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As a teenager, I was not involved in sports, and often did little physical activity at all. My biggest sources of physical activity came from my attempts at skate boarding (I was not very good) and hacky sack (I was really good). I saw some of the other boys, especially the ones involved in sports, start to really fill out with muscle. I eventually began the Iron Journey, and of course bodybuilding was where I went because that's what was "available" to me; bodybuilding was the only aspect I was exposed to via magazines. I just assumed that's "how to lift weights", with no understanding of training in vastly different ways depending on what one's goals or sport might be. Thus, my early influences in this Iron Game read like the line up from the 98' Olympia - Ronnie Coleman, Markus Ruhl, Lee Priest, Nasser El Sonbaty, etc. Heck at the time I didn't even know that every one of those guys was on massive amounts of drugs!
Around that time (98'ish) I saw The World's Strongest Man contest on TV. This was the first step in changing my focus from just "being big and muscley" to actually wanting to be strong as a gorilla. I saw these huge guys, and some really not so huge, dragging giant chains, pressing what looked like telephone poles over their heads, and flipping tires that were bigger than they were. Every event I saw looked more fun than the last, and the competitors were like modern day medieval warriors which really touched a special place in my soul (I often lament that I was not born 1200 years ago haha).
A few of the big men stood out to me. Jouko Ahoula was simply amazing to watch. The guy's traps bulged like biceps on his shoulders, and despite being some 50lbs lighter than many of his adversaries, he kept winning event after event. He was quietly intense, and was able to beat the giants that opposed him routinely. I decided that this guy was awesome.
Moreso even than Ahoula, I followed Magnus Samuellsson. I have a very similar build to Magnus in that we both have relatively slim waists, long limbs, and broad shoulders. The common thought in my neck of the woods was always that for a man to be "strong" he needed a "football physique" with stocky, thick limbs and a high setting round belly that created a barrel chest effect. Of course a man could never be strong with small calves either LOL! I find it hilarious how the uninitiated think about how a strongman should look nowadays. Anyway, I also liked Magnus' personality. He was always very intelligent and articulate in interviews, and rarely if ever complained. Additionally the fact that he came from armwrestling and farming, and was able to come dominate a sport that required so much strength in the hips and legs was impressive. He was another guy with a well muscled physique, but one that you could just tell was not built for show. He looked like the ultimate farm boy, one that could hurl hay bales by the dozen into the loft and then go pull a pickup out of the mud by himself.
Eventually, as I later discovered powerlifting as well (I didn't even know that powerlifting was a "thing" for some time), I became more and more interested in the strength side of the Iron Game, and less and less interested in muscle-for-the-sake-of-muscle. I was getting away from vanity and getting into functionality and objective challenges. Today, I run strongman shows (quite a few of them!) and 1 or 2 powerlifting contests a year, and still train for strength. I owe part of my journey to Magnus and Ahoula, two of my earliest influences.
Who influenced YOU?
Around that time (98'ish) I saw The World's Strongest Man contest on TV. This was the first step in changing my focus from just "being big and muscley" to actually wanting to be strong as a gorilla. I saw these huge guys, and some really not so huge, dragging giant chains, pressing what looked like telephone poles over their heads, and flipping tires that were bigger than they were. Every event I saw looked more fun than the last, and the competitors were like modern day medieval warriors which really touched a special place in my soul (I often lament that I was not born 1200 years ago haha).
A few of the big men stood out to me. Jouko Ahoula was simply amazing to watch. The guy's traps bulged like biceps on his shoulders, and despite being some 50lbs lighter than many of his adversaries, he kept winning event after event. He was quietly intense, and was able to beat the giants that opposed him routinely. I decided that this guy was awesome.
Moreso even than Ahoula, I followed Magnus Samuellsson. I have a very similar build to Magnus in that we both have relatively slim waists, long limbs, and broad shoulders. The common thought in my neck of the woods was always that for a man to be "strong" he needed a "football physique" with stocky, thick limbs and a high setting round belly that created a barrel chest effect. Of course a man could never be strong with small calves either LOL! I find it hilarious how the uninitiated think about how a strongman should look nowadays. Anyway, I also liked Magnus' personality. He was always very intelligent and articulate in interviews, and rarely if ever complained. Additionally the fact that he came from armwrestling and farming, and was able to come dominate a sport that required so much strength in the hips and legs was impressive. He was another guy with a well muscled physique, but one that you could just tell was not built for show. He looked like the ultimate farm boy, one that could hurl hay bales by the dozen into the loft and then go pull a pickup out of the mud by himself.
Eventually, as I later discovered powerlifting as well (I didn't even know that powerlifting was a "thing" for some time), I became more and more interested in the strength side of the Iron Game, and less and less interested in muscle-for-the-sake-of-muscle. I was getting away from vanity and getting into functionality and objective challenges. Today, I run strongman shows (quite a few of them!) and 1 or 2 powerlifting contests a year, and still train for strength. I owe part of my journey to Magnus and Ahoula, two of my earliest influences.
Who influenced YOU?
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