Author Topic: Joe Meeko...POWER GRIPS (Read 16759 times)

pellius · « **Reply #25 on:** May 27, 2018, 01:40:57 AM »

I still have a pair of those Power Grips that I got years ago and still use them. The straps are starting to tear so I need to get them stitched back up.

Joe was an exceptionally decent and great guy and loved his post and the discussions we had over at
IronAge. He did have one quirk that I never quite got and seemed so out of character with him. He not only insisted that Arnold had calf implants but was just as vehement that Arnold also had pec implants.
He would not back down an inch from this position and was very adamant. He even got a bit perturbed at times and said that because he was a world class bber and interacted personally with Arnold that he knew better. I tried to press him and asked about what year he got those pec implants (though I did not concede they even had them in the late 60s early 70s). I mean, he had huge pecs even as a teen and won the Universe at 20 and the Olympia at 23. How could he have had the money and access to such a procedure at such a young age? And by then he had already peaked and you didn't see much dramatic
changes during his reign.

But he never budge from that position and I never brought it up again.

galain · « **Reply #26 on:** May 28, 2018, 01:03:05 AM »

Forgive me for being clueless - but what's the functional difference between these lifting hooks and normal straps? Wouldn't they do the same thing? Curious - never seen a pair before.

Montague · « **Reply #27 on:** May 28, 2018, 05:55:08 AM »

BEEF, see if any of these are close to your liking: https://www.ebay.com/sch/Helixco_Lifting-Hooks-Straps_W0QQ_dmdZ1QQ_fsubZ11902207QQ_rssZ1QQ_rssstoreZ1QQ_sopZ2

I can personally vouch for Schiek's durability and comfort.

Montague · « **Reply #28 on:** May 28, 2018, 06:04:36 AM »

BTW - didn't Meeko's wife assault him on more than one occasion?

Anyone with some insight into that?
BEEFY?

megafitness · « **Reply #29 on:** May 28, 2018, 06:35:00 AM »

Quote from: galain on May 28, 2018, 01:03:05 AM

Forgive me for being clueless - but what's the functional difference between these lifting hooks and normal straps? Wouldn't they do the same thing? Curious - never seen a pair before.

pretty much a waste of time in my opinion. might be good for some but normal straps are fine.

JAGO · « **Reply #30 on:** May 28, 2018, 07:12:23 AM »

Quote from: Montague on May 28, 2018, 06:04:36 AM

BTW - didn't Meeko's wife assault him on more than one occasion?

Anyone with some insight into that?
BEEFY?

Beat him with a frying pan on one occasion.

J

funk51 · « **Reply #31 on:** May 28, 2018, 08:01:07 AM »

Quote from: Montague on May 28, 2018, 06:04:36 AM

BTW - didn't Meeko's wife assault him on more than one occasion?

Anyone with some insight into that?
BEEFY?

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..

funk51 · « **Reply #32 on:** May 28, 2018, 08:04:22 AM »

megafitness · « **Reply #33 on:** May 28, 2018, 08:32:10 AM »

Quote from: funk51 on May 28, 2018, 08:04:22 AM

he must have loved her. Bet the bedroom was brutal too...

Flexacon · « **Reply #34 on:** May 28, 2018, 03:15:23 PM »

Quote from: galain on May 28, 2018, 01:03:05 AM

Forgive me for being clueless - but what's the functional difference between these lifting hooks and normal straps? Wouldn't they do the same thing? Curious - never seen a pair before.

I was given a pair of those hooks and was skeptical at first, but for some back movements like chins I felt it better isolated my lats, even more so than when using normal straps.

pellius · « **Reply #35 on:** May 28, 2018, 09:18:07 PM »

Quote from: galain on May 28, 2018, 01:03:05 AM

Forgive me for being clueless - but what's the functional difference between these lifting hooks and normal straps? Wouldn't they do the same thing? Curious - never seen a pair before.

They're great. You can use your hands like hooks so you don't have to squeeze and it gets tighter as you pull on them. Only problem is a lot of the bars and handles are a bit thick for the grip.

beakdoctor · « **Reply #36 on:** May 28, 2018, 10:55:28 PM »

damn. I knew his marriage played a big role in his mental health. I had no idea it was that bad. bummer. the wrong woman will fuck u up real good. I still don't get suicide. I guess you just lose the will to live.

ESFitness · « **Reply #37 on:** May 29, 2018, 01:58:37 AM »

The grips with the hooks are garbage. Anything over 500lbs felt liken it was gonna rip my hands off my wrists.

Versa-Grips are the only thing I'd actually spend money on.

funk51 · « **Reply #38 on:** May 29, 2018, 05:04:30 AM »

Quote from: beakdoctor on May 28, 2018, 10:55:28 PM

damn. I knew his marriage played a big role in his mental health. I had no idea it was that bad. bummer. the wrong woman will fuck u up real good. I still don't get suicide. I guess you just lose the will to live.

if you talked to him you'd think he was the happiest guy in the world,always a smile on his face...you never know what's going on behind the smile... that and the Lyme disease affected him badly..

beakdoctor · « **Reply #39 on:** May 29, 2018, 03:40:28 PM »

Quote from: funk51 on May 29, 2018, 05:04:30 AM

if you talked to him you'd think he was the happiest guy in the world,always a smile on his face...you never know what's going on behind the smile... that and the Lyme disease affected him badly..

yeah I spoke (typed) with him at length over on Ironage. nothing personal just training advice. some of the best advice I've ever received about bodybuilding. You are correct. He was TOO happy and it showed. It was his way of coping. unfortunately it wasn't real and didn't work. everything he typed was all caps and exclamation points.always responded to everyone and all questions.

megafitness · « **Reply #40 on:** May 30, 2018, 05:08:02 AM »

Quote from: beakdoctor on May 29, 2018, 03:40:28 PM

yeah I spoke (typed) with him at length over on Ironage. nothing personal just training advice. some of the best advice I've ever received about bodybuilding. You are correct. He was TOO happy and it showed. It was his way of coping. unfortunately it wasn't real and didn't work. everything he typed was all caps and exclamation points.always responded to everyone and all questions.

Sounded a bit lonely to me. Great physique though.

illuminati · « **Reply #41 on:** May 30, 2018, 11:58:26 AM »

Quote from: beakdoctor on May 28, 2018, 10:55:28 PM

damn. I knew his marriage played a big role in his mental health. I had no idea it was that bad. bummer. the wrong woman will fuck u up real good. I still don't get suicide. I guess you just lose the will to live.

I didn’t know he’d killed himself.
Balance of his mind must of been fcuked up.

beakdoctor · « **Reply #42 on:** May 30, 2018, 05:01:34 PM »

Quote from: illuminati on May 30, 2018, 11:58:26 AM

I didn’t know he’d killed himself.
Balance of his mind must of been fcuked up.

IDK, I don't get suicide. some guy's on here knew him well enough to know why he did it. ..... for anyone who knows was there anything fishy about his suicide? I mean with an abusive wife, toxic relationship history of domestic violence and even hospitalization... are we sure she didn't kill him.... it's not as common for a man to be the victim in these cases but if the roles were reversed and the wife wound uop dead with same history of abuse the manner of death would be called into question. homicide vs. suicide. it's easy to make it look self inflicted and I don't know that it's ever been looked into in Joe's case?

tommywishbone · « **Reply #43 on:** May 30, 2018, 09:23:13 PM »

Quote from: pellius on May 27, 2018, 01:40:57 AM

I still have a pair of those Power Grips that I got years ago and still use them. The straps are starting to tear so I need to get them stitched back up.

Joe was an exceptionally decent and great guy and loved his post and the discussions we had over at
IronAge. He did have one quirk that I never quite got and seemed so out of character with him. He not only insisted that Arnold had calf implants but was just as vehement that Arnold also had pec implants.
He would not back down an inch from this position and was very adamant. He even got a bit perturbed at times and said that because he was a world class bber and interacted personally with Arnold that he knew better. I tried to press him and asked about what year he got those pec implants (though I did not concede they even had them in the late 60s early 70s). I mean, he had huge pecs even as a teen and won the Universe at 20 and the Olympia at 23. How could he have had the money and access to such a procedure at such a young age? And by then he had already peaked and you didn't see much dramatic
changes during his reign.

But he never budge from that position and I never brought it up again.

Wow. How bizarre. I've knew who Arnold was in 1976. I first met him in 1980 and have beeen in the bodybuilding world since 1977, yes 1977 and I have NEVER heard of "...Arnold having pec implants..." Weird.

pellius · « **Reply #44 on:** May 31, 2018, 12:45:20 AM »

Quote from: illuminati on May 30, 2018, 11:58:26 AM

I didn’t know he’d killed himself.
Balance of his mind must of been fcuked up.

IMHO, talking back and forth with him for so long, I really think it was the Lyme disease that really
took it's toll. It took a while before he was even correctly diagnosed. The debilitating joint pain, crippling fatigue, sometimes part of his face would be paralyzed and made him looked like he had a stroke. And there's no cure. It was never going to end. And his home life wasn't particularly supportive.

It came as a tragic shock to me when I heard he commited suicide. I was surprised at how much it affected me and the emotional toll it took. He really made such a positive and lasting impression on me.
I was surprised at the bond I felt with him and the positive impression that he made on me even though we never met in person -- something that I had planned to do for sure.

Always planning on doing things.... for sure.

illuminati · « **Reply #45 on:** May 31, 2018, 12:49:33 AM »

Quote from: beakdoctor on May 30, 2018, 05:01:34 PM

IDK, I don't get suicide. some guy's on here knew him well enough to know why he did it. ..... for anyone who knows was there anything fishy about his suicide? I mean with an abusive wife, toxic relationship history of domestic violence and even hospitalization... are we sure she didn't kill him.... it's not as common for a man to be the victim in these cases but if the roles were reversed and the wife wound uop dead with same history of abuse the manner of death would be called into question. homicide vs. suicide. it's easy to make it look self inflicted and I don't know that it's ever been looked into in Joe's case?

Lot of background there - how was the suicide done,
Is it a case where he may of been murdered?

Montague · « **Reply #46 on:** June 02, 2018, 07:37:36 AM »

This is all I could find concerning the production of the Power Grips:

Quote

As an adult, Joe was an entrepreneur, inventing and patenting Power Grip, a weightlifting device, over 25 years ago! Once again, Joes Dads involvement with PG was extensive, and now Val and Bob Barker from Avon, Indiana, hold and run that part of Joes Power Grip business, which will continue on. Joe also, at one time, designed and built personal helicopters, then started another business, Pyrotek, selling and putting on fantastic fireworks displays locally where he lived in Hunlock Creek, PA at the time. Joe was a very intuitive businessman, heating his own home with solar panels and using generators.

This quote was taken from an online obituary: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/mcall/obituary.aspx?n=joseph-john-meeko&pid=137481506

I don't know if the Barker's currently have any involvement, but maybe you can contact them if interested.

pellius · « **Reply #47 on:** June 03, 2018, 12:28:47 AM »

Quote from: Montague on June 02, 2018, 07:37:36 AM

This is all I could find concerning the production of the Power Grips:
This quote was taken from an online obituary: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/mcall/obituary.aspx?n=joseph-john-meeko&pid=137481506

I don't know if the Barker's currently have any involvement, but maybe you can contact them if interested.

I forgot about those personal helicopters! I was totally blown away by the pics he posted of them with him as the pilot. That IronAge site was really a treasure when Shawn ran it. When it got taken over by some old fogeys censoring and banning left and right it really went down hill. That site is actually where
I heard about this site, GetBig. They were always ragging about this site.

Joe was such an exceptional human being. It was just so bizarre about his claim that Arnold had pec implants.

beakdoctor · « **Reply #48 on:** June 03, 2018, 03:47:08 AM »

Quote from: pellius on June 03, 2018, 12:28:47 AM

I forgot about those personal helicopters! I was totally blown away by the pics he posted of them with him as the pilot. That IronAge site was really a treasure when Shawn ran it. When it got taken over by some old fogeys censoring and banning left and right it really went down hill. That site is actually where
I heard about this site, GetBig. They were always ragging about this site.

Joe was such an exceptional human being. It was just so bizarre about his claim that Arnold had pec implants.

Shawn ran a great site. He kept it clean without being a censor-banning-monger. Shame he's gone too. Shawn was in great shape too. He reminded me of Max Kellerman, boxing analysis and superfan. Shawn was like the Kellerman of bodybuilding.

SilverSpoon · « **Reply #49 on:** June 03, 2018, 09:03:10 AM »

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.