RAWBangkok

Well, some things have changed and some have stayed the same.

The tattoos are still there… maybe some new ones, I’m not sure.

The bleached highlights are gone from the hair, and it’s back to it’s natural color. But the hair hasn’t been cut in months, and rather than the moussed bad-boy look it’s simply an unruly mass of mouse-brown hair.

He’s bigger. Not taller, but wider through the chest, shoulders and biceps.

His fingernails are painted a deep burgundy-red color.

When I first saw him he was wearing sunglasses indoors, with ragged shoes that probably should have been thrown out a year ago, and carrying a small duffel bag full of gear.

The cry of “Wolf!”, which is what he calls me, was the thing that alerted me to the fact that I was in the presence of Young Penfold once again.

We were in California Wow! and I was coming up the escalator as Penfold was about to go down. I turned to my right and nearly stepped on him, but didn’t recognize him.

We had an appointment, but we were both early and it was a surprise to see each other suddenly.

Penfold’s back in Bangkok for the third time. He’s fitter and hopefully a bit wiser than before. No longer content to simply draw down the family trust fund and try to drink & fuck himself silly, Penfold has a new attitude. He’s gonna be in the gym more and in the bars less. He will be earning his way.

I’ve been discussing my fitness on the blog a lot recently, and I’m gonna do it again now.

I spent five years or more staying in decent shape in Australia by working with a personal trainer at the gym and then playing volleyball once or twice a week in addition to the workouts.

Here in Thailand all that disappeared, and I got fat and out of shape over the past few years.

Before I went to Chiang Mai in mid-2008 Penfold promised me that when I returned to Bangkok in July he’d whip me into shape. Unfortunately, when I got back he was gone to England. I started on the process of returning to fitness by shedding a lot of my excess weight over the past six months.

Penfold and I stayed in touch via the internet while he was in the UK getting himself ready for another run at Bangkok. He landed at the airport on Wednesday afternoon, and we had our first training session scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

I was curious to see how it would go after being out of the gym — for all practical purposes — for more than three years.

Penfold had told me about his previous experience as a personal trainer, along with his own vast experience as a gym-addict. He assured me that he would put me through proper workouts and turn me into a sculpted piece of manhood.

I can say now, after our 2 hour workout, that he was good to his word. Today’s workout felt more like a workout partner, as Penfold and I took turns at the weights. Today we spent about 65% of the time on free weights working on chest and shoulders, then hit a cable machine to work on some arm areas that also overlapped with the chest and shoulder work we’d already done.

I worked hard… as hard as I’ve ever worked in the gym, but Pennie made it an enjoyable session. He was very involved, helping with form and assisting when needed. He was encouraging and made the time pass quickly. I got a very good workout.

I’ve had a bit of experience with Thai personal trainers at California Wow, and Penfold’s approach and performance were much better, and a bit cheaper.

I’m guessing that I’ll barely be able to raise my arms by tomorrow morning as today’s exertions begin to make themselves felt. Any number of times today I was straining with trembling arms, red face, sweat popping out on my forehead, and at one point nearly blacking out from the exertion.

My favorite go go dancer used to make me feel the same way, but for different reasons.

If I can maintain this pace I have no doubt that I’ll be a lean, mean fighting machine by the time mid-June rolls around.

Penfold seems to enjoy the training role, and he looks very comfortable in a gym. If you’re looking for someone to help motivate you and help you move an inch or two from your waistline to your chest, you might want to touch base with YP. After just one workout I can confidently say that he’s the right guy for me to work with to finish the job I started to regain my fitness. Challenging, positive, entertaining, helpful, and in great shape himself… he’s got the right package for a personal trainer.

So, this week for Penfold it’s “Welcome Back to Bangkok” and for Werewolf it’s “Welcome Back to California”.

I’ll see all y’all at the Big Mango tonight for Daywalker’s Birthday party.  I’ll be the guy who doesn’t have the strength left to raise a pint of Tiger to his lips.

Cheers,

WW