Lead By Example. As an elite athlete, you have the personal responsibility to represent yourself in the highest manner when it comes to meeting fans and consequently, other lifters, especially ones that are on the rise up.
When it comes to Dan “Boss” Green, he is a mentor to flocks of upcoming powerlifters and motivating them to achieve their full potential is and continues to be paramount.
When it comes to Dan “Boss” Green, he is a mentor to flocks of upcoming powerlifters and motivating them to achieve their full potential is and continues to be paramount.
Be Elite
Dan “Boss” Green is no stranger to being gawked at in the gym or on the powerlifting platform. Not only because of his physical stature but also from his earth shattering lifts from the 220lb and the 242lb weight classes. He’s become a household name not only in the competitive powerlifting circuit, but also in the bodybuilding and general fitness population as well. The real question is…what does he have in store when he arrives at the Universal Headquarters in New Jersey?
Enter Rutgers Powerlifting Team
Just down the road from Universal HQ is Rutgers University, harboring the Rutgers Powerlifting Team. These students’ degrees span from computer science to political science, but they all share a passion for competitive powerlifting. They know who broke what record in the last meet and they know what a real deal lift is. They are students of the game but they are also avid fans. When Animal proposed the idea of them coming to the company gym to train with Dan Green, they almost ran down Route 27 in excitement.
Getting in the Trenches
About a dozen Rutgers student-athletes arrived at the HQ gym to meet and train with the Boss. There was no roped off area or elevated stage where Dan would be separated. He was right in the mix with them. They either had their own workouts or they trained alongside the Boss, who was hitting a bench and triceps workout. He threw around some weight on seated military press and french press before finalizing his training with the dip machine. When Dan and the powerlifting team hit the gym floor, they are equals in the sport. There is no celebrity aura or sense of entitlement. Just a bunch of lifters who want to train their asses off and progress their physiques and numbers. The iron conjoins them.
Reputation and Character
As acclaimed basketball coach John Wooden once said, “the true test of a man's character is what he does when no one is watching”. A true champion handles what needs to be done even if there is no one to congratulate him. Yet, a man’s reputation is what others see and perceive him to be. How does he handle himself when he is in view of others? Does he look down on them? Is he abrasive or stand offish? Or is he a humble? Does he understand where he came from and understand what it’s like to be on the rise and see an OG of your sport in person? After seeing Dan Green train with the Rutgers Powerlifting team, it is apparent why his reputation speaks volumes and why he is held in such high regard, both by fans and fellow competitors. The Boss aims to better and progress the powerlifting sport at large and on a personal level, each day, one lift at a time.
