St Vincent and the Grenadines, the Caribbean and the World will get a chance and maybe the final opportunity to see ‘Iron Man’, Earl ‘Ole George’ Daniel in action sometime in late November – early December.
Known for his nonstop walking without sleep, ‘Iron Man’ did his first six-day walk in 2005. 17 years later he is being challenged by Desron ‘Lava Man’ Rodriguez, who rose to national fame during the eruptions of La Soufriere in 2021.
On accepting the Challenge
Daniel, 59, in speaking to St Vincent Times from his home in Canada said that besides being challenged, the main reason he decided to accept was due to the fact that he saw yet another huge chance to highlight the plight of those suffering from disabilities.
“I decided I’m going to do this for the persons suffering with disabilities, the hearing impaired, the visually impaired. I want to use this event to highlight the overwhelming plight of the disabled. I want to bring all the concerns of the disabled to the forefront”.
“I want to raise as much finance so that I can assist them, to deal with the needs that they may have, and believe me they are many. This event is expected to make it easier for them to live. I’m hoping that we will get a lot of sponsorship for this. It’s a good opportunity for sponsors to get on board and get and get involved”, Daniel said.
Getting ready Physically and Mentally
Daniel told St Vincent Times that he is preparing not only physically but mentally and in his words training smarter.
“I’ve been training, training very hard. I frequent the gym 3 to 4 times a week. I do my cardio training, my weight training, and my mental preparation. You know, of course, I’m getting older, but am training smarter”.
”So physically, I should be in good shape for that. It’s just the heat I have to worry about because there is hardly enough heat of the sun here to condition my body, so that’s something I’ll have to get used to, something mentally I have to prepare myself for but I’m training and I’ll be ready for ‘Lava Man’.
This May Be Daniel’s Last Walk
Having defied sleep in 2005 for 6 days straight walking around SVG, Walking for 7 consecutive days in Emancipation Park Jamaica in 2006, 2008 walked for 8 consecutive days in Prospect Park, New York with walking partner Joel Butcher and danced nonstop for almost 123 hours in 2012, this may very well be Daniel’s last ho-rah.
”I’m happy to be able to give Vincentians a chance to see me in action. There are a lot of people who may not have seen me walking before, and this will be probably the last opportunity because, after this, I don’t think I’m going to do any more distance walking of this nature”.
“It’s just that Lava Man challenged me, and I’m not one to back down from a challenge”. Laughing Daniel said, “I take it with both hands and both legs”.
“Once I set my foot in motion, that’s it. Nothing is going to stop me. I mean ‘Iron Man is ‘Iron Man’. I’m the ‘Iron Man’, and if he’s the ‘Lava Man’, well, let’s see, let’s do this. Hopefully, Vincentians will get a chance to see two heroes in action”, Daniel said.
Daniel Urge Others To Get Involved
”I going to send the invitation out for everybody else to get involved. If other people want to get involved and participate in this challenge, they’re free to do so.
Committees would be set up later down in the year to organize and coordinate all the events”, Daniel told St Vincent Times
