. It was October 1997, and the Canes opened their inaugural season at the Greensboro Coliseum against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Stationed at Fort Bragg, NC, I made the hour-long trip to Greensboro with two Army buddies who were also from Pennsylvania. The attendance for that first game was somewhere around 5,000 with 2/3 of the crowd proudly sporting Penguins gear. There was also a spattering of Whalers sweaters. The center-ice sponsor for that game was John Deere, and during the second intermission, Jeff Burton’s NASCAR racer was driven onto the ice. I remember looking at my buddy and saying, “This is never going to work.”

12 years does a lot for a team, and with the help of a Stanley Cup championship, the Canes have come into their own right as a serious hockey team, and – as a Raleighite for the past two years – I can honestly say their fans have come into their own as well. The handout at the first Canes game – along with the program – was a fold-out chart explaining the basic rules and the refs’ calls. Those first attendees didn’t know the difference between hooking and high-sticking, and explaining icing or – God help me – a two-line pass was an all-evening affair. Today, you’d be hard pressed to find a serious Hurricanes fan who can’t give you the stats of the leading goal scorers and assist men, not to mention his opinion on who belongs on whose line and the differences between the ways the Canes play the trap on each of their division rivals. Raleigh has slowly but surely (and I can’t say when it happened) become a hockey town.

It’s no Detroit or Philadelphia or Pittsburgh for that matter, but the Triangle has shed its Mayberry image – at least in the hockey world – and is proving that its team and its fans are the real deal. I even know a former Pittsburgh fan (or two) who now flies the storm warning flag from her vehicle, and I can’t help but think there’s some foul play at work when I look up and see Ronnie Francis’ number hanging from the rafters or stop and think that one reason Cam Ward has been en fuego this season is because he’s studying under the tutelage of the man who brought two Cups to Pittsburgh in the 90s. Even Bill Cowher - the guy who runs a vey close second only to Jesus Christ in the minds of Steel City residents - has been seen buddying it up to Paul Maurice. I guess if you’re going to model your hockey club after another great team, you might as well pick one with the same set of values and ideals as what you strive to become.

Tonight begins the NHL Eastern Conference finals (and how proud Mama Staal must be). While I can guarantee that none of my Penguins sweaters will be spending much time in the closet this series, I’ve also accepted the fact that my current circle of friends ensures I won’t be immersed in a sea of Black & Gold for most of this series. As I’ve become aware of twice already this season, I’ll also be a member of the minority at the RBC Center on Saturday and next Tuesday when I attend as a representative of the enemy.

Kung Fu Tattoo Hosts Its First Third Friday Event

Press Release from Kung Fu Tattoo re: Third Friday Durham

Kung Fu Tattoo Hosts Its First Third Friday Event

Durham, NC (May 5, 2009) – Kung Fu Tattoo, located at 1003 W. Chapel Hill St. in the heart of Durham, will host its first official Third Friday Durham event. The event is an exhibition of the works of local artists Jason Strutz and Luis Franco and takes place on May 15, 2009 from 7-10pm. Kung Fu Tattoo will be the first stop on the Third Friday route, which winds its way through Downtown Durham and the surrounding vicinity. Third Friday events are free to the public and showcase the Bull City’s cultural scene.

“We’re proud to be a part of this year’s Third Friday series,” said Kung Fu Tattoo owner Tim Lind. “We love the spirit of Durham and feel like hanging works done by local artists is a perfect way to celebrate that spirit.“

About the Artists:
Luis Franco's work is an illustration of American urban realism executed with a digital medium. Much of his work deals with class and race issues. Many of his thought-provoking images center around the iconic fist hair pick symbolizing the ‘70’s theme of peace, love and revolution. For more information, visit www.francoproject.com.

Jason Strutz illustrates stories that do and do not exist. Both memories and nightmares come alive on his canvases. His works are more than art, but adventure by oil and acrylics. For more information, visit www.StrutzIllustration.com.

About Kung Fu Tattoo:
Kung Fu Tattoo is the Triangle’s premier custom tattoo parlor and piercing studio. Kung Fu’s staff are dedicated, professional artists and piercers, committed to providing clients with the best in design, application and care of their tattoos and piercings. Kung Fu Tattoo strives to provide every client with truly one-of-a-kind work in a comfortable, unpretentious atmosphere. For more information, visit www.kungfutattoo.com.

About Third Friday Durham:
Third Friday Durham occurs each third Friday of the month from 6-ish to 9-ish. Art openings, exhibits, concerts, readings, dance, music, happenings- if we consider it culture in the Bull City, it's happening on some Third Friday in the general downtown-ish area. Durham - where "ish" is the rule. For more information, visit www.thirdfridaydurham.com.

###

Supplement review: MHP Dark Rage/Dark Matter Stack

I’m a serious bodybuilder, as some of you probably know. I know what works and what doesn’t. I’ve waded my way through the BS of the supplement marketing machine, and I think I’ve come out the other side with an effective, streamlined bodybuilding arsenal. But the truth is I always haven’t been like that. Like most other training newbies, I spent the first couple of years wasting a lot of time in the gym. I also spent those couple of years wasting money on ineffective, hyped-up supplements “guaranteed” to get me swoll up like Jay Cutler or Ronnie Coleman. I’ve thrown almost-full bottles of pills and tubs of powder away because it didn’t take me long to realize I’d been had. Now my cash only goes to the tried-and-true core supplements. Obviously, that’s a pretty smart way to approach my bodybuilding nutrition plan, but it’s not that easy. Just as the human body grows accustomed to a training routine and begins to plateau, so it does to the supplements you’re relying on to grow. Most pros and trainers will tell you to switch up your exercise routine every six to eight weeks, but no one ever tells you to switch up your supplement intake.

For the past three years, I’d been relying on Universal Nutrition’s hardcore bodybuilding stack – Animal Pump, Animal Stack and Animal Pack as my pre and post-workout supplements and my multi-vitamin, and they’d been having some killer effects on me. They had always given me the intensity I needed to push that extra bit in the gym. During my last cycle, for the first time in three years, it just wasn’t there. I could tell it was time for a change, so after extensive research and testimonials from other pros, I decided to give MHP’s Dark Rage & Dark Matter a try. I won’t go into the details, ingredients, etc. in the stack, but if you care to see for yourself, click the link at the top of this page. I’m simply going to give you the details of my personal experience during the first few times I take the stack.

Dark Rage:

Designed to give you intense pumps and energy throughout your workout, this supplement 100% lived up to its name. Mixed with 20oz of water, I downed this drink on the way to the gym. I finished it as I was pulling into the parking lot, 20 minutes after I left the office. OK, first observation: It tastes like crap. I got the Cola Fizz flavor, thinking it would be a good change from the orange, grape or cherry that you usually get from pre-workout drinks. OK, bad idea. I mean, it is a supplement, so you can’t expect it to taste all that great, but I expected a little more. Anyway, before I even pulled into the gym, it started to hit me. It really gets the blood flowing, not necessarily in a good way, but very effective. Once it kicked in, it quickly elevated my heart rate and I could feel mu skin warming up. Once I got changed and began my workout though, it was a completely different story.

Every set was freaking insane. My lifts were stronger and more intense. The downside was I had to sit down after each set out of fear that I might fall over. At first, I thought it was a chemical reaction to the ingredients, but I later realized my light-headedness was simply the result pushing my body so hard. The other effect, either from some reaction or again just because I was working out so hard, is that I was sweating profusely. I’m not a sweater, but I was dripping 15 minutes into my workout. Because of this, I was making a trip to the water fountain after every second set. I didn’t mind though because I definitely needed the rest.

I started my workout today with quads, and although this week is my light week (light being a very relative term), I still had some great pumps. The downside is there’s no pushing for that extra rep. It’s 100% from first rep to last, and that last rep doesn’t end until the muscle has nothing left to give. Shoulders were next. I usually get a really good shoulder pump naturally, and it wasn’t any more intense than usual; however, the pump was still there 45 minutes after I got home.

Overall, I think Dark Rage has to get the highest possible rating from me. Yeah, its effects caught me off guard, but I should be used to them after a few workouts. A lot of bodybuilding supplements say “For serious athletes only,” and – until now – I never took that warning seriously. I will say though, if you’re not ready for this, stay away from it.

My rating: ★★★★★

Dark Matter:

Dark Matter is a post-workout recovery mix that combines Waxy Maize with protein and BCAAs. Since there’s really not a noticeable physical reaction to taking it, I won’t be able to truly judge its effectiveness for a week or so. Stay tuned for the review.

Old Harleys & New Cowboy Boots

I'm in the process of putting together a new blog post about my love for motorcycles. I sent an email to my dad the other day and asked him if he'd please send some photos of his old bikes, my old bikes, some photos of me in my first attempts as a flat-track racer, and the one specific photo of Jay Springsteen and me at the Parkersburg 1/2-Mile when I was 1o years old.
During this past year, he has moved to his cottage at the lake full time, and he said it would take him a while to dig those things out and get them to me. He told me that, while he's looking, I better make sure to include this little story in my blog. I definitely don't remember this day, but it's one thing he says he'll never forget...

"Your first experience with motorcycles goes like this: I was in your grandmother's garage on Bluff St. changing the oil in my 64 Sportster. You came in with a brand new pair of cowboy boots on. I told you to sit on the chair next to me and the bike while I changed the oil. I left you alone for less than a minute, and when I returned you had jumped off of the chair and were standing in the pan of oil I had just drained from the bike. I guess ever since then you've had Harley oil in your veins...Love dad."

No matter what it is, you have to get it from somewhere.

AMA Pro Racing: Road Atlanta Part Two

Although, of course, we did have a good time at the track on Friday, Saturday it was for real. We made it to the track during Daytona SportBike practice, and although it was early when we pulled in, it was still blatantly obvious that there were far fewer fans than last year and even less than the year before. In complete contradiction though, less than an hour later, an announcement came over the PA that Friday’s attendance had broken the previous record. I somehow found that very hard to believe. We grabbed a Bratwurst in vendor village and walked to the Cycle Nation tent to get Jen a Yamaha sweatshirt (she is now officially a Josh Hayes fan, by the way). I found what I believe to be the last Regis Laconi Fila Ducati 1:12 WSBK model on the planet, and snagged that for my toy collection. We did one early paddock cruise and then caught the shuttle to Spectator Hill for the opening ceremonies while the fan ride was going on. The entire ride up to turn five, I literally had my fingers crossed in the hopes that the Ducati spectacle would be there - flags flying, line after line of Ducs parked neatly together, Troy Bayliss or Carl Fogerty or Mike Hailwood race bikes, polished and waiting to be admired under the red tents. But before we even crested the hill, I knew the economy had taken its toll on that attraction as well, the NPR Ducati tent in the vendor village was the only official Bologna presence around the track.

Although it sucked that the Ducati tent was missing from Spectator Hill, the positive side was the section above the turn 5 esses normally roped off for Ducati owners was wide open, so there was plenty of room to watch the American Superbike opening race. We grabbed some great seats, and the action was great for the first race of the weekend – well, the action for 2nd-22nd position was great as Mat Mladin took an early lead and opened up a 15+-second gap by the checkered flag. Tommy Hayden, Geoff May, Blake Young and Josh Hayes rounded out the top five.

Mat Mladin leads the rest of the American Superbike field up the esses
towards Spectator Hill

We moved back to turn 10 for the SportBike race. It wasn’t a great race, as lap 6-8 were run under a yellow flag and the race was cut short. Robertino Pietri crashed out, and the race ended with Martin Cardenas, Roger Hayden and Danny Eslick on the podium. We made one more sweep through the paddock, grabbed some photos with Ben Bostrom, Jake Holden and Tommy Aquino before heading back to Tequila Sports Grill to meet Bridget (@Bridget_NewGirl), Ange (@mshawley) and Dan (@cspeedphoto) for dinner and a few drinks before heading back to the hotel. Oh yeah, I think there was a GT1 & GT2 race going on at the track for the last two hours of the day. Saturday left me pretty thoroughly sunburned, so although I was itching to get to the track as early as possible for Sunday’s activities, I decided to take it easy for most of the morning and get there before the good stuff happened.

We again watched the Daytona SportBike race from turn 10, and it turned out to be a great vantage point. Lots of passing up and under the Suzuki bridge, and we were treated to some spectacular crashing by Leandro Mercado and some not-so-spectacular gravel work by Robertino Pietri and Tommy Aquino. All three riders were right up after their incidents, although it was Pietri’s second crash in as many races during the weekend. Jake Zemke held off Danny Eslick for the lead until he low-sided on lap 8, and Josh Herrin picked up the battle for the front after that. The race for the second spot was tight as Chris Peris, Jamie Hacking and Taylor Knapp grinded it out behind the two leaders. Herrin’s Yamaha followed Eslick’s Buell across the line, and Peris, Knapp and Hacking followed five seconds later. Roger Hayden and Jason Disalvo also crashed out, and Race 1 winner Martin Cardenas dropped out with engine problems.

Leandro Mercado goes down in turn 10. He walked away from this crash to win the SuperSport race later in the day

2:30pm brought the first rains of the day, and although it wasn’t too bad in turn 10, turn 7 began collecting moisture. Within the first few laps of the 3pm SuperSport race, five of the top 10 riders went down in the rain. The red flag came out long enough to get the track checked, wait for the sun to break through and allow time for the teams to put their bikes back together. But, when the green flag dropped again, a few of the former leaders’ bikes were still on the stands. Leandro Mercado made up for a nasty crash in the SportBike race to take the SuperSport race, followed by Josh Day and Joey Pascarella.

The finale SuperBike race proved, once again, that there is no heir to the other half of the Spies/Mladin battle. Mat took off from the start and had, at one point, acquired a 12.5-second lead on the number two rider. Mat had time to stop for lunch and a haircut and still claimed the top spot by an 8-second gap. Hometown favorite Geoff May worked his way up from a poor start to swap the second-place spot a few times with Blake Young, but he couldn’t hold on as Yoshimura again put two riders on the top of the podium. Josh Hayes - who earlier in the day looked to be in a bit of pain from a Saturday crash - grabbed the 4th-place points. Aaron Yates and Tommy Hayden rounded out the top 6. May, with two third place finishes, holds third place in the points standings – three more than Young. Tommy Hayden is in second, and Mat Mladin – having won all five races this season – sits at the top of the ranks with a 45-point lead over Hayden. Jen and I stuck around for the trophy – or should I say medal – presentation, got thoroughly doused by Blake Young’s champagne and headed out for our drive back to Raleigh. I think Jen’s completely hooked, as I knew she would be after her first race. She has picked out her rider – Josh Hayes (a very good choice in my opinion) and we’re already thinking about the Big Kahuna at VIR in August. We haven’t watched a MotoGP race together, but I think there’s a pretty good chance I won’t have to work too hard to persuade her to make a drive to Indy.

Road Atlanta Update - Friday, April 3, 2009

OK, I've had a full day of racing and Carlsberg today, so I'm going to give you the quick and dirty Road Atlanta update. Sit down, this won't hurt a bit.
Sometime yesterday afternoon, I was able to talk Jen into leaving for Atlanta on Thursday afternoon instead of Friday morning like originally planned. After all the fun today, I think we're both glad we left last night.
We got on the road - finally - at about 8:30 and drove from Raleigh to Atlanta with only one stop for food and one stop for gas and to pee. We got here before 3am, and crashed out hard at the hotel.
We didn't rush this morning, and crawled out of bed around 9:30. We decided to get ready and grab breakfast at the track. We arrived at the track sometime before 11am, and the woman who gave us our tickets at will-call was the same one as last year who wanted to talk for 10 minutes while I was just ready to get over to the track.
We parked in the infield and immediately headed down to the paddock where we grabbed a couple hot dogs for breakfast. We walked the paddock and I pointed out the teams and the bikes, the best places to watch the trophy ceremony and where to get into the pits.
Almost like clockwork, we came across the Latin contingent - and my biggest fan -Robertino Pietri and Martin Cardenas. Jen completely missed it and I didn't have my Spanish ears on, but as we approached the group, there was apparently some fellatio-related conversation as Robertino was - very realistically - simulating a certain sex act. I've never seen someone's eyes get so big, and Robertino apologized over and over, but Jen had completely missed the whole scenario. They politely switched to English and we talked for a few minutes, grabbed some autographs and Robertino explained to me that his wedding - originally scheduled for May - has been postponed since his dad (former AMA racer Robert Pietri) was unable to secure a visa.
We cruised the paddock for a bit, grabbed an autograph from Josh Hayes, and I pointed out a few more riders. We finally tracked down Geoff May, and I had him sign a photo I had of him and me from his Superstock win last year. He called one of his guys over and asked him to grab me a new #54 T-shirt from the truck (that was pretty cool). We walked the bridge and hung out in the main grandstand for the Superbike and SportBike qualifying.
After qualifying, we hopped a shuttle for Spectator Hill. I wanted to show Jen the spacacle that is the Ducati tent. As we crested the hill, I couldn't see the red flags of the Ducati Mecca, and as we came to the top, Ducati was nowhere to be found - Hopefully, they'll be here tomorrow.
We rode the shuttle back down to the vendor village, grabbed a ribeye sandwich (and a few bottle openers so we wouldn't have to use the seatbelts in the shuttle to open the Carlsberg) and nestled into the corner of Suzuki Bridge to watch Superpole.
P.S. I stand corrected on an earlier tweet - It was Mladin, Hayes and May 1-2-3 for Superbike. Sorry about that.
Jen very easily picked out the different bikes simply by the tone of their engines. She - and I as well - loves the sound of the new Yamaha R1. She definitely now understands the soulful hum of the Ducati, and she thinks the Buell is friggin' annoying.
We saw a few of our (my) favorite - but lesser known - riders like Scott Jensen and Barrett Long, and searched high and low for Johnny Rock Page. I saw Jay Springsteen - who I watched race flat track in my very first motorcycle race EVER - but he was geting ready for Moto GT qualifying.
Finally, we decided we were too hungry (and cold) and decided to head out. We stopped at Tequila Sports Bar and had another drink before we trecked over to the fan party at Cycle Nation.
At Cycle Nation, we ran the Yamaha autograph line and had some great conversation with Ben Bostrom. He told us that Eric was doing well but was itching to get back to racing. I hope he brings some delicious avocados back with him. Larry Pegram was there & says he's still sore from his crash at Fontana, but he's ready to race this weekend, and Barrett Long turned out to be the coolest guy at the autograph sesson (follow on twitter at @paradigmracing).
After the Yamaha guys pulled out, the Suzuki guys sat down for autographs. Mat Mladin was the first in line, and Jen (smart ass) asked if he would sign his autograph "To Jen: DMG is making me sign autographs today." He was a sport about the comment and told us that he really enjoys meeting fans but hates when someone tells him when & where he has to do it. Geoff May was awesome as always, and Aaron Yates had his daughter on his lap for the session. Keving Schwantz was there as well, and it amazed me how many of the people in line had no clue who he was. Blake Young seems like a smug ass, and I still don't like him for running Cardenas off here last year.
We talked to a few regular riders (not racers) about their view on this season, and - for the most part - everyone seems to feel the same way as I do: We love racing, and it doesn't matter what DMG does - or anyone for that matter - we'll keep coming back for the love of the sport.
After the fan party, we headed back to Tequila and had dinner and a couple more drinks. Now we're back a the hotel. Jen is asleep in the hotel bed, and I'm updating you all now. The bed is looking really good right now, so I'm heading there too. If you're going to be at the track tomorrow, send me a DM on Twitter. My updates are off, so that's the only way to reach me.
I'm going to try to give more updates over the weekend, but if I don't, just know I wish you were all here.
This is racing, and this is what I love. No matter what's going on in life, weekends like this are what makes everything OK.
Keep riding. Keep racing. Keep the wrist twisted, and everything will be alright.
Vroom vroom.

The Ripple Effect of Improper (Upper) Chest Training.

Yesterday was chest day. Before I hit the gym, I get myself into a certain mindset – focus on the body part I’m training, visualize the exercise motions, imagine the muscle growth – to better establish the mind-muscle connection so important to advanced bodybuilders. My chest workout today was more explosive, more painful and definitely more effective than it had been for some time. The reason is this: During the past eight years I’ve been training and the past four years I’ve been competing, I’ve been training my chest all wrong. That is until yesterday. If you work out, guess what. You’re training wrong too. In this blog post, I’m going to explain to you why so many people train their chest improperly, and I’m going to tell you exactly what to do – including the exercises – to increase your chest size, symmetry and aesthetics.

The pectoral area in what’s known as a classic physique of 60s and 70s pro bodybuilders is a dense pair of square-shaped masses. It stretches T-shirts and conveys a look of strength more than any other muscle group. The problem is, during the past 30 years or so, the evolution of the chest has lagged far behind every other major muscle group. Take a look at the following photos.

The first photo is of – of course – Arnold Schwarzenegger, six-time Mr. Olympia winner. The second photo is of Dexter Jackson, the 2008 Mr. O. Now, obviously, due to much mechanical and pharmacological advancement in the bodybuilding world, Dexter is much, much larger than Arnold ever was, but pay close attention to the differences in muscle symmetry (how the mass of one muscle group compares with that of the other groups). What is the most prominent feature on Dexter? It may be his shoulders or biceps, whereas on Arnold, it is unquestionably his chest, and most important to what I’m going to discuss here, the way his upper chest sits far out away from his body, bringing his shoulder and neck back. Imagine a string stretched from Dexter’s right shoulder to left shoulder. His chest may just barely touch that string. Imagine the same string across Arnold’s shoulders. You’d have to add a lot of length to that string to make it reach around his pecs. Here begins our problem with chest training.

If you spend any amount of time in the gym, you know that the bench press is the most-used piece of (non-cardio) gym equipment (OK, maybe besides the curl bar). Unfortunately, it’s also the most-often improperly used piece of equipment. Guys pound out rep after rep of bench press with horrible form in the hopes of being able to proudly answer the “How much can you bench?” question. The bottom line is, even if performed correctly, the flat bench press is only good for one thing: Allowing you to be able to bench press more weight. Good if you’re a powerlifter. Bad if you’re trying to put on some size to fill out your shirts and impress the ladies. Even worse if you’re a bodybuilder. Now don’t get me wrong, properly executed, heavy bench presses will build mass in your pecs, but the angles of the press prevent you from building the part of the chest that really matters, the upper pecs. Read any bodybuilding or fitness forum and you’re likely to hear the question, “How can I build size in my upper chest?” The most common answer is “Incline bench press.” This myth has been passed around for so long, no one knows where it started. But, here’s a pretty solid theory: Pro bodybuilders. Pro bodybuilders spreading bad information about training methods? “No way,” you say. Well, not pro bodybuilders, but “enhanced” pro bodybuilders. I’ll let you in on a little secret; those guys you see in the pages of Muscle & Fitness don’t get to look that way naturally. Another not-so-well-kept secret is that steroid use really screws up your body, so these guys have had to adjust over time to prevent catastrophic injury. Here’s where the extinction of the chest and the myth of the incline bench press began.

One of the most debilitating injuries in bodybuilding is a shoulder injury. It can end careers, or, at the very least, set your progress back a year or more. In the top ranks of steroid-freak bodybuilding, the risk of that setback in unacceptable. For this reason, the shoulder ligaments and tendons have been protected while sacrificing upper chest development. This is why the incline bench press, the incline dumbbell press and Hammer Strength machines have become so prominent. They keep a safe angle on the shoulders to minimize stress to the connective tissue. If you’re throwing around 160lb dumbbells, you might have to worry about this. For the rest of us, let’s get down to the physiological motor aspects of chest training and start getting some real results.

It’s not that incline bench presses don’t work the upper chest; it’s that the incline bench press at your gym doesn’t work your upper chest. It’s a great front deltoid workout, but the angle is completely wrong for chest training. The incline benches at most gyms have a back pad that sits on a 35-45deg angle from the floor. Again, that’s a great angle for working shoulders, but the upper chest is targeted more directly when sitting at a 20-30deg angle. Raise your arms to a 125-135deg angle from your torso and feel what muscles begin to tighten more – it’s your anterior deltoids (the front of your shoulder). Now, lower your arms to 110-120deg. Your shoulder muscles will loosen and you’ll incorporate more of your upper chest.

STEP #1: Change your incline bench press angle. How to do that? Easy. If your gym happens to have an adjustable incline bench, lower it to 20%. If not, place a weight plate or a block of wood under the lower feet to decrease the angle.

The angle of the press is the first step to more effectively targeting your upper pecs, but there’s more – much more. Next, let’s look at your hand position when you perform bench press or dumbbell press movements. Generally, most people use the pronated, or overhand, position. Basically, this means your palms are facing your feet. Try this: While remaining relaxed, extend your right arm directly in front of your body, palms facing the floor and close your grip. Place your open left hand over your upper right pectorals, no higher than your clavicle. Now, rotate your right hand outward (clockwise) until your palm is facing upwards. What did you feel? You should have felt a contraction in your upper chest even if you weren’t flexing your pecs (If you felt no contraction, you really need to pay attention to this article). Some people give the advice that, while doing pressing movements, we should rotate our hands inwards, like a punching movement. Watch a commercial for The Perfect Pushup, and it will demonstrate this motion repeatedly. The problem is IT’S COMPLETELY BACKWARDS. Rotating your hands inwards brings more shoulder involvement into the motion. In order to better isolate your chest, and especially your upper chest, you should be rotating your hands outwards. You can easily do this with your dumbbell movements on your (20-13deg) incline dumbbell press. This motion is difficult to perform on a regular barbell bench press, but we’ll address that concern later.

STEP #2: Rotate your hands outwards towards the top of your pressing motion (CAUTION: You may have to significantly reduce the amount of weight you use to perform your incline dumbbell presses)

Another problem with regular pressing movements is their inability to provide a complete contraction of the pectoral muscles. Barbell, dumbbell and machine exercises do not allow the elbows to cross the body’s center line and therefore do not completely stimulate the chest. Even cable crossover exercises do not allow for a complete contraction as the contraction of the right pecs limits the range of motion of the left pecs and vice versa. During biceps curls, we’re taught to squeeze at the peak of contraction to further work the muscle group. The same idea should be applied to chest training.

STEP #3: Bring your elbows past the body’s center line for a more complete contraction at the peak. How do you do this? One-arm cable crossovers. Stand in the middle of the crossover apparatus and grasp the handles. The height of the handles should be set so that, when grasping the handles in the relaxed position, your arms are at a 45%angle to your torso and legs. Raise the handles up and across your chest. Be sure to follow that 45deg line of motion provided by the cables, and remember to keep you elbows slightly bent and locked and rotate you hands outward as much as possible as discussed in step #2. Alternate your left and right sides, keeping a tight squeeze at the peak.

The final problem with training your upper chest is that the normal rotation of the shoulder joints doesn’t allow for efficient targeting of the muscle group. During a press motion, the elbows are angled down to allow you to meet the bar with the chest. This motion naturally incorporates more anterior delt than we’d like to.

STEP #4: Angle the elbows upwards to reduce anterior deltoid incorporation.

OK, so, why don’t we simply angle the elbows back up to where they need to be while bench pressing? Well, if we did that, we’d be meeting the bar with our necks. Good angle, very uncomfortable. And not very safe. What can we do to make that movement easier and safer? We step over to the dreaded Smith machine. OMG! No serious bodybuilder would ever go near a Smith machine! Well, in this case, the ends justify the means, so we’ll suck it up, ignore the laughs and go for it. The Smith machine is going to allow us to incorporate steps, 1, 2 & 4, so the next exercise is really going to hit the upper pecs. It’s important to find a Smith machine that extends upwards on a slight angle. Some extend vertically, but that’s not going be as effective. If that’s all your gym has, I guess you’re going to be stuck using that one. OK, to perform the exercise, place a bench in the Smith machine and set it at a 20-30deg angle. The upwards angle of the machine should extend over your head, not towards your feet. Lie on the bench and position it so that when you lower the bar, it meets your body directly above your clavicles. Yes, right on your neck. Remember to keep your head slightly upwards to avoid catching the bar between your neck and chin. START WITH A LIGHT WEIGHT and perform your incline pressing movements as normal except instead of grasping the bar completely, rotate your hands outwards so that the bar is resting on the meat of your thumb & palm and barely touches the pinky finger of your open hands. You’ll probably have to disengage the bar catches before you position your hands. Lower the bar to your neck and extend fully upwards.

STEP #5: Exhaustion. I feel that fully exhausting your muscle groups is the only way to make big gains. This is what works for me. It may not work for you. I always finish my workouts with a light exercise and completely blast whatever group I’m working that day. For chest, it could be pec deck supersets or even pushups, but exhaustion exercises should always be done with the help of a spotter or on a machine/movement that won’t allow you to drop weights on your face. Therefore, I do not suggest barbell bench press as an exhaustion set.

OK, so let’s get this party started. The following workout incorporates all of the steps listed above, and is exactly what I did during my chest workout yesterday.

1. Incline barbell bench press (remember to lower the incline or place a weight plate under the bench feet)

One warm-up set + three working sets of 10. Increase the weight on each set. (I ALWAYS try to reach failure on my last working set off every exercise)

2. Incline dumbbell press. Again, remember the angle of the bench. Rotate the handle outward as you reach full contraction and squeeze for a two count on each rep.

Three working sets of 10. Increase the weight on each set.

3. Incline Smith machine press. Refer to step 4 for instructions.

Three working sets of 10. Increase the weight on each set.

4. Incline cable crossovers. Refer to step 3.

Find a weight you can do for 12 reps and use that weight for three sets until failure.

5. Pec Deck drop sets.

Pick a weight you can do for 10 reps. Perform that set and immediately reduce the weight ands perform another set. Continue as you work your way down the weight stack.

That’s it. 13 sets for chest day. None of these 30-set workouts. Just intense, effective training. You should really feel the pain for the following few days. I know I’m really feeling it today. This workout should not be performed more than once a week. If you’re just beginning your bodybuilding endeavors, you can alternate this workout with a more-general chest workout. If you’re an advanced trainer and you’re looking to bring your out your upper pecs, use this method for 4-6 weeks as it will still work the entire chest, but will focus on bringing the upper pecs more inline with what you’ve already accomplished. As always, I can’t stress enough proper form, intensity, nutrition, recovery and supplementation.

Dave Minella is a WNBF Pro bodybuilder. Any questions about this article or about bodybuilding in general may be sent to dminella31@gmail.com

For more information about the WNBF, please visit http://www.wnbf.net.

For information about the WNBF’s amateur affiliate, the INBF, please visit http://www.inbf.net.

Penguins defeat Kings, 4-1

Penguins scored an easy victory tonight against the Los Angeles Kings. [Game Summary].
The win - another Crosby/Malkin freakshow - put the Pens one game closer to the Stanley Cup playoffs and puts Evgeni Malkin a few points closer to the Art Ross & Hart trophies.
Although I was in Pittsburgh today, I wasn't lucky enough to go to the game, but I did get to watch with D-Money and re-live some old-school Pittsburgh sports memories.

Narcissistic Bodybuilding Video #2

I had more footage, so I decided to edit another training video.

Canadohta Lake

For the twitter faithful, you may have wondered why you haven't been blessed with my cynicism & sarcasm during the past few days. It's not that I've taken permanent leave of the twitterverse, but I have taken temporary leave of the Triangle area, the Dell Latitude D830 and the daily grind that usually accompanies those two entities. Oh, how I would love to say I packed up and departed for a long-planned getaway to northern California, Lake Como, Italy or even Wrightsville Beach, but as luck would have it, I'm spending an impromptu, unpaid vacation at beautiful Canadohta Lake in northwestern Pennsylvania.

You see, if you've been living in a cave, you may not be aware that the economy isn't fairing so well (actually, if you've been living in a cave, you're probably better off than most of the US population). It has hit most parts of American industry, but no industry has been hit as hard as mine - the manufacturing industry. I work for a company that manufactures robotic tools, mostly for the building industry. One of our major markets is cabinet makers. The housing sector is down. building is down. Our sales are down. We restructured in January and repositioned for what we knew was going to be a few slow months, but, unfortunately, our sales hit rock bottom in March. So, last Friday, our company president called a meeting and announced half the company would be on a mandatory two-week unpaid vacation. Hopefully, in two weeks, we'll have a company to go back to. We were completely blindsided by the announcement. We had no time to plan and budget accordingly. We were told, out of the blue, that we wouldn't be receiving a paycheck for the next month. Fuck you. Good luck.

We were surprised, bitter, but what could we do? I left the meeting, called my old man and told him to be expecting company for the next week. I knew what I was going to do, and it didn't make sense for me to sit around my apartment all day looking for a new job when I could take a well deserved trip to the lake and relax, sort things out and dig into the job search. I decided to leave on Monday and come back the following Saturday so I'd have a week when I got back to schedule interviews and also so I wouldn't have to be away from Jen for more than a few days (yeah, I'm a baby that way). I packed a bag and my laptop, and Jen dropped me off at RDU on Monday morning for my trip to Union City, PA via the Buffalo airport and a Dulles layover.

My dad has been retired for a few years now, and after my mom died of cancer in June of 2007 he decided he had to get away from things. This past summer, he sold his house in suburban Pittsburgh and bought a little cottage on the Canadohta Lake in (very) rural Crawford County, PA, about 30 miles southeast of Erie. Now when I say little cabin, I really mean little cottage. Although I didn't grow up in what could be considered a big house by any means, his two-story dwelling is cramped by anyone's standards. It has one bedroom downstairs and a small two-room upstairs with a pair of single beds in one room and Big Dave's office in the other room. He has a well, limited hot water, basic cable and no Verizon reception. The nearest town to Canadohta Lake is Union City, population 3,000, which is about eight miles away. If you've ever seen The Great Outdoors with John Candy, you have an idea what I'm talking about. The lake is beginning to thaw, but there are still ice-fishing huts littering the shoreline, and a sign outside one of the local bars announces "WED SNOWMOBILE NITE." His new girlfriend, Susan, who's actually a friend from a long time ago, has all but abandoned her own cottage down the road to shack up with pops. Susan's an animal lover and she and my dad are surrounded by Tinkerbell, a Maltese former show dog who was rescued from her owner, an elderly woman who affectionately groomed Tink everyday but somehow forgot to feed her for weeks. Then there's Alex, a pug rescued from a puppy mill. (On a side note: Tink, who's a female and is fixed, climbs on Alex, who's a male and is also fixed, licks his ears and relentlessly humps him while he doesn't seem to be paying attention). Outside the cottage live a small pride of cats who occasionally venture inside. There's Sigfreid, Roy, Spot, El Gato and Spare Cat among others. It's very quiet in the winter, as most cottages are summer homes abandoned during the cold months. It's low key, peaceful, and the two of them are happy there, sharing each other's companionship away from the city and the craziness that is the Minella clan.

D-Money (my dad's rapper name) picked me up at the Buffalo airport on Monday afternoon (his place is equidistant from Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, so it's easy to find a cheap flight into one of those airports). I spent the day Monday relaxing and catching up since I hadn't been home since Christmas of 2007. On Tuesday, I ate breakfast and spent the next four hours applying for jobs and emailing resumes. [Since then, I've already received some good responses including an email response to fill out a prescreening questionnaire and a phone call about setting up a telephone interview]. This morning, I drove about 10 miles to the "local" gym, had a great workout and waited for my sister and her kids to arrive. My sister has two kids - Angelica (4) and Avery (2) - and is currently going through a divorce. I'm an opponent of divorce - as any good Catholic is - but I'm so happy she's getting out of this one. We all went down to the Sugar & Spice Amish restaurant at the Eagle Hotel in waterford, PA for some comfort food (the most expensive restaurant in town, the bill for four adults and two kids which came to less than $100). Then we headed back to the cottage and tried to figure out where everyone's going to sleep.

So, that's been my week so far. I'm not sure I'll have a job when I get back, and I'm surprisingly OK with that. I've come to realize I have an amazingly supportive family, and for the first time in my life, I feel like I have a girlfriend who stands behind me 100%. I've also realized that I have some pretty desirable skills and, regardless of whether I do have a job in a week & 1/2, it's time to move on career-wise. Wow, this quick blog post has become a novel. It's 11:15, and I have another long day of looking for a job and torturing the living daylights out of a certain four years old and two year old.

Good night.

Quick thought for today

In between work, bills, taxes, plans, mistakes, worries and all the responsibilities of adulthood, I stopped for a moment and realized I had found the woman of my dreams. And then I remembered how to breathe.

2009 Contest Season Preparation Progress

2009 Contest Season Preparation Progress
I forgot to post a photo last week, so I'm posting 11 weeks and 10 weeks out.



Last week, I weighed in at 175 and about 8.5% bodyfat. This week I hit 173 on the scale, but I didn't have my body comp done, so I'm not sure where I am. I should be about 7-7.5% based on weight and what I'm seeing in the mirror, but, due to water weight and what muscle group I trained that day, looks can always be deceiving. Two pounds per week is a good guideline for contest prep, as losing weight too quickly leads to loss of muscle mass as well.
From experience I know that I lose bodyfat from the top down, so I know I'm on track, I can definitely notice it in my face, and the veins are beginning to show in my shoulders and upper chest. My traps now have more of a dip down into my medial deltoids. There's also a visible decrease in the fat around my obliques (my love handles). And my boy bubble in the back is starting to disappear. I can tell because my ass is usually what holds my pants up, and it's not doing such a great job now. The upside is that I can now fit into certain dress pants without looking like I have a ham shoved in the back of my pants. Yeah, I have fat pants and skinny pants.
I've yet to start cardio, and unless things start to stagnate, I shouldn't have to worry about that for another two weeks.

My narcissistic bodybuilding video

I've been documenting my 2009 bodybuilding season through photos and video, and as I was going through the vids I've shot so far, I had the idea of putting together a little montage. I'm sure I'll do some more editing once I get more footage, but here's what I have so far.

Debunking the zero-carb myth

Whenever I'm dieting down for a bodybuilding contest, I'm constantly asked about my diet. What I eat. When I eat. How I prepare my meals. Many times, when I give the chicken & sweet potatoes answer, I get this response: "Sweet potatoes? But those are carbs. I thought you can't eat carbs."

And there it is, the great carbohydrate myth. Thanks to the Adkins diet and many others, carbohydrates have been stigmatized as the evil, anti-weight-loss macronutrient. Not only is that an unfair label; it’s completely untrue. Carbohydrates are important for many body functions including energy transport and storage, blood clotting, proper immune system function and brain operation (read: the brain and neurons cannot burn fat and need glucose – carbs – for energy). While, yes, the body can survive on a lack of carbohydrates for short periods of time, I wouldn’t recommend it as part of an overall healthy lifestyle regimen. Not only does a lack of carbs lead to a decrease in organ function – the liver being another major organ affected by low-carb diets – but also results in increased fatigue, and the accompanying reduced fiber intake leads to gastro-intestinal distress & irregularity.

So, why are sugary foods so unhealthy? It’s not because of the amount of carbohydrates they contain, but it’s the types of carbs present in certain foods. In order to make educated decisions about which carbs to consumer during your weight-loss cycle, it’s important to pay attention to the glycemic index. The glycemic index is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels. Carbohydrates that break down rapidly during digestion releasing glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI. Carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the bloodstream, have a low GI. For most people, foods with a low GI have significant health benefits. A lower glycemic index suggests slower rates of digestion and absorption of the foods' carbohydrates and may also indicate greater extraction from the liver and periphery of the products of carbohydrate digestion. A lower glycemic response is often thought to equate to a lower insulin demand, better long-term blood glucose control and a reduction in blood lipids. The insulin index may therefore also be useful as it provides a direct measure of the insulin response to a food. A low GI food will release glucose more slowly and steadily. A high GI food causes a more rapid rise in blood glucose levels and is suitable for energy recovery. So, when beginning and maintaining a weight-loss cycle, choose foods that rank low on the glycemic index.

Here’s a link to a chart showing the glycemic index of many popular foods.

"Wait a minute," you might say. "Sweet potatoes have a GI of 54. I thought you said they were a good source of the right carbs." Well, here’s where you have to weight your options. During my contest-prep cycle, I’m still consuming about 250 grams of carbohydrates per day (you’ll most likely want to consume about 1/6^th of that amount). If I wanted to use, say, peppers or broccoli to get those 250g of carbs, I’d have to eat 10-times the weight of those veggies as do with sweet potatoes – not very practical. So, I have to determine the intersection between quantity and glycemic index. Plus, I'm burning so much energy on a daily basis that the carbs I'm taking in can be higher on the index since I'll need them to fuel recovery. So, another guideline is, the more physical energy you're exerting on a daily basis, the higher the glycemic rating of the carbs your consuming can be.

Another great way to maximize your carb intake for proper weight loss is the carb-cycling method, which is described here.

Contest Prep Progress: 12 Weeks Out

2009 Contest Season Preparation Progress.
12 weeks out from the SNBF Capital City Natural Pro, Montgomery, AL.
Weight: 178
Bodyfat: 9%

Making Brand Evangelism Work for You

From my guest blog at Capture Carolina...

Although it may not have always been known by such buzz-worthy jargon, Brand Evangelism has been around for ages with many different names. Fanaticism, passion, zeal, devotion. People like to feel a connection to a team, celebrity or brand, and being able to preach their love to others is their way of demonstrating that they’re in the loop, part of a certain tribe, as Seth Godin puts it. This step above mere customer loyalty is a measuring stick by which a company can tell that they’ve made it, that they’ve struck a chord with the consumer, that they have a pretty special product. Brand evangelism isn’t something that can be forced or coerced. It is most powerful when it occurs naturally, from the bottom up. Notice that the title of this post is “Helping brand evangelism work for you,” not “Making brand evangelism work for you.” Although a company is able to provide certain opportunities and outlets for such devotion, there is no way to push it if the underlying passion isn’t already present. I can only speak for myself and my company because I believe we’re facilitating our customers’ evangelism the right way. However, I – and any anyone else who would make such a claim – would be lying if I were to say my marketing genius was behind this phenomenon.

Let me give you a little background on my company. We make CNC tools – ShopBots – basically robotic cutting machines that fabricate parts from wood, plastics and metal – obviously a niche product. We make industrial tools that we sell to large furniture, aerospace and sign making plants and small, garage-size tools for artists, instrument makers and do-it-yourselfers. The founder of my company created the first tool in his barn, a personal-use device to help him cut out parts for plywood sailboats. His intention was not to start a business, but to make his hobby a little bit less time consuming - a classic example of necessity being the mother of invention. The devotion to the product began there, and as he experimented with a very rudimentary tool (made from parts – including patio door rollers – that could easily be found at Home Depot) he shared his ideas with anyone who was interested. Excitement about such an affordably priced CNC machine grew within a small circle of boatbuilders and woodworkers, and ideas began to flow. Ted, our company president, welcomed the input, and this original group began to take personal interest in the development of the first ShopBots. That was 13 years ago, and the tools have come a long way from the build-it-yourself machines to the precision pieces of equipment that they are today. We sell approximately 1,000 tools a year, making us the number-one-selling producer of CNC machines on the market. We have no distributors, no outside sales team, and we make no cold calls whatsoever. Of course we have a very successful advertising and public relations plan in place, but there is absolutely nothing that can take the place of the power of word of mouth that is generated by our brand evangelists. What I’m offering here is sort of a case study of some of the best practices that we’ve been able to put into place to help our customers preach about our brand and spread the word.

This is one of the things we make

I believe we manufacture a great product. Our long-time customers believe we manufacture a great product. We have a very skilled development team, a lean business model and a knowledgeable, helpful technical support team. But what makes our machines so great is that we let our customers tell us what they want. Here’s my first piece of advice for building brand evangelism: Let your customers design your product. Now, we don’t have our customers sending us schematics and specs on what the tools should look like or telling us what components to use, but we’re always open to suggestions – and criticism. We offer a fairly comprehensive warranty on our product, but what makes us so different is that it’s nearly impossible to void that warranty. We encourage our customers to push the limits of their tools and provide us with feedback. If they want to modify something, we tell them to go for it. If they mess things up, we’ll still give them the same tech support as we provide for all our customers (tech support, by the way, is free and is good for the life of the machine, whether it was bought new or used. Try getting that customer service from any other company). Our machines are run with a windows-based control software, which is open source. When we change or upgrade that software, it’s posted in beta on our website as a free download. Take it for a test drive and let us know what you like/don’t like about it. We also give them the opportunity to beta test other programs. Our customers know they’ve helped make our product what it is, and that is a source of pride. They’re very willing to share those successes. What’s the best way to help your customers share that pride? That brings us to number two:

If your customers want to shout, give them a megaphone. OK, so you already have great customers who have a loyalty to your product and want to tell others about it. Help them out. Provide them with a forum. Since our beginnings, ShopBot has provided and online forum, www.talkshopbot.com. We’ve created categories to help our customers navigate, but other than that, we just let it go. Take a laissez faire attitude to your forum, and you’ll get the most out of it. Of course, you’ll need to monitor it for the usual forum problems – from vulgarity to personal attacks on other users – but for the most part, let the group make their own decisions about what is acceptable. If you let it run its course, a forum will provide you with tons of valuable feedback. And remember, the most outspoken members will be your biggest evangelists, and should someone come along with something negative to say, he or she will be instantly policed by other members. If a negative poster has a legitimate gripe to voice, let it happen. Let forum members address it, and if necessary, take the necessary situation-management steps to address it yourself. Allow the community to evolve, and when a potential customer visits your forum, they’ll be able to learn a lot about your company by the attitudes of your users.

Give them a stage, and let them be the star. We’ve broken our customer base down by application, what kinds of projects they’re making with their ShopBots. We’ve identified cabinet makers, sign makers and woodworkers, among others, and recruited them to share their stories on our website. We offer them space to offer their expertise on what they do with their ShopBots. As a company, we can tout the features, functions and benefits of our products all day long, but as you may have learned in Marketing 101, a testimonial is far more valuable than company-produced product collateral. You can see some examples of our customer-written Web Columns.

A forum or message board is a great way for your customers and potential customers to interact in the virtual world, but what about in the real world? Take your community offline. Every month, we sponsor what’s known as Camp ShopBot. Camp ShopBot is an informal gathering of customers and potential customers. It is hosted by a current user in his or her facility, and we provide food, product materials and a company representative. The Camps take place in shops across the country and around the world. It’s a chance for our customers – known as ShopBotters – to get together and share what they know about automated manufacturing. The agenda is never set in stone, but many times the Camps will have a certain theme – from cabinetmaking to boatbuilding to rapid prototyping to digital fabrication. They can be a half-day long or encompass a full weekend. They’re run by our customers, and we’re present to inform attendees about what’s in the works and also nip in the bud any incorrect information. These events are completely free whether you own a tool or not.

ShopBotters attend Camp ShopBot in Troy, VA

Put them on your payroll. As I mentioned earlier, all of our products are sold direct. No sales team. No distributors. Would you ever buy a car without first test driving it? Probably not. Likewise, we would never recommend dropping upwards of $50,000 for one of our machines without at least seeing it in action. It would be extremely difficult - not to mention expensive - for all of our potential customers to take a trip to out headquarters for a demonstration, so we've identified demo sites around the world. We've chosen our best customers with the most-desired machine models who are passionate about their work and passionate about ShopBot and have agreed to pay them commission on every demonstration they host that leads to a sale. We gain a new customer and they put some cash in their pockets (not to mention you'd be hard pressed to find a ShopBotter who doesn't love bragging about his or her work).

Let your customers into your home, or at least into your company. Probably the most well-known instance of this is Saturn, who was the first large company to invite customers for a day at the factory. They made a party out of it, with a barbecue, facility tours and an open house. My company has the ShopBot Jamboree. Since the beginning of the company, we’ve had a yearly event where we invite customers and non-customers to our Durham headquarters. It’s a three-day event consisting of formal training sessions, presentations by partner vendors, workshops on marketing and business operations, tours of the facility and the inside scoop from company personnel. In the past few years, attendance has gotten so high that we’ve had to move many of the activities off-site. We’ve also gotten so much interest from customers who are unable to travel to NC that we’ve since added Jamborees in California and Texas. Our customers can put faces with the names and voices they hear on the phones, and they can get a real sense of the passion our employees, from the top down, put into this company.

ShopBotters at the ShopBot Jamboree in San Mateo, CA

Reward your biggest fans with free swag, and let them advertise your products for FREE. We recently had a customer ask us if we’d pay to have his truck vehicle-wrapped with our logo and graphics. Being a small company, we couldn’t justify taking such a large chunk out of the budget for such focused publicity, but if we would have had the funds readily available, we’d certainly have done it. There are other, more affordable, ways to let your customers be your advertisers. Print your logo and website on stickers and GIVE them to your customers. Apple includes a little logo sticker with the purchase of their products, and tell me you’ve never seen those on the rear window of someone’s car. We give out T-shirts for customers who participate in the show-and-tell portions of our Camps, and we make special-edition T’s for each Jamboree. The T-shirts have become collectors’ items, and our stickers have appeared on vehicles in such far-away places as Norway and Afghanistan. Make sure your logo and photos are readily available online in case your customers want to include you in their websites.

Give ‘em some gear

Help your customers succeed. If your customers are successful, you’ll be successful, and if you help your customers become successful, they’ll tell others about it. This is especially useful to b2b companies, but can be adapted to whatever audience you’re trying to reach. Use your customers in your marketing campaigns. Put them in your ad materials, your brochures, feature them on your website. Help them share their successes. We feature a different customer each month in our print advertising materials, but we also open our website for them to share their successes. If our customers make the news, we feature them on our ShopBotters in the News page. If something exciting happens with their company, we put them on our Spotlight page. We talk about them in our newsletter and tweet about them on Twitter. We let them create our wiki. We also offer them free marketing advice and, if needed, local media lists so they can have more tools to conduct their own PR. They appreciate this and it only leads to even more loyalty and evangelism.

Customer-focused ad materials

Fix problems as soon as they happen, and if you can’t, don’t sweat it. The bottom line is, not matter how good your product, no matter how strong your brand, you’re never, no matter how hard you try, going to be able to make everyone happy. Strive to continuously improve your customer service and your crisis reaction time. Ensure that there are open lines of communication established so your disgruntled customers can voice their concerns, and make sure there’s always a knowledgeable representative available who has the proper authority to make things right. Sometimes though, even that doesn’t work. So what do you do? After you’ve done all you can, grit your teeth, take the hit and fight back the best way that you can: Continue offering a great product and great support. ShopBot is known throughout the industry for our impeccable technical support and customer service. We’d rather lose money than lose a customer, and we sincerely do everything within our power to satisfy our customers’ needs and address their concerns and gripes. Some customers, however, are destined to remain unsatisfied and unhappy no matter what you do to fix things. If you have a strong brand with a strong legion of evangelists, the customers that get away will not have much of an impact. Your zealots will defend you as they always have, and – here’s something you won’t often hear – if you can’t make him happy, sometimes it’s better to lose a customer now than to be forced to deal with him later.

These things are only a few examples of what you can do to foster evangelism for your brand. Give your customers a reason to be excited and an outlet for their enthusiasm, and they’ll be more than willing to share that excitement with anyone who’ll listen.

Dave Minella is the communications director at ShopBot Tools, Inc. He may be reached via email. Connect with him on Twitter, @DaveMinella or @ShopBot, or at his personal blog.