Welcome to another episode of In Search of Excellence! My guest today is Devon Larratt, one of the greatest arm wrestlers in the world.
Devon is a Canadian professional arm wrestler and a former member of the Canadian Army Forces. He has won multiple world championships and is considered to be one of the best arm wrestlers of all time. He is also a fantastic person and one of the most entertaining and charismatic sports figures!
We talk about this very unusual sport, his grandmother who was “the best arm wrestler in Alberta," underground arm wrestling competitions, his military career, and more!
Time stamps:
00:00 Is arm wrestling really a sport?
- Arm wrestling is a very simple sport
- It has federations with rule sets
- It is done on a professional table
- The size of the arm wrestling table
- The elbow must stay on 7” plain surface
- What does it take to win
- Neutral position start
- Take a grip, ready go, pin your opponent, win the match
- Advantages and disadvantages of different anatomies
- How Sylvester Stallone influenced arm wrestling
- The movie Over the Top
09:39 How popular is arm wrestling in US?
- It is very popular, but doesn’t have government support
- 3 prominent professional leagues
- Armors, King of the Table, East vs. West
- Amateur arm wrestling – WAF and IFA
- Arm wrestling as a sport is growing
- World Arm Wrestling League
- The deciding factor is does it bring money
- Today it does have sponsors
13:50 Devon’s background
- Grew up in Big Island, Ontario on a farm
- He was a high energy kid
- His grandma was an arm-wrestler
- Never beat his grandma in arm wrestling
- His brother showed him The Pumping Iron book
- Was fascinated with Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Identified strength with being a man
- Obsessed with strength, fitness, performance
- Training from a very young age
- After high school worked in oil field
- Ton of young man worked there
- He arm wrestled with them and beat everybody
- Dion Angel was unbeatable
- At the time, arm wrestling was completely underground
25:08 Are mentors necessary for success?
- A goal is a light in the distance
- Sometimes you meet people who have been where you are going
- They can be amazing guides
- Dion was one of those people
- Mentors provide guidance and save you time
- With Internet mentors are much more available
27:30 Joining the Canadian Military
- Joined the army in 1996
- Combat tours are scary
- It takes time to develop psychological strength to fight
- Spent 20 years in arm forces
- Complications from arm wrestling made him leave
- You chose to serve your country and fight
- Being shot you realize how lucky you are
- Stuck for 4 days, had to take extremely strong antibiotics
- Destroyed gut flora and was sick for 6 months
- Being a follower and a desire to be the best
41:49 Devon’s vision of war and sports
- Life is a gift and one of our jobs is to be happy
- One key to happiness to find things that make you happy
- Devon was always attracted to fighting
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