Waldo tribute: Love so strong it's dangerous

So many men wanted to do a prayer walk at his hospital in a foot of snow and frigid temperatures that it was cancelled for safety reasons

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On Waldo’s infamous Leech Hike, the value of endurance and his crazy fitness ‘cult’

On Sunday, as doctors performed surgery to stabilize Waldo’s spine, 40 men gathered for a virtual workout during a real blizzard as a tribute to him. Waldo—real name, Tim Johanns—is a beloved member of F3 JeffCo and MABA fanatic, and he was paralyzed in a construction accident on Friday.

During the workout, we prayed, rolled around in the snow, walked barefoot in the snow, did a bunch of burpees in the snow and a bunch of motivators, and more I’m forgetting. I couldn’t take notes because I was doing facedown snow angels.

And anyway, what we did and how many are beside the point. WHY we did them was the point. We did them for love. We did them because one of our brothers has fallen down, and we need to help him get back up, and we need to do it together.

Only love can prompt 40 men to take off their shoes and socks and walk in seven inches of snow.

And the love kept coming.

The men of F3 planned a prayer walk for Wednesday morning on the grounds of the hospital where Waldo is being treated. But so many men promised to be there—in what is now a foot of snow with temperatures in the single digits—that the hospital asked us not to do it.

Think about that for a second.

The tribute was so big it was unsafe.

That’s love so strong it’s dangerous.

Let’s love like that every day.

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Below is an email interview I did with Waldo’s oldest daughter, Veronica.

How many kids and grandkids does he have?

Three daughters—Me (Veronica, 32), Gabrielle, 30, and Ingrid 28. We were all supposed to be Jeoffrey with a G, but apparently he only makes girls. He currently has three grandkids and two on the way.

What kind of dad and what kind of grandpa is he?

The absolute best. His grandkids adore him and so do we. From dress up to belly meat he is always there to have some fun.

One thing I have always admired is the way he punished us, which is funny to say. He made us learn some hard lessons. The first time I ever got drunk he really made me pay for it. My dad had to come pick me up. I was blacked out. He didn’t scream or yell. He got me home and paraded me around by my hood and made sure my siblings saw the effects of teen drinking. He cleaned me up and sent me to bed.

The next day I was in for a rude awakening. Not only did I have to clean out throw up from the vents of his car with a toothbrush, I also had to plant an entire row of privacy hedges in his backyard hungover.

Your family knows tragedy. If I understand correctly, he lost a brother in an accident and a sister is a quadriplegic from a separate accident. Is that true? How’s the family doing?

I wish it wasn’t, but yes. I think everyone is doing the best they can. It really puts life into perspective and just shows how quickly things can change. We are continuing to love, support and lift each other up.

The F3 stories of him are legion. Adventure races, reading Catholic theology between workouts, walking barefoot through the snow and on and on. Was he like that as a dad when you were growing up?

Yes. I am not sure what got into him, but he always has had the bug for adventure. From rugby games, to cricket, triathlons, hikes, marathons, backpacking solo in Bali and long bike rides, he is always doing something.

And he tried his best to make all of us like it. As a family we have gone on many hikes. We completed a family RAGBRI (a weeklong bike ride across Iowa). He even pushed us into competing in triathlons. I almost passed out, but with his encouragement I did finish!

Can you tell us a story like that from your childhood?

When we lived in Australia he convinced everyone to go on a hike in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park (see photo below). It definitely wasn't all of our thing, but we went—slightly begrudgingly.

It had rained not long before, and everything was damp. After not too long everyone started to itch. My dad pulled down his socks, and he was covered in leeches. Cue the screaming as we all came to the realization we were all covered in leeches, with my sister Ingrid standing in a pile of fire ants.

Did this faze my dad?

Not one bit as he tried to remove them from four squealing girls. Safe to say we were reluctant to go on any more hikes with him.

Now we all laugh about it.

Wait. You lived in Australia? When/where/why?

We lived in Wahroonga NSW from 2000-2004. Tim worked for RGA, in IT disaster recovery. He traveled for work in many offices around the world and was transferred to work in their Sydney office from 2000-2004.

What has the response from F3 been like?

The response from F3 has been overwhelming. We all joke about his crazy fitness “cult,” but truly it really is just one big brotherhood. It makes me feel so much gratitude that beyond his family he has so many people behind him.

What have you learned about your dad through this that you didn’t already know?

I knew my dad has touched many lives and is the kindest person I know. But this has shown me truly how much impact he really has on those around him. It truly is inspiring and makes me want to follow in his footsteps

We can pray. We can donate to the GoFund Me. What else can we do?

Right now, we have so many more questions than answers on things Tim may need going forward. The biggest thing I think we can all do is just be here to support Tim. To continue to build him up and let him know how much we love him.

Your dad had surgery on Sunday. You started a Facebook page to provide updates. What can you tell us about his condition?

Tim is currently stable in the ICU. His head CTs have been consistently stable. They found secretions and a small amount of fluid around his lungs that ended up being bacterial pneumonia. They started some antibiotics so hopefully we will get the lungs cleared up soon, and he can be extubated.

The T3-T9 fusion is stable after the surgery with a cage. They did note some fractures at T10-T11 after imaging today. They got him in a brace and hopefully will repair them. This morning they turned off his sedation block temporarily. He opened his eyes and was able to see me, it seemed, and he kept squeezing my hand.

Do you think his background in endurance sports will help him in his recovery? If so, how?

I think so. He always pushes himself to the limit and beyond. He has so much fight in him and never gives up. He is resilient beyond measure. I think the even bigger thing is his faith. He knows God has a plan for him.

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Where’s Waldo Competition

Every year MABA runs a competition to see who can submit video or photo proof of themselves doing burpees in the most unusual places. Entries in previous years include whatever you call the rink you play curling on, an operating room, too many beaches, mountains and planes to count, the roof of a house, the cherrypicker of a firetruck and much more.

This year, I am naming it the Where’s Waldo Competition.

Last week’s entry was from David Wangberg, who did burpees on Burpee Drive.

This week, we have two. One from Chad "Rodeo" Oustalet doing them while ploughing snowy, icy roads in Montana. “To put some of our other F3 guys in an emotional headlock, I recorded this video of me getting after it in one of the roads I was clearing. Ten at a time throughout the day. Slow and steady wins the race, I reckon.”

The other is from my friend Jason “Cherry Limeade” Meinershagen, a firefighter who did burpees on an interstate in suburban St. Louis while it was closed due to an accident.