CMU employee is working hard to compete at the highest level in his sport and to keep the community safe
If you go to the Hamilton Recreation Center at pp电子极速糖果 at 5:30am and see someone doing 1,重复1000磅的腿推, or if you see someone working security at the winter X Games wearing only a pair of shorts and a t-shirt — you are witnessing Casey Walters in his element.
Walters, originally from Monroe, Louisiana first came to CMU on a football scholarship. He played for one year but decided to cut his career short to enroll in the police academy. Walters went on to work in a variety of corrections officer and private security positions. 从大枢纽到阿斯彭, 在科罗拉多做安全巡逻工作的时候, he decided to forego the long drive to focus on his family and accepted a position working for Facilities Services at CMU. He is currently part of the utilities staff and helps move furniture for staff and students as well as delivering tables and chairs for special events. He also provides security for Sodexo events on campus — especially those involving alcohol. 除了他在CMU的工作, Walters also contracts with the winter X Games in Aspen and the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority bus service where he keeps the peace during ride-alongs.
The Hamilton Recreation Center is Walters’ favorite place on campus and he spends at least three days a week weightlifting to prepare for the sports he competes in — Scottish Highland Games and Strongman competitions.
“体育中心是我减压的好地方, 但我也会为了更高的次数而举重, 这就是我喜欢的运动, 像强人, 需要,沃尔特斯说。.
Walters currently competes in the amateur divisions of both Highland Games and Strongman, 但他渴望成为一名职业选手, 或两个, 体育运动. He works with a local coach and recently became sponsored by Enhanced Performance Nutrition. 在短短几年内, 他已经走出了C级排名, is currently competing in B Class events and is on the edge of going up to A Class. Pro athletes in his sports are distinguished by placing well in A Class competitions and attending invitation-only events with large cash prizes.
“我发现这类比赛更适合我, 能力提升, 只是卧推, 深蹲和硬举. I’m six-foot-two with a six-foot-six arm span and that doesn’t exactly help me in the bench press. 《pp电子极速糖果》中的事件是一个很大的均衡器, 不同的事件偏爱不同体型的人,沃尔特斯说。. “我现在做这件事只是为了好玩. 如果最终能成为职业选手就太好了, but the one downside to going pro would be that I would probably have to pick which one 体育运动 I love to commit to.”
在2月份, 2023年Ragnarök迈阿密奥运会, Florida Walters faced off against an international field of Strongman competitors and hit two new benchmarks. 在农民步行活动中, 在比赛中，运动员每只手尽可能地负重跑一段距离, 沃尔特斯走了38英尺，两只手提着350磅, 或者总共700磅. 在超级重轭项目中, where you add weight to a metal A-frame (like a squat rack with a larger and smoother crossbar welded to it), 沃尔特斯成功地举起了1个,000磅，走7英尺.
“而我只走了七英尺, 我击败了在超重型举重项目中获得总冠军的人. One thing I can say for certain though — that is the longest seven feet I’ve ever walked,沃尔特斯说。.
9月, Walters will travel back to Florida to compete in the World Strength Games Strongman competition, 但首先, 他要去盐湖城, 6月中旬在犹他州参加高地运动会比赛. Walters loves living in Grand 小君ction because it allows him to easily compete in all the events in Utah put on by Utah Heavy 体育运动 as well as the events on the front-range put on by the Rocky Mountain Scottish Athletic Association. He has built many friendships in both communities and rarely attends national or international events without seeing a familiar face.
沃尔特斯最近在强人项目上取得了成功, he has a deep appreciation for the history and cultural connections that the Highland Games provide. He has tattoos celebrating his Norse and Celtic ancestry and his favorite event is the caber toss. 在盖尔语, the word “caber” means big stick and the event originated from the medieval days when castles were being stormed and moats had to be crossed by throwing big sticks across them to act as bridges. 在搬运和投掷这些临时桥杆时, 精度很重要, and in the Highland Games the goal of the caber toss remains to toss the beam and get it to land at exactly 12 o’clock relative to the sightline down your shoulder. Walters dreams of traveling back to Europe in the future and attempting some of the legendary feats of strength unique to the region.
“One of my long-term goals is to go to Iceland where they have a famous stone called the Húsafell Stone, which weights roughly 410 pounds — the idea is you pick it up and take it for a walk around this old sheep corral. 这块石头呈楔形, 它被用作畜栏门, 所以我们的挑战是如何把它捡起来, 带它绕着畜栏走一圈，把它放回原处,沃尔特斯说。.
He continued, “I would also love to go to Scotland and attempt to carry the Dinnie Stones. One of the Dinnie Stones is 400-something pounds and the other is 300-some odd pounds, 如果你能让他们飞起来你的名字就会被写进书里. If you’re able to, you take them for a walk and just see how far you can go with them.”
当被问及如何让社区更安全时, 沃尔特斯认识到，他令人印象深刻的身材自然会使事情保持和平, but he recommends staying aware of your surroundings and being vigilant about the little stuff, 比如锁门，把贵重物品藏起来. He also suggests learning the basics of self-defense and believes that it is always better to have the skills and not need them rather than finding yourself in a situation where you need them but don’t have them.
沃尔特斯是勇气和力量的典范, 两个定义CMU的值, 以及CMU正在努力成为一所人文大学. 当他追求新的挑战时，他在比赛中树立了勇气, and he is dedicated to using his tremendous power in collaboration with others to achieve the goal of keeping our community safe.
你可以在Instagram上关注沃尔特斯 @RedTank74, and be sure to say hello if you see him in the weight room or at an upcoming event.