In
The Strongest Man in History, on the History Channel, four contemporary strongmen try to recreate the stunts of legendary strongmen:
William Bankier, who lifed a piano in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.
Thomas Topham, who lifted three barrels of water weighing over 5,000 pounds in 1749.
Monte Saldo, who lifted a motorcar and five passengers in 1903
1. Brian Shaw, "Shaw Strength"
2. Eddie Hall, "The Beast"
3. Robert Oberst, "Strong and Pretty"
4. Nick Best
I watched the first episode, where Nick takes the guys on a tour of Moorhead, Minnesota, across border from Fargo, North Dakota, the "center of Viking culture in the United States."
Nick is a devotee of all things Viking, even going to Renaissance fairs wearing a horned helmet. His signature stunt is the Viking Press.
They visit the stave church at the Hjelmkomst Center, go ice fishing, and hear about how the days of the week are named after Norse gods. But for some reason they skip the biggest tourist attraction in Moorhead, the Hjelmkomst Viking Ship. It's a replica built by Robert Asp in the 70s that sailed across the ocean to Norway before being housed in the Clay County Cultural Center
Most of the episode is devoted to the guys introducing themselves, explaining what they're going to do, discussing how difficult it will be, and then doing it:
1. Carry a 345-pound boulder. All Viking boys had to carry one to achieve
fullsterkur, full strength, and be considered a man. In Iceland, they still use the 409-pound Húsafell Stone as a test of strength.
Left: 18 year old Billy Crawford, the youngest person ever to lift the stone.
2. Thow a 13-pound hammer, with an ice bath penalty for the guy with the shortest distance. Nick loses, at 70 feet.
3. Pull a 12,000 pound Viking ship.
4. Hoist a 1,433 pound mast.
Some of the challenges in other episodes are interesting. In Stoke-on-Trent, Eddie Hall's home town, they named an oat cake, sort of a savory stuffed pancake, after him. It has six sausages and three pounds of cheese. The challenge: whoever finishes first without throwing up wins.
In the last scene, the guys gift Nick with an authentic Viking-era axe, leading to a group hug and: "So, we all going to get on the bed and start making out?" They jump on the bed, but we cut before the make-out session.
Beefcake: The guys are fully clothed most of the time.
History: Snippets.
Gay Subtexts: Deliberate. An extraordinary amount of buddy-bonding, with the guys often discussing how attractive they find each other.
Reality TV: The breathless "It's 12,000 pounds!!!!" and the constant repetition become annoying. I might watch this on the treadmill at the gym, but for regular viewing, it's too darn fluffy.
Bonus Danish dick and other Scandinavian guys after the break. Warning: Explicit.
