When I first came to the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports, I knew almost nothing about the history of strength or the extraordinary figures who shaped it—aside from our renowned Director, Dr. Jan Todd, once known as the “Strongest Woman in the World.” I certainly didn’t know how to make a FlipBook, but I’m living proof that an old dawg can learn new tricks. Somewhere between the smell of old scrapbooks, faded photographs, and the delicate pages of century-old pamphlets, I fell in love with it all. I started learning to create FlipBooks as a means of preserving and sharing these incredible stories and before long, I was hooked.
Now, for those of you reading this who don’t know what a FlipBook is, I’ll spare you the technical deep dive. In short, it’s the painstaking process of scanning every single page, cropping each image, and aligning them with near-surgical precision until dozens of PDFs merge into one flawless file. The final masterpiece is uploaded into a content manage system called WordPress, and voilà, a FlipBook, complete with titillating page-turning whooshes, comes to life.
Through these projects, I discovered the world of early strongmen and strongwomen who were pioneers in the field of physical culture long before “fitness” became a global industry. The turn-of-the-twentieth-century scrapbooks, vintage strength-training courses, and physical culture pamphlets opened a door to an era of strength training defined by grit, determination, and passion. Learning to create FlipBooks became a way of keeping that world alive. Every FlipBook I create opens access to researchers, historians, and fans across the world who might never have the chance to handle these materials in person. My FlipBook obsession fuels my work as the content manager of the Strongman Project website, where I help bring these stories of strength, resilience, and innovation to audiences across the globe.
Today, I’m fortunate to serve in a dual role as content manager for the Strongman Project and curator for the UT Athletics Collections at the Stark Center. My work lets me move between two vibrant worlds, the international history of strength and the proud legacy of Texas Athletics. As a former UT women’s tennis coach, I’ve always felt deeply connected to the spirit of Longhorn sports, which makes preserving its history all the more meaningful.
Some of my favorite projects have involved transforming pieces of UT’s past into living, digital form: from the 1947 Longhorn baseball scrapbook with its striking wooden cover marking the first NCAA College World Series season, to the colorful football program produced in 1924, when the Texas War Memorial Stadium first opened its gates. Creating FlipBooks of these materials feels like breathing life back into the stories that built the University’s athletic tradition, one flip, one frame, one moment at a time.
For me, making FlipBooks has become more than a skill; it’s a bridge between memory and movement, between preservation and access. Every page I bring to life reminds me that strength isn’t only measured in muscle or endurance, it’s also in remembrance, in storytelling, and in keeping history alive for those who will discover it next.
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