The MABA email that made me cry
'It's good to be able to share the strain'
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You’re not going to do 100 burpees a day for a month and not buy a shirt are you?
I do things like MABA because I believe enduring difficult situations when I can quit will help me endure difficult situations when I can’t quit. I gather as many men as possible to do the hard things with me because suffering alone feels meaningless but suffering together gives us strength.
There’s a PAX named Jason Kallini (F3 Bartles and Jaymes) who is living through this point exactly. I cried when I read his email, attached to which was the photo above.
Don’t know if this is the happiest of burpee photos, but it technically falls under unusual places.
My father had a stroke three days before Christmas and is currently in a rehab hospital. That definitely didn’t make the holidays feel the same. And since I live four hours away, it doesn’t help with MABA and workouts in general, trying to get my morning time in, family, work, and now this.
Somehow I managed to break into the top 10 leaderboard this week, which is amazing in and of itself, as I’ve hardly ever been an F3 record breaker, but I’m having a hard time keeping up my burpee numbers while spending days at the hospital.
So, long story short, I managed to do some burpees while bedside with my dad. He’s 83, and he made myself and all my brothers stubborn, so we’re hoping he'll pull through. Best photo I could get in a hospital room, without getting in trouble from the nurses. Got to sneak them in.
I can only imagine what you were dealing with that first MABA year, but it’s good to be able to share the strain with my F3 brothers. Thanks for helping us all push ourselves with this. Hard to feel upset when you’re sucking wind from burpees.
His reference to what I was dealing with is that my mom died New Year’s Eve 2020—the day before the very first day of MABA. I’ve written about that here and here. I did MABA that year anyway in part because I didn’t know what else to do with myself.
The first week or 10 days I felt not grief but relief, because my mom was done suffering and my family was done fearing. After 10 days or so grief arrived and I wore it like a too-tight weight vest. It has gotten looser and lighter in the last two years but of course I’m still wearing it.
Looking back, I see the burpees of MABA 2021 as a distraction, and the men I did them with as an incredible source of strength and comfort. I would not, could not do them alone.
I thanked Bartles and Jaymes for the email—I was touched that he remembered my struggle and took the time to say so—and man it got dusty in here when he wrote back …
Oh yeah, I definitely remember. I am still amazed that you did what you did, while going through all that. I’m not sure how well I’ll handle that eventuality, but I’m just thankful for the time I’m getting with him now, and hoping for a fast recovery.
But yeah, it helps to know that someone pushed through something even harder than what I’m going through. Sometimes, just knowing that helps.
Doing hard stuff together matters.
Don’t do it alone, whatever it is.
Fall down.
Get back up.
Together.
A heart for working with modern-day lepers
This issue’s interview is with Phelix Obuya (F3 Safari), who was born and raised in Kenya and is a leader in F3 there.
“I was born in abject poverty,” he wrote to me, “to an extent that we rarely had two meals. I wore my first pair of shoes when going to High school. I was born in a family of 7 but 5 of us died, my late dad included, therefore it is my 78-year-old mum, my brother Chris and I who are alive. Am 48 years old and have been a member of F3 since 2020.
“I hold two Master Degrees in Strategic Management and Community Studies respectively and have worked with diverse organizations. Chaplain Steven Hubbard and I started a Foundation and got it incorporated in Kenya this year. Damien's Hope Foundation follows the ethos of the late St. Fr. Damien of Molocai, a Belgium Catholic priest who died while serving lepers. We therefore are dedicated to work with the ‘modern-day lepers’ who are needy and aren’t capable of meeting their basic needs in the society.
“Damien’s Hope doesn't have any kind of funding at the moment, but we rely on personal contributions and goodwill. I do my apostolate on foot because many times I never have even cash to pay for transport. Having gone through very tough times in life moved me to found Damien’s Hope Foundation.”
Why are you doing MABA?
My pax and I are doing MABA because of the vision of making America Burpee again. Burpees being an all-inclusive workout, develops the entire parts of the body hence if it is properly done then the pax attain a holistic and an all-round fitness.
Loneliness is an epidemic among men in America. We hope MABA helps with that. Are men in Kenya lonely?
Men in Kenya are lonely of course and many times they end up in anti-social activities such as drunkenness and crime. MABA and F3 Nation are indeed a blessing in Kenya, and my vision is to grow this initiative in the entire Africa. Due to the limited resources, I have only managed to mobilize just a bunch who does the workout with me. Many times, I have to pay for transportation and facilitate the pax who can’t attend the burpees sessions.
How many PAX in Kenya are taking part in MABA?
Currently 15.
From your Facebook posts, it looks like you enjoy burpees! What do you think of them?
Burpees are complete workout if properly done. It develops the whole body. I like them because they help me attain a complete body fitness as explained above
You mentioned on one of your posts that you spend a lot of time and money on orphans. Explain what you do to me.
Yes, I do spend a lot of my time and resources working with not only orphans, but I work with the “needy.” Orphans and vulnerable children are the majority in this bracket and since I was a very needy person growing up, I took it upon myself to change the story. In my brief introduction, you can see the kind of life I went through and therefore I feel bad when I see people suffering around me. I forgo meals many times just to share with the needy!!
Due to HIV/IDS pandemic and cancer, Kenya has had a serious rise in orphans and vulnerable children and widows due to deaths of parents and spouses, I therefore took an initiative to support these people in the community. Since I do not have much funds and depend on donations, I must say that a few friends have come through to help me do this work.
Send proof of the weird places you do burpees
The annual “doing burpees in weird places” is proceeding. Highlights from previous years include the Grand Canyon, multiple airplanes, the roof of a house and whatever the ice rink you play curling on is called. Video or photo evidence is preferred so I can share it. Scott Hardeman (F3 Q Tip) sent me video of himself and his young daughter doing burpees atop a ski mountain. He told me they’d be flying home, so I challenged him to send me airport burpees, which he did. He tied a MABA record by doing burpees in four states in one day.
Friday the 13th Nightmare on MABA Street
Your region is cordially invited to suffer this Friday the 13th in the first annual MABA Day region challenge. The prize is simple bragging rights. The rules:
· 30-minute timed event on Friday the 13th.
· Must be performed outside with at least 2 PAX participating. NO OYO
· The score will be average burpees completed per PAX in that 30-minute time frame. PUSH YOURSELF DON'T HURT YOURSELF.
· I know our PAX are 98 percent financial planners and probably understand how numbers work, but just in case: average equals total burpees completed in the 30 minute beatdowns divided by the number of PAX present.
· Each PAX can participate in as many 30-minute burpee sufferfests as he wants, but he can count ONLY his best 30-minute score.
· The region with the highest average wins! (Minimum five particpants.)
· What constitutes a burpee? A burpee. Clap, don’t clap, full merkin, flying squirrel, whatever. Just do a burpee, aye?!? I aspire to be a lot of things in life and “burpee referee” is pretty close to last. As long as you fall down, get back up, together, it's a burpee.