How old are you?  33

This is Andy Vincent, I interviewed his brother last week.  This is the older brother and the guy who does strongman and highland games.  Very nice and respectful people again and a guy with a lot of information.  Real strong guy, and another up and comer.  I like the way he throws weight for height.  So enjoy and give me some feedback on this.

Where were you born?  Lake Charles, LA, but grew up in Sulphur, LA

 

Where do you live now?  League City, TX

 

How did you end up there?  Work.  The company I was working for at the time transferred me.

 

What do you drive?  GMC 1500 Crew Cab

 

What size shoe do you wear?  15

 

Have you gone green?  Not so much

 

What do you think about global warming?  Al Gore may not have invented the internet, but he did invent global warming.  

 

Do you recycle?  I do.  League City has a curb side recycling program, which I think is cool.  If they didn't I probably wouldn't, because I'm lazy.

 

What do you do for a living?  I'm a Business Development Manager for a specialty contractor that performs heavy mechanical work in oil refineries and chemical plants.  It's a fancy way of saying I sell people.

 

How did you get into that?  My very brief NFL career ended with the Miami Dolphins in 2001.  My wife and I are both from Louisiana, so we moved back to Sulphur and bought our first home there.  I have a business degree, and petrochemicals are the biggest business on the Gulf coast, so I figured I'd wind up in that industry in some way, shape, or form.  I saw the writing on the wall in Miami, and sent out resumes to everyone I could think of during the season, planning on taking a real job after moving back to Louisiana.  I took a position with a great small company, and spent the next 8 years with them.

 

Tell us about your education?  I graduated from Sulphur High School in 1996 and Texas A&M in 2000 with a BBA in Management.

 

As a kid growing up, what was your first job?  I did odd jobs at a lumber yard when I was 15.

 

When you grew up as a kid, what sports did you play?  Everything...soccer, baseball, basketball, then football when I got older.  I started throwing in middle school and stuck with it through high school, though football was my primary focus.

 

Did you throw in high school and if so what did you throw?  I threw shot put and discus, but wasn't very good at either.  I was state runner up to a monster who was throwing 68' and going to Arkansas on a full ride.

 

Tell us about throwing in college.  I didn't, but I did play football, which was a great experience.  The years I spent playing football at Texas A&M was one of the greatest times of my life.

 

How do you feel about Alabama winning another championship in football?  I think that they're going to have a heck of a time doing it against LSU, but I'm looking forward to the rematch!

 

Talk about your brother and his throwing.  Matt is great.  I've learned so much from him, and continue to do so.  He has a natural talent for explaining things and breaking down the throws in a way that even a non-throwing meathead like myself can understand.  

 

What do you think about this incredible year Matt has had turning pro?  I'm not surprised at all.  Matt is very talented, and works as hard as anyone I know.  This season he decided to make throwing a priority, and once he sets his mind to something, watch out.  Without sounding too much like a big brother, it's been awesome to watch him and the improvements he's made this season.  I'm looking forward to sharing the field again with him next season as pros.

 

You both are very respectful to others in the game, talk more about that respect and how you come about that?  We're new to this scene.  There are guys that have been top level throwers for longer than I've been throwing, and you have to respect that.  No different than the upperclassmen I played with in college or the veterans in the NFL, those guys have paid there dues and helped make the games what they are today.  

 

What was your first Highland Game and when was that?  November 2008 in Jackson, LA.  Kay Cummings hosted North/South that year, and held an open amateur competition as well.

 

Who was at that game?  Open ams included me, Matt, and Travis Ortmayer, and North/South had guys like you, Gillingham, Gustin, and others I know I'm forgetting.

 

What made you decide to try and compete at a game?  I had started training strongman with Mark Cummings, who was the North American Strongman (NAS) State Chair for Louisiana.  He also competed at the games, and encouraged us to give it a try.  Like most of us, I always thought the highland games looked like a lot of fun, but had no idea how to get involved.

 

What is your favorite event?  WOB

 

What is a common mistake you see people make in that event?  Spinning, ha!  Seriously, people don't get enough out of their lower body.  The legs and hips are what drives that throw.

 

Talk about your game day shoes.  Like many of the Texas throwers, I use javelin boots.  The spikes offer just enough traction to drive off of, but don't impede turning.  You can also vary the number and height of spikes to fine tune for individual field conditions, though I rarely do that.

 

Talk about using gloves.  I use a glove on ring handle weights.  The main reason I started doing this was for training volume.  I can take a huge number of throws in training with my glove without hurting my thumb.  I use a plain leather work glove, though I am experimenting with thinner leather gloves my wife found for me.  


 I use cheap baseball batting gloves in the hammers.  I started doing this because 1) I sweat like it's my job, and 2) tacky turns to snot during Texas summers.  I kept using them because tacky always sticks to the gloves, and it makes cleanup super easy.  Again, because I'm lazy.

 

What is your worst event and what have you done to bring it up?  Hammers are my worst event.  I've watched a ton of video and have been taking a ton of reps in training.  I have about a thousand to go, then I should be decent, ha!

 

Who were the first people to influence and coach you in the sport?  Mark Cummings is who gave me the opportunity to do my first games and train with the implements, but after that the North Texas Heavies have been great, as has Jonathan Irvin, and of course my brother.

 

What were your favorite games?  Enumclaw was my first, and only, "big" games so far, and getting to share the field with guys like McKim, Frasure, Betz, Zolk, and KO was pretty awesome.  Those were guys I was watching on YouTube trying to learn how to throw, and to have a chance to compete with them was just incredible.

 

Do you have any game or lifting rituals?  Like Matt, I have taken to getting a pedicure before a games.  I did it the first time on his insistence while serving as his best man.  I had a games shortly afterward and threw well, so I've been doing it ever sense.  Plus, it makes me feel pretty.  Look good throw good!

 

Talk about doing strong man and the difference in the competitors and the events from Highland games.  Highland games are much more laid back, I think just due to the nature of the events and the thrower mentality.  Pro strongman contests are better then amateur ones, where it's just a bunch of guys with bad tattoos mean mugging each other to worse music.  Like the games, pro strongmen are, for the most part, very supportive of each other.  


The events, especially at the pro level, are infinitely more demanding than the games.  For a games, I'll taper my training slightly during the week leading up to the games, then may take a day or two off the following week for recovery.  For a pro strongman contest, I'll taper 2 weeks out, do nothing but stretching, recovery, and mobility work the week before, and do nothing but recovery work the week after, because the contests take so much out of me.  They're brutal. 

 

Who do you enjoy competing with and why?  Matt is my favorite person to compete with.  We grew up competing in everything from driveway basketball to video games, and we bring out the best in each other.  He's my best friend, and there's no one I'd rather share the field with.

 

Let me mention some of the Texas boys and let you comment on them

Spencer;  Deceptively athletic.  One of the most explosive throwers out there, and owner of the finest beard in the games.

Baab;  YouTube Masters of the Gridiron, it will tell you all you need to know about the Baabarian.  I hope to be half the man he is when I'm 50.

Duncan;  Improving at a frightening pace, and the ladies swoon when he shakes his hair out.  Watch out for this guy next season.

Quint;  Phenomenally strong, and exceptional at the fine art of ball busting. 

 

 

Talk about some of the throws, games and moments you are most proud of.  Throwing 41' 3" on my last throw in the Braemar at Enumclaw to win the event and set a new field record, and throwing 18' in the WOB in Austin to take the Amateur standing record back from Matt, who had taken it from me earlier in the season.

 

Talk about training and your philosophy in the area of throwing?  Right now, it's repetition, repetition, repetition.  I'm just trying to build muscle memory so I don't have to think so much on game day.  With Matt's help, I'll also be training more like a thrower, where I'll be moving away from training heavy all the time to focusing on speed work in season.

 

When you peak for a game, how do you structure your week prior to that game?  I'll be in the gym early in the week and throwing more later in the week.  Again, this is an area that Matt is helping me tremendously.  

 

Talk about then how you structured your week in season with no game that week.  Normal 3 days a week of lifting and 2 or 3 days of throwing.

 

Talk about the length of your off season and what your trying to do in that, phases and goals.  Pure off season, with no games, is from November to March this year.  I'll throw in the North/South games in January and my last amateur games in February, but will not alter my normal off-season strength training for them.  My 2011 was strongman heavy at the end, so after experimenting with Power Factor training for about 8 weeks, I decided to use a block periodization program that Matt has been so successful with.  Right now, I'm into the second half of my strength phase, which is 10 weeks of relatively heavy lifting, with the primary focus being increasing maximal strength.  Next I'll move into mini-cycles of speed and strength work as I get into the season, and finally pure speed work and throwing as the season progresses.

 

Tell us about some of the injuries you had as an athlete.  As an offensive lineman, I've broken and dislocated too many fingers and toes to count.  As for major injuries, I dislocated my left shoulder and had a left knee hyper extension and 2nd degree MCL tear in 1998.

 

Who makes you laugh at games now?  Matt and Spencer, especially together.  

 

What training philosophy do you follow in the gym?  After being a die hard Westside (conjugate method) follower the last 3 years, I'm switching to a block periodization program this season.  

 

When did you start lifting weights and what got you started?  I started seriously lifting as a freshman in high school, when I was 14.  I always lifted for sports, either football or track.  

 

What lift is your favorite and what is your best?  Squatting is probably my favorite, though I'm a much better overhead presser than I am a squatter.

 

What do you like to do outside of the games?  Hanging out with my two boys.  Playing in the yard, playing LEGOs, whatever.  They're soon to be 4 and 7, and I love spending time with them.

 

What other hobbies do you have?  At the moment it's really just lifting, throwing, and strongman.  Work and family take up the rest of my time, though I do enjoy video games.  I'm just a big kid!

 

What is your favorite food?  Tough one!  I'll eat just about anything, but a good cheeseburger, fries, and a cold beer are tough to beat.

 

 

 

What is a favorite dessert for you?  Pecan pie and Bluebell Homemade vanilla ice cream, and it's not even close.

 

 

 

At your house do you cook on the grille?  Absolutely!  Burgers, chicken, steaks, fish, I love cooking outside.

  

 

What supplements do you take?  Chronomass protein from Conquest Nutrition, HMB, multi-vitamins & fish oil from Wal-Mart.

 

Talk about drugs you use, and I don’t mean steroids.  I mean anti inflames or something prior to training to get up.  SuperCissus from USP Labs for joint support and Jack3e and Modern BCAA from USP Labs for pre workout.

 

What do you drink with a meal at home?  Mostly water, milk occasionally.  I used to drink a lot of milk but have gotten away from it.  Less milk seems to make me less bloated.

 

Do you live in a house, apartment or ?  A house.  

 

 

 

Tell us about the rest of your family.  I've been married to the most amazing woman on earth for 11 years, Diya, and we have two boys, Payton will be 7 in March, and Lyndon will be 4 in January.

 

 

Growing up and fighting with your brother, tell us some of the things you broke or a memorable throw down.  As kids, he broke his arm while we were playing some stupid game that involved him jumping off the bed, and me trying to trip him.  I won, we both lost.  He tried to cut my finger off with a can knife (think machete) while we were doing yard work for my dad while I was home for Christmas break in '98, I think.  Partially cut tendon and 4 stitches for that one.  Driveway basketball games were often epic and result in both of us bleeding.  One of the carport posts at our house was part in bounds, and we'd use it to set pics on the other.   That, and since neither of us were "finess" players, there were lots of elbows thrown.

 

 

What faith do you follow?  I'm a Christian.  I grew up going to Catholic school and was raised Methodist, and the older I get the less use I have for organized religion.  I don't need man getting in the way with my relationship with God.

 

 

 

Do you like to garden?  I like to mow, I hate maintaining my landscaping.

 

 

 

Do you mow your own grass or do you have a man?  I mow.  Like a lot of folks in the 'burbs, I have a pretty small yard.  I can weed eat, edge, mow, and have everything cleaned up in less than 45 minutes.  Hard to justify a yard man for that.

 

 

Are you a cat or dog person?  I grew up with dogs, but we have 2 giant black cats now.  They're 16 and 20lbs, and rather entertaining.

 

Are you conservative or liberal in your politics?  Conservative, though I seem to be leaning more libertarian.

 

Are you into Astrology?  What sign are you?  I'm a Gemini, but that's about all I could tell you.

 

Are you superstitious?  Or a Stevie Wonder fan?  Best question phrasing ever!  I'm not really superstitious, but I respect things like that.

 

Talk about some of the music you listen to at different times.  I'm into lots of different things, just typically not Top-40 stuff.  I'm into the Black Keys new album at the moment, as well as Tim Barry.  Workout or pre-games music will often include Dropkick Murphys, Kanye West, Flatfoot56, King Fantastic, The Sword, and old Metallica.  LIke I said, I'm all over the place.

 

Where do you like to go out to eat?  I love Mexican and Chinese food, so those are always winners.

 

What do you like to watch on TV?  I've been following Boardwalk Empire and The Walking Dead, though I've been watching more football since my son has started playing.

 

Are you a western movie or sci fi person?  Tell a favorite.  Both.  Favorite Western is The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, and favorite Sci-Fi is Alien.

 

What are the goals for this year?  Finish in the top 10 with invites to IHGF Worlds and Celtic.

 

Thank you brother.  Thank you, Myles!