Top State Veterans Official, Local Students Added to Program as
Renowned Strongman Attempts Death-Defying World Record to
Raise Funds for Kentucky Charities Aug. 25 in Somerset
SOMERSET, Ky. — Plans continue to come together for an exciting program as world-renowned professional strongman, personal trainer, and U.S. Marine Veteran Mike “The Machine” Bruce prepares to attempt a death-defying world strength record on Aug. 25 at The Center for Rural Development in Somerset, Ky.
Among those gathered to support Bruce as he attempts to bend as many as five 5/8-inch steel bars across the front of his neck in only 60 seconds will be state official Ken Lucas, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs.
Lucas—himself a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and the Air National Guard who oversees the department’s day-to-day operations and the coordination of 18 statewide field office locations, healthcare outreach and cemetery services—said he plans to attend the event and encourages others to do the same.
A donation of $5 per adult will be collected at the door, with all proceeds going toward the Lake Cumberland Blue Star Mothers and the Bethany House Abuse Shelter of Somerset.
The Blue Star Mothers organization organizes efforts to raise funds for, assemble, and ship care packages to men and women on active duty overseas in the Armed Forces. The Bethany House Abuse Shelter is a safe house in Somerset for victims of domestic abuse.
Children and students under 12 years of age will be admitted free of charge.
The event will start at 1 p.m. and feature a special strength show by Bruce’s “Team Machine,” a group of young students from Somerset and Pulaski County who train at The Machine Shop, his private gym in Somerset.
Local students participating in the program include:
• Hopkins Elementary School: Mason Elenor and Jack Harmon
• Somerset Elementary School: Shelby Harmon
• Southern Middle School: Nathan Phillips, Evan Saindon
• Meece Middle School: Drew Johnson, Johnathon Ramsey, Madison Harmon
• Somerset High School: Logan Ramsey, Cody Corriender, Madison Brooks, Kaitlyn Johnson
• Southwestern High School: Haley York, Mason Reese, Wyatt Burton
• Somerset Christian School: Logan Tomlinson
Additionally, other globally known professional strongmen, including Dave “Iron Tamer” Whitley (www.irontamerdavidwhitley.com) and Grandmaster Strongman Dennis Rogers (www.dennisrogers.net) will appear, with Rogers also serving as the event’s master of ceremonies.
Bruce will close the show with his world-record bar-bending attempt.
“Everyone is capable of doing amazing things if they truly have faith in themselves, and I believe in giving back,” Bruce said.
“This is a great chance for me to give back to some organizations that are close to my heart and to hopefully inspire our community and kids with the belief that they can do anything—including overcoming abuse, bullying, obesity and tough times—if they just put their minds and hearts to it,” Bruce added.
Bruce has become famous around the world for having the world’s strongest neck and is the only performer currently to have bent steel bars and horseshoes across his throat.
Upon his doctor’s orders due to the physical risk involved with such feats, this event will be Bruce’s last public performance of bending the steel bar across his throat.
If Bruce succeeds in bending at least five of the bars in 60 seconds, one of the bars from the performance will be placed in the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports at the University of Texas at Austin (www.starkcenter.org).
The Stark Center is a nationally recognized library, archive, and museum dedicated to the study and preservation of the world of physical culture. Since its opening in 2009, the facility features the largest collection of its kind of materials on weight training, bodybuilding, athletic conditioning, alternative medicine, and other forms of self-improvement.
Bruce said the Stark Center has also agreed to officially recognize the world record should his attempt be successful.
“This is an incredibly dangerous feat that no one has had the training or strength to survive for over 100 years, so this record will probably last several hundred more,” said fellow professional strongman, Bud Jeffries. “This will be a once-in-a-lifetime event to witness, featuring one the greatest feats of strength of its kind ever performed. No one else in the world could survive this.”
Bruce, a former professional fighter, is now considered one of the strongest humans alive today by other professional strongmen. He is a respected community business owner, professional speaker, world recognized fitness expert, author and a dedicated husband.
For more information on the Aug. 25th world-record attempt or to request an interview, contact Mike “The Machine” Bruce at 606-305-9505 or visit http://www.mikethemachine.com/.
