I was there in November and found some pretty sweet skateparks but I’m gonna guess that that may not be your thing.
I went to John Broz’s gym - Average Broz’s Gymnasium or something. I read about it in this article years ago:
It was awesome. John was an amazing dude. The gym itself was really well equipped, there was a ton of cool throwback photos and medals and stuff hanging on the walls, John was extremely friendly - I just showed up, he walked over, we talked for a bit, I explained that the reason I was there was due to an 8 year old T-Nation article, then when I said was just in town for fun (music festival) he said I could just train for free, and that I could come back over the weekend if I wanted.
I didn’t pick his brain regarding training but I’m sure he would’ve been receptive. He was coaching some guy who was doing jerks from blocks (if that’s the proper term), the guy was working up to like 450lbs…pretty great to watch. Never seen a Oly lifter that strong in person before.
I’d been lifting for a half hour or so, and then John got a phone call from an employee whose wife was giving birth, so he left to be there for that. There was still two lifters in there and John just told me stay as long as I wanted - he wouldn’t be back, but basically implied that I could just stay as late as I wanted, even if the other people had left.
Anyway, sorry for the story, but the point is: I highly recommend checking out the gym, it’s an awesome atmosphere, and if John is there and you get a chance to meet him, he’s a great guy. They’re open to 9 on week nights.
Vegas does good shows. Check to see if you have a favorite artist with a residency there. I saw “The Amazing Jonathan” in like 07 and laughed the hardest I ever had in my life. Also caught a WEC show at the Hard Rock one year, and it was empty enough that they upgraded our seats to practically cage-side so that the TV cameras wouldn’t pan to an empty house, so that was cool.
I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Vegas before, but if not, just walking the strip at night and heading in and out of all the iconic casinos is a blast. Definitely hit up Cesar’s and check out the fountain, give the Luxor a visit, etc. Hell, you could always catch the Medieval Times-esque show they have at Excalibur (if they’re still doing it), and Treasure Island used to stage a pirate battle in the evenings.
There’s always the buffets too. You can usually get a pretty decent deal on them, since the casinos are trying to lure you in by any means necessary.
I practically grew up there, as my dad did a lot of business there and he’d take the family on trips. I’d help out in the morning and then we’d explore in the evening. Not the best place for a kid, haha, but in the late 90s Vegas tried making itself “Family friendly” before it realized that kids don’t gamble, so there were arcades and amusement parks everywhere.
When I was there I went to visit some people at Cesar’s, and there were some Chippendale guys in the lobby, shirtless, charging people a few bucks for photos with them. We convinced one of my new buddies, a pretty…round dude, to set up across the lobby, and also offer to take photos with the ladies. Got a few ones taken before being asked to leave.
I probably wouldn’t have commented, my uncultured swine ass only knows English and a bit of Spanish that’s just good enough to order the wrong thing from a Mexican menu
Protip: there is no wrong thing. You’ll still get your meat, cheese, beans and rice with tortillas.
Or you can go with my dad’s approach of trying to blend some Italian he learned 50 years ago into the order because it’s pretty much the same thing as Spanish.
@jshaving@T3hPwnisher Thanks for the recommendations guys! For nightlife, is jeans and a t-shirt cool typically? I try to travel light but if dress codes are a thing I’d rather not be stuck in my suit haha.
I was only 20 while there, so I could only go into places where jeans and a t-shirt would be fine, but that’s all I saw older people wearing at nicer bars and stuff.
And yes, a cheeta print suit jacket would probably get you in anywhere. Or wait, that’s not cheeta print. Is it tiger? It looks like a yellow-ish tiger. Either way, instant, front of the line, you’re on the list, type of vibes from it.
