USAWA

by Al Myers

At the 2011 IAWA World Championships in Perth, Australia I met a very interesting and eccentric Australian weightlifter, John Patterson.  I had previously heard stories about John, so I was very intrigued to visit with him firsthand and ask him questions.  John has spent a large amount of time living in the outback, surviving off the land alone.  He is the closest person I have ever met that I would say resembles “Crocodile Dundee” from the popular movie years ago.  He has always had his weights with him, and continued to train by himself in the remote wilderness.  The second day of the meet John brought several pictures for me to look at that were taken when he was younger and in PRIME CONDITION. It was obvious to me from the pictures that he was a VERY STRONG man.  I only wish I could have gotten copies of these pictures so I could share them in this story – but just as John is, they were “one of a kinds” and the original print!