Tough Guy: Nettle Warrior 2015
How does the time pass so quickly? I’ve barely chiselled the blood, sweat and beers from my pants and suddenly it’s Tough Guy all over again. This time, Nettle Warrior – the summer version, for those who don’t fancy a near-death experience…
For me, the weekend was particularly special because it was the first outing of a full Ghost Squad. It’s one thing to have me, Simon and Will smothered ourselves in warpaint and run around bellowing. (Or drumming for five hours straight, like we did at Mudnificent 7). It’s another thing to have a whole crew dedicated to making the whole Tough Guy experience that little bit more crazy…
But a crew we had! Dan, Aidie, Doug, Al and Sophie all joined Simon and me, and together we brought forth the thunder that has pounds every day in my heart, and in my head.
The weekend started in classic fashion, with bottles of rum, cigars and smoke-ring contests. We sang songs late in the night, in order to ensure that we died and could be reborn. Death is essential to ghostliness. Ask anybody.
Oh and, of course, we took some time out to strolling like badass mother fuckers around the course:
The day itself was harsh. For one thing, I woke up with one of the worst hangovers of my life, made 1000x worse by sleeping on the cold wooden floor of a barn, with the constant barking of dogs. For another thing, it was bitterly cold – as cold as could be expected from a mild Winter Tough Guy, which is about as cold as it gets in this part of the world.
Nevertheless, we drowned our hangovers with coffee and breads, then stormed the Killing Fields to do what we do best: bellow and haul people out of mud.
I’m proud to say that not a single person died on our watch. That said, lots of people dropped out from the cold – which is unusual for a summer event… Who knows what this means for the Winter Tough Guy 2016…
