Straining under the weight of a tree trunk, strong man Daniel Yaden, also known as “Hawaiian Volcano,” hoisted the wood over his head, while Buchanan middle schoolers watched transfixed on Thursday morning at Buchanan Middle School.
As a final display of strength, Yaden heaved the wood up and down before resting in back on the floor.
But the show was not over, as other members of the Stand Strength Team, including T.A. Nalian, “Shrek,” Jason Underhill, “Viking,” and Joe Olinger, “Mighty Joe O,” demonstrated seemingly impossible feats of strength, while sharing messages about the power of kindness, the strength to stand up to bullies and the might it takes to say “no” to peer pressure.
For Nalian, this type of presentation is not only metaphorical, but captivates anyone in the room eager to see the desecration of everyday objects.
The Rochester Hills, Michigan-based nonprofit travels the country sharing anti-bullying lessons, among other important life values.
This past week, the team took a tour of southwest Michigan, visiting more than a dozen schools along the way. Niles Pastor Jeff Whittaker, of the Michiana Christian Embassy, invited the team out to the area.
As T.A. Nalian “Shrek” looked out into the audience, he told students life would not always be easy.
“Sometimes life can be big and tough, like a phone book,” Nalian said.
But students could persevere by making good decisions.
“Students, when you make the right choices by saying, ‘I am going to be kind to others and I am going to respect people,’” Nalian said. “Students, when you make the right choices, you become unstoppable.”
With that, Nalian tore through the phone book with his bare hands.
Sharing how to respect and be kind to one another is a message Nalian said today’s youth really needs to hear. But Nalian saw first hand how some attempts to share this message with students could be ineffectual.
Twenty-four years ago, Nalian said he attended a motivational speech at a school, and recalled looking out over the audience and noticing how disengaged the students were to the speaker on stage.
“He was a great speaker, but I saw the kids passing notes and goofing around and I said, ‘we have got to do something to arrest their hearts and seize their attentions,” Nalian said. “So I just began experimenting with weight lifting, ripping phone books and speaking.”
When team members splinter baseball bats, bend metal and hoist a giant log over their heads, they certainly seem to have the attention of the audience.
Combine it with a powerful message and the impression seems to stick, Nalian said.
The team shares several messages they believe are valuable, including do not bully others, respect people for who they are, maintain an a standard of excellence in regards to school and work, say no to drugs and alcohol, be kind to others every day, and lead others to do the same.
These examples could be seen in the team’s presentation Thursday.
Clinging to either end of a metal bar, two students from the audience held on as Yaden “Hawaiian Volcano” lifted them over his head.
As he did so, Nalian reminded students that if they held on to what they believed in, they could succeed.
As the team closed out its performance at Buchanan, Nalian also shared with students how their teachers are the true everyday heroes.
“We need to honor and respect them daily,” Nalian said.
The team has been traveling the country for 17 years and puts on more than 300 performances a year, reaching tens of thousands of students.
Traveling from town to town, the Strength Team keeps up its physique by exercising every chance they get, including gas station stops and rest stop parking lots, Nalian said.
Just like the messages they share, Nalian said remaining a strong man takes the same amount of discipline, which can be especially difficult to keep up on the road.
While Nalian seeks to spread the message of kindness, he also is one to know actions speak louder than words. Members of the team also donate food, clothing and school supplies to a number of schools in need in the Appalachian Mountains.

Schedule:

Friday, March 31:
8 a.m. Brandywine Middle School
9:50 a.m. Niles High School
7 p.m. Michiana Christian Embassy
Saturday, April 1:
7 p.m. Michiana Christian Embassy
Sunday, April 2:
7 p.m. Michiana Christian Embassy