Wednesday 3 December 2008

Get Hench, Or Die Trying



Many times over the last few months while I’ve been out and about in my travels, I’ve seen various men rocking the t-shirts with the slogan ‘Get Hench Or Die Trying’ (GHDT). Now being the nosey type that I am, I felt it was my duty to fellow nosey parkers to find out if the man behind the slogan was as arrogant and full of himself as the t-shirts may portray.
Now after exchanging emails over the last few weeks I felt it was time to meet the real Get Hench & find out what the slogan is all about.



Now you all know once winter kicks in, I’m not leaving my house unless your name is MUSIC or WORk & apparently Get Hench as well, hence why I braved the cold to meet the man behind the t-shirt.
Meet Olu Johnson, the 25 year old Law Graduate from North London who from first impressions has left me wondering ‘Are all the good men hiding out in Fitness First in Tottenham?’



So I sit down at Pizza Express with Mr. Johnson aka Get Hench as we talk work, relationships and Pumpkins (don’t ask). It’s getting late and I nearly forget that I’m not sitting here catching up with an old friend (as it feels like) but here on business, so it’s time to do just that, get down to business.

MzUnderstood: How did Get Hench come about?

GH: After going gym for a while I teamed up with another guy there called Shayne and we ended up training together. Everyone would watch us as we banged out the weights and after a while people wanted to train with us. One day I was pushing one of the youngers to do weights and he said ‘I can’t do this.’ I said to him ‘Yes you can, come on’ and he replied ‘Nah, I can’t do this Get Hench or Die Trying stuff.’ And it was born from there.

MzUnderstood: What does GHDT actually mean, is there a deeper meaning other than men in the gym pushing weights?

GH: GHDT is all about empowering people to push themselves to achieve what others think they can’t. We’ve just used the term ‘Get Hench’ but it applies to everything in life not just going to the gym.

Mz: So you must get a lot of attention from the girls looking like that!?

GH: Girls see me and all they see is meat, but obviously that’s not what I’m about. I’m a lawyer and I love law…I’m not a piece of meat!

Mz: OK, wow so you’re a lawyer?

GH: Yes, I graduated and now I work in the legal department for a company in Hertfordshire.

Mz: Which celebrities have you seen wearing your t-shirts?

GH: Dwayne Chambers (the athlete) has been sent one but I’m not sure if he’s received it yet. Chucky Norris, Yolanda Brown & Sway.


Mz: Where do you see the GHDT brand in the future?


GH: Right now the t-shirts are so popular that they’re selling out. When I first wore one in the gym everyone wanted one, I came back and one guy bought ten at once. I then sold out and another guy wanted one so badly he bought the one I was wearing that I’d been training in so I had to go home topless!

Fitness First were due to stock them but the manager that agreed the deal left and new manager point blank refused to sell them and I’m hearing that at least 10 people a day come in asking if they’re stocking them yet. That’s their loss.

Me, my brother Ayo and Shayne are the main people behing the brand and it’s so new for us and the t-shirts are doing so well, we’re still working on where we’re going to take the brand, it’s still early days yet.




Olu went on to tell me about the young boys that come into the gym to train with him and he uses that as an opportunity to discipline them as they listen to what he says and it gives them a sense of belonging. Discipline and belonging are the main factors that affect young black boys in our society today and what better role model to have than Olu.


Some would think that Get Hench is Olu Johnson’s alter ego but in actual fact to me they are the same person.
Olu Johnson is the 9-5 lawyer/businessman and Get Hench is the lawyer who works out three times a week and encourages people to achieve when others doubt them.
Whether you call him Olu or Get Hench, either way he’s the best example of why you should never judge a book by it’s cover because who would’ve thought that a man who looks like he could take out Mike Tyson with a flick is the same man who is all about motivating others to push the boundaries in life to go further than one ever imagined, so take his advice -‘Get Hench Or Die Trying’.

TO ORDER YOUR TSHIRT RING/TEXT 07535 903 899

OR EMAIL
gethenchordietrying@yahoo.com

15 comments:

Niimp said...

This is very interesting...well put together and most definately a good read.

Unknown said...

Just watched Blood,Sweat and Takeaways.....so much for the "nice guy" eh? Thanks for taking the perception of the black man backwards about ten years,cheers Olu

Anonymous said...

I second Francis' comment. Olu is a disgrace to his own race.

Anonymous said...

you buff ass niga think u ten men picking on sum dude cuz he aint scared of you if i see ur ass i lay u out flat nigga ya dig

Anonymous said...

Pretty hated man is that Olu, you'd think a law student would know that assult is a no-no?

Mr. Daniel Shotunde said...

Yeah, like I'm gonna order his shit in any kinda hurry. I thought Nigerian parents were good at teaching their kids good manners. You make all Nigerians ashamed.

rlm said...

what
a
moron

Anonymous said...

i don't understand how a law graduate could go on TV and push a person half his size through a glass panel for no reason while claiming to be a nice guy. what a bully. even worse that he picked on a fellow minority too. easy target i guess.

Anonymous said...

I guess behind all that muscle there is still a very very insecure juvenile under all of that. The scariest thing for me is that it was very similar behaviour to abusive boyfriends/husbands..alarming.

Anonymous said...

Jesus wept! Give the guy a break, he made a mistake! GET OVER IT!

Anonymous said...

Olu's records are are now going into the lawsociety. His future as a lawyer is now in serious jeopardy. I seriously hope he never becomes a lawyer.

Anonymous said...

I would not trust that juvenile idoit of a lawyer. Typical black man attitude - solve it with violence. The article sounds like a joke except the writer was serious!

Anonymous said...

the guy is a royal tosser
a good read my ass, i would buy a t-shirt,poor fufu on it,piss on it and burn it to match olu's complexion
omg the guy makes me sick
im not even racist but the guy makes my blood boil, pushing around someone half his size. i see this all too much, half witted over cooked jungle bunny :@

Anonymous said...

Im sure he regrets what he did now & disgraced himself in front of the nation, people could have understood olu's actions if that lil dude had been his own size, but that was just plain bullying, id be surprised if his firm had kept him on after such a display of immaturity, I dont think race plays a factor in this, hes just an individual who clearly hasnt mentally matured with age.

Anonymous said...

There is nothing but hatred all over the internet for this guy. Get hench youtube clips..jokers! I'd take your name off the wanna be t-shirt brand Olu. If you wanna sell them cheap ass t's. The only way he's going to have a celeb holding 1 is shoving it in there hands for a quick fan snap. Don't mean they want to purchase or even wear 1..? wtf. Get Hench more like GET a LIFE! or die tryin..!