I watched them in one of the videos where they were touring around for the History Channel show. They were ribbing each other, and then there was exactly one of those awkward moments, with Shaw being the unofficial referee, and the obvious alpha of the bunch.
That will not help Hall or Oberst.
No no, before that. Back when Eddie still competed. Itās what I mean: this game goes way back.
I very much disagree.
We disagree. Iām saying their sniping got ārealā; yes, theyāre able to move past it, but in the moment it happened, it was very ārealā, thatās all Iām saying. Weāre āin the momentā now. Can they move past this later? Of course.
Please explain how more payouts and bigger venues helps Hall, who no longer competes, or Oberst, who is no longer competitive in the big events.
Hall makes his money by being in the limelight. Which is why I can see your kayfabe thing. But The Deadlift is who he is, so thatās the counterpoint there.
Oberst is probably still up there in the log press, but he was not invited to do anything, overshadowed by Rob Kearney. Thatās when his whining got serious.
Before I do so, I have to ask with all legitimacy: do you foresee there being any possible explanation I can offer that you would be willing to believe and agree with? Or do we so fundamentally disagree on this that it would not occur?
I mention this because nothing could convince me otherwise of my position, so I would not want you to waste your time or energy attempting to convince me otherwise, as I respect your time. If nothing I can say would convince you otherwise, I imagine we would just have to agree to disagree.
Generalizing -I believe in money/power and self interest as the primary motivators for everything. (Exceptions, etc.) If your overall perspective is not that, then no you cannot convince me otherwise, and we can just agree to disagree.
The 3 amigos are not being paid, and are not being included in the overall promotion(s). They are upset by this.
Short term, I think that is why the 3 amigos are doing their thing.
If I read you correctly, you think the 3 amigos are playing the long game, because a bigger strongman pie overall will lead to more money and exposure for everyone down the road; if not by actually competing, then by being affiliated with the sport of strongman.
I think only one of the 3 has the vision to play the long game. But of course that is just my .02.
It kind of does. I donāt have a poblem with him calling it a record if he gets it, but competition day is itās own thing. Your turn is your turn, the meet director has control over the equipment and not the lifter, people are running around doing weird stuff and disrupting your rhythm. Itās just an extra level of nerves and lack of control complicating the whole thing. People do weird things, at every level, that are hard to account for. Iāve encountered tacky on equipment that specifically doesnāt permit its use, and all manner of other curve balls that Thor gets to avoid this way.
You have completely and accurately summed up my perspective on it. Growing the sport of strongman, so that either they can become more legitimized as athletes or have access to better opportunities in the future, along with growing their social media presence and the impact that has.
That we disagree on it being the specific motive of those particular individuals is where we differ, with me saying itās a work and you feeling otherwise. This is where we will have to agree to disagree, and I am very much amendable to that.
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I just saw that Ed is only 32. Surprised me, I thought he was going to be closer to Brain Shaws age or even older since he isnāt competing anymore.
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This is mostly due to him not being competitive. The year he won was all he had and that was because he was the favorite to win. Eddie has always been strong, but not WSM strong.
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As far as the kayfabe argument goes, thatās really all it is. Iām not saying that Eddies feelings arenāt hurt, Brian and Oberst took to his side and Oberstās feelings got hurt and he did stupid shit, but all of this gets their names brought up which increases traction leading to more revenue. Thatās literally all this is.
Thor gets paid to deadlift, Eddie gets support and money being upset.
Kearney gets paid to log press, Oberst gets viewership as a villain and probably sells out of āStrong and Prettyā tees.
Brian always gets money. Thatās just how it is.
All of this is about money. WSM is for money, the records are for money and Strongest Man in History who whines and cries everyteim is for money.
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I donāt ābuyā the kayfabe argument. Athletes the world over get pissy and shitty with each other and event organisers is they feel they have been slighted or disadvantaged in any way. I think itās a genuine complaint.
I will add that since last night I have maybe changed my mind. Would anyone payout on a WR attempt unless they where sure it was genuine?
This sums it up for me. Its a question mark. I like Thor and if he can do 501, I hope he does it in competition at a later date as well. For his sake.
I cannot unequivocally claim this controversy is immediately monetisable, but I speculate that as
channel views go up, revenue follows. Even if were to not equate to that immediately (personally, Iām purposefully ignorant of how Youtube etc. operates in this regard) then by sheer virtue of attracting a large audience that has long-term implication for how to continue to monetise their names regardless of being in active competition.
Iāll take Eddie as an example as heās not actively competing. If he manages to cement his name to be associated with WSM in the minds of those that are now tuning in then that may result into
all manner of training-related products (supplement lines, clothing, a book deal). I accept that itās different between nations, but we tend to see veterans of a sport commentating after theyāve retired. Thatās income.
And then there is things not directly associated to the sport but that still pays rent. Magnus Samuelsson appeared on our version of āDancing with the Starsā.
Summary: itās not illogical for everyone involved to benefit. Hell, I can imagine someone being a genuinely nice guy and thinking that itāll make it easier for strongmen yet to come if they come into the sport and it has an even bigger crowd and do it for that reason alone.
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It is all minutiae in the context of lifting over 500kg and it is sad to see it made out to be a mitigating factor when it really isnāt.
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For those who believe this āfeudā to be genuine: Come on, think back to the way Eddie has played the crowds ever since he started his career, think back to the whole Eddie vs Oberst (or Oberst versus the British) rivalry a few years back. They both say whatever gets people talking about them. Do you really think Oberst is as stupid as he makes it seem in his recent videos? When has Eddie ever put integrity and authenticity before plain publicity? Might he be worried that people will talk about him less if heās no longer the record holder? Sure, but this whole controversy is about as real as pro wrestling.
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As an MMA fan, this whole feud around the 501kg attempt reminds me of the ārivalriesā in MMA. Most are just to build up publicity, nothing more. And they often work very well to get fans invested for what would be otherwise boring fights.
As for the actual 501kg liftā¦ Iām actually indifferent. I just want records broken, regardless of whether theyāre done in competition or not. Just gimme a 1200 raw squat, 1200 deadlift, 800 bench, 500 snatch, and 600 clean and Jerk, even if theyāre done in a gym.
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What a great build up. Set a big, divisive, lucrative record, and you set the perfect stage to cash in on the controversy a second time when a ātrueā attempt is made Thor vs the Rest II: more pulling
Iād be salivating at this if I were a marketer for the Arnold Corp. (or whatever) lol.
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Thor said heāll pull 520 if he has 200k twitch followers. Pull not try. Iām sure he has already pulled 501 or knows he can do it. I am betting he will destroy Eddieās record at the next competition. FFS he almost pulled 501 on the elephant for lolz
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You could be right but I am not so sure. I think he will get the 501, there is certainly a lot riding on it, so unlikely he would go through all this and miss. I donāt think he has another 20+kg in him. I listened to the powecast eddie did with Mark Bell a little while back and given the effort Eddie required to even get to 500, not sure Thor is going to want to put himself through that, especially with a new child coming up. I think he will hit 500+ and it will be good to see someone else get it, even if it is in the gym but breaking it by 20kg they would be special.
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20 kgs indeed is a big jump. After seeing his 470 I would sayā¦ maybe. But he certainly wonāt need psychosis and 20 liters of Lucozade for the 501 lol
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