Samir Becic inadvertently struck fear into the hearts of diners and staff when he went to Kenny & Ziggy’s for a pastrami sandwich (made with lean beef and whole grain bread, of course). Samir’s 150lb weighted vest was the source of the confusion, causing managers to approach him in the middle of the restaurant, where he was forced to prove that his vest did in fact contain weights, and not something more insidious.
To provide a little background, Samir has been wearing the weighted vest for the past month in an effort to raise awareness about obesity. He is a world-renowned fitness expert who is trying to break a world record and raise awareness about the disease. But that wasn’t enough to quell the manager’s fears.
Samir pulled up to the restaurant at 10:30 in the hulking Health Fitness Revolution jeep. Not wanting to draw attention, he sent his associate into the New York-style deli to brief the staff about his mission.
Naomi did as instructed, and had a nice little chat with the hostesses about Samir’s vest. Laughing, they told her that Samir was welcome inside. He came in, the hostesses flirted with him, and he headed to his table.
But as he was about to sit down to enjoy his sandwich, the manager approached Samir and asked to see his vest. At first, Samir thought that the manager just wanted to see how heavy it was. With a grave face, the manager demanded that Samir open it to confirm that there were just weights inside, and nothing dangerous. All eyes in the restaurant were fixed on Samir as he showed that his vest did indeed contain weights. The manager confirmed and de-escalated the situation.
A Different Situation At True Foods
After the awkward encounter, Samir quickly paid his bill and left for a lunch meeting at nearby True Foods. He received a totally different welcome at the health foods restaurant.
Samir sat down at a table problem-free as nearby patrons enjoyed fresh vegetables and ripe fruits. The staff came up to Samir and expressed genuine interest in his campaign to raise awareness about obesity. Admiration, not paranoia, was the prevailing sentiment in the whole restaurant. He even included a waitress in a Facebook Live video broadcast to HFR fans.
Samir can be seen here walking 3 miles with 120 lbs weighted vest while answering facebook live questions:
[fbvideo link=”https://www.facebook.com/samir.becic1/videos/1313955248638333/” width=”700″ height=”500″ onlyvideo=”1″]
He can also be seen working out with the weighted vest here:
[fbvideo link=”https://www.facebook.com/HFRevolution/videos/1092130484239116/” width=”700″ height=”500″ onlyvideo=”1″]
I applaud you for actual walking in the steps of an obese person. I don’t think many people realize what it’s really like to carry that much weight.