Feats of Strength! Local strong man to perform for Ripley’s Believe It or Not
Our very own local strong man David “The Mighty” Gonzales is at it again, daring thrilling feats of strength for Ripley’s Believe it or Not next week. The muscle man, who has already broken several world records, will be attempting several others while performing on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J., along with other great acts for the international company of the superhuman and supernatural.
“I’ll be up there July 19 and 20, performing every hour on the hour for 10 to 15 minutes at a time, between noon and 6 p.m., going for more world records,” the eager Mighty Gonzales said.
On the stong man’s laundry list of feats, he will bend 1/2-inch-thick steel bars between his teeth and over the back of his neck – as well as possibly the front of his neck.
“Very few strong men have ever attempted bending bars over the front of their neck. It’s very dangerous. One wrong move and you can crack your windpipe,” he said.
The Mighty Gonzales will also rip Cape Coral/Fort Myers phone books in half, tear license plates in two, smash concrete blocks over his head and his groin (yes, you read that correctly) with a sledge hammer (“with the help of a trusty assistant, of course”), and lift the world’s smallest production car (135 pounds) over his head, equipped with a lovely assistant.
Attempting to break the world records, the Mighty Gonzales says he’s going to bench-press 300,500 pounds in one hour, along with attack the arm-curl record (“currently a little over 60,000 pounds”), also in one hour.
“It’s going to be a terrific challenge – especially if [Ripley’s] wants me to set them on the same days, so I’m going to have to really keep myself hydrated and energized, conserving my strength as often as possible,” he said. “It’s really going to press me to the limits, but I’m the Mighty Gonzales, and the Mighty Gonzales doesn’t back out of any challenge.”
So far, Ripley’s and Guinness world records this local muscle man has already broken include, “setting a record in freestyle squats (deep-knee bends without the weights – 4,360 reps in one hour) at World Gym, Fort Myers; over 2,000 hanging leg lifts in one hour (Gold’s Gym, Cape Coral); and a full-body workout (presses, curls, squats, dead-lifts, etc.) lifting over a million pounds in 12 hours (Gold’s Gym, Cape Coral).
“The following year, I broke the same record with 2 million pounds in 12 hours (Gold’s Gym, Cape Coral). Check it out, it’s on YouTube,” he said.
He’s performed at the Lani Kai during spring break regularly, and last year, The Mighty Gonzales came to FMB’s HammerHead Gym to perform feats of strength for a local church’s food bank.
“I did 1,000 stomach crunches in 10 minutes while lying on broken glass; 1,000 deep-knee bends in 15 minutes while standing barefoot on a pile of broken glass; and bench-pressed and lifted 10 tons in a total of 10 minutes continuously,” he boasted.
One day, the strong man plans to hold the world record for “breaking the most world records.”
“I’ve been spending a lot of time in the gym building up my cardio and strengthening up during full-body workouts,” he said. “I’m ready for my Ripley’s Believe It or Not challenge. Atlantic City, here I come!”