Screen Printing - Day 1

Shirts All in a Row

First & foremost, I want to thank my rock-star assistants, Ridicathlete Rick Petzold, Ridicassociates Kelly Renn & Evan Sanchez, and newly coined Ridicallies Irena Fonorow & Tom Tallman. Couldn't have done it without you!

Screen Printing

The first day of screen printing went swimmingly. It was a little chilly, but we toughed it out and managed to print the front of the "Team Rick" tees, and the first layer on the back of the "Team Jim" tees. Kelly, Evan, Rick & myself all had a go at printing. We all needed a few tries to get the hang of it, but once we had it down we were golden. Rick also kept us on task with some quality control, especially concerning the "Team Rick" tees. The process took about 4 hours.

Evan, Rick & I also started on the front of the "Team Jim" and back of the "Team Rick" tees, but by 5pm it was too cold and we were all a little loopy. When we finally decided to call it quits, Evan dropped the hose while rinsing a screen; it landed on the handle and gave us all a nice solid spritz before he realized what had happened. It was definitely the perfect giggling ending to a productive & fun day.

Screen Creation

Before we could move forward with the t-shirt printing, I was charged with the task of purchasing supplies & creating screens. I went to Blick Art Materials in Center City, Philadelphia for paints and screen design materials. The store is beautiful, with a friendly, helpful staff. I rounded out my supplies search at my local Goodwill, for some frames & sheer material. The cashier gave me a student discount, and rung up most the frames at the lowest price possible.

The screens were constructed by stretching sheer fabric over a frame, using an industrial staple gun to secure it as tightly as possible. To transfer the images to the screens, I used the Drawing Fluid/Screen Filler method. The printing image is painted on the screen using Drawing Fluid (blue); once dry, the entire screen is coated in Screen Filler (red). After the Screen Filler dries, a quick blast of cold water washes away the Drawing Fluid, and the image is the only open part of the screen. It's like magic! This method is a little time consuming, but best for the resources I had available.

I'll be finishing up the final screens tonight, and have a marathon of screen printing planned for tomorrow. A busy weekend for sure, but well worth it.

Thanks again to everyone who came out!

Rick Petzold: Fully Revealed in an Exclusive Interview

Ridicathlete Rick Petzold enjoys the good life. He invited me to his beach-front property to discuss his newly acquired home, a little known limbo contest, and his utter lack of respect for the competition. It was quite an experience.

Exclusive Interview with Jim @ Vic's Subs

I caught up with Jim right after he finished a long day of work at Vic's Subs in Absecon, NJ. He was happy to sit down with me to chat about the current condition of today's youth, Rick's "sculpted calves", and a slew of other hot topics.

Q & A with Team Rick's Coach, Sam Summerville

It's been a busy couple of weeks for Sam Summerville, world famous Ridicathlon trainer and coach of Team Rick, but he found some time to sit down with me and discuss his Ridicathlete, the competition, and Ridicathlon in general.

ES: How did you get involved with Team Rick?

SS: I have known Rick for a few months now, and I know a bit about strength training, so I offered my assistance.

ES: What impact have you had on his training regimen?

SS: We do a lot of strength training, and he bounces some ideas off me now and then about diet and conditioning. It seems a bit funny that I’m talking with Rick about diet and conditioning if you look at the two of us, but knowledge and practice are two different issues.

ES: Which event do you feel like he'll dominate? Why?

SS: Rick has a great throwing arm, it’s something that you really can’t teach. If there was one event I think he has in the bag it would be fast pitch.

ES: What does he need to work on most? How do you plan to help him improve in this area?

SS: I think he is going to have to practice the miniball dunk a bit. Jim has some natural advantages in that area being tall and pretty creative. Rick's going to have to have a game plan going into that one. As far as my help, he hasn’t asked me anything about that yet, but if he does I’m open to planning some stuff out with him.

ES: What would you like to say to those on the fence between Rick and Jim? Why should they support your man?

SS: Truth be told they are both great friends, and I just want to see them both compete well. I have a little personal interest invested in Rick since I’ve been helping him out a little bit but both guys deserve a good showing. I will be the judge of a few events during the contest so I stay impartial as to be fair.

ES: Is Rick going to win this thing or what?

SS: I think that when the day is done the contest will be a squeaker. I wouldn’t be surprised if either guy wins it. Right now I’m predicting a 5 to 4 win in the 9 real events for Rick. If Jim takes a win in this evening wear thing I have to give the edge in sports trivia to whomever defends themselves the best in the boxing match.

Can't get enough of Ridicathlon? Neither can we!

There are already tons of people buzzing about Ridicathlon on Facebook:

Sara says: "I ♥ the sub and the milk"

Zenith says: "Is it true Rick is going to drink a gallon of milk?"

Meghan says: "This is amazing"

Monica says: "This is ridic."

What do you have to say? Join Ridicathlon on Facebook!

Which side will you choose?

The time is finally upon us: a time of ridiculousness, a time of athleticism, a time to decide who you will support during the 2010 Ridicathlon.

Our Ridicathletes found time during their rigorous training schedules to put together short videos urging you to join their team. Will they resort to bribery? Smear campaigning? Good old-fashioned charisma and charm?

Check them out for yourself:

Team Jim - Jim Heald - "Who Wants to be on Team Jim??"

Team Rick - Rick Petzold - "Ridicathlon Promo Video"

Now it's up to you. While our Ridicathletes build up strength, they need you to build up support. We encourage you to purchase a team t-shirt, sign-up for blog updates, follow Ridicathlon on twitter, and invite your family and friends to join a team!

Most importantly, mark your calendars for Ridicathlon: May 8, 2010, where Rick & Jim will compete in the final five events, and one will claim victory to the most ridiculous athletic honor of all time.

Welcome to Ridicathlon

You've found it. The official blog of the most ridiculous athletic competition ever. In less than 3 months, Rick Petzold and Jim Heald will come face to face, hoping to prove once and for all who is the greater man. Over the years there has been a lot of smack talk, one-upping, and perhaps a little embellishing. (Although, the Ridicathletes would probably tell you otherwise.) This blog will follow the journey towards the culmination of their life-long competition. The champion of Ridicathlon will earn the ultimate bragging rights, and it will probably only be a matter of time before they earn fame and fortune to accompany their glory.

So, take a minute to check out the site, get to know the Ridicathletes & crew a little better, and join us. We have lots of fun planned for followers and fans. Who doesn't need a little ridiculous in their lives?