Brent's Ramblings

I’m in an internet café in Odessa, scheming to catch a 6 p.m. boat to Istanbul—if I can finagle my way on. My journey began aboard a train where I switched seats with a stranger and joined an older Ukrainian lady. In the next compartment, a man probed me with questions in broken Russian, telling of his sunflower oil business. The conversation left my head spinning, but not before he invited me to tour his factory in Alexandria.

As a foreigner, I attracted a LOT of attention in gyms that I visited around the world. In these gyms were quite the cast of characters...

From Kansas to the country of Georgia, I’ve found that gyms are some of the best places to connect with locals—and collect great stories. In Tbilisi, I accidentally maxed out every weight in the gym, drawing a crowd of curious lifters. To them, I was “Mr. Olympia.” One guy even showed off his headstand skills to prove his strength! Cross-cultural gym life reminds me that fitness—and fun—look different everywhere. Stay tuned for more stories from gyms around the world.