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View Full Version : Pro Strongman contest in Hammond, In



smj091977
03-22-2011, 08:08 PM
Looks exciting, tickets are cheap too. Mariusz is going to be there! A buddy of mine is an alternate.
http://thestrongmanshow.com/?category_name=uncategorized
USA Vs Poland
Brian Shaw, Jason Bergman, Karl Gillingham, Kevin Nee
Vs
Mateusz Baron, Krzyzstof Radziokowski, Jaroslaw Nowacki, Tomasz Kowal
I am not sure about any of the others from Poland but Mateusz just won at the Arnold to earn his pro card. Looks like a great line up for the US! I am trying to find out the events.

Bryan Hildebrand
03-22-2011, 10:04 PM
looks to an interesting event for sure.

Bryan Hildebrand
03-22-2011, 10:05 PM
http://www.thestrongmanshow.com/images/mainheader.jpg

robert da strongman
03-23-2011, 04:57 AM
oh lord! that looks amazing....and right next to my hometown.

smj091977
03-23-2011, 10:07 AM
"Here is what I know: events are tug of war, farmers/keg medley, axle press for reps, deadlift for reps, stones, and one more not decided yet."
"Every person on team USA has been on WSM except me of course so it should be an awesome contest to see. I think Pawel is the alternate for team Poland. Hope to see you there"

These are the events. I haven't seen a tug of war as an event in some time, should be fun to watch.

Bryan Hildebrand
03-23-2011, 06:36 PM
just spoke with brian and he is excited to do this event. will be a lot more laid back and very fan friendly.

Ryan Bracewell
03-23-2011, 10:27 PM
"Here is what I know: events are tug of war, farmers/keg medley, axle press for reps, deadlift for reps, stones, and one more not decided yet."
"Every person on team USA has been on WSM except me of course so it should be an awesome contest to see. I think Pawel is the alternate for team Poland. Hope to see you there"

These are the events. I haven't seen a tug of war as an event in some time, should be fun to watch.

Who are you quoting? I'm assuming it's one of the polish guys?

smj091977
03-24-2011, 03:04 PM
Who are you quoting? I'm assuming it's one of the polish guys?

I am not sure how he would feel about being mentioned by name on this forum. He is an alternate on the US side. He is with all probability the top Amateur in Illinois. Not sure how he ranks throughout the country.

This is a quote from the IL state Co-chair:
"I know the guy bringing the events there - he is currently building or supplying most of the equipment.

That guy is myself.

I am meeting Tom Zwolen tomorrow to finalize things.

He will be using my stone platforms like you saw in October, doubles of stones to 390. I have them made. 255, 300, 330, 360, 390 - one side USA, one side Poland

I am supplying two identical axles but have to get the 8 tires. Expect a 300 axle.

The 'undecided' event will be a power stairs with 18" steps - MY two powerstairs. I have Brian Holt's old Weights - 350 and 425 in pairs.

POSSIBLY car deadlift if I can get a second frame, but I don't know if they will allow it in the center."

smj091977
03-25-2011, 08:36 PM
Who are you quoting? I'm assuming it's one of the polish guys?

Ryan,
His name is Nick Keaty, he gave me permission to post his name. You may have met him, he has done a few Plat+ shows over the years. He did the Texas Strongman Show of Champions in '09.

Ryan Bracewell
03-25-2011, 09:05 PM
Ryan,
His name is Nick Keaty, he gave me permission to post his name. You may have met him, he has done a few Plat+ shows over the years. He did the Texas Strongman Show of Champions in '09.

If I am not mistaken, that is the show that Palmer won his pro card and I got second(again). The name rings a bell but i cant place the face(will look him up)

s2h
03-25-2011, 09:11 PM
If I am not mistaken, that is the show that Palmer won his pro card and I got second(again). The name rings a bell but i cant place the face(will look him up)lets go bracewell...2nd aint gonna cut it.....mhp show of strength...its all yours...oh and your driver will be ready...:p

robert da strongman
03-25-2011, 09:40 PM
Nick is a strong boy. good to see him as part of the event.

smj091977
04-18-2011, 12:23 PM
What a Show! The place was packed! I had spoken with Tom Zwollen, one of the promoters, when I got my tickets and he indicated if the show was a success he would be putting on more. We got there just before 3pm and already the parking lot and streets were full. We ended up parking in the back 40. Once we go into the civic center, our VIP tickets got us pretty decent seats. The events were already setup and we were between the axle press and stones. There was over 1000 fans by that time. I am not sure but I would guess over 2000 in final attendance. I would guess that 80-90% of the crowd was of Polish decent there to cheer on their Polska Team.
The show started a little after 4, with Jason Bever, NAHA Il chair, anouncing for Team USA. He started the show off by introducing 5 time World's Strongest Man, Mariusz Pudzianowski!! Mariusz was the announcer for the Polish side and had the crowd pumped!
The first event was a 2 man cart carry. Not sure what the weight of this implement was but they added four 110 or so pound women. There was a coin toss to see who would go first and Team USA apparently lost and went first. Karl Gillingham and Jason Bergmann fast walked the implement down the 100 or so feet. Karl seemed to lose his grip and dropped it right at the end.
They recovered and Brian Shaw and Kevin Nee fast walked it back. They ended up having a time of about 38 seconds. Team Polska, I was never sure who was who as they were announced in Polish only the once, positively ran it down and back for a time of 27 seconds giving them the first event win! The place was ecstatic!
The second event was the 16" or so tractor tire deadlift. The alternates Nick Keaty and Pawel Panczyck deadlifted first with 700lbs. Nick had 2 reps, with the third not counting when the tire fell off the bar. They tightened the wheel back on and Pawel knocked out 6! The weight was then increased to 800lbs. Each contestant was given a minute to rep out. I believe Bergman hit 6, Gillingham hit 5, Nee hit 8 or 9 and so did Shaw. the total was for Team USA was 28. Team Polska got up. The first 2 guys hit 5-6 each. Then Mateusz Baron, Arnold Strongman Amateur winner hit a phenomenal 11!! The fourth competitor hit an easy 7 or 8 for a second win for Team Polska! The crowd was loving it!
The third event was the SUV deadlift hold! This happened at the other side of the gym so I did not get such a great view. Shaw was the man to beat at 31 seconds for Team USA, and I believe Baron got somewhere around 30.7 or 37 secondsfor Team Polska. The event win went to Team USA.
The 300 lb Axle press was next. Mariusz was the head judge for this. Team Polska went first. There was a 3 minute time limit and all 4 members traded in and out for the three minutes. Jan Wolkosz another Illinois top amateur tagged in for an injured Polska. Jan hit atleast 4 that I saw and maybe more. I didn't know it was starting and I missed the first couple lifters. Team Polska hit a total of 20 reps. Team USA's Bergmann went first hitting 2 before tagging in Gillingham who did the same. Nee ripped his bicep a while ago and was very cautious, after a couple attempts, he tagged in Shaw. Shaw hit 8 I thought but apparently some did not count. They all went around again, with bergmann and Gillingham hitting a 1-2 more. Nee made another attempt but could not get over the mental block. Shaw hit another couple. Team USA was credited with 14. I am not sure, but I think Shaw questioned the judgement on the axle.
Team USA went first on the stones. There was two sets of stones 250-390. This was another team event with the members tagging back and forth. The alternates got to load the first stone. Then Team USA loaded all the stones in a very fast time, tagging back and forth. I want to say it was 39 seconds but I could be wrong. Team Polska was going at a very fast pace until one of the team had difficulty with a 360 stone and just couldnt get it. Another tagged in and the rest of the stones were loaded without incident. The time was not good enough and Team USA got the event win.
Mariusz and a couple of Team Polska spoke to the crowd and they went nuts!
An autograph session was to follow after clean up. The crowd was mulling around for a minute and then just stormed the event area! Hundreds of people filled the basketball floor! The place was nuts!
I weaseled my way "backstage" by knowing Jason Bever and Dan McCarron, NAS Il state co-chair. While back there I got to talk with Karl, Kevin and Jason. All nice guys who didn't mind me bothering them;) I was like a kid, meeting my heroes. I had ADD and would go from one to the other when they approached. I talked to Bergmann and Nee about their injuries. Kevin said he still has a mental block about the axle and his bicep. Jason said his injury was "ok." I told them all how great a show I thought it had been. Or maybe I babbled something incoherent. I shook hands with Brian before he went off to sign autographs. His hands were the most massive I have ever gripped, I almost couldn't put my hand around them! The biggest thing, for my wife anyway, was getting a picture of Mariusz and her. I then shook his hand and said something like "You are awesome!" Yes I was a big dork!
I will post some pictures in a little bit.

smj091977
04-18-2011, 02:30 PM
I think the pics are too big, I will have to reduce them from 2.5 mb each.

robert da strongman
04-18-2011, 04:05 PM
great stuff

Come0At0Me
04-19-2011, 12:02 AM
Me and friend were like ten or fifteen feet away from the whole thing, VIP seating... Was worth it.

Brian Shaw hit ten reps on the deadlift though.

I didn't like the announcing, there wasn't much announcing for the English-speakers while Pudz was talking throughout the whole thing...

I really wanted a picture with Brian Shaw and Pudz, but so many people were trying hard to get autographs from everyone I just left.. Lol. I didn't have the time to wait on all of the teams to get ready and dressed and all that.

smj091977
04-19-2011, 11:08 AM
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smj091977
04-19-2011, 11:12 AM
I didn't upload many from Team Polska due to not knowing who they are, other than Mateusz Baron.
I will upload more if you guys want.
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smj091977
04-19-2011, 11:19 AM
Me and friend were like ten or fifteen feet away from the whole thing, VIP seating... Was worth it.

Brian Shaw hit ten reps on the deadlift though.

I didn't like the announcing, there wasn't much announcing for the English-speakers while Pudz was talking throughout the whole thing...

I really wanted a picture with Brian Shaw and Pudz, but so many people were trying hard to get autographs from everyone I just left.. Lol. I didn't have the time to wait on all of the teams to get ready and dressed and all that.

Thanks, that makes sense then, I thought I was misadding the deadlift total. I have a couple pics of Mariusz up close if you want them. Did you take any pics? I would love to have better pics of the suv dl hold and some of Karl, Jason and Kevin dling. My wife got too busy watching them and didnt take pictures.
I agree Mariusz was running away with the show but with 90% Polish audience I can't complain.
On a side note, Damn the women there were fine!

Bryan Hildebrand
04-19-2011, 11:46 AM
sounds like an amazing show.

Jason Bever
04-19-2011, 01:32 PM
This is my first time posting, as I have heard all about this site from Rob and Shon. For those here I have not met, my name is Jason Bever, and I have been involved with strongman since 2004 and strength sports in general for about 15 years or so. I have been reading posts on here for a couple of weeks and I enjoy the threads, so I figured why not jump in.

As far as the information about The Strongman Show-Battle of the Giants, everything is correct. Shon, nice write up about the show! I have a couple things to add about the behind the scene aspect, in case anyone is interested:

- Tom Zwolen is a friend that I met years ago through a mutual friend, Martin Wieckowski, tough strongman and great guy from Memphis. It started with Tom asking to borrow equipment for a demo and the rest is history. Tom has been wanting to do something along these lines for years, but time and money was always a concern. Piotr Antol, local business man, was his partner on this. The timing was perfect for these guys to throw the show. Tom is very close with Mariusz, and yes, it was the Mariusz show with the Polish contingency. I'll get to more of that in a bit.

- The competitors on both sides are absolutley great guys! With the public and behind closed doors, the guys were great. This is actually the first time I met all of the competitors in person and they left a good impression with everyone I spoke with.

- As far as the announcing, I was the other announcer, and the language barrier made it tough. It is safe to say that 50% of the people came to see Mariusz, and 80% were of Polish decent that speak Polish. Originally we were supposed to go back and forth more, but it didn't work out that way. I ended up also running logistics on the floor with getting ready for the next events. As far as the comments made about the announcing, I do agree that it was tough for the English speaking crowd.

- Mariusz is, IMO, the Michael Jordan of Poland. His main manager from Poland wasn't even going to let me in the back room at the end of the event. Not that I expected her to know me, but I was working all day at the event. At the end of the show, some people were mad at Tom for not getting Mariusz's autograph. I'm sure there was a timeframe set in his contract, so he left. I felt bad for Tom since that wasn't his call on the times. It was crazy though.

- I am 5'7" 190lbs. I always knew I was short, but man I never felt so small! Even the smallest judge was 250lbs. I don't know if anyone there noticed, but when the rules were being discussed, I was trying to look over and around to see what was going on. When I realized I was locked out by the size in front of me, I looked at Ted Topinski, one of the judges, and said "Screw it! Fill me in when we meet in the back, so I know what I'm talking about while announcing!"

Once again, great site and I'll be on here when I can. If you have any questions about the meet in particular, let me know, I'll be happy to answer them!

robert da strongman
04-19-2011, 01:35 PM
thanks for posting up the pics Shon....and thanks for the write up Jason

smj091977
04-19-2011, 02:17 PM
Great to have you here Jason. I tried to e-mail, and sent you a pm from ILstrongman. There is a couple of great pics of you standing with Brian Shaw and Mariusz, a very the Dwayne Johnson The Rock-like one of you announcing.

Bryan Hildebrand
04-19-2011, 02:46 PM
jason. great to have you here. keep us informed of other events you are involved with so we can work on getting coverage.

robert da strongman
04-19-2011, 05:04 PM
http://manwiththecamera.smugmug.com/Other/Strong-Man-Show-April-17-2011/16/1256748354_BPKQ2Dh-L.jpg

http://manwiththecamera.smugmug.com/Other/Strong-Man-Show-April-17-2011/19/1256749790_6DnFZQS-L.jpg

http://manwiththecamera.smugmug.com/Other/Strong-Man-Show-April-17-2011/21/1256752335_hgJmD8C-L.jpg

Come0At0Me
04-19-2011, 07:54 PM
Thanks, that makes sense then, I thought I was misadding the deadlift total. I have a couple pics of Mariusz up close if you want them. Did you take any pics? I would love to have better pics of the suv dl hold and some of Karl, Jason and Kevin dling. My wife got too busy watching them and didnt take pictures.
I agree Mariusz was running away with the show but with 90% Polish audience I can't complain.
On a side note, Damn the women there were fine!

I definitely agree with what you were saying about the Polish Audience.. And yes I was VERY surprised at the amount of good looking women in the audience.. You usually never see public places like that? Lol.. And the only actual American women there was the L.A. Tan Women haha.

I did have a couple pics, I created a thread... But I'll put pics in here, they aren't as good as yours though. I'll upload them in a little bit. I really enjoyed the deadlifting and I think Powercleaning? Both were very good (Only 16, it was first weight-lifting competition I've been at).

Come0At0Me
04-19-2011, 07:59 PM
This is my first time posting, as I have heard all about this site from Rob and Shon. For those here I have not met, my name is Jason Bever, and I have been involved with strongman since 2004 and strength sports in general for about 15 years or so. I have been reading posts on here for a couple of weeks and I enjoy the threads, so I figured why not jump in.

As far as the information about The Strongman Show-Battle of the Giants, everything is correct. Shon, nice write up about the show! I have a couple things to add about the behind the scene aspect, in case anyone is interested:

- Tom Zwolen is a friend that I met years ago through a mutual friend, Martin Wieckowski, tough strongman and great guy from Memphis. It started with Tom asking to borrow equipment for a demo and the rest is history. Tom has been wanting to do something along these lines for years, but time and money was always a concern. Piotr Antol, local business man, was his partner on this. The timing was perfect for these guys to throw the show. Tom is very close with Mariusz, and yes, it was the Mariusz show with the Polish contingency. I'll get to more of that in a bit.

- The competitors on both sides are absolutley great guys! With the public and behind closed doors, the guys were great. This is actually the first time I met all of the competitors in person and they left a good impression with everyone I spoke with.

- As far as the announcing, I was the other announcer, and the language barrier made it tough. It is safe to say that 50% of the people came to see Mariusz, and 80% were of Polish decent that speak Polish. Originally we were supposed to go back and forth more, but it didn't work out that way. I ended up also running logistics on the floor with getting ready for the next events. As far as the comments made about the announcing, I do agree that it was tough for the English speaking crowd.

- Mariusz is, IMO, the Michael Jordan of Poland. His main manager from Poland wasn't even going to let me in the back room at the end of the event. Not that I expected her to know me, but I was working all day at the event. At the end of the show, some people were mad at Tom for not getting Mariusz's autograph. I'm sure there was a timeframe set in his contract, so he left. I felt bad for Tom since that wasn't his call on the times. It was crazy though.

- I am 5'7" 190lbs. I always knew I was short, but man I never felt so small! Even the smallest judge was 250lbs. I don't know if anyone there noticed, but when the rules were being discussed, I was trying to look over and around to see what was going on. When I realized I was locked out by the size in front of me, I looked at Ted Topinski, one of the judges, and said "Screw it! Fill me in when we meet in the back, so I know what I'm talking about while announcing!"

Once again, great site and I'll be on here when I can. If you have any questions about the meet in particular, let me know, I'll be happy to answer them!

You were the English announcer? What a small world lol..

Yeah, I understand your point. It was very hard, some Polish people were speaking to me in Polish... I was like what?

I didn't even see were the Judges were at... I was very confused on the whole thing, who ended up winning? I've been DYING to know.

Jason Bever
04-19-2011, 10:01 PM
Thanks guys! It's great to be here and I'll have more write ups to come.

As far as the results, Team Poland won 3-2, in an event that I think could have gone either way. The athletes on both teams really gave it all they had and put on one heck of a show. Team Poland won the carraige carry, deadlift, and axle press. Team USA won the car deadlift hold and stones.

The judges and floor workers were in the white shirts for the most part. Mariusz ended up judging the last two events (axle press and stones) while others kept times and counts. For those that don't know me, I'm the short bald guy in the green shirt and jeans with the mike.

smj091977
04-20-2011, 12:13 PM
I definitely agree with what you were saying about the Polish Audience.. And yes I was VERY surprised at the amount of good looking women in the audience.. You usually never see public places like that? Lol.. And the only actual American women there was the L.A. Tan Women haha.

I did have a couple pics, I created a thread... But I'll put pics in here, they aren't as good as yours though. I'll upload them in a little bit. I really enjoyed the deadlifting and I think Powercleaning? Both were very good (Only 16, it was first weight-lifting competition I've been at).

You picked a great first strongman show! Not sure you will ever see much better for quickness of the event, crowd size or caliber of competitors. I have been around since 2003, like Jason. I have met a few of the pros and a couple of pros as amateurs but I have never gotten to see them compete before. Don't get me wrong, watching Jan Wolkosz press a 352.5 log and then throwing it at a helpless ten pound plate was awesome, seeing Travis Ortmayer attempt to set a NAS record for stones in the rain certainly ranks in my memory. Seeing Robertdastrongman pull over 600 in the silver dollar deadlift at my first competition(?) was at the time the most impressive feat I had seen. This was a whole other level for me! It recharged my already high motivation! I went into the gym the next day and pulled a new PR in the deadlift.
Jakked in Montgomery Illinois has a great teen division at their contests so if you want to try a competition out, http://www.ilstrongman.com/117267.html or http://www.ilstrongman.com/media/ecdfbb0e7bd0459ffff8269ffffe415.pdf as long as there are three paid entries they will have a teen division. I don't think that will be a problem.


Thanks guys! It's great to be here and I'll have more write ups to come.

As far as the results, Team Poland won 3-2, in an event that I think could have gone either way. The athletes on both teams really gave it all they had and put on one heck of a show. Team Poland won the carraige carry, deadlift, and axle press. Team USA won the car deadlift hold and stones.

The judges and floor workers were in the white shirts for the most part. Mariusz ended up judging the last two events (axle press and stones) while others kept times and counts. For those that don't know me, I'm the short bald guy in the green shirt and jeans with the mike.
Was that Heath I saw as one of the judges? I only met him the one time though so I wasn't sure.

Jason Bever
04-20-2011, 03:20 PM
Come0At0Me- Shon is right about picking a great first meet to attend. Most do not have that kind of crowd, unless it is in conjunction with a major fest that is taking place in the same area. Shon and I came on around the same time, with Rob coming on a little before. It's great seeing all of the young guys (I can say that since I'm 37) come up through the ranks over the years.

Shon- That was Heath Thiel judging and timing. For those that don't know Heath, he is the NAHA WI State Chair, has been involved with strength sports for a long time, and is a great guy in general.