World's Strongest Man DVD Trailer

First off, apologies for the lack of posts – the Formula 1 season started and I decided to start a new blog for that as Formula 1 posts were taking over at A Little Less Geek. Unfortunately I got so wrapped up in the new blog (McLaren Fan Blog) that I neglected this one! To make matters worse I have just started a 3rd blog which can be seen here: The Beach Boys Discography Project. I promise, more posts on Less Geek from now on though – so much going on so it’d be rude not to!

Ever since I was a little boy I used to watch The World’s Strongest Man (WSM) with my Dad as an annual tradition around Christmas/New Year. I started as a Geoff Capes fan and cheered him in his battles against the mighty Bill Kazmaier and Jon Pall Sigmarsson (Viking Power!). In the mid 90s I was a fan of Manfred Hoeberl and his freakishly large arms, though it was Magnus Ver Magnusson who dominated that decade! In the 2000s I relied on my half Polish bloodline to get behind ‘The Dominator’ Mariusz Pudzianowski who has just last year broken the previous record of 4 WSM wins (set by Icelanders Jon Pall Sigmarsson and Magnus Ver Magnusson) to become the only man to ever win 5 WSM competitions, and there may be more to come!

Around the time of the latest WSM they showed a documentary on TV called ’30 Years of Pain’ which was a look back at the history of WSM and the extraordinary competitors involved. I’ve watched it 3 times so far, as a longtime fan of WSM I found it utterly fascinating. Just yesterday I was pointed in the direction of the trailer for what I know now is the DVD of the aforementioned documentary, with extra bonus footage that I didn’t see on TV, AND the making of World’s Strongest Man! Go back to January and I was trawling Amazon looking for WSM DVDs so news of this DVD is awesome news for me, and any WSM fans out there! It’ll be out on June 1st according to the trailer, so not long to wait. I’ll be picking one up for both my Dad and myself – nostalgia central! I just hope there are more WSM DVDs to come.

Here is said trailer on Youtube:

Mariusz makes it 5!

Beating the record of 4 World’s Strongest Man titles held by Jón Páll Sigmarsson and Magnús Ver Magnússon, Mariusz Pudzianowski won the 2008 World’s Strongest Man to get his record breaking 5th title.

As amazing as The Dominator’s record was, and it really was, one other story came out of the competition and that is Derek Poundstone, as seen pictured above. The 2008 competition was his first World’s Strongest Man and he led the competition up until the last event where Pudzianowski beat him in the Atlas Stones. What makes Poundstone’s success even more phenomenal is that he only does it part time – his full time job is that of a police officer for the Naugatuck, Connecticut Police Department!

Expect the 2009 competition to be one that Derek Poundstone will not want to lose!

A special mention goes to Magnus Samuelson from Sweden – winner of the 1998 World’s Strongest Man and a 13 year veteran of the competition, announced his retirement from World’s Strongest Man. Once the best Arm Wrestler in Europe, Samuelson famously broke the arm of professional wrestler and actor Nathan Jones in an arm wrestling match.

World’s Strongest Man 2008

For as long as I can remember, watching World’s Strongest Man has been a Christmas/New Year viewing tradition. Back in the 80s it was all about Geoff Capes, Bill Kazmaier and the mighty Jón Páll Sigmarsson (God rest his soul).

The 90s saw the rise of Magnús Ver Magnússon and the 2000s saw the meteoric rise of The Dominator, Marius Pudzianowski – the powerhouse from Poland who has won 4 of the last 5 competitions.

I am half Polish by my Grandparents on my Mum’s side so I can follow Marius that way. My British nationality has me wanting to support the British guys, especially big Terry Hollands who came an impressive 3rd last year.

Whatever the results, it’s bound to be an impressive display of power from the mightiest men on earth – qualifiers start tonight!