Beer Barrels are Lifted by Men and Women During Pints for a Purpose at 3 Sheeps
While strong men – and women – flex their muscles for the title of the Brat City Strongest, Sheboygan Firefighters will be fighting Muscular Dystrophy on Saturday at 3 Sheeps Taproom in Sheboygan.
Roy Brion of the Sheboygan Firefighters Local 483 is chair of this year’s “Pints for a Purpose” that kicks off the firefighters’ annual “Fill the Boots” campaign. Brion said that the firefighters will have “boots out there for fillin’ the boots, we have a virtual option as well with a QR Code on the boots as well as on the tables, and then once this event’s over we’ll be doing our traditional Fill the Boots in September on the corners.”
Last year Sheboygan firefighters raised over $3300 during the campaign. And although all departments in Wisconsin champion the MDA cause, Sheboygan is readying to defend their number-one status in Wisconsin. Brion said “Fond du Lac is probably our number-one rival. I’ve talked to our MDA regional rep. Elizabeth Nielsen, and she said that there’s plenty of departments that have asked her what we plan on doing this year so that they can try to top us.”
The Brat City Strongest Competition that coordinates with the Pints With a Purpose fundraiser is in its second time around at 3 Sheeps, and while firefighters aren’t necessarily competing against the muscles, Todd Arnoldi, co-owner of Rage Fitness in Sheboygan says there might be some fun between the two groups, saying “We’ve got some stuff planned for him and a few of the other firefighters to get them involved. I haven’t quite shared everything with him yet…I’ve gotta keep a couple of things on the hush-hush.”
And Brion said they’ve been thinking about that, too. “We might have a little bit of fun with this during an intermission. We might have a little, what we want to call a little ‘shenanigan medley’, and after-the-fact there might be a couple firefighters that want to jump in and try some of the different events.”
Rage Fitness began Strongman competition when 3 Sheeps brewer Chris Alitz joined the gym. Arnoldi said that they were very fortunate to have Alitz, a three-time national amateur champion, walk in the doors at Rage Fitness after COVID. And a few months after he started training there they developed Rage’s Strongman program. Since then, Arnoldi said, they now participate in between 10 and 12 per year, two of those here in Sheboygan. And since they always tie there events to a good cause, Arnoldi said the fundraiser at 3 Sheeps was a natural fit.
As for the Brat City Strongest competition, Todd Arnoldi said there will be plenty of contests that are real crowd pleasers. He said that the strongmen have a motto: “If it’s heavy or awkward, they’re going to lift it.” And so you never go hiking with it because “…you’re never gonna make it past the first rock!” At last year’s 3 Sheeps event they grabbed barrels, kitchen sinks.” And he added that there is one event people won’t want to miss…the firetruck pull. “When you see this 160, 180 pound person – man or woman – strap onto a 38,000 pound firetruck and give it a pull for 30 feet, it is something to see. Everybody has an idea of who’s strong and who’s not, but that one sorts it out”, calling it “awesome and awe-inspiring”.
The Pints for a Purpose fundraiser and Brat City Strongest Competition gets underway at 10 a.m. on Saturday and runs till 5 at 3 Sheeps Taproom with plenty of beverages – both adult and non-alcoholic, music, a Miesfeld’s brat fry and of course, the opportunity to help fight Muscular Dystrophy.
3-Time National Amateur Champion Chris Alitz Lifts a Barrel at Last Year’s Strongman Competition
Sheboygan Firefighters Local 483 Fill the Boot for MDA
