Drinks were purchased… and finished quickly. Money was won… then spent swiftly. Late nights and early mornings, no sleep so you’re running on empty… fear of checking the bill, for you feel the price will be hefty. But that’s just Las Vegas, the city of sin, we all have to pay the price. Pour up some gin, it’s all going to be worth it when you’re having the time of your life.
Now, I’m no Shakespeare, but while wandering the Vegas strip at four in the morning, I started thinking about that middle school styled rhyme. And there is definitely truth to it. The West Coast Muscle team headed to Las Vegas last week, and now that I have fully recovered from 5 days of nonstop drinking and taking in the desert heat, lets recap the week. This trip was planned over a year ago, and it was a trip we talked about literally every day. It was almost as if the anticipation grew by every mention. Last Tuesday we flew into Vegas, and from the moment we arrived at McCarran International Airport we were ready to start it off right. After dropping our stuff off at our MGM Grand hotel room, we hit the pool. Joining us in Vegas was our good friend Rigo Lepe, or as he likes to be called, Yanoosh. Ryne Williams, Yanoosh and myself arrived at the MGM Grand pool, and what we saw was not expected at all… multiple sororities and fraternities from schools all over the country were in town for their respective formals, and we took that as an opportunity to spread the word about WCM. We had tons of great conversations with people, had several drinks, and most importantly, gained some followers and friends that we ran into around the hotel for the remainder of the week. The trip was off to a good start, and it only got better when our pal Kristian Rzeminiak and WCM’s own Kris Haines came into town.
On Day two, after a day full of more drinking and pool time, we had a dinner set up at the prestigious Eifel Tower restaurant. Going into this dinner, I wasn’t sure of what to expect when I heard of the prices and how much we had to dress up, but I’ll just say this: it was the best meal I have ever had, and that is the absolute truth. The chicken and pasta were beyond amazing. Also, this place kept the bread coming… just all the bread you could have. Amazing… I fucking love bread. Anyways, after dinner we had a booth and bottle service at the night club Chateau inside of the Paris Hotel. The club was directly under the Eifel Tower, with an amazing view of the fountains show across the street at the Bellagio, really just an incredible spot for a nightclub. Props to Ryne on the amazing spot, and props to all of us for having the competitive drive to keep trying to beat the black jack dealer inside of Paris. We did not.
Fighting through hangovers, we started pre-gaming hard around ten in the morning on day three. We had to make it to Wet Republic by eleven to get to our booth for, you guessed it, more bottle service. The main goal of this trip was to spread the word about West Coast Muscle, and I feel that is something we did extremely well. For an example, when you meet people in Vegas, usually the things that come up are: What are you up to in Vegas? Where are you from? What do you do? Last year when I came to Vegas for the first time, Ryne and I told people we owned a scotch company, and that we were brothers. Of course, people ate it up, they’ll believe I’m the kid from Sky High if they’re drunk enough (google Michael Angarano from Sky High, no joke he’s my twin). But this year, we didn’t have to make up a story, we didn’t have to fantasize. We would tell people who we are, what we do. Some would look us up on Instagram and add us right on the spot, some would ask us about the types of apparel we sell. These are the types of interactions we had at Wet Republic that day, and I think they benefited us in a big way. After spending all day in the sun getting drunk, we went back to the room for a quick nap… that quick nap turned out to be a three-and-a-half-hour nap. After going out to dinner at LVB Burger, we decided to rest up for the last day, since we had to go all out. We had to end the trip right.
Day four, our last day, started with a visit to a place that we knew we HAD to visit while in Las Vegas: The Lift Factory. This gym is home to former Mr. Olympia, Jay Cutler, as well as several other body builders that we look to as inspiration for our brand. We showed up expecting to have to pay a fee, and not only did Eddie from the Lift Factory waive that fee, he let us shoot some content for our site that you all will see very soon. I wish that this gym was in Sacramento, because it was that incredible. The perfect weight room. The WCM crew got a great lift in, shot some content then headed back to our room to start pre-gaming. Thanks again to Eddie, and if you’re in Vegas looking for a place to get your pump on, the Lift Factory is THE place to go. Once we got back to our room, I recall having a moment of clarity, adrenaline was flowing through my veins after we returned from the gym. I poured shots for everyone, and I delivered a speech. The speech was heartfelt, I told my friends that this was a trip that I would always remember, that we all will remember. I told them that it was just the beginning. I told them that we need to make that day count, check that, make EVERY DAY count. And then I took the shot. And then another. And another. Then I lost count. I don’t remember the bulk of that afternoon at Wet Republic, but I do recall an older woman asking me for my room number and I ran away in fear. After destroying some Brazilian Barbeque at Samba in the Mirage, we went back to the room for a nap… bad idea. We all woke up just feeling like hell, but there was no time to sulk. It was time to drink again and head to the night swim at Surrender nightclub. I wish this night swim was on the first night when we had 100% energy, because it was amazing. Like you see in movies, pools with tons of people, a DJ shooting dollar bills out all over the pool, random people trying to pole dance on the stripper pole in the middle of the pool (and failing). It was a great way to end the trip, drunk in a pool with great friends, wet dollar bills stuck to my forehead, and a $25 red bull vodka in hand. The end of the night is blurry, but I know it involved gambling. It did not go well.
Back to reality. The Vegas trip was so much fun, but the real fun hasn’t even started yet. There was truth to my drunken pre-pool party speech. It’s just the beginning. Beyond the partying aspect of the trip, we put the word out about West Coast Muscle. Impacting even one person makes a difference. Grinding it out, getting people on board one by one was the approach. Now we want more, and we’re ready to work for it. Watching this grow from a mere idea into a shirt, an Instagram account, a website, and for me, a blog has been fun.
It’s going to be even more fun watching it turn into a lifestyle.
Your friend,
Franklin Cartoscelli
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Follow us on Social Media:
Ryne Williams:
- Instagram: rynewilliams
- Twitter: rynew05
- Snapchat: ryne5
- YouTube: Ryne Williams
Kael Williams:
- Instagram: kael_williams
- Twitter: kael_williams
- Snapchat: kaelwilliams
- YouTube: Kael Williams
Zach Lansky:
- Instagram: zachlansky
- Twitter: zachlansky
- Snapchat: zansky
Kris Haines:
- Instagram: krypton0341
- Twitter: IRONSIDE_GYM
Frankie Cartoscelli:
- Instagram: franklincartoscelli
- Twitter: FCartoscelli3
- Snapchat: FCartoscelli3
Sounds like a blast Ma dudes