Thank You

Thanks!

A lot of things have happened on this trip.  When Tony invited us to be part of his Armed Forces Entertainment Tour it was quite an honor for us to be able to give back to our service members.  During the tour I have met outstanding military personnel.  Everyone is so polite and helpful that I wish we could do more for them, but we’ll come back.  I am also humbled, especially when our men and women thank us for coming.  I/we appreciate the thanks, but it is us who want to THANK YOU.

Regardless of what branch of service and whether I have met the newly enlisted, the senior enlisted and officers of all ranks and retired military (EJ!), the common thread with all of them is outstanding professionalism with a great attitude.  To a person, we went away from each event with pride in our fellow Americans.  Everyone in the US should share in this pride – these are our global ambassadors and they are representing our country well. 

We visited the Brumssen NATO base for several workouts (3x and we were wiped out), including a surprise visit to the Joint high school.  Here, the NATO military send their kids to an outstanding school.  Tony gave one of his best talks I have heard him give to a group of super teenagers.  Their gym teachers have had them doing P90X for a few weeks and when they walked into the gym to see Tony Horton and Dreya Weber, they couldn’t believe it.

We had a great time with a bunch of amazing, fun kids – Thank you!

One more shout out and this one is to a major corporation.  When Tony called and asked if I wanted to go on his tour, I called my contact at Under Armour.  I told Danielle (UA) what we were doing and the number of people going on the tour.  I asked if Under Armour would be interested in providing a hat or a shirt for the team.  Before I could finish, she asked that a wish list be sent her and that Under Armour loves the US military and supports the Wounded Warrior Project.  True to her, and Under Armour’s, word, they outfitted Tony and the team for the trip.  We have been wearing Under Armour for all our workouts and while we travel.  The gear is high quality and is standing up to very high standards and tough workouts. 

Tony Horton w/ one of America's finest in Kosovo 

UA in the House

Jeremy, Rob, Mark, Bill 

Tony leading the Warrior Workout

So if you are deciding between buying gear from one sports apparel company or another, please consider what Under Armour does for our military and how they supported us during Tony Horton’s tour.  Thank you Under Armour!

As we were traveling in Europe, we all heard the sad news regarding Steve Jobs death.  We are all Apple users and therefore Steve Jobs fans.  We were in the Slovenian airport waiting for our flight to Kosovo upon hearing the news.  With really fast WiFi, everyone got out there laptops and I looked around – we were all using Apple Macbooks, Macbook Pros or iPads and took this shot.

Thank you Steve Jobs, you will be missed!  

To our military service members and their families, especially those serving overseas – THANK YOU FOR YOUR DEDICATION AND SACRIFICE.  

Ripped and Ready Tour Videos

I finally got around to downloading video from the Tony Horton Ripped and Ready Tour.  Its taken a few days to recover (the weekend), get back into the groove (family gave me an awesome homecoming), go on the Dr. Oz set with Tony (Tony and Dr. Oz made for some really good TV, and I don’t like TV) and, of course, workouts with the master (Anne Kearns Fers and I did Tony’s personal Plyo Legs, I could barely walk for 2 days). 

My goal is to provide a good representation of the tour.  I have hours of video and I plan to make an edited video to capture the essence of the tour.   

Here are a couple of videos of our adventures.  Shots will be with our military, our personal workouts where Tony puts us through the routines that make him the master and some fun moments during the trip. Look for more video coming to Do The Thing soon.

One thing I hope comes across is the appreciation from the service members we visited.   Tony does a great job educating, entertaining and, of course kickin’ everyone’s @ss. Its funny, a comment from one of the troops in Kosoco was that hardly anyone attends the bands that visit, when you can sit down and relax, but the place is packed for a butt kickin’. The feedback from everyone is impressive.  We appreciate it all. 

Tony started working with the Armed Forces Entertainment as his way of giving back to the people who guarantee our freedom.  We are more than happy to follow his lead.  We don’t get paid for this, nor do we expect anything in return.  I served in the Navy for 10 years and Mark Briggs served in the Army for several years.  As Mark said when we arrived in Kosovo, “I feel like I am back home.”  I knew exactly what he meant.  We are the only ones on the tour who have military experience.  Tony, Shawna, Robert, Dreya, Jeremy, Morgan and our respective families that held down the fort during this tour are doing their part as patriots too.  I trust that our service men and women and their families enjoyed it as much as we did.

The other equation is how the team gets along on the road.  We have all been on those trips where there was one person, or several, who you may want to have step out of the car or van – at 70 mph.  I can honestly say that Tony’s tour team not only got along well, but we formed a bond and friendships that will be with us for the rest of our lives.  Good selections Tony!

One comment I will make - do NOT miss the video of Dreya on the rings (below).  We were in a Control Tower and the crew had a set of rings set up.  With no warm-up she gets on the rings and does her Super Dreya thang.  Amazing feat of athletics, flexibility and art-form.  Our collective jaws dropped.  Tony commented, “I’ll bet that’s the first time you've seen that in this tower.” 

Observe:

Do the Thing!
Bill

CAMP BONDSTEEL, KOSOVO

From Germany, we headed to Kosovo.  After Ramstein, we knew that we would be roughing it.  For example, our Navy escort Lt. John Phelan, said that we’d need shower shoes (aka flip flops) because the bathrooms were ‘down the hall.’

The Balkans are a beautiful part of Europe.  We had a connection in Slovenia and we landed on a gorgeous sunny day with snow-covered mountains. Postcard perfect. 

How bad could Kosovo be?

One needs to remember the troubles that happened about 15 years ago here.  The region needed NATO forces to tame the problems.  What we didn’t know was that some ‘issues’ had raised its head again.  Our troops (with the help of other nations) were once again keeping things under control.  It was just that we didn’t realize there was anything going on until we got there.

To say that Kosovo is a rough place is like saying Tony Horton is in pretty good shape.  It does not provide a clear picture of reality. 

We arrived to a dreary, raining Kosovo.  As we left the airport, there was barbed wire at the entry gate.  What does that tell you.  The drive to Camp Bondsteel on the main two-lane, no shoulder pot-holed road did wonders for the spine, On the road, the locals didn’t observed us, but just glared.  It wasn’t just a few people, but everyone from old men to young school children.  A bit creepy but we pressed on.

                                      Shawna is just happy to be here.

Camp Bondsteel is the real deal.  The security is very tight, but that actually made us more comfortable.  

We got to our accommodations that were basically a box with a door, 2 to a room.  OK, it took a little getting use to, but come on, we were only going to be here for a couple of nights.  Most of our soldiers are here for 9-12 months.

Tony and Bill in a Box

Rob taking a peek on his way to a leek

The first workout was 7am.  We got to the gym and had a good turn out given the hour.  As we settled in and starting introducing ourselves to the soldiers, they were surprised that we showed up.  Apparently there was not a lot of notice that we were coming because so many other groups cancel their trip  to Camp Bondsteel.  Not Team Horton.  That just made us more determined to connect with our soldiers and get to know them.

They really embraced us.  When word spread that Tony Horton was on sight, some of the soldiers came looking for us.  We had our personal workout and a few of America’s finest came by for a couple of shots.  

Tony Horton Engaging the Core

Jeremy diggin' in

Rob in Flight

Mark Bringin' It

Tony Horton w/ 3 of America's Finest at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo

We also became friends with TFA medivac team.  These men and women are the real deal, flying in to get our wounded and injured soldiers out of harm’s way and back to a first rate medical facility at Bondsteel.  Doc, the flight surgeon, is a brain surgeon from Nebraska – no kidding.  Doc, his pilots and medics, form an outstanding nucleus of dedicated professionals.  They went out of their way to give us a tour of their facility, helos and hangar. Here are some shots:

These next shots are funny as Dreya is trying to get Tony to play along, but hey, the camera is on.

Love the expression on Dreya's face

Tony had a Meet and Greet that went very well and then we went to the dogs. Literally.  We got a tour of the guard dogs and Mark Briggs could not resist getting into the training suit.  Mark served as an Army MP and, I guess, misses being dinner for these well-trained dogs.  He is experienced at this, so we let him go it alone. 

(ah Mark, you may have some thrill-seeking issues. We need to talk bro)

Our last workout at Bondsteel was a packed house.  The top brass on the base participated along with our soldiers.  It was a great experience and as Tony commented later, it was worth it all as it meant so much to everyone that we had come all that way to visit.  In fact, a lot of people said that this was the best attended event at Camp Bondsteel.  

Full House, Kosovo

Tony Horton, Airbourne

DNA removal

We all felt the same way and it was tough to leave the camp.  We even held an unscheduled yoga class the next morning, led by Missy Costello.  It was just what the doctor ordered and it was well attended.  Thanks Missy!  I needed that.

From Kosovo to England, we left the camp for the airport and received the same glares heading back.  No matter.  I have only good memories and a new appreciation of our brave men and women stationed at Camp Bondsteel.  They are doing a great job.