In this episode, I sit down with my good friend and strongman powerlifter, Matt, to talk about his coming out story and what it was like growing up gay in a macho world. We talk about being in the closet, coming out to friends and family, and how he dealt with the pressure of being the "strongest gay man in the world" in a male dominated sport like powerlifting. Matt also talks about how he came out to his girlfriend and how that was like coming out as gay in high school and college. We also talk about the gay porn he grew up watching and how it affected his relationship with his girlfriend at the time. I hope you enjoy listening to this episode and that it makes you think about coming out in the gay community. I hope that you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed making it! Have a great rest of your week and stay safe out there in the coming weeks! Love ya, bye! XOXO, AJ and Matt xoxo - P.S. Sorry for the delay in the episode, we had some technical difficulties. We re still working out the kinks in recording this episode. We ll be back next week! - The Strongest Gay in the World Podcast! - AJ & Matt xoxO - - Jake & Matt - Thank you so much for coming on the podcast. - Jay and Matt xOXO - Jake and Matt XOXOXO - EJ & Matt XO - Jake and the Strongest Strongman in the Strongman Strongman Podcast and the support you have ever had in this podcast! - Jake & Dan Savage - XO . - Dan Savage, & much more! - Jake is a big fan of the podcast, - and so much more... Thank you for listening to the podcast and supporting the podcast with your support is so much love and support you are so much support and support the podcast is so appreciative! - I m so much appreciated! - PRAISE YOU GUARANTEED to have the chance to support us in the next episode! - JUICY and support us with the podcast? - PODCAST - JORDANOTHER PODCY BABY BONUS EPISODES! - RATE AND SUPPORTING us in this episode? XO, JUDY, JORDY, GAY PODCOY, DADDY, AND JAY & JAY, AND SO MUCH MORE!
00:00:52.000You know, he mentioned just, like, the community of strongmen is awesome because, like, we all realize what we have to do to get to this level of sport, and we all have to be a little bit sick and twisted in the head to look at a truck and get excited to pull it.
00:01:06.000So, yeah, when I came out, like, nobody really gave a shit.
00:01:08.000They were just like, all right, as long as you can still lift weights, we don't care.
00:01:11.000Yeah, it mirrors the comedy community in that way.
00:01:57.000You know, I don't know that I have, like, I don't remember, like, I never had, like, an aha moment, per se.
00:02:03.000For me, it was going through high school, like, I was involved in a bunch of stuff.
00:02:07.000You know, I was a cheerleader, actually, also played football, was doing the weightlifting thing, like, was class president, so I had my hands in a bunch of different pots.
00:02:16.000College, super into everything as well, and really just focused on school, and actually dated a girl.
00:03:12.000Gay porn is thought of very differently than straight porn.
00:03:15.000Because, like, straight porn, here's the rub in the straight community.
00:03:20.000You look at straight porn, you're like, ah, especially someone like me who has daughters, you go, fuck, somebody probably did something awful to those girls when they were young.
00:03:30.000Like, that's like nine out of ten times.
00:03:49.000Yeah, so I ended up breaking up with that girl, and I told her, I was like, yeah, like, I think I'm gay, and I need to, like, figure this shit out.
00:03:56.000You know, I'm 22. I want to at least enjoy my 20s, you know, trying to figure out if I like dudes or not.
00:07:19.000I mean, you know, like, and I get shit a lot of, I mean, obviously, like, with an Instagram handle, worldstrongestgay, I get more shit on a daily basis on social media than I can even count.
00:07:29.000And most of it's from, like, religious people.
00:07:44.000You need to stop being so gay and delicious.
00:07:47.000My go-to response is, hey man, I don't read fiction, so you keep doing that.
00:07:53.000But I just always think it's funny because they're like, Obviously, I'm very open about my sexuality on social media.
00:08:01.000And World's Strongest Man has been super supportive of it.
00:08:04.000They had World's Strongest Man in June during Pride Month this year and did a whole little expose about me, which was awesome.
00:08:10.000And the comments on the World's Strongest Man, they're like, you're pushing the gay agenda, all this bullshit.
00:08:16.000And I'm like, listen, man, the only agenda we're pushing is I just want to be treated like everybody else and get the same shit that you do.
00:08:23.000I've never once tried to make someone gay.
00:08:27.000Meanwhile, Christians are in my DM saying, you need to convert.
00:08:30.000I'm like, hey, you need to suck a dick.
00:09:45.000And so I was around them all the time.
00:09:46.000Like, my next-door neighbor was this gay couple, and my aunt used to go next door, and they would get naked, smoke pot, and play bongos together.
00:12:05.000Luckily, I was dubbed the unofficial fan favorite at World's Strongest Man this year, so it's really cool to see the support throughout the entire community.
00:12:12.000How do you get dubbed the unofficial fan favorite?
00:12:15.000I was getting the loudest applause whenever my name got announced.
00:13:02.000So, like, in my mind, I didn't, like, want to come out until I... It seems dumb now, like, until I knew I was really gay.
00:13:08.000And I guess, you know, dating my now husband for six weeks, that was kind of the tipping point.
00:13:13.000And at that point in our relationship, we kind of realized, like, all right, this wasn't just going to be, like, a fling and just having fun.
00:13:19.000Like, we were actually, you know, taking the steps to kind of be committed and see what was going to happen here.
00:13:29.000I came out mainly because of him, because he had been out since he was 17. And at this point, we were 22. And I didn't feel like it was fair for him to be in a relationship with somebody that was still in the closet.
00:13:41.000And that was like my biggest motivator for it.
00:13:57.000I'm putting words in your mouth, but it must feel like when you do become out or you do come out, it must feel like not just a relief, but...
00:14:54.000I think back to middle school, and I think it's just the stereotypical, I was into theater, I was into music, I played sports, but wasn't really that good at them, and actually was a cheerleader in middle school,
00:15:10.000I joined my first cheerleading team in seventh grade, and the funny thing is there was tryouts and everything, and I got the fourth highest score out of all the girls.
00:15:21.000So, I figured that was, you know, a little telltale sign as well.
00:16:30.000No, that's actually one of the reasons why, like, so I, when I was doing it in high school, like, I actually looked to do it in college at the collegiate level.
00:16:38.000But tumbling was, like, a minimum requirement.
00:16:40.000And I was like, yeah, I'm a little too chunky and unathletic.
00:16:46.000So how did you get into powerlifting and strongman type shit?
00:18:11.000That's a lot of weight for a few months of lifting.
00:18:16.000Yeah, so the contest went horrible for me, but I absolutely fell in love with the sport.
00:18:23.000Ended up at Springfield College in Massachusetts and joined their powerlifting team.
00:18:28.000And that's when I kind of got more of a background in lifting, proper technique and all that stuff.
00:18:33.000And then did another local strongman contest where I met this guy, Matt Mills, who owns a gym, Lightning Fitness in Connecticut, where I train now.
00:18:40.000And he was like, yeah, I'm just starting to get all the strongman equipment.
00:20:17.000So, yeah, my exposure to the equipment in the beginning was pretty minimal, but what I did to compensate for that is I just competed more.
00:20:24.000So, I would pretty much, from Springfield, Massachusetts, I drew a five-hour radius from where I was, and any contest there was in that radius, I would do.
00:20:35.000So, in my first three years, I competed probably almost 40 times.
00:20:40.000How often are these things being held?
00:20:43.000At the amateur level, pretty often, there's usually, you could find, you know, I would say one or two, you know, per month in New England alone.
00:20:51.000And then they're all over the country.
00:20:53.000So, you know, I think the cool thing is, you know, like I was really, like I said, I took last in my first contest and that went on for a while.
00:21:01.000I took dead last in like my first eight shows that I did.
00:21:04.000It's like I wasn't good at this thing when I started.
00:21:08.000Now, when did you start being successful?
00:21:13.00020. So I went to amateur nationals actually in the 200 pound weight class.
00:21:17.000So I weighed in under 200 pounds in 2011. That was my first time at the amateur nationals.
00:21:23.000So I'd been doing it for about two years.
00:21:25.000Surprised myself and ended up taking second place in that weight class.
00:21:29.000Went back to the Amateur Nationals as a 231 and 212 and took second place there.
00:21:33.000And then won the Amateur National Championship in 2013. And that's where I won my pro card and kind of got to that next level.
00:21:41.000But it's such a difficult thing to do that I would imagine doing it 40 times a year.
00:21:50.000I mean, you know, I'm fortunate where I'm so by trade and what I went to school for is I'm an athletic trainer.
00:21:57.000So sports medicine has kind of been my thing.
00:21:59.000So, you know, I've been lucky enough to learn when I was training of when I need to back off, when I can push a little bit harder, what needs to be taken care of and just try to be smart.
00:22:11.000You know, I mean, you know, knock on wood, you know, I've had one serious injury in the 10 years that I've been doing this.
00:23:41.000So, just your background in understanding athletic science or exercise science allows you to know when you're being silly and when, you know, you're not going to be a pussy, but you're not going to be dumb.
00:23:56.000Where it's, that's why I've been lucky, you know, and, you know, kind of stayed injury free because even like to this day, like, you know, so my coach is, you know, pretty well-renowned strongman, Derek Poundstone, who, you know, took second place at World's Strongest Man, and he programmed some crazy shit for me.
00:24:13.000But there are some days where I'm just like, yo, dude, this is not going to fly today.
00:24:17.000When you have a light, like, what's a light day?
00:24:21.000You know, so like, I train four days a week.
00:24:24.000And I get, like, one, like, I call it, like, my bro day.
00:24:27.000It's, like, my bench back in arms day.
00:25:27.000So you do big spaces in between each workout?
00:25:29.000So you lift, and then do you have a large amount of time for rest?
00:25:32.000I'll take about 10-15 minutes between sets sometimes.
00:25:36.000We're building up to the Arnold Strongman Classic in Columbus, Ohio this coming March, and we have a max deadlift coming up, and I'm potentially going to be going for a 1,000-pound deadlift.
00:26:30.000So it helps build intra-abdominal pressure.
00:26:33.000It also gives some tactile feedback to know where you need to brace.
00:26:39.000So usually, weightlifter is like, we'll put it where we feel weakest in our core, and that's going to help us activate those muscles to be a little bit stronger and more effectively brace to prevent injury.
00:26:50.000Because I never understood how it would protect you from a lift.
00:26:55.000Like if you're lifting heavy weights and you've got that strap around your back.
00:27:00.000Yeah, I guess it's not really meant to protect, per se.
00:28:07.000You look at guys like me, again, only 5'10", about 285, competing against, in my qualifying group of worlds, was Thor Bjornsson, the mountain from Game of Thrones.
00:28:15.000Yeah, how much does that fucker weigh?
00:29:29.000That was a little bit harder and it made me look like an ass because I had told my friends that I was doing this this time, thinking that it was the same truck and it was as light as it was the first time.
00:29:38.000I was like, alright, I look pretty cool in front of everybody.
00:29:41.000And then I go to pull it and I'm like, fuck, this is heavier.
00:30:08.000Honestly, it's just like a full body like burning like everything hurts, right?
00:30:14.000Like nothing feel like your arms are pumped because you're pulling on the rope in front of you Your quads and your calves are just you know pumped to the max at that point.
00:30:21.000I'd be worried about like knees and ankles Am I wrong?
00:30:25.000The biggest injury that you see with a truck pull is the Achilles tendon rupture.
00:31:11.000Like I said in the beginning of the show, we all have to be a little bit fucked up in the head to look at a truck and get excited to pull it.
00:33:17.000The contest that we do in England through a company called Giants Live, that's like one of their promo things that they do in the magazines that they give everybody, where they'll actually put a picture of his hand so everybody can compare...
00:34:40.000So there's two options you can go with.
00:34:42.000You can go with the mixed grip or hook grip, which hook grip is you wrap your hand around the bar and then put your fingers over your thumbs.
00:34:49.000And it hurts like a motherfucker because the bar is just resting there on your thumb and then pushing down on it.
00:34:57.000But you get a better grip and it, you know, kind of, yeah, just like that.
00:35:05.000If you have a really good pain tolerance, it's the way to go because then you're taking out that bicep from the equation and you won't have any risk of injury with that.
00:35:36.000Whenever I do bicep curls, sometimes I'll put just fat grips onto the dumbbells, just doing that, just to work it.
00:35:42.000I do a lot of shrugs, stuff like that, whether it's with farmer's handles or a frame or a barbell or dumbbells.
00:35:48.000And if that's the case, I'll put fat grips on there to try to work the grip as well.
00:35:52.000So that dude is 53 years old and he's still competing at the top of the food chain.
00:35:57.000Do you see yourself possibly doing that?
00:36:01.000Dude, that's 25 more fucking years for you.
00:36:03.000I don't see me doing it for that long.
00:36:05.000I think my goal is to get to like 35 and kind of evaluate where I am.
00:36:10.000I think if I can do this until I'm 35 at this level, that'd be a really good run because I made my first World Strongest Man appearance when I was 25. So if I can go to Worlds 10 years, I'd be really happy with that.
00:37:21.000Now, what kind of, like, I would imagine, when you're talking about these four-hour deadlift squat days, I mean, you must have some serious rehabilitation routine that you go through, right?
00:37:32.000Yeah, you know, I mean, I do everything from, like, self-massage and, you know, I have my own stim unit at home and do that.
00:37:40.000But then I'm also doing recovery workouts on my off days.
00:37:43.000How much those stim things help, those electrical stimulation units?
00:38:46.000And then I have a massage therapist and body work person that I go and see.
00:38:51.000I try to see every week, but sometimes it's every other week where they do deep tissue massage, cupping, dry needling, the whole nine yards on me.
00:41:21.000You know, because with the stuff that we do, you know, like, my elbows get beat to shit, you know, if I'm doing heavy bench press and, like, even, like, the dumbbell that you saw earlier.
00:41:29.000Like, just having, like, 250 pounds cranked on your shoulder like that.
00:41:45.000And then I kind of manipulate it a little bit, too.
00:41:48.000So sometimes, like, if I have a spot in my elbow that's really killing me, I'll put a golf ball on it, and then wrap the band around the golf ball.
00:42:29.000Well, at this level, too, the sport has exploded in the past few years, and my competition season started this past weekend, and the last contest I'll do is in October.
00:45:22.000I want to think it's like the quality food that he eats, you know, like with him being arguably the strongest man in the world, you know, he didn't win World's Strongest Man this year, but he's been dominant over the past two years.
00:48:16.000Yeah, you get the implement on your shoulders, you do a little dip, and then you actually throw yourself underneath the log while splitting your feet.
00:49:26.000And that's kind of how I was able to progress to this level and kind of do some things a lot of people didn't think I would do, being this size.
00:50:38.000First interaction we had, we're hanging out in a hotel room, a few of us athletes, and he looks at me and he's like, how old were you when you knew you wanted a dick in your mouth?
00:51:06.000Yeah, so, obviously, like, we got off into a great start on our friendship, you know, and, like, him and I still talk all the time, and, you know, he's bitter because I took the log press record from him back in April.
00:52:31.000So it's just like a little bit like a more coarse, bigger, you know, a little more crispier, which is nice too.
00:52:36.000Because the texture is like, I don't want it to taste just like mush when I'm eating it.
00:52:39.000Like I like a little crunch, a little texture.
00:52:41.000But in the breadcrumbs, I'll just use plain panko, but I'll add like a ranch seasoning packet to throw some flavor in there, get a little crazy.
00:52:50.000Do like an egg wash, bread them, and then throw them in the air fryer.
00:52:53.000So you don't have to worry about how much you take in.
00:52:56.000So you're basically just eating whatever you want to eat.
00:52:58.000And the reason why you eat so many meals a day is just because you're burning off so much.
00:54:14.000So it's got to be this balancing act between getting a lot of protein, but getting a lot of carbohydrates and making sure that you're fueling the muscles?
00:54:23.000Yeah, like carbs, that's like the main thing.
00:54:26.000You know, obviously eating a lot of protein, like I'm probably around like 300 grams of protein a day, between 3 and 350. But carbs, I mean, there's sometimes I'm eating like Almost like 1500 grams of carbs a day.
00:54:37.000And is the reason why you guys prefer rice is just because it's easier to digest than other forms?
00:56:41.000So those are my three biggest supporters.
00:56:44.000And then on top of that, I also do online coaching for strength athletes all over the world.
00:56:49.000So, you know, pretty much I write their weekly workouts, they send me videos, I collaborate with them, get them competition prep and get them ready to compete.
00:56:57.000So those are my two biggest main sources of income.
00:57:00.000And then, you know, on top of that, and then, you know, prize money is just kind of extra on top, you know, bonus, essentially.
00:57:07.000Now, you're active on social media, obviously.
00:57:10.000You have Instagram, which is where I found you.
00:59:54.000They have to be put in this box, and they shouldn't be pro-athletes.
01:00:00.000And that's one of the biggest reasons why I call myself unapologetically open about my sexuality.
01:00:09.000Because the more you think about it, if you even try to think of an openly gay man in any pro sport across the world, there's no really mainstream.
01:00:20.000I think you forgot about Brian Boitano.
01:01:11.000So I think it's like super important to see like an openly gay man in a relationship rocking a rainbow mohawk and rainbow tights out on a competition floor.
01:01:20.000I think that makes people feel more comfortable than if you just out there slinging dick.
01:01:24.000If you weren't in a relationship, you were openly gay and just fucking everything that moved, they'd be like, hey!
01:01:30.000This guy can pick up the fucking moon and he can buttfuck you.
01:02:03.000So I think that's why I've been so open about my relationship and what I'm doing in the sport and just trying to be more visible for the LGBTQ community in pro sports in general.
01:02:14.000Because like I said before, I get a shit ton of hate messages on a daily basis.
01:03:15.000You would think that you would have a lot of sponsors that would jump in because of this, though.
01:03:21.000I would think, because you're open, and because this is such a manly sport, and it's such a non-stereotypical thing, I would think that would be really positive for the LBGTQ community.
01:03:34.000Yeah, I mean, let's talk in a week, Joe.
01:03:35.000Let's see what happens after the show.
01:03:39.000And that's my biggest thing while doing this whole thing, is just trying to spread positivity and love throughout the entire world.
01:03:45.000I mean, I talk about the hate messages that I get, but like, The ones that mean a lot are like, you know, I got a message a few months ago from a 16-year-old kid who was on the verge of committing suicide because he couldn't come to terms with his sexuality.
01:03:59.000And he said in his post, like, finding my profile, let him be comfortable with himself.
01:04:20.000And I think that's why this whole thing has kind of blown up into what it is and why I'm fortunate enough to now be working on a documentary.
01:04:37.000So, I was approached by Andy, who, she was on the set of World's Strongest Man, and she was like, once she saw my husband and I kiss after one of the events, like, lightbulbs just went off, and she was like, there's something here.
01:04:52.000So, I was approached about doing a documentary kind of about my life and about being the only openly gay pro-strong man in the world.
01:04:59.000Now, are there closeted gay strongmen?
01:05:42.000Women's sports is awesome, but I always think of the Family Guy episode where they're talking about the WNBA and they're like, oh, and listen to the fan!
01:05:50.000And it's one guy cheering in the fan and stands.
01:06:42.000We're actually, the organization Giants Live, which is the World's Strongest Man qualifying tour, they're bringing an arena show to the U.S. for the first time since like 2010. That's going to be in Daytona Beach in August, August 15th.
01:06:58.000So that's going to be like the first crack at breaking into the mainstream U.S. arena venues.
01:07:04.000Because like I said, over in the U.K., when I broke the Log Press record this past April, it was in Leeds.
01:07:09.000And it was in front of a 12,000 seat crowd.
01:10:39.000So that's the tough part, is you have to wear the competition shirt because there are sponsors that pay To be on the t-shirt.
01:10:47.000Now, in between events, if there's interviews and stuff like that, that's when I'll throw on a sponsor shirt to try to get them some TV time that way.
01:10:57.000But it's also tough because in the UK, all of those competitions are aired on TV in the UK. In the US, the only time people see Strongman on TV is World's Strongest Man.
01:11:36.000Women get excited about pizza and eating that stuff.
01:11:42.000The reason why I was asking is because that used to be the thing back in the early days with MMA fighters, that they could make money off of sponsors, sponsors on their shorts and stuff.
01:11:51.000Yeah, I mean, to be honest, like, shorts and pants, that's a different story.
01:11:56.000Oh, you can wear sponsors in your shorts?
01:15:57.000These ones that I have from Innovate now, they're like anti-slip and they have gripping treads on them.
01:16:02.000So I'm going to be using them for an event called the Wheel of Pain coming up at the Arnold Strawman Classic, which is based off of the movie Conan the Barbarian, where you see him pushing that big implement.
01:16:15.000So they actually, Rogue recreated that implement for the Arnold.
01:16:19.000Yeah, if you can pull a picture of that, it is the most badass thing ever.
01:18:18.000That is a crazy thing, though, that you can kind of use your shoulders and push with your hands.
01:18:23.000Yeah, so this will be the second time we're doing this event, so they switch it a little bit, have to keep your hands on the implement at all times, and then it's just push until you can't anymore.
01:19:20.000But they also, I mean, these Eastern Europeans are smart because they'll play dumb on purpose to not listen to the rules and then try to bend them.
01:21:45.000So they send, after the invites are done and after the lineup is set for World's Strongest Man, you get the email that it's like, here's the medical packet you need done by this date.
01:21:56.000And you pretty much have to make an appointment with your primary care.
01:23:43.000I will say, we talk about World's Strongest Man and Giants Live and that whole series, but then we also have the Arnold Circuit.
01:23:48.000So there's two big pro circuits for Strongman to choose from.
01:23:52.000The Arnold Circuit, they've definitely elevated the game.
01:23:55.000So the Arnold Strongman Classic in Ohio is kind of seen as the most elite competition in the world because only 10 guys qualify for that contest.
01:24:05.000World's Strongest Man, you get 25. And then the prize money in Ohio is better than World's Strongest Man.
01:25:33.000I think I could have hit another gear if I needed to, but already having my qualification to the big show, mentally I don't think I'd have been able to turn it on like I need to in Ohio.
01:28:00.000But leading up into these next few weeks, I'm going to start working.
01:28:03.000My heaviest deadlift I did before this contest was 850 for one.
01:28:06.000I'm going to start working up into that low to mid nines in the next couple of weeks and probably have my last heavy, heavy deadlift probably three weeks before the contest, two and a half weeks before the contest.
01:28:17.000And then do you deadlift at all leading up to the contest?
01:29:31.000Because I don't think anybody can work that hard for three weeks to beat down their body enough where they need it every single fourth week.
01:29:38.000Normal people don't train hard enough to need regular deloads.
01:29:42.000The deloads, the guys who practice that way, are they winning?
01:30:48.000And that's why these next five weeks are going to be super crucial in my training to this contest.
01:30:53.000Because I'm going to beat my body to shit over these next five weeks.
01:30:58.000And my husband will probably get pissed off at me because I'll be a prick one or two times at least.
01:31:03.000But this is the biggest competition in the world and I know what I need to sacrifice to get to that point.
01:31:08.000And that's going to mean long training sessions, really hard training sessions, and I'm, you know, just like I said, I'm just going to beat my body down just to reap those rewards at the end of it.
01:31:16.000Yeah, that's got to leave you super exhausted.
01:34:27.000Well, you have to if you want to pay the bills, right?
01:34:29.000Yeah, I mean, we have, you know, the gym I go to, like, we have, like, over 250 members right now, so it's pretty big, but, like, you know, we're also in a 15,000 square foot facility that has the best strength equipment, you know, on the East Coast, I would say.
01:35:02.000And he was in a sling for, like, three days and got pissed off, said, fuck this, and just extended his arm really fast, popped the bicep off again, then started bench pressing.
01:35:26.000I mean, there's guys like Greg Panora, who was a guy that was in the West Side vs.
01:35:29.000the World documentary, where he ruptured his patellar tendon, got the surgery done, I think it was the next day was on the bench bench pressing with his leg like fully extended in an immobilizer like he was busting the staples he was like dripping blood through the bandages like but you know they had to train man.
01:39:26.000It's because, like, I would say in the U.S., there's only like four or five guys that are doing it really, really well at a really high level.
01:39:33.000You know, it's me, Oberst, Jerry Pritchett, Brian Shaw, Martins.
01:39:40.000And then there's Nick Best in Vegas as well.
01:40:04.000I get hired to do seminars all over the U.S. and all over the world where gyms will pay me to come into their gym for a weekend and teach people from my experience and different gym lifts and stuff like that.
01:42:48.000So, and that's with most of our stuff, like, I hold my breath whenever I do moving events, and I just try to exhale and inhale as short and as small as possible, just to get enough so I don't pass out, pretty much.
01:43:01.000One of my good friends at World's Strongest Man in the Philippines in 2018, we were carrying a 330-pound sandbag, and the way he carried it was just resting around on his diaphragm, and he didn't pick it up high enough to go onto the platform, so he just ran into the platform, fell backwards,
01:43:55.000The only person that comes to mind is a guy, I can't remember what year, his name was Jesse Mironde, and he did have a heart attack in the gym when he was training.
01:46:06.000You know, like, we show up to a contest and they're like, alright, there was literally a contest in 2018 where the deadlift was 880 pounds for reps.
01:46:59.000And it's also like the evolution of equipment over the years.
01:47:03.000With Rogue being our main equipment sponsor now, they make all strongman equipment.
01:47:07.000So regular people have strongman equipment in their gyms.
01:47:11.000They're like PT clinics that have farmer's handles in them for people to work on core musculature and posture when they're walking.
01:47:20.000I think just like the general availability of strongman equipment has made it easier for people to train it more regularly and get better at the events.
01:48:14.000And they went back into the history books to look at old, quote-unquote, strongmen doing these feats of strength.
01:48:23.000I think one of the most notable names is Louis Cyr, a guy from Canada who was about my size, actually, and is revered to be one of the strongest men in history.
01:48:33.000And so when he was doing like these dumbbell lifts and these back lifts and these hip and thigh lifts and stuff like that.
01:48:40.000So Strongman's been around for a long time, but World's Strongest Man didn't become a thing until the 70s.
01:48:46.000That's when World's Strongest Man, I think 77 was the first year of World's Strongest Man.
01:48:51.000And that's when it kind of became a sport, you know, and not just a kind of a hobby, I guess.
01:49:00.000So how do they determine what stuff you're going to do for the World's Strongest Man?
01:49:04.000Did they have a panel of experts that sit down and devise each individual event?
01:49:12.000Yeah, I mean, it's come a long way from what it was in the 70s.
01:49:15.000I mean, they used to do medleys with potato sack braces back at World's Strongest Man a long time ago.
01:49:20.000Now it's a little more standardized, where they do have a committee where it's people from the strongman circuit and judges and stuff like that, but they also bring TV execs, because they want stuff that's going to look cool.
01:49:34.000And I think that's a great thing, because you don't want to, like, stuff that is cool to me isn't going to look cool to somebody that doesn't know anything about the sport sometimes.
01:49:43.000So, when they choose the events, like pulling two monster trucks, like, okay, one, you have to be strong as fuck to be able to do it, but it also looks really cool on TV. So they try to find that marriage of both of those things to make it the most pleasing to the average person.
01:51:07.000So, with an event like that, it's more just trying to relax and getting into a calm mental state because you don't want to be super revved up because you're not moving.
01:53:06.000Yeah, and like I said before, I became a student of the sport, so I was looking at what was working for other guys, what wasn't working, and trying to find that balance of what I could make work for me.
01:53:17.000So, luckily, yeah, like I said, I've been pretty injury-free and healthy the entire time.