mattZA Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Hi everyone,My name is Matthew and am a newbie to both his forum and to Objectivism in general. Am a South African based in Athens, Greece. My interest in Objectivism (which ultimately led me to this forum) was sparked by the writings of the late bodybuilder Mike Mentzer, who quoted Ayn Rand frequently in his work and characterized his approach to weight training to have been heavily influenced by her writing. Anyhow, am here to learn as much as possible from the wealth of knowledge shared by the contributors to the forum.All the best,Matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brant Gaede Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Hi everyone,My name is Matthew and am a newbie to both his forum and to Objectivism in general. Am a South African based in Athens, Greece. My interest in Objectivism (which ultimately led me to this forum) was sparked by the writings of the late bodybuilder Mike Mentzer, who quoted Ayn Rand frequently in his work and characterized his approach to weight training to have been heavily influenced by her writing. Anyhow, am here to learn as much as possible from the wealth of knowledge shared by the contributors to the forum.All the best,MatthewHi, Matt! Fasten your seat belt and hold on for dear life!--Brant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Stuart Kelly Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Hey Matthew,Welcome aboard!I can use some bodybuilding enthusiasm around here. I'm too fat.Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Grieb Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Matthew; Welcome to OL. I agree with all that as been said to you.Why are you in Athens? Are you Greek? You can walk where Aristotle and Plato walked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattZA Posted September 17, 2008 Author Share Posted September 17, 2008 Hi, Matt! Fasten your seat belt and hold on for dear life!--BrantWill do. Sounds like Nio choosing between the red and blue pill in "The Matrix" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattZA Posted September 17, 2008 Author Share Posted September 17, 2008 Hey Matthew,Welcome aboard!I can use some bodybuilding enthusiasm around here. I'm too fat.MichaelThanks, Michael.Was quite out of shape until around about 6 or 7 months ago when I started to hit the gym. The big problem with beginning weight-training is that there's so much contradictory information and a fair number of snake-oil salesmen out there which discredit the practice. Fortunately, I stumbled across Mentzer's writings pretty much as soon as I started lifting which relieved a lot of the frustration most beginners encounter (i.e. not seeing or "feeling" results) and avoided a dent in my wallet at the same time. Am not going to sing the praises of a single author without assessing his or her work to the best of my critical ability, but the guy presented a training methodology that was both rational and went against the grain of what was and still is being purveyed to the bodybuilding/weightlifting community through popular publications like Joe Weider's Flex or Muscle & Fitness. Anyway will stop before getting carried away, that's probably a subject in need of a thread of it's own. Thanks very much for the welcome.Matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattZA Posted September 17, 2008 Author Share Posted September 17, 2008 Matthew; Welcome to OL. I agree with all that as been said to you.Why are you in Athens? Are you Greek? You can walk where Aristotle and Plato walked.Thanks, Chris,I was living and working in the UK (I was born in South Africa and my family is British) when a client I had in Athens made a job offer. Initially I planned to stay for a year, but have been there for nearly 6 now. Unfortunately, Aristotle and Plato are only really touched on briefly by high school students when reading for the Ancient Greek exams, and one does have to make a fairly deliberate effort to visit the classical sights. Athens is much like any other bustling city, and it seems that most foreigners who move there with the best intentions of soaking up some of the heritage of the Ancients end up getting "caught up" in their work and personal obligations with any endeavours to educate themselves on Classical Greece falling by the wayside. That said, weekend walks and coffee mornings in downtown Athens do have their inspiring moments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Grieb Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Matthew; Forgive my not reading your introduction where you said you were from South Africa.That said it sounds like you like the city. When I watched the intro to the TV coverage of the 2004 Olympics they had some fabulous shot of the blue Aegean. Enjoy OL again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbeaulieu Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Now that's a place worth visiting! Nice to know we have some well-traveled members here ;)Welcome!~ Shane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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