Gentleman, the time has come. A call to action - national level convention

[Speedbag]

Ill let you know there reply but KNOW that i sent him TIM's proposal. so They cant say i didnt let them know first! Hope to GOD that they get back to me with some awesome news!!!!!!

THANKS! Everlast has the connections and star power to make this dream a reality. Particularly with the Vegas location.

[SpeedBagSkunk]

sent to everlast

Ill let you know there reply but KNOW that i sent him TIM's proposal. so They cant say i didnt let them know first! Hope to GOD that they get back to me with some awesome news!!!!!!

[SpeedBagSkunk]

Skunk will be there!!!!

OHHHH yeahhhh thats what im talking about. Doesnt matter where its at!! IM there!!! Along with probly 3 or 4 of my best students will be coming with me! Im going to send this to EVERLAST and see what they say. Hopefully we can get the ball moving so that by next summer we will be ready to BAG!!!!

[Speedbag]

I've been dreaming about a bagger reunion for a LONG time. There are thousands of bagger fans all over the country, and for every one registered on the forum there are 50 that aren't. I've had tons of emails, and before email was king, letters centered around the speed bag bible, Along with a massive database of names and address of potential participants. Doctors, Lawyers, Bankers, designers, veterans, boxers, club owners, Police, Martial Artists, Radio hosts and Musicians of all genres. Checking my records I've had numerous contacts in he Vegas area, as well as went there to meet with one of the Downtorn Casino's about just such an idea. A friend of mine is a real live private detective there, and has a few contacts in the casino industries.

It would take at least two or three major sponsors to cover the costs of room and meals ala banquet style down to. Several equipment sponsors might throw in a few freestanding frames. I would not suggest too many because of the noise factor. Maybe a few local boxing gyms or local exercise centers would want to participate, along wth a big name like a stallone or someone who is famous and hits the bag. For my part, Books and DVD's are no problem. Shirts hats etc. can be easily desinged as I had done one in Orlando. Vegas is a great location with things to do and lots of gyms etc. But so is Orlando Dallas or Kansas City, which is he home of both Ringside and titleboxing.Nothning like being jn their back yard

Several of us could do teaching seminars of interest, :Punchdrumming, freestyling, teaching etc. we could anygthing we wanted. sponsor some training session for handicapped kids. you'd be surprised who might want to take part.

So count me in. Be aware that a casino, convention center or hotel location want numbers. 25 is a key number and they may need at least that many for the first discount price break.

[SpeedBagScissorhands]

I am all for Vegas or L.A. - im sure Vegas would be cheaper but maybe I can promote my movies in L.A. haha- Yes im from New Jersey but Atlantic City in the summer is very cool and cheap.- I'd rather have a great excuse to go to the west coast. Anywhere is cool with me! SBSH

[spinsmashpop]

Hey! I dig it... I've written many times about this exact thing...
I will have my band Speed Bag Dragon together then and we'll drive and play ..maybe get some special guests.....
Vegas is cool...
Definitely...
And I do not say this cuz I live there.... but in LA we can try to really get a Sylvester Stallone type and present him with a lifetime achievement Speed Bag award .... He and Alan Kahn can be the Guests of Honor. Getting a big name a town car to the event is cheaper than a first class flight!
But who knows, it could all work in Vegas!
Yeah!
Gotta go to the show now.....
BAG ON!

[Jordan]

yeah, can't say that doesn't sound like an awesome idea.

[Biff]

Tim, Maybe you considered this location, maybe not. But what about the Orlando area? I know you live nearby, and maybe you didn't suggest it because of that.

Airfare is traditionally cheaper to Orlando, there are a gazillion places to stay and many things to do. Maybe some folks can schedule their family vacation around this event and they can bag and vacation at the same time. I know it's on the east coast and may prevent some folks from attending, but no matter what site is ultimately decided upon, distance will always be a factor.

I hope others will chime in with suggestions. No matter where the host city is, let's see if we can get this iidea to fly.

EDIT: Let's call this the first annual SpeedBagForum BAG-IN.

[Biff]

Tim, as I mentioned in my PM, I'm all for this idea. I know it's been kicked around informally before, but this is great to see the idea finally taking shape. I am willing to do whatever you need to help make this event (no matter how big or small) become a reality.

Let the planning begin.

[SpeedBagScissorhands]

Tim! Brilliant idea! I would be there with bells on! It would be fun as hell being we all know each other already either in person, phone or online. It would great to meet. I would also love to learn a little something from all these awesome baggers who would attend. If I can walk out of there with a few more tricks up my sleeve and make some cool speed bagggin friends- that would be sick! Lets do it!

[Tim]

Our speed bag community has grown by leaps and bounds over the past years. We have a tightly knit group, a family, of incredibly talented members hailing from various locations.

I believe we have reached the point, a critical mass, where we simply must organize a national level gathering of speed bag enthusiasts. Between the speedbagforum.com, speedbagcentral.com, youtube, and offline communities we have an outstanding roster of talented individuals, such as:

Speedbag (Alan Kahn)
Speed Bag Skunk (Zach Ruffo)
Dee Pooler
Paulie D (The Punch Professor)
BillyMackk
Spinsmashpop (Brian Tichey)
Showtime Johnny Pal
Biff
Speed Bag Scissor Hands
John Baca
Rocky Greiner
(and the list goes on and on)

It's time to take the next step of synergy, camaraderie, and promotion of the art of the speed bag.

I propose we arrange to meet, in person, next summer at a centrally located public location for a multi-day speed bag extravaganza.

I have thought long and hard about this originally with Alan, and most recently with Brian and Skunk. I believe I have a proposal for an economical, and workable solution, which I shall describe below:

What
An in person, face to face gathering of speed bag enthusiasts - of all skill levels. An event (a convention) spanning multiple days of learning, practicing, teaching, competition, and freestyle bag punching.

When
Allowing sufficient time for personal planning, scheduling of travel, and reserving resource availability dictates a timeframe of Summer 2010 (June, July, or August). This would be a multi-day event, probably spanning a weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) during one of those months.

Where
A public location (Hotel with conference center, or a gym) in an easily accessible city. I propose Las Vegas, NV for a number of reasons: cheap and available airfare and lodging, a multitude of private gyms (MMA), and an abundance of hotel/conference centers.

I believe with the speed bag community we have, we can reasonably expect between 6 and 24 baggers participating. Perhaps we would get "walk ins" depending on our location, but I think 6 to 24 is a reasonable expectation for this summer.

As such, this dictates the need for lodging for that number of people and a number of speed bag platforms (the more the better).

I believe our best bet would be to arrange a group rate at a hotel and reserve a conference room in which we would setup several speed bag cages, similar to mine, but having multiple platforms (6 or more). I have a preliminary design by which I can create a transportable cage that can be setup in 60 minutes but would house 7 to 9 speed bag platforms of varying height, simultaneously , depending on configuration (more details on that later).

Alternatively, we could meet at a local gym (boxing or MMA) that already has speed bag platforms. I believe the conference room option is more desirable because the hours will be more flexible and open to our use for any purpose (no worries of disrupting kickboxing class with the sound of the speed bag, punch drumming, etc.) Also , I've not yet seen a gym, other than Ruffo's gym, that has a sufficient number of speed bags to keep 6 or more baggers engaged at once.

How Much?
Airfare to Las Vegas NV is readily available and cheap. Lodging is also cheap there. Most recently I've sent employees there for conferences and we paid $249 for round trip airfare, and $79 night for a GOOD hotel. This is very reasonable, compared to costs at other cities.

Airfare: $250- $500 (Depending on your location)
Lodging: $79 - $99 / night for 2 nights
Conference Registration Fee: To be determined but perhaps $75, $100, or $150 ?

The conference registration fee would cover: The cost and expense of renting a conference room at the hotel, the creation and transport of one or more "speed bag cage"(s) to the location, rental/transportation of audio equipment (maybe a live drum kit?) and stereo system for punch drumming, and probably some swag such as: autographed speed bags, autographed speed bag bible, autographed drum heads, shirts or hats, etc. for each participant. Maybe a raffle for a sponsor donated item (a really nice platform, etc.)

NOTE: We may need to pursue corporate sponsorship to offset some of the costs. Several of us (Brian, Skunk, and myself) have multiple ideas of how to accomplish that.

I should stress this would not be run as a for profit event. Any registration fees would be used for the equipment and facilities needed for the event, not for any one's personal gain.

So I will ask, would you be interested in participating in an event such as that described above?

I believe if we can get a reasonable commitment from a number of people we could commence serious planning. If the commitment is not as large as expected we could scale back the event (most likely by meeting at a gym with speed bag platforms, rather than having our own, minimal swag, etc.).

And lastly, all of the above is a PROPOSAL I am open to ideas and input to make this successful!