The Florida Man Games is an athletic event which parodies the "

Florida Man Florida Man is an Internet meme first popularized in 2013, referring to an alleged prevalence of people performing irrational, ridiculous, and maniacal actions in the U.S. state of Florida. Internet users typically submit links to news stories ...

" internet phenomenon. It features a selection of parodic sports events including "A Catalytic Converter, Two Bikes and a Handful of Copper Pipes: Race Against Time", the "Evading Arrest Obstacle Course", and "Beer Belly Florida Sumo". Intended by its founder Pete Melfi to be an annual event, the inaugural Florida Man Games took place on February 24, 2024 at Francis Field in downtown

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located 40 miles (64 km) south of downtown Jacksonville, the city is on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spani ...

, gaining significant national media coverage. The second Florida Man Games is expected to be held on March 1, 2025 at the larger St. Johns County Fairgrounds in Elkton.

Origin

The event is organized by Pete Melfi, who runs the local media outlet The 904 Now. Melfi had already organized a half-kilometer beer run in 2023. He has stated that he came up with the various events in the Games by "reverse-engineer ngyears of 'Florida man' headlines." He has also said that he was told to tone down some parts of the Florida Man idea in order to receive a permit for the event, stating that "the city frowned on it when I asked for drugs and nudity."

2024 Games

The inaugural 2024 Florida Man Games were first announced in October 2023, touted as "the most insane athletic showdown on Earth" by organizers. Two former stars of ''American Gladiators'', Dan "Nitro" Clark and Lori "Ice" Fetrick, agreed to serve as referees, and organizers stated that athleticism was not required for competitors to enter. ''

Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals with bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' ...

'' were initially billed to be sponsoring the games. The event took place on Saturday, February 24 at Francis Field in downtown

, with spectators paying $45 or $55 per ticket. It was sponsored by Florida apparel company FloGrown, as well as a car dealership and a gym. It benefitted the Jimmy Jam Community Outreach nonprofit. Competitors formed sixteen teams in which they would compete, each making up exaggerated personas to gain supporters. Team names included the Red Eyed Gator Huggers, the Cooter Commandos, and Hanky Spanky. In the run-up to the event, teams posted on Facebook, including one team chugging

Pabst Blue Ribbon Pabst Blue Ribbon, commonly abbreviated PBR, is an American lager beer sold by Pabst Brewing Company, established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1844 and currently based in San Antonio, Texas. Originally called Best Select, and then Pabst Select, ...

beer and jogging in jean shorts and

mirrored sunglasses Mirrored sunglasses are sunglasses with a reflective optical coating (called a mirror coating or flash coating) on the outside of the lenses to make them appear like small mirrors. The lenses typically give the wearer's vision a brown or grey tin ...

. The games were introduced with "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...

" played on an

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

. Team Hanky Spanky received the championship belt for the 2024 Games, as well as $5,000.

Events

Beer Belly Abdominal obesity, also known as central obesity and truncal obesity, is the human condition of an excessive concentration of visceral fat around the stomach and abdomen to such an extent that it is likely to harm its bearer's health. Abdominal ...

Florida Sumo –

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

wrestling while holding

pitchers In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws (" pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

. * A

Catalytic Converter A catalytic converter part is an vehicle emissions control, exhaust emission control device which converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalysis, catalyzing a redox ...

, Two Bikes and a Handful of Copper Pipes: Race Against Time – a three-part

theft Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shor ...

relay in which competitors each weaved a bicycle through cones while holding a catalytic converter, then picked a padlock on another bicycle to get both back through the course, followed by the theft of a batch of copper piping which they were required to get across the finish line in a trailer. * Category 5 Cash Grab – competitors had 60 seconds to grab dollar bills while standing in wind machines. *

Chicken Shit ''Chicken shit'', or more commonly ''chickenshit'', is a slang term, usually regarded as vulgar. The online Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ''chickenshit'' (one word) as a vulgar adjective with two possible meanings: "petty, insignificant" or ...

Bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** B ...

– an audience crossed off bingo numbers corresponding to the numbers on a large bingo card which were defecated on by a rooster and four hens inside a cage. * Eat the Butt – a pork-eating contest. * Evading Arrest Obstacle Course – competitors each escaped from handcuffs inside a police car, jumped fences, threw an inflatable alligator through a window, tipped over three wooden cows and rescued a plastic

iguana ''Iguana'' (, ) is a genus of herbivorous lizards that are native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The genus was first described by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti, J.N. Laurenti in ...

from a pool of mud, all while being chased by real uniformed deputies from

St. Johns County St. Johns County is a county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 273,425. The county seat and most populous incorporated city is St. Augustine, although the nearby com ...

Sheriff's Office. * Florida Ma'am Pinup – the only women's event at the Games, in which women competed as pinup girls. * Mullet Competition. * Weaponised

Pool Noodle A pool noodle is a cylindrical piece of flexible, buoyant polyethylene foam. Pool noodles are used by people of all ages while swimming. Pool noodles are useful when learning to Swimming, swim, for floating, for rescue reaching, in various form ...

Mud Duel – competitors fought with weapons made from pool noodles and

duct tape Duct tape or duck tape is cloth- or scrim-backed pressure-sensitive tape, often coated with polyethylene. A variety of constructions exist using different backings and adhesives, and the term "duct tape" has been genericized to refer to all o ...

in an inflatable pool of muddy water.

2025 games

Organizers accepted video applications for the 2025 Florida Man Games until September 2024. A "

scouting combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...

" was to be held on 17 November 2024, hosted by wrestler Sam Shaw at Hatchet Pro Wrestling. The Games were held on March 1, 2025 at the larger St. Johns County Fairgrounds in Elkton to accommodate more space, a covered arena, and a dedicated "RV tailgating area". The games were hosted by Florida comedians Josh Wicks Robinson and Kevin Flynn. Many of the events were retained with the addition of

lawnmower racing Lawnmower racing is a form of motorsport in which competitors race modified lawnmowers, usually of the Lawnmower#Riding (ride-on) mowers, ride-on or self-propelled variety. The original mower engines are retained, but the blades are removed for ...

, alligator shows, "Human Beer Pong", a "Hellzapoppin Freak Show", "Florida Woman Bonus Challenge", "Hurricane Party Prep - Grocery Aisle Brawl", and "

Midget Wrestling Midget wrestling is professional wrestling involving people of exceptionally short stature. Its heyday was in the 1950s and 1960s, when wrestlers such as Little Beaver, Lord Littlebrook, toured North America, and Sky Low Low was the first hold ...

Warriors", alongside

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

matches. Additionally, each team was newly required to have a woman, and there is also an all-women's team, the Ball Busters.

Reception

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), T ...

compared the games to British game show ''

It's a Knockout ''It's a Knockout!'' is a British game show first broadcast in 1966. It was adapted from the French show ''Intervilles'', and was part of the international ''Jeux sans frontières'' franchise. History The series was broadcast on BBC1 from 7 Au ...

''., humorously proposing the Henley Man Games,

Ascot Ascot, Ascott or Askot may refer to: Places Australia * Ascot, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane * Ascot, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality * Ascot Park, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide * Ascot (Ballarat), town near Ballarat in Victoria ...

Man Games, and

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

Man Games Gold Cup.{{Cite web , last=Clarkson , first=Jeremy , author-link=Jeremy Clarkson , date=2024-03-03 , title=Jeremy Clarkson: My Ascot Man Games will fall at the first fence , url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/my-ascot-man-games-will-fall-at-the-first-fence-b3zr99ts9 , access-date=2024-11-16 , website=

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

References

Annual events in Florida 2024 establishments in Florida Men in Florida Culture of Florida St. Augustine, Florida