big bri Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 I just got back from the World's Strongest Man Super Series, basically the qualifying contest for the big competition, and I got to meet all the strong men. In particular I met Magnus and spoke with him for a bit. I brought my #3 and #4 with me to see if he would like to close one of them. I figured he wouldn't want to try the #4 since he was going through some heavy training and all so I expected him to close the #3 since that should be very easy for him. So he picks up my grippers and says to me "which one is the heavy one?" and i gave him the #4. So he gives it a little squeeze just to get a feel for it since he told me that he hasn't touched the grippers in a long time and I caught the tail end of his attempt on video here... attempt I suppose he doesn't feel he got it the in this attempt since he says that he is disappointed. This next video is just kind of amusing. Getting ready to make his real attempt he asks me how to hold it and I then showed it to him after i stopped shooting this clip... asks advice Now in this clip he finally takes a stab at it. Unfortunately you can't see the actual handles touching because it's dark and my camera has no light but I can verify that the handles were touching. Also the reason I post this video is just to share my experience meeting the man and I'm not going to discuss anyone's opinions over the validity of the close given his technique. After all, this wasn't meant to be an official close. Also note that he only used 3 fingers, his pinky wasn't on the handle. Take notice of Bill Kazmaier on the left of the video as well. #4 close One thing that I found impressive is that he used no chalk and had no warmup whatsoever. He is an awesome guy and very huge! His arms are absolutely gigantic. I have a lot of pictures that I will be posting of myself and the other strongmen sooner or later so check my gallery sometime if you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clemdiesel Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 IMPRESSIVE great job Big Bri! what a MAN!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Styles Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 Very impressive. I threw the vid you posted into windows movie maker and brightened the crap out of it. You can just barely make out what looks like to be closed handles in some of the frames. I bet if you did that with the uncompressed video, you could get a decent screen cap of the close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pryderi Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 Good stuff. Thanks for posting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelbiceps Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 WOW! What impresses me as much as his strength is his willingness to talk with fans and spend energy demonstrating unbelievable #4 closes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArchRaid Posted June 3, 2006 Share Posted June 3, 2006 Sounds like an down to earth strongman. Good job big bri...enjoyed the videos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smitty Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 I wouldn't get caught up in the set, technique or close. The man was gracious enough to stop and hang out - seems like a pretty cool guy. Pretty neat thing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 that is awesome, big bri. thanks for sharing Magnus is the man!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don chi Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 That is pretty cool that he took the time to close a #4 for a fan. He really didn't have anything to prove. Class act all the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big bri Posted June 4, 2006 Author Share Posted June 4, 2006 I wouldn't get caught up in the set, technique or close.The man was gracious enough to stop and hang out - seems like a pretty cool guy. Pretty neat thing... The guy is plain awesome. He took a lot of time talking to me about a recent injury on his back which prevented him from competing. He's very humble and down to earth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jad Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 That's really cool that he took the time to close a gripper for you, especially a #4. I'm just impressed that he took a shot on the #4 for you. The #4 is a max-effort feat for him and to have someone just come up and put him on the spot and then for him to choose the harder of the two grippers, especially when he's already on the list anyways....well that's just a stud right there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmy Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 Was that Greg Valentino I could here in the back ground? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big bri Posted June 4, 2006 Author Share Posted June 4, 2006 Was that Greg Valentino I could here in the back ground? does Greg have a sister named Donna? do you know if he has a cousin who trains with Svend? If so, it's probably him. one cool thing that i didn't mention before is that i got to hang out with all the guys at the bar after the competition. it's kind of funny, here i was worried about how i would meet them since i figured a lot of them would be in their room and then i spent all night talkin to them at the bar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joaorv Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 That's just plain awesome. what a nice guy Magnus is. Sounds like you had a great time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toe2toe Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 Magnus is a beast. Huge inspirastion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricMilfeld Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 Thanks for sharing! What a great guy he is, and what an impressive video!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teemu I Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 I wouldn't get caught up in the set, technique or close. The man was gracious enough to stop and hang out - seems like a pretty cool guy. Pretty neat thing... The guy is plain awesome. He took a lot of time talking to me about a recent injury on his back which prevented him from competing. He's very humble and down to earth. That pretty much proves a few things for some out there questioning his abilities. He's a real deal, freakishly strong. How many guys would refuse to do something like that saying: "No, I have to train for that some time" or some other explanations? He's a friendly dude taking his time talking with fans and all, that's what makes me respect him even more. You just can't hate that guy and that's saying a lot as our nations have allways had that rivalry going on Thank you big bri for sharing! That was awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Lane Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 Wow, I thought Magnus was pretty cool before. But I wouldent of belived he would take a shot at the #4 in those circumstances and get the job done... insaine strength. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmy Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 Someone should tell him about the BB Pro! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom of Iowa2 Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 (edited) Amazing stuff Big Bri. One of the coolest "impromptu"video grip feats EVER. I mean lots of big dudes easily deadlift the INCH or shoulder it,or pick up the Blob..or whatnot.......but closing a #4,no chalk and with out having touched one in awhile. A 4 he'd never "practiced"on or seen...Just very cool. THANKS! Edited June 4, 2006 by Tom of Iowa2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne Posted June 4, 2006 Share Posted June 4, 2006 Someone should tell him about the BB Pro! thats what i'm sayin, or somebody give this guy an hg500!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeyg Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 very cool...awesome. even in the first vid, if you pause it right at the start, you can see how close the handles are. insane strength. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwinsl01 Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 thanks big bri for sharing that video of him closing that # 4. I knew that guy was a beast because I have seen him on world's strongest man a few times tearing it up. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Beatty Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 I got to eat breakfast with him in 2003 before the Vegas Strongman show Mark Philippi put on & he was one of the coolest guys ever. Nice & asking about our lifts & talking about his in a very humble manner. We sat around the table for about 2 hours. Extremely nice guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big bri Posted June 12, 2006 Author Share Posted June 12, 2006 I got to eat breakfast with him in 2003 before the Vegas Strongman show Mark Philippi put on & he was one of the coolest guys ever. Nice & asking about our lifts & talking about his in a very humble manner. We sat around the table for about 2 hours. Extremely nice guy. that's pretty awesome. how much did he eat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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