After he had been chasing the IronMind® Red Nail™ for a while, Pat Povilaitis wanted to give it a try in front of me at the 2002 AOBS dinner.


It wasn't lack of effort that kept Pat Povilaitis from polishing off an IronMind Red Nail at the 2002 AOBS dinner. IronMind® | Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D. photo.

Although Povilaitis put up a gut-busting effort, it wasn't to be that night, but that didn't stop him.

Later adopting a modification of the bending style put on the map by Gavin Holle, Povilaitis told me that it was placing him in a much more powerful position and he was making solid progress in his assault on the IronMind® Red Nail™.

Bob Bollenbach has long had special status at IronMind®, not just because he started buying grippers from us about fifteen years ago, but also because he was passionate about them and he doesn't get cowed into saying someone did something they didn't do - Bob's got some spine, which is something we have always liked in a person.

A couple of years ago, I had introduced Pat Povilaitis and his friend Steve Weiner to Bob Bollenbach, and so when Povilaitis was ready to get certified on the Red Nail™, it was only natural that he perform under Bob's watchful eye.

Pat succeeded this time, and Bob's comments to me were along the lines that it was a 110% effort. Subsequently, at the Arnold Expo earlier this year, Pat wanted to show me he could do it, and he did - marching right through the Red Nail™.  Fast forward again, and Pat visited Bob a couple of weeks, only this time, he blew through 25 Red Nails™.

Having watched Pat's progress, Bob called to tell me how impressed he was, and it's another example of how persistence pays off.