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Brian Shaw cut from Arnold Strongman Classic in 2020 - Enter Grip?


DAVE101

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16 minutes ago, Tommy J. said:

i do admit though I’m not a die hard Shaw fan. I mean I dig that he’s from the USA and represents. I’m more of a Team Pritchett guy though. He’s has the blue collar background thing going on that us blue collar guys can better relate to. Would love to see him (Jerry) win at just 1 worlds, and or beat Eddies DL record. Jerry is my guy. No gayway

Jerry is my boy as well.

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I love how people are acting like you can't have a strength related hobby if you compete in strength sports for your career. Going to a grip event here or there is not gonna mess up Shaw's career. Nor will it mess up his training. He doesn't train grip as intensely as many of us do and he is already as good as our elite level guys. Hell, none of us trains/competes in grip because of the money...why project avarice onto Brian because he is a strength celebrity?

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Just now, Squeezus said:

I love how people are acting like you can't have a strength related hobby if you compete in strength sports for your career. Going to a grip event here or there is not gonna mess up Shaw's career. Nor will it mess up his training. He doesn't train grip as intensely as many of us do and he is already as good as our elite level guys. Hell, none of us trains/competes in grip because of the money...why project avarice onto Brian because he is a strength celebrity?

True, but I always thought people like Shaw won't compete in grip because he doesn't want a slight chance to lose to a much smaller guy and him is known being 4 times world strongest man. I mean that's a repetition to maintain and its a hard work. I could be wrong though he might not care.

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7 minutes ago, Squeezus said:

I love how people are acting like you can't have a strength related hobby if you compete in strength sports for your career. Going to a grip event here or there is not gonna mess up Shaw's career. Nor will it mess up his training. He doesn't train grip as intensely as many of us do and he is already as good as our elite level guys. Hell, none of us trains/competes in grip because of the money...why project avarice onto Brian because he is a strength celebrity?

I just read through the thread.  I literally don't see anyone doing that?

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15 minutes ago, Squeezus said:

I love how people are acting like you can't have a strength related hobby if you compete in strength sports for your career. Going to a grip event here or there is not gonna mess up Shaw's career. Nor will it mess up his training. He doesn't train grip as intensely as many of us do and he is already as good as our elite level guys. Hell, none of us trains/competes in grip because of the money...why project avarice onto Brian because he is a strength celebrity?

Because that’s reality. We compete because we love it, of course... but nobody outside of us very few competitors in the entire world care about grip, and there is nothing in it for them. I’ve spoken about this to a few already that have said this. That it’s not worth the time and money to compete in a sport that offers no incentive outside of a can of protein powder or someone’s free griplement giveaways.This is not saying everyone feels that way, but for a WSM type competitor, it would be like a Major League Baseball player going to play little league ( no incentive) to play that at all. We love it, you love it, but most want something to go with that love.... to make it worth their while. If we are wrong , great, but history has shown that no on outside of us gives a hoot about grip. I wish it was different as I’m sure you do as well, but at this point, most of the general public doesn’t care so much so not much monetary prizes will be available.

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2 minutes ago, Mike Rinderle said:

I just read through the thread.  I literally don't see anyone doing that?

Right. We are merely pointing out the probability he won’t, and guessing at reasons why it’s not probable he will compete in grip. Until he tells us why, guessing is all we can do. The same reasons I guess you don’t see the top superheavy arm wrestlers competing in grip often. I can only think of a handful of pro level elite pullers (in any class) who have or do compete in grip.

Eric R.

James R.

RVJ

Nick Zinna (which is also the only super on the list I can think of)

 Michael Hann

to name a few.

and maybe a couple more. Sort of the same small ratio of pro strongmen you see comping in grip at least once. 

Burke

Felix

Odd

Licis

etc.

 

i dont think the rest of the pro strongman guys are shunning grip or anything. Just sort of not into it. Same reason I never dated a redhead. You could tell me all day how great redheads are. And prolly state all the justifications you wanted that I “should” date a redhead. But I’m just not attracted to them. 🤷🏼‍♂️ Dunno. But what WOULD be out of line to assume is that the strongmen are “afraid” to or make excuses to not compete in grip. They are the worlds strongest men... they don’t need an excuse to not do another sport any more than UFC fighters need an excuse to not take on a boxing match or arm wrestling match and vice versa.

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10 minutes ago, Joseph Sullivan said:

Because that’s reality. We compete because we love it, of course... but nobody outside of us very few competitors in the entire world care about grip, and there is nothing in it for them. I’ve spoken about this to a few already that have said this. That it’s not worth the time and money to compete in a sport that offers no incentive outside of a can of protein powder or someone’s free griplement giveaways.This is not saying everyone feels that way, but for a WSM type competitor, it would be like a Major League Baseball player going to play little league ( no incentive) to play that at all. We love it, you love it, but most want something to go with that love.... to make it worth their while. If we are wrong , great, but history has shown that no on outside of us gives a hoot about grip. I wish it was different as I’m sure you do as well, but at this point, most of the general public doesn’t care so much so not much monetary prizes will be available.

I agree with this, unfortunately this is what I have observed as well.

Mark Felix is an exception but to be honest, he has never been a contender to win WSM and he's much better in grip than he is in strongman.

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9 minutes ago, Joseph Sullivan said:

Because that’s reality. We compete because we love it, of course... but nobody outside of us very few competitors in the entire world care about grip, and there is nothing in it for them. I’ve spoken about this to a few already that have said this. That it’s not worth the time and money to compete in a sport that offers no incentive outside of a can of protein powder or someone’s free griplement giveaways.This is not saying everyone feels that way, but for a WSM type competitor, it would be like a Major League Baseball player going to play little league ( no incentive) to play that at all. We love it, you love it, but most want something to go with that love.... to make it worth their while. If we are wrong , great, but history has shown that no on outside of us gives a hoot about grip. I wish it was different as I’m sure you do as well, but at this point, most of the general public doesn’t care so much so not much monetary prizes will be available.

Right. I’ve tried multiple times to get various different people to compete who just have regular jobs. Let alone any paid athletes. And half of them think I’m a nerd for even doing it myself. So we have the “nerd” factor (which were the EXACT words Terry Holland’s used in regards to grip guys), and we have the doesn’t-pay-anything factor as well.

 

imo, grip is pretty fun. I hold it 2nd to bending and 3rd to arm wrestling. But still fun. Beyond that, how else could I even sell it (grip) to someone and get them involved? 

The truth is, they don’t tick like we do.

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3 minutes ago, Fist of Fury said:

I agree with this, unfortunately this is what I have observed as well.

Mark Felix is an exception but to be honest, he has never been a contender to win WSM and he much better in grip than he is in strongman.

Yes, sir!  Until more people than just this little cult following we have here on the board occurs, it’s gonna stay that way. I didn’t even hear of Grip until I was injured for many years and I happened to stumble upon some videos an was like “what the heck is this”.... and now I’m in love with it, because it gave me a way to get back in some kind of strength endeavor without breaking my body down more than it was. 

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Unfortunately, if it hasn’t been sold by now, it’s probably not going to be, on the level we wish for it to be. Sad but true. Enjoy it for what it is. We all do, but it’s not gonna explode. If it hasn’t exploded with instagram, face book and you tube plastering it up for all to see, then I don’t know how it will.  Until that happens, we will all meet here and wonder why....

Arm wrestling had a major motion picture by Stallone 32 years ago, and it still is not where it should be. Maybe grip needs a movie?? 🍿 🎥 

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TBH, I’ve always wondered why more pro strongmen don’t do powerlifting and vice versa. To me it seems like the 2 sports are more closely related than any strength sport. I’d be more interested to see if any current pro strongman or power lifter can match or best Kaz’s reign as being the strongest power lifter in the world AND the WSM CONSECUTIVELY, and for multiple years like Kaz did.

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3 minutes ago, Joseph Sullivan said:

Unfortunately, if it hasn’t been sold by now, it’s probably not going to be, on the level we wish for it to be. Sad but true. Enjoy it for what it is. We all do, but it’s not gonna explode. If it hasn’t exploded with instagram, face book and you tube plastering it up for all to see, then I don’t know how it will.  Until that happens, we will all meet here and wonder why....

Arm wrestling had a major motion picture by Stallone 32 years ago, and it still is not where it should be. Maybe grip needs a movie?? 🍿 🎥 

Damn... never thought about it like that. But it’s true.

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Yeah yeah yeah, I know we're a bunch of cash-poor nerds in grip, but it seems like y'all are ignoring the fact that Shaw is already a grip nerd. He has a blob collection for crying out loud. All it takes is a quick youtube search: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=brian+shaw+grip
 

The dude is already a grip hobbyist. All I'm saying is it's really not a stretch for him to compete in a grip competition like the Arnold. Especially when he is likely to be there already for his sponsors.

Edit: Even Eddie Hall competed in a grip competition and he's not nearly as fanatical about grip training http://www.davidhorne-gripmaster.com/2016contests.html

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Eddie
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5 minutes ago, Tommy J. said:

Damn... never thought about it like that. But it’s true.

If that didn’t put something on the map... nothing will!

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13 minutes ago, Squeezus said:

Yeah yeah yeah, I know we're a bunch of cash-poor nerds in grip, but it seems like y'all are ignoring the fact that Shaw is already a grip nerd. He has a blob collection for crying out loud. All it takes is a quick youtube search: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=brian+shaw+grip
 

The dude is already a grip hobbyist. All I'm saying is it's really not a stretch for him to compete in a grip competition like the Arnold. Especially when he is likely to be there already for his sponsors.

I mean cmon man... I own a garage full of dirt bikes too.. and am really into motorcycles.  and ride them well. it don’t mean I’m gonna go try motocross or X games

Edited by Tommy J.
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2 minutes ago, Squeezus said:

Yeah yeah yeah, I know we're a bunch of cash-poor nerds in grip, but it seems like y'all are ignoring the fact that Shaw is already a grip nerd. He has a blob collection for crying out loud. All it takes is a quick youtube search: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=brian+shaw+grip
 

The dude is already a grip hobbyist. All I'm saying is it's really not a stretch for him to compete in a grip competition like the Arnold. Especially when he is likely to be there already for his sponsors.

I already said that way back in the thread. He will only do it if he is already there for some other purpose....

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All I’m saying is it’s not probable we will see more of them in grip. Admittedly for various “guessed” reasons on mine and other parts until he tells us why. And the main focal point I have with it, is that he literally loses nothing nor misses out on anything by not competing in grip. All he would be doing by competing in grip briefly is give all of us something to beat so when we do, we could say “oh look, I can beat a strongman at something strength related!”

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What grip sport needs if it's going to be accepted as a "real" sport.

1.Sponsors who sponsor big national and international competitions with good prize money. Doesn't need to be a huge amount but it needs to be worth travelling around the globe for.
2.Clubs.
3.National federations.
4.International federations.

Then and only then can grip sport be a real accepted sport internationally as far as I see it.

It would be cool if Shaw went up against Snook and Felix at the Arnolds but even if he did, it would not change anything for grip sport.

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Gotta agree with Squeezus, money is not a reason to do or not do grip comps. This entire community (elite or casual) participates in grip because they enjoy it. Does not change things for Shaw - who's clearly already fond of it. The investment to add a little bit of grip training to the end of workouts and travel to 1-2 grip comps a year is minimal.

I also disagree that most people don't know about grip. Random people off the street have asked me about Jujimufu's grippers. Most gym people these days recognize a hub or pinch block. Do they know where NAGS is going to be held this year? Of course not, but they understand the aspect of grip training.

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14 minutes ago, Fist of Fury said:

What grip sport needs if it's going to be accepted as a "real" sport.

1.Sponsors who sponsor big national and international competitions with good prize money. Doesn't need to be a huge amount but it needs to be worth travelling around the globe for.
2.Clubs.
3.National federations.
4.International federations.

Then and only then can grip sport be a real accepted sport internationally as far as I see it.

It would be cool if Shaw went up against Snook and Felix at the Arnolds but even if he did, it would not change anything for grip sport.

Spot on. It wouldn’t change much at all if all remained as it is now. When people find out most comps are mostly in someone’s garage or basement, they look very puzzled about that.  It’s not glamorous enough for the masses. Can’t see Shaw coming to one of those.. but the big expos and prizes/money  and such are where they need to be to be considered a relevant thing to the layman to even want to get into it on a competition level. Everyone always asks “win any money or prizes”? When they are told no, maybe some venues offer a trophy or a medal or a little something  (alot don’t) they totally lose interest and find it totally irrelevant as a sport. This is the world we live in though. If there isn’t a return, most don’t give a flying fist about it, except us.

Dave, of course many know what grip is, thanks to a few like Juji who have some exposure, but most don’t care enough.

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There won’t ever be any 1 guy that’s genuinely the strongest at everything strength related the world has to offer. The closest anyone ever came to that was Kaz. And he only did it in 2 sports that were sort of fringe niches at the time. And that was before all the freaks showed up and took things up a notch.

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10 minutes ago, DAVE101 said:

Gotta agree with Squeezus, money is not a reason to do/not do grip comps. This entire community (elite or casual) participates in grip because they enjoy it. Does not change things for Shaw - who's clearly already fond of it. 

I also disagree that most people don't know about grip. Random people off the street have asked me about Jujimufu's grippers. Most gym people these days recognize a hub or pinch block.

For us it isn’t. It is when nearly your entire adult life you’ve made money doing a strength sport like Brian.

or picture this- maybe Brian has only broke into the decent money over the last 10 years or so. How eager should he be to allow himself to be guilted into a sport that doesn’t pay after all that effort, sacrifice, and wear and tear it took to get him where he is at?

Edited by Tommy J.
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43 minutes ago, Tommy J. said:

TBH, I’ve always wondered why more pro strongmen don’t do powerlifting and vice versa. To me it seems like the 2 sports are more closely related than any strength sport. I’d be more interested to see if any current pro strongman or power lifter can match or best Kaz’s reign as being the strongest power lifter in the world AND the WSM CONSECUTIVELY, and for multiple years like Kaz did.

Eddie sums it up here.  No fame.  Very little money.

 

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26 minutes ago, Fist of Fury said:

What grip sport needs if it's going to be accepted as a "real" sport.

1.Sponsors who sponsor big national and international competitions with good prize money. Doesn't need to be a huge amount but it needs to be worth travelling around the globe for.
2.Clubs.
3.National federations.
4.International federations.

Then and only then can grip sport be a real accepted sport internationally as far as I see it.

It would be cool if Shaw went up against Snook and Felix at the Arnolds but even if he did, it would not change anything for grip sport.

Before any of that, it needs a large number of fans who find it enjoyable to watch.  We're right up there with men's beer league hockey at 11:30 pm at the local rink when it comes to ratio of players to fans at an event.  And the "fans" that are there are usually relatives.  A 6 hour grip contests is literally the most boring spectacle for a non-participant ever invented.

It will never be "big".  Bigger, maybe.  But sports only grow if people enjoy watching them.

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