11/21/24
July 24, 2005
Forrest Lump.: 39-year-old, 350-pounder Steve Vaught aka The Fat Man Walking, is walking from San Diego to NYC to lose weight and get his life back.
posted by worldcup2002 to extreme at 11:01 AM - 21 comments
You can choose to not be inspired by someone making themselves better through athletics, but if you walked across the country, especially if you were that big, you'd consider it a significant athletic achievement. (But I won't repeat myself.) So Happy "Inspirational Athletic Feat Post Day." I'ma drag my fat ass outside for a run.
posted by chicobangs at 01:59 PM on July 24, 2005
I think this will probrably start trouble but.... are'nt there more motivational/ inspirational sports stories than someone who want's to lose weight? And it was supposed to be ATE McDonald's in every State of the Union......
posted by volfire at 03:37 PM on July 24, 2005
volfire, why don't you go find some of those more motivational/inspirational sports stories and post them? Leave this one for those of us who find a man trying to lose weight.....well...motivational/inspirational.
posted by gac at 04:24 PM on July 24, 2005
Would Kirstie Alley, the spokes woman for Jennie Craig, qualify? She's lost alot of weight too. And did'nt have to walk alot either, fro what I understand. I'll be back.
posted by volfire at 04:55 PM on July 24, 2005
Would Kirstie Alley, the spokes woman for Jennie Craig, qualify? She's lost alot of weight too. And did'nt have to walk alot either, fro what I understand. I'll be back. So how exactly is that "athletic" then? Long distance walking is an athletic achievement. Side note: in that link, doesn't it look like both feet are off the ground? If so, that's against the rules in race walking...
posted by grum@work at 05:18 PM on July 24, 2005
Thank You gac (which is the sound my cat makes when it pukes), I would love to give you a SMALL list of some of my favorites. I apologize as I(being the dumbass, that I am) still cannot post a Link???(WTF) Anyway for starters try Specialoympics.org. #2 try blazesports.com. #3 dsusa.org/woundedwarrior.html.. I am a Vet afeter all. If your still not convinced look up Marla Runyan, who was a blind woman, AND actually qualified for a U.S. Olympic Track team. (2002, I believe). So if you need any more inpiration other than this, or a Subway commercial, just look around. I don't believe you looked before, It's not really hard to find if you look. Just easier to ingnore.
posted by volfire at 05:28 PM on July 24, 2005
"Losing weight" is not the sport part. The "walking 2500 miles" part is. The fact that there's a reason behind this amazing effort makes it newsworthy. The fact that he's sticking to the goal of walking across the continent even though it's harder than he thought makes it sportsworthy.
posted by chicobangs at 05:29 PM on July 24, 2005
Gee, it doesn't have a ball or uniforms or a scoreboard, so it can't possibly be a sport, can it?
posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:47 PM on July 24, 2005
Volfire, besides just something being sport for my two cents at least any post here has to involve a specific event. So when, for instance, the next Special Olympics or similar event rolls around I think it would be fine for posting, just like the homeless tournament that was posted the other day. As for your inability to create an FPP, well, you could always ask for help from the Pantheon or another member. It isn't actually harder than posting a comment plus having a URL to the event/individual you want to discuss (I'm assuming you are computer-literate enough to manage copy and paste). Otherwise, I don't see why you feel compelled to rain on the rest of us when you don't like a post.
posted by billsaysthis at 09:45 PM on July 24, 2005
volfire, FYI, gac is not a sound, it is the initials of someone very close to me, who is no longer with us. I use his initials to remind me to be tolerant of everyone and respect their views, if possible. The next time your cat pukes, I hope it's on you.
posted by gac at 10:38 PM on July 24, 2005
ok...is he going to play video games while he walks...since the youth of america apparently think that is a sport....pleeeeease tell me he wont be wearing spandex!
posted by wannabeacowboybaby at 10:43 PM on July 24, 2005
Well, it's very easy to snipe at someone whilst sat with your keyboards resting on your huge, fat stomachs. I applaud this man for his efforts to turn his life around and wish him luck with it.
posted by squealy at 05:33 AM on July 25, 2005
Yeah - luck maybe. Publicity? Not so much. Is he raising money for obesity research?.... (Researchers discovered the primary cause of obesity was a small McDonald's located in Vaught's pants).
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 02:04 PM on July 25, 2005
Weedy, the links to the stories are pretty clear on the why and what-fors. (Hint: He's doing it for himself.) And you know, by the time he gets to Maine, he'll no longer be fat, and he'll have accomplished something greater than any of us ever will (pace, JJ & Ben Saunders). Sheesh, but the player-hatred is thick this last couple of days.
posted by chicobangs at 03:22 PM on July 25, 2005
Sheesh, but the player-hatred is thick this last couple of days. What's that saying about how those who say it can't (or maybe shouldn't) be done ought to STFU and get out of the way of those who are doing it?
posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:40 PM on July 25, 2005
Those who can, do. Those who can't, bitch on the Internet.
posted by rodgerd at 09:00 PM on July 25, 2005
Absolutely fair play to this guy - as chicobangs pointed out, the walking makes this sport enough to get included here. The fact that he's a smidge over-weight just makes it more interesting. He's twice the man I am. [/cheapshot]
posted by JJ at 04:11 AM on July 26, 2005
Chico - come on, you're obviously impressed by such an endeavor and I chose to treat it lightheartedly. LIke I said I wish the man luck, but just don't feel it warrants as a public event. I'm not completely ignorant of the difficulty involved in weight loss - when I was 23 I weighed about 235 pounds on a 6' frame, and proceeded to lose sixty pounds through the miracle cure of diet and exercise. But ya know what? I didn't think anyone else would care. You're not a hero because you get into shape.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:02 AM on July 26, 2005
LIke I said I wish the man luck, but just don't feel it warrants as a public event. Weedy, maybe not -- people start off on personal quests every day, many of them at least peripherally physical in nature, and it's not necessarily considered newsworthy. OTOH, we've also got FPPs aplenty about the most recent NHL waver-in-the-wind, a lawsuit about a golf course, an international auctioneering championship, who's the new coach of which team this week, etc., so it seems to me that we've probably got room for this too.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:19 AM on July 26, 2005
Imagine his disapointment when he gets to NYC and gets the crap beat out of him , all that work wasted now being beat to a pulp.
posted by evil empire at 08:15 PM on July 29, 2005
First off: This is sports related how? Second: The guy who at McDonald's in every state of the Union already beat him.