Thirty Years Of Pain: A History Of The World's Strongest Man DVD
Posted June 26, 2009 at 9:49 AM by Ben Nadel
I just finished watching Thirty Years of Pain: A History Of The World's Strongest Man. It's a two-part documentary about the World's Strongest Man competition. The first part, Thirty Years of Pain, takes us on a journey through the entire history of the WSM competition, from the first event at Universal Studios right up to the 2008 finals in Charleston, WV. The second part, The Making of World's Strongest Man, takes us behind the scenes of the 2006 WSM in Sanya, China. All in all, it's about an hour and a half of awesome footage.
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Apparently, this DVD is only available in the United Kingdom which is not only a shame but a reflection of the fact that the US treats World's Strongest Man as a 2nd class sporting event. This is also apparent in the fact that you can only catch WSM on ESPN2 in the early morning hours. Heck, if it wasn't for my DVR, I probably would never get to watch it at all. But, after eating the currency conversion (US to Euro??), waiting out the long Amazon.co.uk dispatch time, and using up one of my precious few DVD region swaps, I have to say it was totally worth it. For anyone who's a fan of the World's Strongest Man, this video is just a joy to watch. Not only do you get your fix of watching world-class athletes perform inhuman feats of strength and agility, you get to see the more intimate side of the competitors.
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As someone who's only seen a handful of WSM events on TV, seeing the 30 year history was especially great. To be honest, I didn't even know that Bill Kazmaier had been a World's Strongest Man winner (and for an amazing 3 consecutive times at that). I've never been to a World Strongest Man competition, but from what I've read, the 2009 event is coming back to Charleston, West Virginia in September. I don't know what the dates are yet; but, I would really love to be able to get down and see these people perform in person! What a rush that would be!
Reader Comments
Gotta love the strongman stuff. Have you seen Larger than Life? (Jon Pall Sigmarsson)
It's a must watch.
@Aaron,
Oh no, I haven't seen it yet. But, from 30 Years, Jon Pall seems like a great guy and Icelandic super star and hero. I'll have to give it a look.
If this is the one I'm thinking of, they've got CRAZY challenges. One that I saw was them lifing a 200 pound slab of metal in the shape of the African continent. They had to move it from laying on the ground to a sort of podium, along with a barrel, and some other increasingly heavier items.
Ben, I watched 30 years of pain this week as well. I cheated and watched it on youtube, but it was still awe inspiring.
What absolutely incredible strength those guys have. It inspired me to hit the gym and see what I was capable of, and to set some personal goals.
You're right in the it seems to be a second-class sport here. I do not know how it is seen in other countries, but from what I saw in the video, at least in northern Europe, it seems to be taken pretty seriously.
I really enjoyed the documentary. Kazmaier, Sigmarsson, Pudzinowski and all of the athletes that compete (not just the ones that win) are really some of the most amazing athletes on the planet.
@Andy,
That's the one! Yeah, they are always doing crazy events - lifts cards, tossing beer kegs, dragging battle ship anchors. Awesome stuff.
@Jason,
Yeah, it's totally awesome and taken much more seriously. Look at how they talk about Jon Pall's death - everyone in the country knew where they were when it happened - he was a national icon.
Awesome that it inspired you! I saw you got that beasty leg press the other day. Sweeet!
Hi... Cant wait to watch this video!!! Looks great and from what you have said it looks like its gonna be an awesome dvd!!! Im getting it for my Husband's B-Day because he loves Strongman! He competes in it as well and previously won World's Strongest Man in MD and PA which qualified him for the Nationals!!! He will be doing another one in NY in Jan. for practice and will be going to the Nationals in 2010!!! Also, just wanted to let you know that WSM is NOT coming back to Charleston, WV this year... it is in the Country of Malta! Check out www.theworldsstrongestman.com for more details! When it does come back to the states, if you can... go to it... its the most awesome experience you will ever experience in your life!!! We went to WSM in Charleston, WV last year and absolutely loved it!!! Thanks!!!
@SexyPrincess,
Yeah, I just recently found out that it's not coming back to Charleston. What a bummer! Hopefully I'll get to see it another year. I hope Marius takes it for a record time this year!
If you can, check out Amazon.com and enter "Strongman." There is a 5-hr DVD set of competitions for $17.95
Thanks for letting me know about the Strongman DVD! My husband's B-Day is coming up Sept 7... so I ordered it for him and just received it today! I knew he would love it so I went ahead and gave it to him and of course he loves it!!! He was so excited!!! Thank you so much!!!
What else to say. This man is very special, a man like him is born once every thousand years. I watched this movie on youtube and I was very impressed. I don't know if they will make another movie as good as that but i can't wait for another one.
Are you going to compete in the World's Strongest Man contest? :-)
