October 17, 2025 • 45 mins
In this episode of the Angry Dad Podcast, host talks with Frank Boniello, the World's Strongest Firefighter, about his incredible journey from the Air Force to competing at the Arnold Classic. They discuss his rigorous training regimen, balancing a demanding firefighting career with elite strongman competitions, and the intense preparation required to achieve his goals. Frank also shares valuable insights into nutrition, training strategies, and what it takes to reach the top of his field. Don't miss this in-depth conversation filled with inspiration and dedication.
Angry Dad Links https://lnk.bio/angrydadpodcast
Inner Circle Podcast Network
Instagram @innercirclepn https://www.instagram.com/innercirclepn/
Twitter @InnerCirlcePN https://www.innercirclepn.com
Website https://www.innercirclepn.com
Support the Angry Dad Podcast Want to support the Angry Dad? Join my Supporters Club and help keep the show going! 👉 Join here
The Sponsor of Angry Dad Podcast
Everyday Fit Life https://everydayfitlife.myshopify.com 20% Discount (AngryDad)
Max Performance Peptide https://maxperformancepeptides.com 10% off (AngryDad)
#AngryDadPodcast #AngryDad #Motivation
Angry Dad Links https://lnk.bio/angrydadpodcast
Inner Circle Podcast Network
Instagram @innercirclepn https://www.instagram.com/innercirclepn/
Twitter @InnerCirlcePN https://www.innercirclepn.com
Website https://www.innercirclepn.com
Support the Angry Dad Podcast Want to support the Angry Dad? Join my Supporters Club and help keep the show going! 👉 Join here
The Sponsor of Angry Dad Podcast
Everyday Fit Life https://everydayfitlife.myshopify.com 20% Discount (AngryDad)
Max Performance Peptide https://maxperformancepeptides.com 10% off (AngryDad)
#AngryDadPodcast #AngryDad #Motivation
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Love a love a die Go Die do die go
die die die die.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
All right, thank you guys for tuning in. I appreciate it.
And I have a guest on this week. But before
we get to that, let me thank my podcast sponsors.
I like to thank every Day Fit Life. If you're
looking for a nutrition plan that's easy to follow, step
by step, a blueprint, it's thirty days, sixty days, ninety days.
You pick how much help you need, you follow the
program and guess what results happened. It is that easy,
(00:35):
and you get twenty percent off with Angry Dad at checkout.
And I also like to thank Max Performance Peptides. Look,
you're looking for peptides. You're looking for a reliable source,
someone that can show up, someone that you know that
you'll be able to get hooked up every time. And
you can get ten percent off with Angry Dad at checkout.
That is Max Performance Peptides. Please check them out. I
appreciate everything is in the notes. Now that I got
(00:57):
that out of the way. Frank bonnie Llo, look World
Strongest Firefighter, and you know that that's no tough feat
because this is this is at the Arnold Classic, and
you know I have a few firefighters in the family
on my wife's side of the family, because I'm from
the Bay Area, Frank and the Sam Mateo, I want
(01:19):
to say, Millbray and Pacifica. I have three captains and
a chief in the family for firefighters. So it really
caught my caught my attention when you wanted to come on.
So I was like, all right, let's let's actually talk
this because I have some uh some family members that'd
be probably pretty interested in listening to this episode because
it probably takes so much work and so much effort
(01:43):
to be a firefighter and compete at that level.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Yeah, thanks for having me on the show. Yeah, it's
a uh that's a challenge for sure, a lot to balance. Yeah,
we worked long hours. Pace can change, so I some
days you're really busy, the other days you're a little
bit slower. And then yeah, training for strong men and
big shows and trying to be the strongest you can.
(02:09):
You know, it's a challenge for sure.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Oh yeah, No, it is a challenge, you know what
I'm saying. I you know, luckily for me, I get
to hang out with some of the strongest in the world,
and it's just the level it takes to understand what
it takes to be at a championship level is the
is the kind of dedication you would expect from a firefighter.
So it's like, that's what you want, you know what
I'm saying. When there's a fire and emergency and you
(02:32):
got the strongest firefighter in the world showing up to
your fucking emergency, you know what I'm saying, it's safe
to say you're in good hands.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
Right.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
I should get a badge on my shirt that says.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Hey, for real. I would be placing it everywhere, you
know what I'm saying, even at your station. I'd be
like the home of the World's Strongest Firefighter right off top,
because it is an actual title out there, you know
what I'm saying. It's something I would definitely be flashing
around if.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
I Yeah, my friends and family never hesitate to introduce that.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
In the conversation.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
I don't like to come up right off the bat
and like, hey, you know, look at me, twenty twenty spotifighter.
But they don't hesitate, you know. Oh yeah, well it's funny.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
That's the right way to do it. Yeah, well, let's
get into actually what got you started in firefighting, because
you know, one of the things I love about doing
my show, and it's one of the things I promote
the most is people chasing your dreams, reaching your dreams,
like achieving goals. You know what I'm saying, because you've
(03:38):
not just achieved the goal, you achieved an upper echelon
of goals. And I just want to start at the
beginning because that like everyone always thinks it's too late,
it's not enough time, or you know, it's too hard,
you know what I'm saying. Like it's something I always
want to make sure that that people listen to this
podcast actually are inspired to understand, you know, what it
takes to get to where you're at.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Man, where would you like me to start?
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Oh not, Hey tell me it was firefighting at the
at the top of your list, or is it something
you fell into?
Speaker 3 (04:09):
So I kind of had a unique situation where I
joined the Air Force active duty and I was presented
the opportunity but to become a firefighter. And it's always
been a dreaming line since I was a kid. You know,
I got a family showed me some photos just drawings
(04:32):
I made when I was a kid, and you know,
I was like, I thought it was the coolest thing ever.
Speaker 4 (04:35):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Anyways, when I got presented with that opportunity, I took
it full force.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
And never looked back.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
You know, I did six years active duty as a firefighter.
So what that looks like working for the Air Force
is we have like a structural side which is more
relatable to your city. Fire departments take care of houses,
commercial things like that, and then the Air Force has
(05:04):
a flying mission, so we're also running.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
The airport side of it, with the big.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Crash trucks, the whole you know, uppards of three thousand
gallons of water on the so.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Some heavy duty machinery. You know what I'm you just
didn't get one one side of firefighting. So like even
coming into civilian firefighting, you know what I'm saying, how
was that transition? Because, like I said, even with the
military understanding, you're dealing with even more flammable liquids, even
more things that could go wrong, you know what I'm saying,
(05:37):
Especially with jets, you know what I'm saying, because I'm
assuming aircraft carriers or like you know, like a big
freaking cargo fucking you know, you know what I'm talking about.
Like I said, the amount of equipment you guys have
to handle.
Speaker 4 (05:51):
Yeah, we cover a wide.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Base of emergency responses and some of you were just
kind of touching on with the air An some of
them carrying munitions, so that presents its own unique challenges
and hazards associated with that. Yeah, the branch over into
the civilian side was pretty seamless. For myself. I pretty
(06:16):
much just change the color in my uniform. I'm working
with the Department of Air Force still as a civilian.
So nice.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Nice, And you know with you training and getting into that,
you know what I'm saying, like, is this something that
they give you time to achieve or is this all
just on your specific Like if my day off, this
is my training day, this is what I do. Hey,
I'm gonna compete. I'm gonna have to take some vacation.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
So we we get our days pretty well packed in
with training and all sorts of running emergencies, all sorts
of stuff. They keep us busy, and usually an afternoons
we have time to you know, spend the time as
you see fit, and I see fit as just getting
(07:07):
as strong as I can.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
So I uh, I wrote a.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
Sign on the on the mirror in the gym that
says Frank's gym, because how much time I've spen in there.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Well, that's good. It's good to hear because like it's
it's very like, you know, training specifically for strong man
and you know, and just even achieving this in the
in the you know, being the world's strongest firefighter. Like
I said, people like it takes time and effort and
you know, trying to fucking walk that line of like
(07:42):
all right, I'm gonna train, but if there's an emergency,
you know what I'm saying. I got, you know, six
hundred pounds I'm pulling here, and then all of a sudden,
I got to put on some I gotta put on
some equipment and take off.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
Yeah, it happens.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
You know, it's the name of the game. It could
be frustrating, but you have to understand that, you know,
your job is first. You know, training comes second. So
and it helps to be a little more I guess
adaptive in your training program. So doing things that are
easier to like get up and out of you know, uh,
(08:16):
maybe not doing your max effort deadlifts while you're at work,
like your full kit, you know. Yeah, so just a
little bit of adjustments and I say, you know, I
save those for my days off. Well, you know, time
more liberty, less constraints. You know, I could spend a
little bit more recovery. Yeah, absolutely, no, No, I.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Definitely, I definitely get that. And you know, with with
the crew that you work, you run with, you know,
like how do the approach what you're doing? Are they
getting interested? Are they joining in? Have you like flipped it?
Because strong man is something that is like, it's what
do you call it? It's very life life adapting because
(09:00):
the stronger you are, everything else becomes, you know, just
just another day.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
That carryover from the sport to my profession. I mean
it's I think it's necessary you have to You don't
have to just be like statically strong. But yeah, there's
cardiovascular aspects of their work capacity and it just makes
me feel better when I'm doing the job. There's been
(09:29):
some interest at work with the guys like Doude, how
much does that sandbag way? I can I pick that up?
Like yeah, absolutely, let me show you the best way
to do it, because I don't need anybody getting injured
on my behalf. Yeah, you know, because I leave some
strong man stuff at work and the last thing I
need is minor injury or something happening like, hey, so
(09:53):
now you can't do that. I'd hate for that to happen.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Yeah, no, you would, definitely, because that's one of those
things too, is like when you watch someone do something
who's nailed it down and got that technique, it's very
very unassuming of like I'm just gonna walk up and
do this, and then all of a sudden, you tear
a bicet, all of a sudden you tear a lot,
you know, saying you throw out your back because like
he just picked that up like it was nothing, and
now you know, and like let's even say, a two
(10:16):
hundred and eighty pounds handbag is not very big, you
know what I'm saying, It's still two hundred and eighty pounds.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
You know.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
It's usually something you know, most people can start off with.
But it's like if you're not prepared for it, you're
not prepared for it.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Yeah, you said most people can start off with the
too eighty.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Well, you know, I have a little bit of misconception too,
because I'm a I'm a huge guy myself, and I'm
and I'm always hanging around regular people, you know, like
with you know, like I was just weekend was the Olympia.
So I was literally around Nick Bess, Brian Shaw. You
know what I'm saying, Travis Ordmeyer, and it's like, I'm
just why I'm just hanging out with guys that are
just kind of just throwing, that can throw stuff around
(10:54):
like it ain't nothing.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
You know.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
I just watch Bubba Pritchett do two eighty and uh,
you know, just literally melody melody throw it, you know,
uh standbag over bar and I'm just like, and it
was nothing to him.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
That kid's got a bright future.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Oh he absolutely does. Absolutely the smart, intelligent, very he
listens to his dad. That kid can't ask for much
more than that. He's he's on the road to being
the youngest world strongest man.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
I feel it would be cool to see.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Oh yeah, big time, big time. Now let's talk a
little bit of Olympia. What were the not the Olympia,
because I was just at the Olympia, the Arnold Classic.
You know what I'm saying, like, what are the qualifiers
to get you in? Just in that kind of conversation there?
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Okay, yeah, excuse me, try Yeah. So the World Strongest
Firefighter is actually really easy to get into. It's a
two day competition. Anyone can sign up. You just show
proof of being the firefighter and and day one is
(12:01):
your prelims, your qualifier. So and we have all the
different weight classes, you know, lightweight, middle eight, open class,
and based off of your results of day one, a
select few are invited to the finals. And man, the
finals is insane because just the show they put on is.
Speaker 4 (12:24):
It's it's incredible.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
You know, we're on the main stage Arnold Sportsen. Aator
comes up and watches the event, and just the atmosphere
is incredible. You've got thousands of people in front of you,
you know, cheering and.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Yelling like it's incredible. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
The last two years they've been doing a pound for
pound equation.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
So a man or woman, regardless of their weight, can
win the title of will strong is Firefighter?
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Yeah, And in years past it's always been uh open
to weight men because I mean physically they're the strongest.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
But I was able to, you know, hold my own and.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
Show the world that you know, a middle eight or
weight class athlete can win that title and show out
for the underdogs.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Hey, and that that is even a bit a bigger
feather in your cap because like I said, it's you know,
the even the weight, the weight distribution, it's so much
more on the open men's side. But if you can
go pound for pound and you're pulling what they're pulling, goddamn,
got some that's some serious that's some serious fucking work
(13:44):
right there. Because you know, like when you go to
these shows, you go to strong man shows, you you know,
usually you can see that power scale difference. But the
thing is is like there's reasons why there's there's weight classes,
but if you go on toe to toe would open
Goddamn that. That's that that's even more impressive right there.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
And they uh, man, the wit skill.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Is getting so close for the middle weights. Uh like
the one O five kilot class to open weight like ability.
It's the classes. Uh it's got some monsters in it,
and these guys are pushing big weight. It's that's really cool.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Yeah, it is cool. I was just look at the
uh where I was just at the they just had
America strongest man, America strongest woman, and America strongest veteran.
So I got the I got that trifecta there.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
Yeah, so I was tuning into that on the live stream.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Yeah he was what you see Nick too, because I was.
I was out there hanging with Nick and Travis all day,
so they was actually doing the commendation for all that
the entire time. I was right off to the side,
just off camera.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
I should have squeezed you away in there.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
I never want to step on these toes. I'm there
as a guest, so I'm just gonna I always like
to keep it respectful. So let's talk about what was
the best event that you had at that show?
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Oh man, So, like I was saying, there's a two
day competition, we have four events both days, and yeah,
and there was a deadlife on both days too, Oh
my god. And uh yeah, two overhead press events too.
(15:27):
I did really well on the prelims. I enjoyed a
lot of those events because they just tailor them to
firefighters and not just like generic strong man. You know.
Like one we had a sand Bay carry for distance,
and you could easily relate that to like carrying somebody
out the building, you know exactly. And uh, I really
(15:49):
enjoyed that event. I mean, I hate training for max distance,
but it went really well for me. I ended up
winning that one. Uh. I love doing the log press.
I was able to squeak out. I think it was
eight reps for our trump wait nice and then me
(16:09):
and a fellow uh middleweight, Harry Walker. I'm sure you've
seen him around. Incredible athlete. He does just about every
competition there is out there. He was at America Shamas Veteran. Yeah,
and I got to go ahead to head with him
at the Sandbag steeple chase, so that was really cool.
Speaker 4 (16:31):
He end up beating me though, just by a second. Man,
I thought I had him. He had a better game plan.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
It always comes down to like just fractions of a second,
for fractions of a point, it's like god damn. It
was like so close.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Then we had a Axel Hummer Tire press away event.
Speaker 4 (16:54):
I was really looking forward to.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
That one because the clean is the hardest part unless
you come from you know, like I left background, and
I was just able to like stay in there and
just wrap them out. And that's really cool on stage,
like just the visual aspect of it. Oh, giant tires,
it looks insane.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
Yeah, man, I could talk about it all day long
if you want to, or we can know.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
That that's the whole thing is talking about it. But
you know, just talk about the you know, training for distance,
you know, with everything going on there, what is your
best event, just point blank period.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
I could say pretty confidently anything overhead press related is
one of my historically best events. There you go, yeah,
there you go.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Like I said, you know, some people just you know
in strong Man, you know how the elbows get you know,
a lot of times that's the biggest hindrance for a
lot of people pressing, even when you have to explain
to the judges like my lockout is here and not
here exactly. Oh yeah, Well with winning, you know what
(18:07):
I'm saying. Uh, and and getting the trophy and getting
that metal. Uh did you get to get Uh? Did
Arnold actually come up there with you and take a
picture like he usually it's one of those people that
always takes that selfie with him.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
That was one of the coolest life experiences I've ever had,
just because I grew up watching all those movies as
a kid, and you know that was like TV dad,
you know. Yeah, he called me up on stage said
some uh said I should get in the body building. Uh,
(18:37):
I'm not.
Speaker 4 (18:40):
I'm not.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Yeah, and then presented me with a gold plated fire axe.
That's such a cool trophy.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Nice nice where you have that displayed.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
So I'm working on getting a shadow box made for it. Yeah,
Arnold was so long ago. I need to give my
shift to.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Well. You know, after winning something like that, it definitely
changes a lot of things in your life, you know
what I'm saying, because like, yah, you know, I'm pretty
sure a lot of people want to you do on
some shows, wanted you to make some appearances or even
just talk about this on a regular basis.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Yeah, it's pretty uh the words I'm trying to describe,
it's almost hard to believe, you know, and just in
the sense that you work so hard for something and
then when it finally happens, you're like you're taken back
from it, you know, like did I really just do that?
You know, because I competed at that show for three
(19:39):
years and it was always my goal since my first appearance.
It's like I want to win that, you know, and
when it finally came to it was like holy now
hell yeah, hell yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
That's one of those things too. It's like having a
goal and achieving that goal and then it's like you
get there, the it being so surreal because like just
like you said, you know, if they're doing a pound
per pound and it's you know who you're competing against,
it it's all top of the people because like I said,
everyone's got to go through prelims, everyone's got to prove
themselves and so they're you're at tip of the spear
(20:13):
when it when it comes to that armbald show. So
for you to pull to pull it off and to
fucking nail it, you know what I'm saying, then win
and it being the goal. You know, like I said,
everyone who joined that's you know, it's going to be
their goal. But the thing is is it's your time
to shine and you got it.
Speaker 4 (20:27):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
In preparation for that, my mindset was, you know, I
don't care how many years it takes me to achieve that.
I'm just going to keep working towards it. And then
every year I got better and yeah, you just manifest it.
You just tell yourself like, this is my time, my
time to show out.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
You know, I'm here, I don't.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
Care who else is here, and you just do the thing.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Oh yeah, that's it. It's my time to shine. My
it's my time to do this. You just fucking pull
the or to let it happen. Yeah, you know, And
that's that's one of those things too, is like understanding
and like really you know, like I said, we can
talk see here casually talk about it, but like, you know,
the the work behind the scenes to achieve it, and
(21:15):
the the amount of cardio, the amount of training, the
amount of effort gone into there. You know what I'm saying.
It's it's it can it can happen, you know what
I'm saying. And you proved it by winning it.
Speaker 4 (21:26):
You know.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
It's like how many people have come up to you after,
you know, after this show and just have been like, god, damn,
you know what I'm saying, Like you fucking you are
that guy now?
Speaker 4 (21:36):
Yeah, yeah, it's put a target on me for sure.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Oh yeah, that is it, you know what I'm saying.
With your firefighting crew and stuff like that, and and
and everyone around you, it's like, you know, it's like
you know there, it's almost like a level of expectation.
You got to always basically kind of hold up like
I can, I can work, I can push through, I
can you know, I'm carrying, I'm carrying people out.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
Yeah, yeah, I can't be the one in the back,
you know, like you guys got it. Yeah, you're doing great, buddy.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Exactly aside and I was like, all.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Right, exactly, let me show you how to make it
look easy.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
Yeah. Oh yeah. You know.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
That's one of those things too, is like it's just
it's always so fun and so cool to see and
talk to somebody who can actually, you know, like share
this experience.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
It's like it's you know, people always imagine and well
wish and like, ah, man, one day and all of
a sudden, you had that one well day, you know
what I'm saying. It's like it's it freaking happened. And
here's the thing, too, is like you know what next
year coming up or you're returning to to uh retain
that title.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
So man, after winning that title, I'm trying to build
upon that. I'm still kind.
Speaker 4 (23:02):
Of debating whether or not I want to go back.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
And compete at Worlds Song.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
And Spirefighter again. I feel like I.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
Would have to compete in the open just for a
personal like a challenge, you.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
Know, like Okay, if I could win in like.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
Multiple weight classes. That would just know, that would put
me at the.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Top, you know, but to put you on another level
at the top.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Yeah. At the same time, it's it's passing the torch.
So every year at that competition it's been a new
ground winner.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
So I feel like that was that was my year,
and now.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
I'm passing the torch and the opportunity for others to
come up through the ranks and prove themselves. That's it.
That's it.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Well, you know that that that right there is very
generous because that's you know a lot of times too,
it's like people don't look at it like that. People
are like, no, no, I'm gonna defend. But he's like,
look if I it, I win it. But if I
can pass on the torch, the next person gets the funk.
What you know, what I'm saying, it's your time. That
that that that that that's very humble of you, brother,
because you know, some people, you know, like it's a
(24:11):
completely different thought process and what's called But also two
for you know, this is something that's on a completely
different level for strong man too. This is not just
a you know, a standard title. This is America's fire
the strongest firefighter. Yeah, it's it's like I remember when
they first started coming, when they first started doing it,
and I was like, god, fucking damn, it's so fucking cool.
(24:33):
I remember the first guy won. I was just like
I tried, you know as well, I tried to get
him on the show, but I just I wasn't big
enough at that moment in time.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
Yeah, what was I gonna say? It was only tip
on a ton.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
It happens.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
I do it all the time.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
Yeah, just was passing, uh, passing the torch alone, uh,
and like winning it as in middle Way. I'm hoping
to grow the sport even further where people from the
outside have thought about competing but they might be hesitant,
like well it's only a heavyweight show. Well I've proven
that wrong. And yeah, hoping to get more international exposure
(25:18):
to I think we had seven or eight countries represented
that this year.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
So well, that's one of those things, too, is pushing
a sport, promoting a sport. That's how you grow a sport.
And you know, if you're getting on these shows like
this and really putting out the content for people to know,
you know what I'm saying, like this is this exists,
pay attention to it, you know what I'm saying, because
just like you said, it's not a normal show, you
know what I'm saying, it's a little bit more critique
(25:46):
because one of the just I we were talking about earlier
strong Man, you know, if they're adapting it to firefighting,
it's so beneficial, so beneficial, and also too, it's gonna
be a little cooler to watch because you know, I
would assumed they have a certain implements that are just
more representative of you guys's of you guys brand.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
Yeah, you brought that up, and we get to play
with fire hydrants. We had a loading event similar to
Atlas Stones where we had to load a series of
fire hydrants onto a platform. That was pretty cool. The
year before that it was a fire hydrant press overhead.
Speaker 4 (26:27):
It was it was dangerous in.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
My opinion, because there's so many The weight distribution on
it is just it's really top heavy and wow, there's
like pointy edges and there's room to hurt yourself on that.
But you know, in the safest way possible, we lift
those things up. Yeah, and they're bringing fire hydrants back
this coming year, so okay, it's gonna be fun to watch.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Yeah, definitely fun to watch. Fun fact, I used to
work for a company called US Pipe and Foundry, okay,
and they were bought by me, and so I got
to go to Alabama and watch where they made the
fire hydrants. So I thought that was pretty cool. I
didn't I didn't know how much went into actually making
fire edge until I showed up there and god, damn,
they're heavy.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
Yeah, they're they're hollow inside, come to find out.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Yeah, oh yeah, it's just it's a cast iron shell,
and especially if it ain't got all the guts, it's
still hundreds of pounds.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
Oh yeah, that's so.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
That's so crazy. You know, have they ever implemented any
fire hoses or all that in uh uh.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
No, just because hose without water doesn't really.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
Weigh a whole lot, you know.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
I could see him potentially doing like like a rope
pole with a hose.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
There you go.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
But yeah, we'll see. They released four of the events
for next year on the Instagram page. I didn't see
any rope poles on there that I'm aware.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
Oh okay, Well, if you could pick an event that
they could put in there, what would it be?
Speaker 4 (28:07):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Man, it's just it's a lot I'd like to see
some type of are you familiar with like the Firefighter
Combat Challenge? No, okay, well that's a relay race where
firefighters bunk out and there's an obstacle course of I
(28:28):
think five or six events and it's the fastest time
and usually all obstacles are completed in about two minutes.
But anyways, one of the first events on the in
the challenge is running up flight of stairs and I
think we could possibly replicate that with sat eg The's
shoulder and then maybe up like a power stairs where
(28:52):
it's like five stairs something like that, or yeah, even
if it's sand bag power stairs.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
Yeah, yeah, it might be.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Really cool to watch, you know exactly. They're sitting there
putting a ruck on you like climb up these stairs.
Speaker 4 (29:06):
Now.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Yeah, so if Jeff is watching, yeah exactly. I was
just saying, you guys are watching, the ideas have been dropped. Yeah,
oh yeah, well you know what I'm saying, it's gonna
be crazy, it's gonna be fun, and there's gonna be
a lot of cool stuff going on. So and also
to the you know, uh, with competing, a lot of
times you actually don't even get to enjoy the actual
(29:28):
event happening around you. You know what I'm saying, Like, you're
in competition mode, so everything else has to be drowned out.
So was there any enjoying of the actual Arnold Expo
or any enjoying of the other actual shows happening going
on around you?
Speaker 3 (29:44):
Man, the prelims just took all day long, so because
we had over one hundred athletes to get through, and
I end up walking around the expo after it was over,
and that was about the time everyone was packing up.
There's a couple people I was trying to see I
just can't remember.
Speaker 4 (30:03):
Yeah, they're they.
Speaker 3 (30:04):
Were gone by that time. And then, uh, I try
to limit the uh it's exposure to all the lights
and noise because it could be draining in itself, you know,
And just I came here with a focus and a
mission and to try to eliminate some of the distractions.
It's kind of hard to when, uh, you know, there's
(30:24):
smoke machines and dance parties going on right next to
us with the Young La stage.
Speaker 4 (30:30):
But yeah, it was funny. I mean, they had they
had good tunes at least, you know.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
Exactly exactly, because even with a lot of times too,
it's like people you know, like you're it's you're just
behind the curtains next to everybody, and it's like, oh,
there's a lot going on. I wonder what's going on?
And it was strong man. You gotta know you gotta
rest between your rest between your period between your events,
regroup and then get back out on that floor.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Yeah, save your energy and focus for what matters.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
So what are you typically eating in between or like
what's your nutrition looking like while you're actually in coom.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
A lot of sugar snacks really that's the best part. Yeah,
it's just quick digestive and it gets into your blustream
past for like utilization. Some of my go tos are
like rice crispies, pop tarts, peanut butter and jellies, something
that doesn't really sit heavy on my stomach. Yeah, but
it's just really calorie dats too.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Yeah, it's that's your typically that's very typical when you
see because that's one of those things treats are sloating around.
Yeah exactly, it's like, oh, I have no like, I
don't have to control. I just got to eat enough
and have a good time. And luckily it tastes good.
It's not like you're sitting there back there eating chicken
and broccoli and rice with no flavor.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
I try to get like one meal in that's not
just full of sugar.
Speaker 4 (31:57):
But yeah, that's really all you can.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
It's ridiculous because you never eat like that any other.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
Time, any other time, well, with that kind of nutrition
during comp when you're when you're actually in prep. You
know what I'm saying, what's your typical diet?
Speaker 3 (32:16):
Even looking like there, I eat really clean. Actually I
follow macro nutrients, you know, pretty uh, pretty self explanatory there.
But I try to eliminate a lot of process food.
So I'm eating you know, white rice, beans, lean proteins, horses,
(32:37):
and I'm comfortable eating that you know, can make it
taste good.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
Oh yeah, no, there's ways. Some people always feel like
I got to eat all this plain food so I
can feel healthy. I'm like, no, you could still feel
healthy and your food tastes good. Yeah, you know what
I'm saying. My diet is ground beef and rice.
Speaker 4 (32:55):
So it's like there you go.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
You know what I'm saying. I enjoyed the the you know,
I'll enjoy some chicken, and I'll enjoy some pork, but
for the majority of what I'm eating, it's always just
you know, like I almost have that vertical diet. You
know what I'm saying. It's it's pretty close to it,
but not like on point with the vertical. There's some
things I like something that don't. But you know what
I'm saying, it's it's just shoveling food in my mouth.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
I do eat pancakes, eggs, and bacon just about every day.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
So hey, and when you can do that every day,
that's a good day.
Speaker 4 (33:26):
Yeah, I mean it's good.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
Well, you know, even after digesting that man and like
like like maybe an hour or two after that, it's like, Okay,
I'm actually fueled up to train, because I don't know
how many people actually train. There's a lot of people
out there to actually train on empty stomachs, and I'm like, goddamn,
I don't know how you like, you know, barely any water,
two cups of coffee and going straight into training. I'm like,
and you feel strong like that?
Speaker 3 (33:54):
Yeah, the carnivore diet is probably the worst one for
this this sport in general.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
Oh yeah, oh yeah, big time, big time, Like straw
Man is a carbohydrate dense sport. Yeah yeah, oh yeah,
well you know and even too. Do you ever have
struggle making weight at your weight class?
Speaker 4 (34:15):
So currently I'm floating like right about where.
Speaker 3 (34:18):
I need to be for the class. I have room
to grow, trying to grow, but lately it seems like.
Speaker 4 (34:28):
The more I eat, more I lose weight.
Speaker 3 (34:30):
So maybe I was already in a deficit, or I'm
just putting in that much effort you know in my training.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
Oh yeah, no, that always happens. That is like you know,
like the numbers match, but sometimes it's hard to calculate
that the amount of output, you know what I'm saying,
because that output could be so taxing on your nutrition,
you know what I'm saying, It will pull every bit
out of you when you're trying to pull every bit
(34:57):
out of your body.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
Yeah, yeah, I'm I'm working with a local nutritionist and
she was talking about, like, has your training intensity increased?
And I mean it's kind of always been intense. Yeah,
so it gradually increases week to week with general uh periodization. Yeah,
(35:21):
so you don't, I guess feel it as much, you know,
like the ramp up.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Yeah, so that's it.
Speaker 4 (35:29):
Like that.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
It's so it's walking that fine line to stay right
where you're at, or like even to grow. It's like,
you know, like like how many meals you're probably putting
down to day?
Speaker 3 (35:39):
Would you think, uh, typically it's five meals today.
Speaker 4 (35:43):
Yeah, and they're all about I.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
Think around like eight to nine hundred calories or so.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
Oh that's not too bad, that's not too That's that's
pretty good right there. You know, sometimes you're trying to
get these thousand calorie meals in. It's like, oh my god,
people don't know that. Yeah, that's one of those things too.
It's it takes quite a bit to do this, and
also too, it's not a cheap sport, and it's it
(36:14):
can add up real quick, especially when you start getting
to that professional level. You know what I'm saying. It's it's
it's really trying to manage it. You know, it's a
lot of us, you know, it's our it's what we love.
People love strong man. People love to train strong man,
and they like to go to these comps and you know,
they we enjoy it enough to where people are like, no,
it's worth it. You know what I'm saying that that
(36:34):
that effort, that money are the hours that we put in,
you know what I'm saying, Because you can physically and
feel the difference in it.
Speaker 3 (36:41):
Yeah, I think it's pretty uh, pretty rewarding, you know
if you're goal driven for sure.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Oh yeah, a big time, big time. Like I said,
I definitely enjoy, you know, watching and like I said,
I've never competed. You know, I got a got a
whole bunch of injuries and it's held me back for years.
But luckily for me, I've always been able to kind
of just be in that in in the in there,
but not not in the mix. But I'm always there
to watch, you know, I'm always there to enjoy.
Speaker 4 (37:08):
So it's fascinating.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
Yes, yes, you know what I'm saying. And you it's
all shapes, all sizes, you get. You have some super
strong guys and you wouldn't even think it just by
looking at them. That's the crazy thing, you know. Let's
let's just form has no form. People are just naturally gifted.
And god damn it, I'm jealous.
Speaker 3 (37:33):
It's funny.
Speaker 4 (37:34):
Uh, some some folks.
Speaker 3 (37:37):
They look like they could be bodybuilders going out there.
Speaker 4 (37:40):
Yeah, and then and then some folks there they don't
look like Uh.
Speaker 3 (37:45):
I guess your stereotypical, you know, like meathead and they're
out there like destroying all the events, Like hey, yeah,
like how like be able to do that?
Speaker 4 (37:57):
But here you are.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
Yeah, and that is the truth. That is the truth.
It's it's like I said, like my wife had came
with me to uh the Olympia, and she was just
like like god like like when you get an outsider
coming in to look on the inside, it's just it's
it's very like she like she would point out a
few guys. I didn't think he was gonna lift that.
(38:21):
I was like, oh, yeah, they're they're they're repping seven hundred.
Speaker 4 (38:23):
Come on.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (38:26):
You know.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
One of those things too, is like even when you
do axle bar deadlifts for reps, it's like there's no
given that bar. So it definitely it definitely gruel it.
Speaker 4 (38:36):
Yeah, it looked like.
Speaker 3 (38:37):
A fun of that, and uh, I thought a lot.
Speaker 4 (38:43):
More people were going to get that bar. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
I don't, I don't know. I haven't heard any feedback
if it was potentially like boat or anything like that.
I'm sure none of their equipment is in like less
than optimal condition. Yeah, but it could be just the
fatigue of the show too.
Speaker 2 (39:02):
Oh yeah, well it ran, it ran long, so that
deadlift was supposed to be yet the day before, but
the Olympia runs on time schedule. At five o'clock, they
shut it down, and so, uh, you know what I'm saying,
They're like, oh, we're gonna have to push you to tomorrow,
to the next day. And when they did that, like
I can only imagine everyone was being you know, you
prepare for the events to be that day, and then
(39:24):
when that event doesn't happen, it's like, oh shit, I'm
completely out of my element. Now.
Speaker 3 (39:29):
Yeah, I'm glad they were able to squeeze everything down
and make sure everyone got to do every event. Yeah,
you know, yeah, there's probably some concern with that.
Speaker 2 (39:42):
Now things happened. That's strong Man for you too, you
know what I'm saying, that's it. That's it. You might
have a little bit longer of a break than you think,
and then all of a sudden, it's like, oh, I
gotta I gotta be ready.
Speaker 4 (39:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (39:56):
You know, that's the one thing I love about strong Man.
It's it's any given it's literally any given, any given day.
Speaker 4 (40:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:04):
No, they're doing a fantastic job over there. There's a
lot of stress, a lot of opinions on how things
should be done. But you know, I think they're doing
a fantastic job.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
No, they absolutely are, because that's one of the people.
If you've never put on a show, you have no
reason to even like comment on like how they are
running it, because like, you only have so many people,
you only have so much equipment, and you only have
so much time, and you know, the chaos set can
that that happens at these shows because how many people
(40:35):
are there, how fast does they need to go? And
they manage it extremely well. So like I always tip
my hat to anybody who's putting on a show, because
I don't know if I can handle that kind of chaos.
I enjoy watching it, but I don't want to handle it.
Speaker 3 (40:49):
Yeah, and things never go as planned, never, so they're
dealing with all these stepbacks or delays and just yeah, yeah,
they pull it off though.
Speaker 2 (41:00):
That they did, they do you know what I'm saying.
Was it a nice smooth show for the Arnold?
Speaker 3 (41:05):
Yeah, it was. Unfortunately, I'm sure you're familiar with that hoystlift. Yeah, yeah,
we were supposed to trial around that at the Arnold.
And unfortunately there were some technical difficulties with that, so
they had to cut the event.
Speaker 4 (41:24):
But I did.
Speaker 3 (41:24):
The Strongman Corps Amateur Nationals in November out in Vegas.
Sorry not November September. My months mixed up.
Speaker 2 (41:34):
Yeah, I actually missed that show.
Speaker 4 (41:36):
I was on vacation. Yeah, we got the we got
to run it there.
Speaker 3 (41:41):
It was a very unique apparatus and it was very challenging.
It was a lot yeah, very oh.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
Yeah, especially like you're sitting in like basically a lap
pull down position in that chair with some knee pads
and it's like, oh my god. Some people, you know,
they figured it out real quick, and some people were
just like struggling with it too.
Speaker 3 (42:02):
It's like I was on that struggle bus. I thought
I was I had to break up something in the
gym to try and mimic that of that to get
the feeling of it, and I thought it was going heavy.
But when I put my hands on that one there,
I wasn't going heavy enough. Yeah, there's a little bit
of strategy and tactics that went into that. I learned
(42:26):
after the fact that I should have been doing.
Speaker 2 (42:28):
But oh yeah, yeah, exactly. It's always living and learn
and it's and it's also too it's not one of
those events that you can actually practice and train for.
It's like, you know, if anything, you know, you're pulling
from the bottom and you know, are pulling straight across
like an arm over arm, but you're not pulling at
that angle, and it's like, oh my god.
Speaker 3 (42:47):
Yeah, it's insane.
Speaker 2 (42:50):
It's it's exactly. It's like, ah, but if you you know,
maybe it helps you out it not being in the event.
If so, it didn't hurt you too bad for the
uh at the.
Speaker 3 (43:00):
Arl, Yeah, yeah, I had I had a I've won
two out of the three events we did on the finals,
so I would have had to do very bad at
the hoist in order to lose my shot at the crown.
You know.
Speaker 2 (43:18):
Oh that's some serious points ahead then yeah. Oh yeah,
that's like I said, it's always nice when you got
that cushion behind you, and especially if you can keep
that keep that momentum pushing.
Speaker 3 (43:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (43:31):
Oh yeah, yeah, Like I said, if there's anything that
you like I said, and for for firemen out there
that want to do this, you know what I'm saying,
what's that one piece of advice you'd give them?
Speaker 3 (43:43):
Just get involved, don't be don't be intimidated by the sport.
You know, there's a there might be a like a
stigma you know on it. You're gonna get hurt or
you can't do that, it's too difficult, But you can't.
It's not just get involved, sign up for a show,
get your hands on as much equipment as you can
(44:06):
and understand it takes time, you know, but it's been fun.
Speaker 4 (44:13):
That's it. I recommend it to everybody.
Speaker 3 (44:15):
I think it translates to our job and you're gonna
have fun training. So it's just it's always something new
to learn, a new challenge.
Speaker 4 (44:24):
It's very rewarding. That's good.
Speaker 2 (44:26):
That's what I like to hear too, you know what
I'm saying. And that's the thing too. It's getting people
out there to support, to watch and to help grow,
you know what I'm saying. So for everyone out there,
make sure you go fall Frank. I'll put his information
in the bottom, so you guys go fall him on
Instagram and all that good stuff and let people know
how's what's the easiest way to get a hold of you.
Speaker 3 (44:47):
Usually Instagram. Yeah, I'm fairly active on there.
Speaker 4 (44:51):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (44:52):
I'll put all the information in there, and Frank, thank
you for coming on, thank you for sharing your time,
and thank you for joining me on this show and
having oh yeah, and so before we get out here,
I'm the angry motherfucking dad. Thank you guys for watching.
I appreciate it. If you want to like, share, subscribe
all that bullshit, it really helps me to fuck out.
I'm also part of the Inner Circle Podcast Network, a
(45:12):
group of powerful podcasters out there sharing our shit. That
is inner circlepn dot com. We'll take everyone in our websites,
everyone ever. Shows. We have shows. It's The Plunge, Failing Hollywood,
Simmons and more, The Untrained Eve, the hood Diner. Shit
happens when you party naked, so make sure you check it.
The fuck out and we'll see y'all motherfuckers on the
next one.
Speaker 1 (45:28):
Fun, always living, always living, always living, always living, always
always living,
Love a love a die Go Die do die go
die die die die.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
All right, thank you guys for tuning in. I appreciate it.
And I have a guest on this week. But before
we get to that, let me thank my podcast sponsors.
I like to thank every Day Fit Life. If you're
looking for a nutrition plan that's easy to follow, step
by step, a blueprint, it's thirty days, sixty days, ninety days.
You pick how much help you need, you follow the
program and guess what results happened. It is that easy,
(00:35):
and you get twenty percent off with Angry Dad at checkout.
And I also like to thank Max Performance Peptides. Look,
you're looking for peptides. You're looking for a reliable source,
someone that can show up, someone that you know that
you'll be able to get hooked up every time. And
you can get ten percent off with Angry Dad at checkout.
That is Max Performance Peptides. Please check them out. I
appreciate everything is in the notes. Now that I got
(00:57):
that out of the way. Frank bonnie Llo, look World
Strongest Firefighter, and you know that that's no tough feat
because this is this is at the Arnold Classic, and
you know I have a few firefighters in the family
on my wife's side of the family, because I'm from
the Bay Area, Frank and the Sam Mateo, I want
(01:19):
to say, Millbray and Pacifica. I have three captains and
a chief in the family for firefighters. So it really
caught my caught my attention when you wanted to come on.
So I was like, all right, let's let's actually talk
this because I have some uh some family members that'd
be probably pretty interested in listening to this episode because
it probably takes so much work and so much effort
(01:43):
to be a firefighter and compete at that level.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Yeah, thanks for having me on the show. Yeah, it's
a uh that's a challenge for sure, a lot to balance. Yeah,
we worked long hours. Pace can change, so I some
days you're really busy, the other days you're a little
bit slower. And then yeah, training for strong men and
big shows and trying to be the strongest you can.
(02:09):
You know, it's a challenge for sure.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Oh yeah, No, it is a challenge, you know what
I'm saying. I you know, luckily for me, I get
to hang out with some of the strongest in the world,
and it's just the level it takes to understand what
it takes to be at a championship level is the
is the kind of dedication you would expect from a firefighter.
So it's like, that's what you want, you know what
I'm saying. When there's a fire and emergency and you
(02:32):
got the strongest firefighter in the world showing up to
your fucking emergency, you know what I'm saying, it's safe
to say you're in good hands.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
Right.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
I should get a badge on my shirt that says.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Hey, for real. I would be placing it everywhere, you
know what I'm saying, even at your station. I'd be
like the home of the World's Strongest Firefighter right off top,
because it is an actual title out there, you know
what I'm saying. It's something I would definitely be flashing
around if.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
I Yeah, my friends and family never hesitate to introduce that.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
In the conversation.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
I don't like to come up right off the bat
and like, hey, you know, look at me, twenty twenty spotifighter.
But they don't hesitate, you know. Oh yeah, well it's funny.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
That's the right way to do it. Yeah, well, let's
get into actually what got you started in firefighting, because
you know, one of the things I love about doing
my show, and it's one of the things I promote
the most is people chasing your dreams, reaching your dreams,
like achieving goals. You know what I'm saying, because you've
(03:38):
not just achieved the goal, you achieved an upper echelon
of goals. And I just want to start at the
beginning because that like everyone always thinks it's too late,
it's not enough time, or you know, it's too hard,
you know what I'm saying. Like it's something I always
want to make sure that that people listen to this
podcast actually are inspired to understand, you know, what it
takes to get to where you're at.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Man, where would you like me to start?
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Oh not, Hey tell me it was firefighting at the
at the top of your list, or is it something
you fell into?
Speaker 3 (04:09):
So I kind of had a unique situation where I
joined the Air Force active duty and I was presented
the opportunity but to become a firefighter. And it's always
been a dreaming line since I was a kid. You know,
I got a family showed me some photos just drawings
(04:32):
I made when I was a kid, and you know,
I was like, I thought it was the coolest thing ever.
Speaker 4 (04:35):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Anyways, when I got presented with that opportunity, I took
it full force.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
And never looked back.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
You know, I did six years active duty as a firefighter.
So what that looks like working for the Air Force
is we have like a structural side which is more
relatable to your city. Fire departments take care of houses,
commercial things like that, and then the Air Force has
(05:04):
a flying mission, so we're also running.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
The airport side of it, with the big.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
Crash trucks, the whole you know, uppards of three thousand
gallons of water on the so.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
Some heavy duty machinery. You know what I'm you just
didn't get one one side of firefighting. So like even
coming into civilian firefighting, you know what I'm saying, how
was that transition? Because, like I said, even with the
military understanding, you're dealing with even more flammable liquids, even
more things that could go wrong, you know what I'm saying,
(05:37):
Especially with jets, you know what I'm saying, because I'm
assuming aircraft carriers or like you know, like a big
freaking cargo fucking you know, you know what I'm talking about.
Like I said, the amount of equipment you guys have
to handle.
Speaker 4 (05:51):
Yeah, we cover a wide.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Base of emergency responses and some of you were just
kind of touching on with the air An some of
them carrying munitions, so that presents its own unique challenges
and hazards associated with that. Yeah, the branch over into
the civilian side was pretty seamless. For myself. I pretty
(06:16):
much just change the color in my uniform. I'm working
with the Department of Air Force still as a civilian.
So nice.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Nice, And you know with you training and getting into that,
you know what I'm saying, like, is this something that
they give you time to achieve or is this all
just on your specific Like if my day off, this
is my training day, this is what I do. Hey,
I'm gonna compete. I'm gonna have to take some vacation.
Speaker 4 (06:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
So we we get our days pretty well packed in
with training and all sorts of running emergencies, all sorts
of stuff. They keep us busy, and usually an afternoons
we have time to you know, spend the time as
you see fit, and I see fit as just getting
(07:07):
as strong as I can.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
So I uh, I wrote a.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
Sign on the on the mirror in the gym that
says Frank's gym, because how much time I've spen in there.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Well, that's good. It's good to hear because like it's
it's very like, you know, training specifically for strong man
and you know, and just even achieving this in the
in the you know, being the world's strongest firefighter. Like
I said, people like it takes time and effort and
you know, trying to fucking walk that line of like
(07:42):
all right, I'm gonna train, but if there's an emergency,
you know what I'm saying. I got, you know, six
hundred pounds I'm pulling here, and then all of a sudden,
I got to put on some I gotta put on
some equipment and take off.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
Yeah, it happens.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
You know, it's the name of the game. It could
be frustrating, but you have to understand that, you know,
your job is first. You know, training comes second. So
and it helps to be a little more I guess
adaptive in your training program. So doing things that are
easier to like get up and out of you know, uh,
(08:16):
maybe not doing your max effort deadlifts while you're at work,
like your full kit, you know. Yeah, so just a
little bit of adjustments and I say, you know, I
save those for my days off. Well, you know, time
more liberty, less constraints. You know, I could spend a
little bit more recovery. Yeah, absolutely, no, No, I.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Definitely, I definitely get that. And you know, with with
the crew that you work, you run with, you know,
like how do the approach what you're doing? Are they
getting interested? Are they joining in? Have you like flipped it?
Because strong man is something that is like, it's what
do you call it? It's very life life adapting because
(09:00):
the stronger you are, everything else becomes, you know, just
just another day.
Speaker 4 (09:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
That carryover from the sport to my profession. I mean
it's I think it's necessary you have to You don't
have to just be like statically strong. But yeah, there's
cardiovascular aspects of their work capacity and it just makes
me feel better when I'm doing the job. There's been
(09:29):
some interest at work with the guys like Doude, how
much does that sandbag way? I can I pick that up?
Like yeah, absolutely, let me show you the best way
to do it, because I don't need anybody getting injured
on my behalf. Yeah, you know, because I leave some
strong man stuff at work and the last thing I
need is minor injury or something happening like, hey, so
(09:53):
now you can't do that. I'd hate for that to happen.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Yeah, no, you would, definitely, because that's one of those
things too, is like when you watch someone do something
who's nailed it down and got that technique, it's very
very unassuming of like I'm just gonna walk up and
do this, and then all of a sudden, you tear
a bicet, all of a sudden you tear a lot,
you know, saying you throw out your back because like
he just picked that up like it was nothing, and
now you know, and like let's even say, a two
(10:16):
hundred and eighty pounds handbag is not very big, you
know what I'm saying, It's still two hundred and eighty pounds.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
You know.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
It's usually something you know, most people can start off with.
But it's like if you're not prepared for it, you're
not prepared for it.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Yeah, you said most people can start off with the
too eighty.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Well, you know, I have a little bit of misconception too,
because I'm a I'm a huge guy myself, and I'm
and I'm always hanging around regular people, you know, like
with you know, like I was just weekend was the Olympia.
So I was literally around Nick Bess, Brian Shaw. You
know what I'm saying, Travis Ordmeyer, and it's like, I'm
just why I'm just hanging out with guys that are
just kind of just throwing, that can throw stuff around
(10:54):
like it ain't nothing.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
You know.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
I just watch Bubba Pritchett do two eighty and uh,
you know, just literally melody melody throw it, you know,
uh standbag over bar and I'm just like, and it
was nothing to him.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
That kid's got a bright future.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Oh he absolutely does. Absolutely the smart, intelligent, very he
listens to his dad. That kid can't ask for much
more than that. He's he's on the road to being
the youngest world strongest man.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
I feel it would be cool to see.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Oh yeah, big time, big time. Now let's talk a
little bit of Olympia. What were the not the Olympia,
because I was just at the Olympia, the Arnold Classic.
You know what I'm saying, like, what are the qualifiers
to get you in? Just in that kind of conversation there?
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Okay, yeah, excuse me, try Yeah. So the World Strongest
Firefighter is actually really easy to get into. It's a
two day competition. Anyone can sign up. You just show
proof of being the firefighter and and day one is
(12:01):
your prelims, your qualifier. So and we have all the
different weight classes, you know, lightweight, middle eight, open class,
and based off of your results of day one, a
select few are invited to the finals. And man, the
finals is insane because just the show they put on is.
Speaker 4 (12:24):
It's it's incredible.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
You know, we're on the main stage Arnold Sportsen. Aator
comes up and watches the event, and just the atmosphere
is incredible. You've got thousands of people in front of you,
you know, cheering and.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Yelling like it's incredible. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
The last two years they've been doing a pound for
pound equation.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
So a man or woman, regardless of their weight, can
win the title of will strong is Firefighter?
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Yeah, And in years past it's always been uh open
to weight men because I mean physically they're the strongest.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
But I was able to, you know, hold my own and.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
Show the world that you know, a middle eight or
weight class athlete can win that title and show out
for the underdogs.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Hey, and that that is even a bit a bigger
feather in your cap because like I said, it's you know,
the even the weight, the weight distribution, it's so much
more on the open men's side. But if you can
go pound for pound and you're pulling what they're pulling, goddamn,
got some that's some serious that's some serious fucking work
(13:44):
right there. Because you know, like when you go to
these shows, you go to strong man shows, you you know,
usually you can see that power scale difference. But the
thing is is like there's reasons why there's there's weight classes,
but if you go on toe to toe would open
Goddamn that. That's that that's even more impressive right there.
Speaker 4 (14:01):
And they uh, man, the wit skill.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Is getting so close for the middle weights. Uh like
the one O five kilot class to open weight like ability.
It's the classes. Uh it's got some monsters in it,
and these guys are pushing big weight. It's that's really cool.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Yeah, it is cool. I was just look at the
uh where I was just at the they just had
America strongest man, America strongest woman, and America strongest veteran.
So I got the I got that trifecta there.
Speaker 3 (14:32):
Yeah, so I was tuning into that on the live stream.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Yeah he was what you see Nick too, because I was.
I was out there hanging with Nick and Travis all day,
so they was actually doing the commendation for all that
the entire time. I was right off to the side,
just off camera.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
I should have squeezed you away in there.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
I never want to step on these toes. I'm there
as a guest, so I'm just gonna I always like
to keep it respectful. So let's talk about what was
the best event that you had at that show?
Speaker 3 (15:04):
Oh man, So, like I was saying, there's a two
day competition, we have four events both days, and yeah,
and there was a deadlife on both days too, Oh
my god. And uh yeah, two overhead press events too.
(15:27):
I did really well on the prelims. I enjoyed a
lot of those events because they just tailor them to
firefighters and not just like generic strong man. You know.
Like one we had a sand Bay carry for distance,
and you could easily relate that to like carrying somebody
out the building, you know exactly. And uh, I really
(15:49):
enjoyed that event. I mean, I hate training for max distance,
but it went really well for me. I ended up
winning that one. Uh. I love doing the log press.
I was able to squeak out. I think it was
eight reps for our trump wait nice and then me
(16:09):
and a fellow uh middleweight, Harry Walker. I'm sure you've
seen him around. Incredible athlete. He does just about every
competition there is out there. He was at America Shamas Veteran. Yeah,
and I got to go ahead to head with him
at the Sandbag steeple chase, so that was really cool.
Speaker 4 (16:31):
He end up beating me though, just by a second. Man,
I thought I had him. He had a better game plan.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
It always comes down to like just fractions of a second,
for fractions of a point, it's like god damn. It
was like so close.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Then we had a Axel Hummer Tire press away event.
Speaker 4 (16:54):
I was really looking forward to.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
That one because the clean is the hardest part unless
you come from you know, like I left background, and
I was just able to like stay in there and
just wrap them out. And that's really cool on stage,
like just the visual aspect of it. Oh, giant tires,
it looks insane.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
Yeah, man, I could talk about it all day long
if you want to, or we can know.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
That that's the whole thing is talking about it. But
you know, just talk about the you know, training for distance,
you know, with everything going on there, what is your
best event, just point blank period.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
I could say pretty confidently anything overhead press related is
one of my historically best events. There you go, yeah,
there you go.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Like I said, you know, some people just you know
in strong Man, you know how the elbows get you know,
a lot of times that's the biggest hindrance for a
lot of people pressing, even when you have to explain
to the judges like my lockout is here and not
here exactly. Oh yeah, Well with winning, you know what
(18:07):
I'm saying. Uh, and and getting the trophy and getting
that metal. Uh did you get to get Uh? Did
Arnold actually come up there with you and take a
picture like he usually it's one of those people that
always takes that selfie with him.
Speaker 4 (18:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
That was one of the coolest life experiences I've ever had,
just because I grew up watching all those movies as
a kid, and you know that was like TV dad,
you know. Yeah, he called me up on stage said
some uh said I should get in the body building. Uh,
(18:37):
I'm not.
Speaker 4 (18:40):
I'm not.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Yeah, and then presented me with a gold plated fire axe.
That's such a cool trophy.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Nice nice where you have that displayed.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
So I'm working on getting a shadow box made for it. Yeah,
Arnold was so long ago. I need to give my
shift to.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Well. You know, after winning something like that, it definitely
changes a lot of things in your life, you know
what I'm saying, because like, yah, you know, I'm pretty
sure a lot of people want to you do on
some shows, wanted you to make some appearances or even
just talk about this on a regular basis.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Yeah, it's pretty uh the words I'm trying to describe,
it's almost hard to believe, you know, and just in
the sense that you work so hard for something and
then when it finally happens, you're like you're taken back
from it, you know, like did I really just do that?
You know, because I competed at that show for three
(19:39):
years and it was always my goal since my first appearance.
It's like I want to win that, you know, and
when it finally came to it was like holy now
hell yeah, hell yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
That's one of those things too. It's like having a
goal and achieving that goal and then it's like you
get there, the it being so surreal because like just
like you said, you know, if they're doing a pound
per pound and it's you know who you're competing against,
it it's all top of the people because like I said,
everyone's got to go through prelims, everyone's got to prove
themselves and so they're you're at tip of the spear
(20:13):
when it when it comes to that armbald show. So
for you to pull to pull it off and to
fucking nail it, you know what I'm saying, then win
and it being the goal. You know, like I said,
everyone who joined that's you know, it's going to be
their goal. But the thing is is it's your time
to shine and you got it.
Speaker 4 (20:27):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
In preparation for that, my mindset was, you know, I
don't care how many years it takes me to achieve that.
I'm just going to keep working towards it. And then
every year I got better and yeah, you just manifest it.
You just tell yourself like, this is my time, my
time to show out.
Speaker 4 (20:49):
You know, I'm here, I don't.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
Care who else is here, and you just do the thing.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Oh yeah, that's it. It's my time to shine. My
it's my time to do this. You just fucking pull
the or to let it happen. Yeah, you know, And
that's that's one of those things too, is like understanding
and like really you know, like I said, we can
talk see here casually talk about it, but like, you know,
the the work behind the scenes to achieve it, and
(21:15):
the the amount of cardio, the amount of training, the
amount of effort gone into there. You know what I'm saying.
It's it's it can it can happen, you know what
I'm saying. And you proved it by winning it.
Speaker 4 (21:26):
You know.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
It's like how many people have come up to you after,
you know, after this show and just have been like, god, damn,
you know what I'm saying, Like you fucking you are
that guy now?
Speaker 4 (21:36):
Yeah, yeah, it's put a target on me for sure.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Oh yeah, that is it, you know what I'm saying.
With your firefighting crew and stuff like that, and and
and everyone around you, it's like, you know, it's like
you know there, it's almost like a level of expectation.
You got to always basically kind of hold up like
I can, I can work, I can push through, I
can you know, I'm carrying, I'm carrying people out.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
Yeah, yeah, I can't be the one in the back,
you know, like you guys got it. Yeah, you're doing great, buddy.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Exactly aside and I was like, all.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Right, exactly, let me show you how to make it
look easy.
Speaker 4 (22:19):
Yeah. Oh yeah. You know.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
That's one of those things too, is like it's just
it's always so fun and so cool to see and
talk to somebody who can actually, you know, like share
this experience.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
It's like it's you know, people always imagine and well
wish and like, ah, man, one day and all of
a sudden, you had that one well day, you know
what I'm saying. It's like it's it freaking happened. And
here's the thing, too, is like you know what next
year coming up or you're returning to to uh retain
that title.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
So man, after winning that title, I'm trying to build
upon that. I'm still kind.
Speaker 4 (23:02):
Of debating whether or not I want to go back.
Speaker 3 (23:06):
And compete at Worlds Song.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
And Spirefighter again. I feel like I.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
Would have to compete in the open just for a
personal like a challenge, you.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
Know, like Okay, if I could win in like.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
Multiple weight classes. That would just know, that would put
me at the.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Top, you know, but to put you on another level
at the top.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Yeah. At the same time, it's it's passing the torch.
So every year at that competition it's been a new
ground winner.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
So I feel like that was that was my year,
and now.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
I'm passing the torch and the opportunity for others to
come up through the ranks and prove themselves. That's it.
That's it.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Well, you know that that that right there is very
generous because that's you know a lot of times too,
it's like people don't look at it like that. People
are like, no, no, I'm gonna defend. But he's like,
look if I it, I win it. But if I
can pass on the torch, the next person gets the funk.
What you know, what I'm saying, it's your time. That
that that that that that's very humble of you, brother,
because you know, some people, you know, like it's a
(24:11):
completely different thought process and what's called But also two
for you know, this is something that's on a completely
different level for strong man too. This is not just
a you know, a standard title. This is America's fire
the strongest firefighter. Yeah, it's it's like I remember when
they first started coming, when they first started doing it,
and I was like, god, fucking damn, it's so fucking cool.
(24:33):
I remember the first guy won. I was just like
I tried, you know as well, I tried to get
him on the show, but I just I wasn't big
enough at that moment in time.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
Yeah, what was I gonna say? It was only tip
on a ton.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
It happens.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
I do it all the time.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
Yeah, just was passing, uh, passing the torch alone, uh,
and like winning it as in middle Way. I'm hoping
to grow the sport even further where people from the
outside have thought about competing but they might be hesitant,
like well it's only a heavyweight show. Well I've proven
that wrong. And yeah, hoping to get more international exposure
(25:18):
to I think we had seven or eight countries represented
that this year.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
So well, that's one of those things, too, is pushing
a sport, promoting a sport. That's how you grow a sport.
And you know, if you're getting on these shows like
this and really putting out the content for people to know,
you know what I'm saying, like this is this exists,
pay attention to it, you know what I'm saying, because
just like you said, it's not a normal show, you
know what I'm saying, it's a little bit more critique
(25:46):
because one of the just I we were talking about earlier
strong Man, you know, if they're adapting it to firefighting,
it's so beneficial, so beneficial, and also too, it's gonna
be a little cooler to watch because you know, I
would assumed they have a certain implements that are just
more representative of you guys's of you guys brand.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
Yeah, you brought that up, and we get to play
with fire hydrants. We had a loading event similar to
Atlas Stones where we had to load a series of
fire hydrants onto a platform. That was pretty cool. The
year before that it was a fire hydrant press overhead.
Speaker 4 (26:27):
It was it was dangerous in.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
My opinion, because there's so many The weight distribution on
it is just it's really top heavy and wow, there's
like pointy edges and there's room to hurt yourself on that.
But you know, in the safest way possible, we lift
those things up. Yeah, and they're bringing fire hydrants back
this coming year, so okay, it's gonna be fun to watch.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Yeah, definitely fun to watch. Fun fact, I used to
work for a company called US Pipe and Foundry, okay,
and they were bought by me, and so I got
to go to Alabama and watch where they made the
fire hydrants. So I thought that was pretty cool. I
didn't I didn't know how much went into actually making
fire edge until I showed up there and god, damn,
they're heavy.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
Yeah, they're they're hollow inside, come to find out.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Yeah, oh yeah, it's just it's a cast iron shell,
and especially if it ain't got all the guts, it's
still hundreds of pounds.
Speaker 4 (27:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
Oh yeah, that's so.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
That's so crazy. You know, have they ever implemented any
fire hoses or all that in uh uh.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
No, just because hose without water doesn't really.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
Weigh a whole lot, you know.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
I could see him potentially doing like like a rope
pole with a hose.
Speaker 4 (27:47):
There you go.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
But yeah, we'll see. They released four of the events
for next year on the Instagram page. I didn't see
any rope poles on there that I'm aware.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
Oh okay, Well, if you could pick an event that
they could put in there, what would it be?
Speaker 4 (28:07):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (28:07):
Man, it's just it's a lot I'd like to see
some type of are you familiar with like the Firefighter
Combat Challenge? No, okay, well that's a relay race where
firefighters bunk out and there's an obstacle course of I
(28:28):
think five or six events and it's the fastest time
and usually all obstacles are completed in about two minutes.
But anyways, one of the first events on the in
the challenge is running up flight of stairs and I
think we could possibly replicate that with sat eg The's
shoulder and then maybe up like a power stairs where
(28:52):
it's like five stairs something like that, or yeah, even
if it's sand bag power stairs.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
Yeah, yeah, it might be.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
Really cool to watch, you know exactly. They're sitting there
putting a ruck on you like climb up these stairs.
Speaker 4 (29:06):
Now.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
Yeah, so if Jeff is watching, yeah exactly. I was
just saying, you guys are watching, the ideas have been dropped. Yeah,
oh yeah, well you know what I'm saying, it's gonna
be crazy, it's gonna be fun, and there's gonna be
a lot of cool stuff going on. So and also
to the you know, uh, with competing, a lot of
times you actually don't even get to enjoy the actual
(29:28):
event happening around you. You know what I'm saying, Like, you're
in competition mode, so everything else has to be drowned out.
So was there any enjoying of the actual Arnold Expo
or any enjoying of the other actual shows happening going
on around you?
Speaker 3 (29:44):
Man, the prelims just took all day long, so because
we had over one hundred athletes to get through, and
I end up walking around the expo after it was over,
and that was about the time everyone was packing up.
There's a couple people I was trying to see I
just can't remember.
Speaker 4 (30:03):
Yeah, they're they.
Speaker 3 (30:04):
Were gone by that time. And then, uh, I try
to limit the uh it's exposure to all the lights
and noise because it could be draining in itself, you know,
And just I came here with a focus and a
mission and to try to eliminate some of the distractions.
It's kind of hard to when, uh, you know, there's
(30:24):
smoke machines and dance parties going on right next to
us with the Young La stage.
Speaker 4 (30:30):
But yeah, it was funny. I mean, they had they
had good tunes at least, you know.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
Exactly exactly, because even with a lot of times too,
it's like people you know, like you're it's you're just
behind the curtains next to everybody, and it's like, oh,
there's a lot going on. I wonder what's going on?
And it was strong man. You gotta know you gotta
rest between your rest between your period between your events,
regroup and then get back out on that floor.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Yeah, save your energy and focus for what matters.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
So what are you typically eating in between or like
what's your nutrition looking like while you're actually in coom.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
A lot of sugar snacks really that's the best part. Yeah,
it's just quick digestive and it gets into your blustream
past for like utilization. Some of my go tos are
like rice crispies, pop tarts, peanut butter and jellies, something
that doesn't really sit heavy on my stomach. Yeah, but
it's just really calorie dats too.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Yeah, it's that's your typically that's very typical when you
see because that's one of those things treats are sloating around.
Yeah exactly, it's like, oh, I have no like, I
don't have to control. I just got to eat enough
and have a good time. And luckily it tastes good.
It's not like you're sitting there back there eating chicken
and broccoli and rice with no flavor.
Speaker 3 (31:52):
I try to get like one meal in that's not
just full of sugar.
Speaker 4 (31:57):
But yeah, that's really all you can.
Speaker 3 (32:01):
It's ridiculous because you never eat like that any other.
Speaker 2 (32:03):
Time, any other time, well, with that kind of nutrition
during comp when you're when you're actually in prep. You
know what I'm saying, what's your typical diet?
Speaker 3 (32:16):
Even looking like there, I eat really clean. Actually I
follow macro nutrients, you know, pretty uh, pretty self explanatory there.
But I try to eliminate a lot of process food.
So I'm eating you know, white rice, beans, lean proteins, horses,
(32:37):
and I'm comfortable eating that you know, can make it
taste good.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
Oh yeah, no, there's ways. Some people always feel like
I got to eat all this plain food so I
can feel healthy. I'm like, no, you could still feel
healthy and your food tastes good. Yeah, you know what
I'm saying. My diet is ground beef and rice.
Speaker 4 (32:55):
So it's like there you go.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
You know what I'm saying. I enjoyed the the you know,
I'll enjoy some chicken, and I'll enjoy some pork, but
for the majority of what I'm eating, it's always just
you know, like I almost have that vertical diet. You
know what I'm saying. It's it's pretty close to it,
but not like on point with the vertical. There's some
things I like something that don't. But you know what
I'm saying, it's it's just shoveling food in my mouth.
Speaker 3 (33:16):
I do eat pancakes, eggs, and bacon just about every day.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
So hey, and when you can do that every day,
that's a good day.
Speaker 4 (33:26):
Yeah, I mean it's good.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
Well, you know, even after digesting that man and like
like like maybe an hour or two after that, it's like, Okay,
I'm actually fueled up to train, because I don't know
how many people actually train. There's a lot of people
out there to actually train on empty stomachs, and I'm like, goddamn,
I don't know how you like, you know, barely any water,
two cups of coffee and going straight into training. I'm like,
and you feel strong like that?
Speaker 3 (33:54):
Yeah, the carnivore diet is probably the worst one for
this this sport in general.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
Oh yeah, oh yeah, big time, big time, Like straw
Man is a carbohydrate dense sport. Yeah yeah, oh yeah,
well you know and even too. Do you ever have
struggle making weight at your weight class?
Speaker 4 (34:15):
So currently I'm floating like right about where.
Speaker 3 (34:18):
I need to be for the class. I have room
to grow, trying to grow, but lately it seems like.
Speaker 4 (34:28):
The more I eat, more I lose weight.
Speaker 3 (34:30):
So maybe I was already in a deficit, or I'm
just putting in that much effort you know in my training.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
Oh yeah, no, that always happens. That is like you know,
like the numbers match, but sometimes it's hard to calculate
that the amount of output, you know what I'm saying,
because that output could be so taxing on your nutrition,
you know what I'm saying, It will pull every bit
out of you when you're trying to pull every bit
(34:57):
out of your body.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
Yeah, yeah, I'm I'm working with a local nutritionist and
she was talking about, like, has your training intensity increased?
And I mean it's kind of always been intense. Yeah,
so it gradually increases week to week with general uh periodization. Yeah,
(35:21):
so you don't, I guess feel it as much, you know,
like the ramp up.
Speaker 2 (35:26):
Yeah, so that's it.
Speaker 4 (35:29):
Like that.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
It's so it's walking that fine line to stay right
where you're at, or like even to grow. It's like,
you know, like like how many meals you're probably putting
down to day?
Speaker 3 (35:39):
Would you think, uh, typically it's five meals today.
Speaker 4 (35:43):
Yeah, and they're all about I.
Speaker 3 (35:46):
Think around like eight to nine hundred calories or so.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
Oh that's not too bad, that's not too That's that's
pretty good right there. You know, sometimes you're trying to
get these thousand calorie meals in. It's like, oh my god,
people don't know that. Yeah, that's one of those things too.
It's it takes quite a bit to do this, and
also too, it's not a cheap sport, and it's it
(36:14):
can add up real quick, especially when you start getting
to that professional level. You know what I'm saying. It's it's
it's really trying to manage it. You know, it's a
lot of us, you know, it's our it's what we love.
People love strong man. People love to train strong man,
and they like to go to these comps and you know,
they we enjoy it enough to where people are like, no,
it's worth it. You know what I'm saying that that
(36:34):
that effort, that money are the hours that we put in,
you know what I'm saying, Because you can physically and
feel the difference in it.
Speaker 3 (36:41):
Yeah, I think it's pretty uh, pretty rewarding, you know
if you're goal driven for sure.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Oh yeah, a big time, big time. Like I said,
I definitely enjoy, you know, watching and like I said,
I've never competed. You know, I got a got a
whole bunch of injuries and it's held me back for years.
But luckily for me, I've always been able to kind
of just be in that in in the in there,
but not not in the mix. But I'm always there
to watch, you know, I'm always there to enjoy.
Speaker 4 (37:08):
So it's fascinating.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
Yes, yes, you know what I'm saying. And you it's
all shapes, all sizes, you get. You have some super
strong guys and you wouldn't even think it just by
looking at them. That's the crazy thing, you know. Let's
let's just form has no form. People are just naturally gifted.
And god damn it, I'm jealous.
Speaker 3 (37:33):
It's funny.
Speaker 4 (37:34):
Uh, some some folks.
Speaker 3 (37:37):
They look like they could be bodybuilders going out there.
Speaker 4 (37:40):
Yeah, and then and then some folks there they don't
look like Uh.
Speaker 3 (37:45):
I guess your stereotypical, you know, like meathead and they're
out there like destroying all the events, Like hey, yeah,
like how like be able to do that?
Speaker 4 (37:57):
But here you are.
Speaker 2 (37:59):
Yeah, and that is the truth. That is the truth.
It's it's like I said, like my wife had came
with me to uh the Olympia, and she was just
like like god like like when you get an outsider
coming in to look on the inside, it's just it's
it's very like she like she would point out a
few guys. I didn't think he was gonna lift that.
(38:21):
I was like, oh, yeah, they're they're they're repping seven hundred.
Speaker 4 (38:23):
Come on.
Speaker 3 (38:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (38:26):
You know.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
One of those things too, is like even when you
do axle bar deadlifts for reps, it's like there's no
given that bar. So it definitely it definitely gruel it.
Speaker 4 (38:36):
Yeah, it looked like.
Speaker 3 (38:37):
A fun of that, and uh, I thought a lot.
Speaker 4 (38:43):
More people were going to get that bar. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
I don't, I don't know. I haven't heard any feedback
if it was potentially like boat or anything like that.
I'm sure none of their equipment is in like less
than optimal condition. Yeah, but it could be just the
fatigue of the show too.
Speaker 2 (39:02):
Oh yeah, well it ran, it ran long, so that
deadlift was supposed to be yet the day before, but
the Olympia runs on time schedule. At five o'clock, they
shut it down, and so, uh, you know what I'm saying,
They're like, oh, we're gonna have to push you to tomorrow,
to the next day. And when they did that, like
I can only imagine everyone was being you know, you
prepare for the events to be that day, and then
(39:24):
when that event doesn't happen, it's like, oh shit, I'm
completely out of my element. Now.
Speaker 3 (39:29):
Yeah, I'm glad they were able to squeeze everything down
and make sure everyone got to do every event. Yeah,
you know, yeah, there's probably some concern with that.
Speaker 2 (39:42):
Now things happened. That's strong Man for you too, you
know what I'm saying, that's it. That's it. You might
have a little bit longer of a break than you think,
and then all of a sudden, it's like, oh, I
gotta I gotta be ready.
Speaker 4 (39:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (39:56):
You know, that's the one thing I love about strong Man.
It's it's any given it's literally any given, any given day.
Speaker 4 (40:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:04):
No, they're doing a fantastic job over there. There's a
lot of stress, a lot of opinions on how things
should be done. But you know, I think they're doing
a fantastic job.
Speaker 2 (40:13):
No, they absolutely are, because that's one of the people.
If you've never put on a show, you have no
reason to even like comment on like how they are
running it, because like, you only have so many people,
you only have so much equipment, and you only have
so much time, and you know, the chaos set can
that that happens at these shows because how many people
(40:35):
are there, how fast does they need to go? And
they manage it extremely well. So like I always tip
my hat to anybody who's putting on a show, because
I don't know if I can handle that kind of chaos.
I enjoy watching it, but I don't want to handle it.
Speaker 3 (40:49):
Yeah, and things never go as planned, never, so they're
dealing with all these stepbacks or delays and just yeah, yeah,
they pull it off though.
Speaker 2 (41:00):
That they did, they do you know what I'm saying.
Was it a nice smooth show for the Arnold?
Speaker 3 (41:05):
Yeah, it was. Unfortunately, I'm sure you're familiar with that hoystlift. Yeah, yeah,
we were supposed to trial around that at the Arnold.
And unfortunately there were some technical difficulties with that, so
they had to cut the event.
Speaker 4 (41:24):
But I did.
Speaker 3 (41:24):
The Strongman Corps Amateur Nationals in November out in Vegas.
Sorry not November September. My months mixed up.
Speaker 2 (41:34):
Yeah, I actually missed that show.
Speaker 4 (41:36):
I was on vacation. Yeah, we got the we got
to run it there.
Speaker 3 (41:41):
It was a very unique apparatus and it was very challenging.
It was a lot yeah, very oh.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
Yeah, especially like you're sitting in like basically a lap
pull down position in that chair with some knee pads
and it's like, oh my god. Some people, you know,
they figured it out real quick, and some people were
just like struggling with it too.
Speaker 3 (42:02):
It's like I was on that struggle bus. I thought
I was I had to break up something in the
gym to try and mimic that of that to get
the feeling of it, and I thought it was going heavy.
But when I put my hands on that one there,
I wasn't going heavy enough. Yeah, there's a little bit
of strategy and tactics that went into that. I learned
(42:26):
after the fact that I should have been doing.
Speaker 2 (42:28):
But oh yeah, yeah, exactly. It's always living and learn
and it's and it's also too it's not one of
those events that you can actually practice and train for.
It's like, you know, if anything, you know, you're pulling
from the bottom and you know, are pulling straight across
like an arm over arm, but you're not pulling at
that angle, and it's like, oh my god.
Speaker 3 (42:47):
Yeah, it's insane.
Speaker 2 (42:50):
It's it's exactly. It's like, ah, but if you you know,
maybe it helps you out it not being in the event.
If so, it didn't hurt you too bad for the
uh at the.
Speaker 3 (43:00):
Arl, Yeah, yeah, I had I had a I've won
two out of the three events we did on the finals,
so I would have had to do very bad at
the hoist in order to lose my shot at the crown.
You know.
Speaker 2 (43:18):
Oh that's some serious points ahead then yeah. Oh yeah,
that's like I said, it's always nice when you got
that cushion behind you, and especially if you can keep
that keep that momentum pushing.
Speaker 3 (43:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (43:31):
Oh yeah, yeah, Like I said, if there's anything that
you like I said, and for for firemen out there
that want to do this, you know what I'm saying,
what's that one piece of advice you'd give them?
Speaker 3 (43:43):
Just get involved, don't be don't be intimidated by the sport.
You know, there's a there might be a like a
stigma you know on it. You're gonna get hurt or
you can't do that, it's too difficult, But you can't.
It's not just get involved, sign up for a show,
get your hands on as much equipment as you can
(44:06):
and understand it takes time, you know, but it's been fun.
Speaker 4 (44:13):
That's it. I recommend it to everybody.
Speaker 3 (44:15):
I think it translates to our job and you're gonna
have fun training. So it's just it's always something new
to learn, a new challenge.
Speaker 4 (44:24):
It's very rewarding. That's good.
Speaker 2 (44:26):
That's what I like to hear too, you know what
I'm saying. And that's the thing too. It's getting people
out there to support, to watch and to help grow,
you know what I'm saying. So for everyone out there,
make sure you go fall Frank. I'll put his information
in the bottom, so you guys go fall him on
Instagram and all that good stuff and let people know
how's what's the easiest way to get a hold of you.
Speaker 3 (44:47):
Usually Instagram. Yeah, I'm fairly active on there.
Speaker 4 (44:51):
There you go.
Speaker 2 (44:52):
I'll put all the information in there, and Frank, thank
you for coming on, thank you for sharing your time,
and thank you for joining me on this show and
having oh yeah, and so before we get out here,
I'm the angry motherfucking dad. Thank you guys for watching.
I appreciate it. If you want to like, share, subscribe
all that bullshit, it really helps me to fuck out.
I'm also part of the Inner Circle Podcast Network, a
(45:12):
group of powerful podcasters out there sharing our shit. That
is inner circlepn dot com. We'll take everyone in our websites,
everyone ever. Shows. We have shows. It's The Plunge, Failing Hollywood,
Simmons and more, The Untrained Eve, the hood Diner. Shit
happens when you party naked, so make sure you check it.
The fuck out and we'll see y'all motherfuckers on the
next one.
Speaker 1 (45:28):
Fun, always living, always living, always living, always living, always
always living,
Popular Podcasts
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.