Things like: “We read this story in Outside and it seems like there’s a significant disconnect between how you’ve presented yourself and how you actually act.”

(What I would have paid to be a fly on that wall.)

I suggested that it’d be fun to give some kind of follow-up. He agreed, asked the business school’s Outdoor Adventures Club to sponsor an event, and… voila!

While I don’t know what this event will be just yet, I’m pretty sure I won’t be wearing this getup.

I think this time I’ll make a tee shirt.

Let ‘em take that boat, Mr. Mouse. Your plane is coming.

Not only has rising star photographer/3x Tough Guy champ/freshly-single stud, James Appleton…

…snapped scores of fantastic,

utterly memeable PORTRAITS of Mr. Mouse,

…we camped in “The Killing Fields” our first night.

Not in the tent, but on the cargo netting… 40′ up.

It was like the world’s biggest hammock.

And the following day… we even ran the course at a leisurely pace. (Thanks James!)

(Which is to say that this time around I skipped enough ice water obstacles to avoid hypothermia.)

Oh, and thanks to a new obstacle Mr. Mouse is testing – one that simulates IEDs and involves copious amounts of TNT – the police arrived just 20 minutes after James and I. (The neighbors had called to complain… something about “explosions” on the farm.)

But far more importantly, Mr. Mouse has opened up to me like never before.

We’ve had a complicated relationship since I first reached out to him 18 months ago. Especially after my cover story hit newsstands. (Explanation… someday.)  But during this 2nd visit our dynamic has changed. Tonight, for instance, I sat at his kitchen table until almost 4AM as he shared – with unbelievable lucidity – too many holyfuckingshit stories to count. Tales from his life before Tough Guy. Some funny, some tragic, some so wild I thought no way until he produced documents to prove it.

Here’s a business card from the early 70s, when he was a renowned (if not wildly eccentric) Wolverhampton hairdresser.

(Yes, those are boobies. And yes, that’s him. Though it was just a smart publicity stunt. No naked girls actually worked there, though many men showed up in hopes of seeing them.)

Here’s a Superman stunt to promote his horse sanctuary in ’78…

And here’s Mr. Mouse at the starting line of the Wolverhampton Marathon in ’85 (an event he organized).

It’s almost inconceivable to think the $250+ million dollar industry he pioneered isn’t even the most interesting fold in his life’s accordion, and yet I’m fairly certain it pales in comparison to some of the shit I heard tonight.

Which brings me to this…

After a year and a half of interviews and two visits to his farm, I’m pretty sure he’s one of the most extraordinary character I’ve ever come across. Here’s a visionary who was decades ahead of his time and then, faster than you can say ‘Facebook’ – whoosh! – the world whipped past, rendering him an anachronism at best, irrelevant at worst. But I’m dedicated to changing the narrative.

Mr. Mouse is not just a once-in-a-generation character… he’s once-in-a-wormhole. He’s the kind of figure that usually only surfaces in fantastic works of fiction. Or Daniel Day Lewis movies. And somehow – by luck or kismet – he’s entrusted me with exclusive rights to his outrageous life story. I’m looking forward to synthesizing his (iridescent) existence for you. What form – and how long – that takes will soon be announced.

Buckle up…

Stay tuned…

And please, if you like what you’ve read, please share this post.

This isn’t me. (Thank God.) But as you’ll see in this humor essay for Bike Monkey, it has been… all too often.

I haven’t met him, but from what I hear (and see), he’s a character.  He’s also a devout Christian who’s having the Easter of his life. 

(Note: To my friends who thought I had a good iPhone story: mine was batshit crazy decent. His is magic.)

Happy Easter, Rodrigo!

According to race organizers:

The Rave Run was founded in 2012 by a runner, an artist and an insomniac. The idea was to bring the adrenaline pumping music and special effects from electronic festivals onto a 5K course. The dazzling light effects are designed by EDC artists and industry experts. It’s like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory except with lights. It’s candy for your eyes and ears. It’s a glow run…gone wild! Get ready for the night of your life. Experience a magical world of light and sound unlike anything else out there.

I must admit, I’m already a bit wary as they’re using photos from other events to promote theirs.

I could be wrong, but this one…

…looks a hell of a lot like Austin Trail of Lights.

SO I ask… how much of the course will feature dazzling lights and sounds?

Will it be “a nocturnal wonderland”, or will runners have to fend for themselves on a dark, dangerous route filled with potholes?

Will there be any water stations? If so, will there be water at them?

How long will we have to wait in traffic… in registration lines?

Unfortunately, these are the kinds of questions we have to ask these days. Just yesterday…

So I ask, is the Rave Run the next Neon Run? Will thousands leave feeling swindled? OR… will they invest the necessary resources to deliver on what they’re promising? Time will tell. For the sake of the industry – and one of my weekend nights in May – I hope it’s amazing. I’ll report back.

In the meantime, consider liking Obstacle Racing Magazine.

And you’ve EVER looked like this…

MEET MARCEL MARTENS…

Or maybe it’s “Maazel.” I don’t know… I’ve never met him. But according to a thing he posted to my wall back in February, we were standing very very close to one another at the Tough Guy start.

THIS close…

I remember the day Marcel posted that. I remember thinking: This just made my day.  (Though, if I’m being honest… I’d prefer if my reply were dressed in 2-3 fewer exc!ama!!on points. Zero is plenty, one is c!austrophobic.)

Aside from of our shared passion for pain, I honestly don’t really know a lick about him. Just little bits from fb.

I know he’s of German descent but has since moved to Hawaii. And I know that this last detail is of some sort of import to the media.

While I know very little about this Tough Guy, Marcel Martens is one of the (bajillion) reasons I’m excited to be entrenched in this community.

And while I look forward to the day our paths cross, I pray they don’t do so on a day he doesn’t finish.

That would suck.

UPDATE: Marcel seemed to like the post.

1) Everything Mr. Mouse says.

The man opens with, “We’re gonna take ‘em through the torture chamber.” And then he slips in this gem: “We don’t wanna actually kill ‘em. But if they come here and die that’s no problem.”

2) When this guy pulls off his gas mask and tells Byron Pitts what he does for a living.

Note: Had Miguel said, “I’m a gigolo” or “I smuggle drugs,” I wouldn’t have batted an eye.

3) Will Dean’s take on the lawsuit.

Here’s a clip just about Tough Mudder and Tough Guy…

And here’s the full segment again…