So, it's either an irrelevant fact, or an alleged accusation meant to detract from what the man has achieved.

He could be a goddamn Starbust, for all the juice.

I'd say he's a suitable White House Chef, why bother making anything of what may or may not be steroid use?

This isn't a Major League sport, and unless it's illegal to do in the military, really of no consequence.

So why point it out? Accusing someone of using steroids carries connotations. It's simply not somewhere that we need to go.

I don’t get why everyone is all star-struck with a guy who is VERY OBVIOUSLY using steroids. No one with even a superficial knowledge of PE would ever think otherwise.

Not saying that he does not deserve praise for his past and present service - he most certainly does - but Jeez, would you guys be all deferential to Ben Johnson or Lance Armstrong?

I understand that he’s not competing in anything, but I see ‘roid-junkies like that every other day, hopping on the train from the university gym. Cheats, the lot of them.

It's an interesting story, about a rather large guy. He seems to be quite well suited to his job, and good for him.

Why is his alleged steroid use such an issue for you?

I get it. Everyone who is physically large may use steroids. So what.

The thread started out as "Look at how big this guy is!" But then his accomplishments started being listed and NONE of them had anything to do with his size. If the guy juices so what? If this thread was about whatever bodybuilding or power lifting competitions he's won well then sure, speculate about steroids. But his listed accomplishments have nothing to do with that.

Frankly I'm more impressed with his military and culinary accomplishments than his size. Yep, he's a monster. One that has done a whole lot more in his life than the average joe, and has been so successful at it he's landed a position on white house staff. Steroids didn't do that.

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:
It's an interesting story, about a rather large guy. He seems to be quite well suited to his job, and good for him.

Why is his alleged steroid use such an issue for you?

I get it. Everyone who is physically large may use steroids. So what.

It is not an issue for me. His gonads, his choice. If he does not care about his own testicular atrophy and low sperm count, why would I? I say more power to him to drug himself into oblivion, or explosion, or whatever comes first.

As for “anyone who is physically large may be using steroids”, that’s your assertion. I have no such doubts. Dude IS, whithout any question, using roids. Only an utterly naïve person would not see that.

Again, lest I be (once more) misinterpreted: I am NOT saying that this gentleman is a bad person, or that he does not deserve the accolades from his military service. But his body is artificial as my daughters’ Barbie dolls - that’s a self-evident fact.

If it's not an issue, why is it an issue in this thread?

Here is a tip:

Don't comment on things that are not an issue. This will signal that they are not an issue.

Continuing on about his possible use of steroids, tells me that you have an issue with something you claim to not have an issue with.

How about just letting it go? Go watch Frozen until that sets in.

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:
If it's not an issue, why is it an issue in this thread?

Here is a tip:

Don't comment on things that are not an issue. This will signal that they are not an issue.

Continuing on about his possible use of steroids, tells me that you have an issue with something you claim to not have an issue with.

How about just letting it go? Go watch Frozen until that sets in.

Arc, even though I’ve just recently signed up, I’ve been reading SF daily for over 15 years. I like your input and your opinions, and will refrain from voicing my own on this particular matter. You are right: it’s really none of my concern.

There seem to be somethings that a few here seemed to overlook. For instance; President Trump is a teetotaler. He does not drink, drugs, ect. He is widely known not to tolerate that in his staff. He even threw several people off his tv show for having substance abuse issues. Chloe Kardashian being one, this was not only guests, he was very critical with his employees. It is a how he has done business for decades. Chef Rush works at the Whitehouse, as one of many chefs. It is not likely his 9-5 everyday job. This would afford him time to have multiple time slots for workouts. Chef Rush would have to go through every background check to get into the Whitehouse, let alone the requirements IE piss test for employment at the White House. Then, Chef Rush would be checked out by the Secret Service. There is absolutely NO way the Secret Service would allow someone who juices to be in or around the President's food, Dignitaries food, or special guests food. There is no way they would allow someone who could be blackmailed so openly into the service of the staff of the Whitehouse. This does not include the testing, background checks he would to have had to go through for Westpoint. So, unless you are juicing buddies, and have video, stop disparaging a man who has clearly done everything he can to work his ass off and succeed in this world.

For those of you who think background check ala 4473, Keep in mind you can now tour the white house. You sign up a minimum of 3 months in advance, preferrabley 6 months. The Secret Service then does it's background check on you. Which will be half of what they would do for someone working there, and 1/4 of what they would do for someone responsible for food prep.

Well here is a bit skit on Chef Rush. Head to -1:33 to hear the skit.
https://www.facebook.com/wtfnr...eos/864451713742173/

The link has a 2:36 video about Chef Rush.

https://rebootcamp.militarytim...to-help-fellow-vets/

Here’s how White House ‘Chef Rush’ is using internet fame and 24-inch biceps to help fellow vets
By: Natalie Gross   9 hours ago

Why Chef Rush does 2,222 push-ups a day

Years of working behind the scenes to feed top military brass, three U.S. presidents and foreign dignitaries including the queen of England have taught Chef Andre Rush to live by the old adage, “Be seen and not heard.”

But after a photo of him cooking outside the White House in a chef’s coat rolled up over 24-inch biceps went viral last month, the 45-year-old retired Army master sergeant is having a hard time staying under the radar — maybe for good.

“I get hundreds of emails or texts or pings a day,” he said in a recent interview, hours after receiving a gift from Arnold Schwarzenegger and an invitation to appear on a show with fitness guru Billy Blanks. People want to know what it’s like to cook for President Trump, or Rush’s personal secret to staying so buff. (That’s 25 reps of 315 pounds for each body part and 2,222 push-ups every other day, in case you’re curious.)

He’s a little low on sleep these days trying to respond to everyone. And while that part of his internet fame comes with a lot of responsibility, he said, it’s also “pretty cool.” Rush never expected a big public platform, but one month in, he’s taking advantage of it to advocate for causes he’s been passionate about for years: food, exercise and veterans’ issues.

“It’s like my voice is magnified now to match my body.”

‘Just a cook’

Despite his massive frame, Rush is more foodie than gym junkie. He is a chef, after all.

Rush cooked his first meal at 12 years old — a porterhouse steak with zucchini, squash and potatoes on the side. And when he tasted it, he knew he was in love.

“It was the best steak I’ve ever had in my life because I cooked it,” he said.

He joined the Army at 21 and started his cooking career preparing mass quantities of food at Fort Jackson. Mostly self-taught at that point, Rush remembers hearing comments like, “Oh, you’re just a cook.”

“I hated that terminology,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Oh no, I love that. I wanted to be a cook.’”

That dream took him to the Pentagon to cook for senior staff and later to the White House kitchen, where he still works part-time, cooking for state dinners and other notable events, such as the June 6 dinner that made him famous.

He was also an Army ranger and infantryman during his 23 years in the military and saw combat before medically retiring in 2016. He dealt with the raw physical and mental wounds of those experiences the only way he knew how — by cooking.

A way to cope

“I didn’t realize cooking was my therapy until I actually realized cooking was my therapy,” said Rush, whose own separation from the military was aided by his time in a unit at Virginia’s Fort Belvoir for transitioning wounded warriors. “I would just do it on a normal basis, and when I was feeling down or depressed or off my game sometimes, I would just go in the kitchen, pull out stuff and I would just start cooking. I would cook, and I would cook, and I sometimes would make a six-course meal without even realizing it.”

The worst was after Rush lost his mentee, Sgt. Wesley Durden, to suicide, shortly after Rush had trained him to compete on the TLC show “Next Great Baker” in 2011.

Rush remembers getting a call from Durden as he was in the middle of something and ignoring his phone, thinking he’d have a chance to call the younger man back the next day. The next morning he got a 3 a.m. phone call from an old pal he served with in Iraq, who gave him the worst news he could’ve imagined: Durden had killed himself.

“It just tore me apart,” he said, the pain of that moment showing on his face as he talked. “He was a young, spunky kid. He had everything going for him. He had just gotten out of the military. He had just gotten on the show.”

Rush said the hardest part was being able to relate to Durden. Rush blamed himself in part, for putting on a front when he was feeling depressed and going through hard times. He wonders if Durden picked up on that and similarly tried to hide his suffering from others.

“I kind of took it for granted that he was OK, like people took it for granted that I was OK. After that happened, it was hard,” Rush said.

And he often thinks about what would’ve happened if he had answered his phone.

That experience gave Rush a reason to talk more openly about his own feelings of depression and his post-traumatic stress disorder, which led him to start advocating for military transition-related issues.

One way he does this is by taking the #22PushupChallenge every other day to raise awareness of veteran suicide — only he does 2,222 so that it actually counts as a workout.

“The point about them is not to just do them. It’s for a cause, it’s for a reason,” he said. “Each and every time that I do a push-up, I do it for each and every person that I lost, especially Wesley and a few others that pop in my mind and the ones that are continually struggling right now.”

“I hope and pray that they will see what I’m trying to say and even if it’s not me, that someone will say … ‘Get help,’” he continued. “I know it’s hard, but if a person like myself who can bench press 700 pounds and (has) 24-inch biceps can stop and say, ‘Hey, I need help,’ I mean, you can also.”

His story has been motivating for other service members currently in the same transition unit that Rush went through a couple of years ago, said Casey Pizzuto, center manager at USO Warrior and Family Center-Belvoir, where Rush often volunteers in the kitchen.

“To have somebody who’s gone through the treatment and has come out and is doing so well and has used his injuries or what he’s faced and he’s turned it around and achieved — it’s awesome that we’re able to have that connection,” she said. “They can see ... this isn’t going to debilitate me. I’m not going to be stuck in and out of appointments. I have this, and I’m going to overcome it.”

Pizzuto said celebrity hasn’t changed Rush one bit. He’s still just “Chef” or “Rush” to her and as humble as always.

“We’ll just have you come cook a little bit more,” she told him.

Rush also advocates for healthy eating and says there’s nothing more important than what you put in your body. (Yes, the rumors are true. He can eat four whole chickens at once.) Rush is working on a couple of books now — one of which will be a cookbook interspersed with personal stories.

As he navigates the limelight, he wants to inspire others by continuing to be open about his story.

But if you ask him about Trump’s diet, be ready for a challenge.

“If you arm wrestle me, I’ll tell you.”

Spoiler alert: You probably won’t win.

He reminds me a lot of Ving Rhames. Not just because he resembles him a little bit, but also because he appears big and intimidating, but he's just an all around good guy that's very good at what he does.

I think there's a movie in this somewhere

Under Siege 3: Handling Trump's Light Work


"I would like to see the White House personnel file on this "plain and simple cook."

"The Goddamn cook's an Army ranger?"

"This is the Admiral speaking. I am trying to get a hold of Chef Rush. Is he about?'
'He's in an gunfight right now. I'm gonna have to take a message."

"Nah. I'm just a cook. Just a lowly, lowly cook."

"White House... We ARE the meats!!!"

Is he the only chef allowed to bring guns into the White House?

I will be waiting for his cookbook to be released!

I'm glad this thread is getting back on track.

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
Is he the only chef allowed to bring guns into the White House?

Well, i saw what you did there ! ! !