In addition to his career in the Life & Health Insurance industry and a long-term association with Genealogy, Clay has had some interesting avocational or hobby fields.

From the age of 19 Clay has been an avid weightlifter and fitness buff.  Having competed in the sport of Powerlifting from 1967 to 1983, Clay won first place in 83 of the 111 Championship competitions he lifted in.  These victories range from state championships in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee to the victory podium of the IPF World Cup of Powerlifting at the Crystal Palace in London, England in 1980.

In between were Gold Medals at the National Championship at Cleveland, Ohio in 1976, The Pan-American Powerlifiting Games in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico (1976) and in Valencia, Venezuela (1977).  Clay won the Silver Medal at the World Championships in Perth, Austrailia in 1977.

As a powerlifter, he set 9 IPF World Records in the Bench Press, Squat, Deadlift and Total, as well as having been listed in the Guiness World Book of Records for the Two-Man Deadlift.  Clay's partners for his four Two-Man Deadlift Records were:  Jon Cole, 1977, 1250 lbs.;  Doug Young, 1979, 1280 lbs.; and his brother, Doug Patterson, 1980, 1420 lbs. and again in 1981, 1510 lbs.

Clay served as U.S.A. Team Coach or Manager for the following International Powerlifting Championships:  U.S.A. vs. Great Britain, 1976, at Birmingham, England;  1977 IPF World Championships, Perth, Australia;  1979 IPF World Championships, Turku, Finland;  1977 Pan-American Championships, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico; & 1978 Pan-American Championships, Valencia, Venezuela.

He also served as the Secretary General of the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) from 1973 to 1981.  He was inducted into the IPF Hall of Fame in 1980.

Another unique field of interest for Clay Patterson was his career in Historic Reenacting.  He was one of three key organizers of the Old Fort Griffin Memorial Regiment (OFGMR) at Fort Griffin State Park, Albany, Texas, in 1991.

This group grew to almost 100 active members within the next few years and developed historic impressions of Col. Ranald Mackenzie's 4th U.S. Cavalry on the Texas plains during the 1870's Indian Wars with the Comanche & Kiowa.  Riding as post Civil War U.S. troops, this group has demonstrated cavalry horsemanship at dozens of Indian War Living Histories around the country as well as becoming the mainstay cavalry unit of the Buffalo Days Indian Fight held in the mountains of Wyoming every summer.

They also developed the historic impression of Col. Tom Green's 5th Texas Cavalry during the Civil War.  Participation in over 75 reenactments included National events at the:  135th Battle of Shiloh, TN in 1997;  135th Battle of Gettysburg, PA in 1998;  135th Battle of Chickamauga, GA in 1999, and many others.

Clay and many other members of the OFGMR were chosen to ride in several feature movies, including:  Ride With The Devil (1998) starring Toby McGuire & Jewel;  Wild Wild West (1999) starring Will Smith & Kevin Kline;  and The Patriot (1999) starring Mel Gibson.  They were also featured in a number of documentaries including The War Horse, a History Channel production in 2000.

Clay was the elected Captain of Cavalry for eight years and the Regimental Commander for the OFGMR for another five years.  His peers awarded him the Founding Fathers Award in 2002 for his many years of effort on behalf of the regiment

Reenacting Photos of Clay Patterson and his horse Cuttin Jose (CJ).  Also shown are two photos including Chief Badhand (Michael Terry) of Buffalo Days Indian Fight fame.

Finally, in a bit of lunacy for a man approaching 40, no matter how good an athlete, Clay played five seasons of semi-pro football.  He was Defensive Coordinator and played middle linebacker for the Arlington Drillers of the North Texas Semi-Pro Football league for three seasons (1983-85), and was selected for the All-Star game in 1985 at the age of 40.  The Drillers won the Texas Semi-Pro championship in 1985 as well.