Joe Meeko...POWER GRIPS

[funk51]

He was on a radio show in my hometown not to long before his tragic end.

We were supposed to meet to grab lunch, and he even told me he brought a few pair of Power Grips.  He couldn't have been nicer on the phone.

It was a shame.  Great physique.  He told me how much he used to eat when competing, and it wasn't exactly what many would deem to be a bodybuilder's diet.  It was Italian hoagies, cheesesteaks, etc.

        i saw him at the old ponderosa steakhouse in allentown pa...he ate a large quantity of food including ice cream......i saw him training for the mr eastern america contest at the fitness america whitehall pa.  [ he needed to win this first to qualify for mr america that year.] he was large but smooth as can be ... two weeks later he was ripped to the bone for the contest and won easily,,,,,

[wes]

I`ve had a pair for years now..........simply great training aid.

[chrisbro]

I`ve had a pair for years now..........simply great training aid.

when did you last use them?

[chrisbro]

Agree wes that they are great but what age are you now ? Do you Need grips at your age?...LOL

[Powerlift66]

Joe was getting looney at the end on IronAge, if Lyme Disease that to people, thats scary.
Bad tick season here in NH this year, I pull them off my each weekend. (Though Im not sure if deer ticks) but they are tiny..

[mphgrove]

Recent suicides in the news brought back the recent thread related to Meeko. The obituary his family wrote touched on this with sensitivity. The other interesting thing was the “alleged” paternity of some of the relatives. They left those people in but did not fully admit the blood relationship. People often leave messes behind that families have to figure out how to migrate.

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/mcall/obituary.aspx?n=joseph-john-meeko&pid=137481506.

And they must have called on Fogarty for the comprehensive competition history. Full respect for his bodybuilding here.

[ValentinaB]

Anybody remember these things? They were an incredible training aid. Seems like Joe had the patent and all else tied up with that exact design and sadly when he passed away..  nobody associated with him...nor family member took over the business and kept selling them.Does anybody know of anything similar to these? I cant find any used on ebay either.

If you need a pair, i can make you one. Do you remember how to measure for them? I gave the business to his sister but it never really took off. Let me know. Joe loved to give them away and I think he would love you to have a new pair.

[ValentinaB]

emergency room pic after frying pan attack... she attacked him several times... he thought she had a hormone imbalance from the steroids... that and she was a millen as in matt millen of the nfl..

Yes, he sent me this pic after it happened. I think I still have the saved phone message.

[LurkerNoMore]

If you need a pair, i can make you one. Do you remember how to measure for them? I gave the business to his sister but it never really took off. Let me know. Joe loved to give them away and I think he would love you to have a new pair.

Do you sell them?

[oldtimer1]

Joe Meeko always would answer any questions or correspondence. On Ironage he would give away the grips for nothing.  That's the kind of guy he was. Felt terrible his life spiraled out of control.

 To this date Ironage was the best sight on the web for both training advice, pictures and history.  I really posted a lot there.  I felt Shawn wasn't to fond of me because I called him on his top lifts. There was some infighting between the moderators there. One wrote me and said they discussed making me a moderator but I guess it was shot down. I never asked to be a moderator. It really was amazing how Shawn went from running a small closed site about bodybuilding to being in charge of the biggest bodybuilding publication and appearing on television. Really sad how quickly his health went down hill and quickly he died from cancer.  Those that were close to him speak glowingly of him. He had a lot of people who loved him. He was a hardcore trainer. I heard all the archived posts are gone.   

[Matt]

Joe Meeko always would answer any questions or correspondence. On Ironage he would give away the grips for nothing.  That's the kind of guy he was. Felt terrible his life spiraled out of control.

 To this date Ironage was the best sight on the web for both training advice, pictures and history.  I really posted a lot there.  I felt Shawn wasn't to fond of me because I called him on his top lifts. There was some infighting between the moderators there. One wrote me and said they discussed making me a moderator but I guess it was shot down. I never asked to be a moderator. It really was amazing how Shawn went from running a small closed site about bodybuilding to being in charge of the biggest bodybuilding publication and appearing on television. Really sad how quickly his health went down hill and quickly he died from cancer.  Those that were close to him speak glowingly of him. He had a lot of people who loved him. He was a hardcore trainer. I heard all the archived posts are gone.   

I got banned for getting around the swear filter to post the work fuck.

I had developed a rapport with Shawn, and he said he would reinstate me, but at least one of the moderators threatened to leave if I was allowed back to post, so Shawn apologized and had to go with the ban.

The forum was filled with great info, but it was like Chad Nicholls' MuscleMayhem - too censorious. It blows my mind that some people think speech can be controlled in the age of the internet.

I did check, and unfortunately what oldtimer1 said was correct - there is no archive.

Chad Nicholls' has a full archive of MuscleMayhem though.

Joe Meeko had two major threads, and a huge interview online:

- Ironage
- MuscleMayhem
- Interview on Midwest Christian Bodybuilding

All three are gone. Luckily, as said, Mayhem is archived, and the Internet Archive may have a copy of Joe's interview there. I am a pretty diligent guy, and would be surprised if I hadn't checked...but I'm not sure if I did.

Sad...Joe gave so much in those two threads, but both forums hosting them are now offline.

Check my website, Bodybuilding Pro, and go to the Video Reviews menu on the side left...check my review of Joe Meeko's DVD. I was very thorough with those reviews. I really enjoyed Joe's DVD, made by Wayne Gallasch at HMV Productions. Great guy, and amazing collection.

[illuminati]

I actually got banned by those old fogeys on Iron Age! Yup ,I  got banned and try to be the most polite, upbeat guy on any forum.
I made a goofy crack towards Peter McGough ( and me included), saying that it looked like we BOTH stopped using the ab blaster we got for Christmas.

That was considered "disrespectful" towards Peter and they voted to ban me .

Ha Ha Ha
Seriously? They Banned you 
Bunch of upity twats.

[Matt]

Ron won't ban me on here for bypassing the swear filter for saying nigger, will be?

What about kike?

Edit:

Lol, kike isn't in the swear filter...but nigge r becomes black?

[Montague]

Ron won't ban me on here for bypassing the swear filter for saying nigger, will be?

What about kike?

Edit:

Lol, kike isn't in the swear filter...but nigge r becomes black?

He "may" when he logs on again around Thanksgiving.

[IRON CROSS]

Ha Ha Ha
Seriously? They Banned you 
Bunch of upity twats.

They booted AAU Mr.America (60', I think) & 'safety fat' ( ) too.

Iron Age was great, I would get mail from Serge Nubret ( ) & several Mr.America's .............

[ValentinaB]

I got banned for getting around the swear filter to post the work fuck.

I had developed a rapport with Shawn, and he said he would reinstate me, but at least one of the moderators threatened to leave if I was allowed back to post, so Shawn apologized and had to go with the ban.

The forum was filled with great info, but it was like Chad Nicholls' MuscleMayhem - too censorious. It blows my mind that some people think speech can be controlled in the age of the internet.

I did check, and unfortunately what oldtimer1 said was correct - there is no archive.

Chad Nicholls' has a full archive of MuscleMayhem though.

Joe Meeko had two major threads, and a huge interview online:

- Ironage
- MuscleMayhem
- Interview on Midwest Christian Bodybuilding

All three are gone. Luckily, as said, Mayhem is archived, and the Internet Archive may have a copy of Joe's interview there. I am a pretty diligent guy, and would be surprised if I hadn't checked...but I'm not sure if I did.

Sad...Joe gave so much in those two threads, but both forums hosting them are now offline.

Check my website, Bodybuilding Pro, and go to the Video Reviews menu on the side left...check my review of Joe Meeko's DVD. I was very thorough with those reviews. I really enjoyed Joe's DVD, made by Wayne Gallasch at HMV Productions. Great guy, and amazing collection.

i archived joeys articles that he wrote for me if you would like them and his interview. Anibal lopez has been wanting us to  revive mcbb but probably wont

[ValentinaB]

Do you sell them?

no as i said, i gave power grips to his mom and his sister was suppose to keep it alive.  I still have the components to make them. Just offered up as a gift.

[tres_taco_combo]

his wife drove him to his death

[ValentinaB]

his wife drove him to his death

she was an issue, there were a few things bothering him.

[pellius]

This thread brought back some fond memories of Joe that I related earlier. Still, think of him as he made a very positive impression on me and I still use his grips regularly. As you can see, mine has some long, hard miles on it but it still works. Hope to get it stitched back up like new once I find a place that would do it. They really are the best grips ever. I don't use it as much as I'd like to as the bars and handles on the newer equipment are much fatter so that the grip won't go over it. If only the current handle was made a little bit thinner so that it could expand more. I mentioned this to Joe and also asked him if I could get one in Black. That's about the time he dropped off from IronAge.

[ValentinaB]

This thread brought back some fond memories of Joe that I related earlier. Still, think of him as he made a very positive impression on me and I still use his grips regularly. As you can see, mine has some long, hard miles on it but it still works. Hope to get it stitched back up like new once I find a place that would do it. They really are the best grips ever. I don't use it as much as I'd like to as the bars and handles on the newer equipment are much fatter so that the grip won't go over it. If only the current handle was made a little bit thinner so that it could expand more. I mentioned this to Joe and also asked him if I could get one in Black. That's about the time he dropped off from IronAge.

he had a lot of issues with his satellite internet. He was a phone person. At the time of the drop off he was working on an independent film.

[Matt]

Check out this blast from the past I tracked down...not all the pages are archived, but I read the first two pages tonight. Not sure if the rest are in the archive:

https://web.archive.org/web/20090924004531/http://www.ironage.us/yabbse/index.php/topic,10564.0.html

On page two, Joe recounts a VERY SCARY story that took place on the beach one dark California night over 30 years ago.

Read the story...but prepare to be TERRIFIED.

[Matt]

Terrifying beach story by Meeko posted above.

[Matt]

Here one day, forgotten the next.