Gripperer Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 I'm one of those guys who, when someone says "Mark Felix has the strongest hands in the world!", I step in with a "well, actually..." and proceed to mention other grip guys. It's true, there are guys out there who are stronger than Felix in some disciplines. But he DOES have some incredible records to his name. We're talking the Rolling Thunder and silver bullet records, and in the more strongman oriented realm, the Dinnie stones and Hercules hold records. So what's his proper rating among grip guys? You know, if we're saying Nathan Holle, Carl Myerscough, Laine Snook etc. as Tier 1. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith513 Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 I don't know much about him, other than every video i've ever seen is incredible... Now I could be wrong, but I always assumed he was a strongman who "dabbled" with grip. I'm pretty confident even at his age, if he focused a lot more on grip he'd go very very far. At the end of the day, grip or strongman.. He's a strength athlete who's continued perform at a high level and I think he's still got more to prove. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gripperer Posted July 23, 2022 Author Share Posted July 23, 2022 41 minutes ago, Blacksmith513 said: I don't know much about him, other than every video i've ever seen is incredible... Now I could be wrong, but I always assumed he was a strongman who "dabbled" with grip. I'm pretty confident even at his age, if he focused a lot more on grip he'd go very very far. At the end of the day, grip or strongman.. He's a strength athlete who's continued perform at a high level and I think he's still got more to prove. His bloody hand span is 11 inches. To compare Shaq's is around 12. And Felix is all muscle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fist of Fury Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 He doesn't even have the strongest grip in strongman. Brian Shaw has a stronger grip overall. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gripperer Posted July 23, 2022 Author Share Posted July 23, 2022 42 minutes ago, Fist of Fury said: He doesn't even have the strongest grip in strongman. Brian Shaw has a stronger grip overall. And where would you put Shaw? Isn't he arguably the best at lifting blobs? Felix does have his own records over Shaw in fairness. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fist of Fury Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 20 hours ago, Gripperer said: And where would you put Shaw? Isn't he arguably the best at lifting blobs? Felix does have his own records over Shaw in fairness. I wouldn't put either Shaw or Felix anywhere since they never compete in grip. Doing events in strongman that taxes your grip is not the right way of testing your grip. In order to do that you need to compete in grip sport competitions. Sure Mark Felix has done it but it's not really "grip sport" comps. In terms of grip feats, Shaw is pretty high up there, he's #1 in blob lifting and maybe top5 in thick bar and regular pinching. But it's hard to say, lots of strong people these days. Shaw lifted the millenium db in a very impressive fashion a few years ago. Then a guy like Khaled comes in and just lifts it way better than anyone has ever done like it's not even difficult for him. I think Carl Myerscough is #1, after him it's hard to say, you have David Shamey as well and of course Nathan Holle but I have not seen them enter any contests while Carl has. Actually what impresses me most with Brian Shaw and his grip strength is that he's not only strong because he has big hands. He is very, very strong with the hub as well which is an implement you have advantage on if you have small hands. Having big hands is actually bad on that implement. So his hand strength is truly genuine, it's not just because he's big. He's one of those guys in strongman that has actually focused on getting a stronger grip, not all of them does that for other events outside of strongman. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gripperer Posted July 23, 2022 Author Share Posted July 23, 2022 (edited) 3 hours ago, Fist of Fury said: I wouldn't put either Shaw or Felix anywhere since they never compete in grip. Doing events in strongman that taxes your grip is not the right way of testing your grip. In order to do that you need to compete in grip sport competitions. Sure Mark Felix has done it but it's not really "grip sport" comps. In terms of grip feats, Shaw is pretty high up there, he's #1 in blob lifting and maybe top5 in thick bar and regular pinching. But it's hard to say, lots of strong people these days. Shaw lifted the millenium db in a very impressive fashion a few years ago. Then a guy like Khaled comes in and just lifts it way better than anyone has ever done like it's not even difficult for him. I think Carl Mayercough is #1, after him it's hard to say, you have David Shamey as well and of course Nathan Holle but I have not seen them enter any contests while Carl has. Actually what impresses me most with Brian Shaw and his grip strength is that he's not only strong because he has big hands. He is very, very strong with the hub as well which is an implement you have advantage on if you have small hands. Having big hands is actually bad on that implement. So his hand strength is truly genuine, it's not just because he's big. He's one of those guys in strongman that has actually focused on getting a stronger grip, not all of them does that for other events outside of strongman. I don't much disagree with any of this (yes, Shaw has the stronger grip overall) but can't escape that Felix has both the RT world record and silver bullet CoC3. Surely makes him Tier 2. EDIT: I now find that the silver bullet CoC3 has a new record holder. So that takes away some weight. Edited July 23, 2022 by Gripperer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fist of Fury Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 Felix doesn't have any world records in grip as far as I know. His SB isn't that impressive to be honest. No disrespect but I've done 38 seconds myself with a very hard #3. These days you need to do SB hold with the #4 to even be relevant. Felix is strong as hell but he has nowhere near the strongest grip in the world. People only say that because they don't know anything about grip sport. They just know he has a strong grip and very large hands. If all the strongest people were in the same comp he would not finish in the top5. That's my prediction, depends on the events but if it's a real grip sport competition and not a strongman/grip comp he might not even place in the top10 in a scenario like that. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fist of Fury Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 Also, another thing that is important to point out is that the IM Rolling Thunder is not a good way of gauging someones strenth on thick bar. It's the worst rolling handle on the market. Super inconsistent. Nobody seriously cares about those records anymore. Simply because the handles are so inconsistent it's completely pointless to compare numbers. There's a lot more and better ways of measuring thick bar strength. Many good handles out there. FBBC crusher has a good list. LGC handle is consistent, although, unfortunately not as popular worldwide. And the best way is inch dumbbells, Another event Brian is stronger than Mark in. This is a feat and it's not in contests. But Laine Snook has the world record for most reps with the millenium db and Khaled Jashell has the record for most rep with the same db but liftingt it without a tilt 100% strict style. Mark Felix has not lifted the MDB as far as I know. He has tried, as many other giants have but failed. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gripperer Posted July 23, 2022 Author Share Posted July 23, 2022 1 hour ago, Fist of Fury said: Felix doesn't have any world records in grip as far as I know. His SB isn't that impressive to be honest. No disrespect but I've done 38 seconds myself with a very hard #3. These days you need to do SB hold with the #4 to even be relevant. Felix is strong as hell but he has nowhere near the strongest grip in the world. People only say that because they don't know anything about grip sport. They just know he has a strong grip and very large hands. If all the strongest people were in the same comp he would not finish in the top5. That's my prediction, depends on the events but if it's a real grip sport competition and not a strongman/grip comp he might not even place in the top10 in a scenario like that. Thanks, some of this stuff and in your other post, I wasn't aware of. Funny though because among strength enthusiasts I am always THAT person who corrects people if they talk about Mark Felix as having the strongest hands in the world. Probably stems from his Hercules hold, which of course is about full body strength. Still, I wondered on his placement given the records he holds. Seen him pull an 86kg something on a dynamometer, which is very strong compared to the average guy, strong compared to your average gym-goer, and actually quite underwhelming for a grip-famous strongman... No doubt he could pull more, but still, an anomaly (perhaps wasn't set correctly to his hand size). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fist of Fury Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 20 minutes ago, Gripperer said: Thanks, some of this stuff and in your other post, I wasn't aware of. Funny though because among strength enthusiasts I am always THAT person who corrects people if they talk about Mark Felix as having the strongest hands in the world. Probably stems from his Hercules hold, which of course is about full body strength. Still, I wondered on his placement given the records he holds. Seen him pull an 86kg something on a dynamometer, which is very strong compared to the average guy, strong compared to your average gym-goer, and actually quite underwhelming for a grip-famous strongman... No doubt he could pull more, but still, an anomaly (perhaps wasn't set correctly to his hand size). Yes, the Hercules Hold is about full upper body strength, particularly shoulder strength. Mariusz Pudzianowski once beat Magnus Samuelsson in that and Magnus had much stronger grip than Mariusz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubgeezer Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 Mark Felix DID win the first two LA Fit Expo grip contests. Andrew Durniat was in both of them. Mike Burke won the third one. Those were in 2011, 2012, and 2013 respectively. I think it was 2012 where the first Silver Bullet contest was held. Felix had the Inaugural World Record, and I was the judge. The rules for the SB were changed after that contest. R Strossen did not believe me when I described what I saw, but after examining his own photos some rule changes were made. His hand was so large and meaty, that it seemed to be leaking off the handles and onto the bullet itself. It is hard to explain, and I initially did not convince Dr. Strossen there was an issue, but within days the rules were changed. I do remember Andrew wondering aloud "Mark Felix on the Silver Bullet?" But the events were hand picked by Odd Haugen, and they were strongman-oriented, big guy-oriented, and designed to make a visual splash at a large venue. Not necessarily "true grip" specific events. Eric Roussin posts an annual ranking of top grip competitors each year, and that is more reflective of how the majority of Gripboard members view things. On the one hand, some of the OP's thoughts are apples compared to oranges in how some view this. On the other hand, Mark Felix is respected by anyone connected with Grip as being one of the best Thick Bar specialists in the World. And no one would deny that he is anything but a great person. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Savage Posted July 25, 2022 Share Posted July 25, 2022 Mark actually trains his grip a lot. Brian definitely doesn't have the best grip in strongman or anywhere close, he's actually not that good when it comes to farmers / frame grip, nerve damage to one of his hands doesn't help. Brian would do much better in grip contests where he can use one hand and his crazy thumb strength comes into play. If I'm remembering correctly Mark has competed in a decent number of grip contests and can only recall of him winning one. These were high level comps though and his grip is definitely very good but ultimately it's a different sport so going to do well for sure but wont beat the top guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alawadhi Posted July 25, 2022 Share Posted July 25, 2022 Mark Felix definitely rank up there. He is so strong and doesn't focus on grip. Yes he plays with grip from time to time like Brian Shaw but does not focus on it. Not that I am aware off. He isn't number one though. I will go with Carl. Yes yes there are people like Shaw, Felix, Khaled, Burke,...etc that have incredible grip but does not train it. Laine trained a lot to get his 8 reps on the Millennium and then came Khaled and did well first time trying it. He did lift the 98 KG Inch strict his first time too. In two month and a half he repped it for 5 times, lifted the blobzilla with it, no set a #4 to 1/3 of an inch, curled a blob with two fingers plus many other things. He did beat Schoolboy in AW right hand while at it. His interest was MMA so he is focused there now. Mike Burke was a strongman who also was up there. He was cleaning the inch as warm ups and wanted to clean two inch dumbbells! That's all I'll say about him. Brian Shaw lifted the 150 york blob. Felix is just crazy strong without focusing on grip. Fip also lifted the Millennium dumbbell his first time ever. Close a #3 and easily lifted the blob with two fingers. All those mentioned are potentials number 1. I will stick to my opinion and go with Carl as the current number one. I would love to see them all in one comp while they all train 6 month for it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kluv#0 Posted July 25, 2022 Share Posted July 25, 2022 I know this is Mark Felix thread- He is an all-time great strongman and grip man. However, Tanner Merkle is the man at all-around grip strength. 3 straight KONG victories! Many high-quality world records. Who could beat him in a contest with the 6 main Ironmind Products- IM Axle, RT, Blockbuster pinch, IM Hub, IM Little big Horn and Silver Bullet? Maybe Big Jesse. Move over to Gripsport events and he would be difficult to finish ahead of. 225LB BWT or less!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The dude is BAAD and...... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted July 25, 2022 Share Posted July 25, 2022 On 7/23/2022 at 5:31 PM, Fist of Fury said: His SB isn't that impressive to be honest. No disrespect but I've done 38 seconds myself with a very hard #3. These days you need to do SB hold with the #4 to even be relevant. Yeah, I know there is still something to the endurance of a long SB hold on a 3, but I agree, once you have the elite folks doing over 30 seconds on the 4 (Tanner did that), and lots of folks doing over 30 seconds on a 3 and a few seconds on a 4, you really need to be doing a 4 for it to be looked at as much of a feat. Otherwise you could just as well use a Trainer or a 2 and hold even longer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChimpGrip Posted August 4, 2022 Share Posted August 4, 2022 (edited) Felix is very strong. Holle #1 in the world when in shape, if all his claimed feats are true (in my opinion). Edited August 4, 2022 by ChimpGrip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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