Burpees for dollars: A birth defect, a triumph of courage, and a powerful reason to give

Happy New Year! Let's go kick MABA's butt.

SIGN UP NOW FOR Year 4 of MABA.

MABA—Make America Burpee Again—is an annual challenge in which participants do 100 burpees a day (on average) every day in January.

Loneliness is killing us, middle-aged men especially, and MABA is a cure. You can’t be lonely when you’re doing 100 burpees a day with your friends.

MABA’s theme is Fall down. Get back up. Together.

We all fall down. We all have to get back up. We must not do it alone.

Last January, 848 men, women and children on five continents completed 1,942,169 burpees.

We can top that. Sign up today and challenge your friends to join you.

BURPEES FOR DOLLARS: Cowbell’s courageous transformation

Last January 3rd, an Anonymous Donor offered $1 for every burpee done at one F3 workout with a cap of $10,000, with the proceeds going to Shriners Hospitals for Children. We easily emptied his wallet of that amount.

He’s back again this year, with a twist: The men completing the burpees have to raise $10,000 to match his $10,000 and reach 20,000 burpees, again on January 3, again at one location in St. Charles, Missouri.

For Jeremy “Cowbell” Patterson, this event brings together the great challenge, and the greater triumph, of his life.

I asked him to tell his story here—a big ask because I know how challenging the events he describes have been. I hope that after reading it, you’ll donate to help a kid like Cowbell was grow into the type of leader and man Cowbell is.

To donate, click here.

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Shriners played a big part in my early childhood. It’s always been hard for me to share this, but I have a birth defect called foot drop. I can’t lift my left foot, making my left leg smaller than the right. Growing up was tough, especially with my mom raising me alone until I was 7, and I’m sure medical expenses were steep.

Shriners was a huge help, not just with the braces for my leg, but also with their kindness. They made tough situations a little easier. Their staff with those goofy hats, and the clowns, always made it a friendly place. I remember playing on really cool indoor playgrounds there. It felt like they genuinely cared, which meant a lot, especially when things were hard at home.

For years—pretty much my whole life—I hid my birth defect. I’d make up stories about a car accident to explain my leg. I never wore shorts, never revealed my truth.

I just wanted to be a normal kid and later, a normal man.

In 2021, I joined F3, where true friendship and vulnerability are valued. Being around men like that gave me the courage to be honest about my leg.

I had never spoken publicly about the truth. In September 2021, I told a group of men at The Citadel, an AO in St. Charles, Missouri, the truth about my leg. To my surprise, they all accepted me. I didn’t get put down or made fun of, which was my biggest fear. Instead, I received fist bumps, hugs and supportive words.

Simply typing this brings back those emotions.

Even after sharing the truth about my leg, wearing shorts was a hard no for me.

Then, on Monday, June 20, 2022—yes, of course I remember the date—I wore shorts in public by choice for the first time ever, to a workout at Bum’s Hollow. I was so scared I just sat in my car. I thought I’d have a panic attack. I worried about losing my friends and being judged. But the crazy thing is, the opposite happened. Every man accepted me with fist bumps, hugs and love, and I felt I could be myself without judgment.

My mind was blown! Is this real?

All of those years being bullied about my leg, and these men showed me it’s OK to be me. 

Now, these two worlds are coming together—the organization that helped me as a young boy, and the men who helped me (and continue to help me) as an older one. I need to be part of it.

Doing these burpees is more than a physical challenge for me. It’s a way to pay it forward for the support my mom and I received.

Here comes that fear again, worrying that I’ve overshared, that I’ll be judged or lose respect.

But building off the support and love I’ve been shown, I’m doing it anyway.

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