Matt did you compete in Thunderbay's strongest man because of the attention or "fandom"? Or did you compete because you wanted to see find out what you were capable of, to find out how you strength measured against other competitors?
These are all "vanity"/self focused endeavors. The "fans" are minuscule. Even with its "popularity" being at an all time high most of these contests aren't attended unless there is some other event tied to it.
Its competition bro.
That's a good question, Dave D. I was in the gym training alone starting in the year 2000, with no attention, because the Thunder Bay strength athletic scene didn't start until 2006, the "Thunder Bay's Strongest Man" strongman promotion itself didn't start until 2011 - celebrating contest #10 this year! - and social media wasn't a thing in the year 2000.
That being said, I can't say it hurt to be part of all the local social media surrounding the promotion. The best part was, was that even though there was not a 170-lb class in Canada [under CAASA] starting in 2017, there were routinely 200-/210-/215-lb classes, and I would compete in these classes. This allowed me to compete in TBSM to weights more suitable to my body size, and still get the local social benefits of competing in "Thunder Bay's Strongest Man".
And honestly - if you're deadlifting 475-lb and bench pressing 325-lb @170, it's not as if the average woman really knows the difference between the level you're at, and the 20-50 guys in town who are stronger.
In that sense, I got to enjoy the social media and fandom side of things, even at the local level.
In fairness, I won the CAASA Ontario Provincials in 2017 in the 170-lb class, and qualified for Nationals. I didn't attend because I felt that I wasn't at my best at that time of the year, and didn't want to under-perform at my first Nationals. But in general, I call myself a local competitor, since I don't want to diminish the guys who are at a higher level [especially those in the open weight class].
During my time competing, I got to be on the front page of the local newspaper twice [2015, 2017], and on the front page of the sports section once [2016]! I also made the sports section in a background shot in 2010, and got in this piece in another local news outlet:
https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-sports/city-of-strength-398259I enjoyed all of this quite a bit! I know better than to compare myself to guys at a much higher level, but it was nice in 2015 when my mom showed up to my house with my kids, and my little girl came running to me with the paper and said "Daddy, you're in the news!"
Stuff like that really made it worth it!
That being said - I didn't start out with any intention to get any local or social media coverage, but it was a nice bonus.
But the thing is, Dave - I can't help but wonder if part of the reason why Ronnie is sort of destroying himself is because of all the Instagram Likes and positive comments. He had 3.5 million followers on Instagram last I checked.
In a similar vein, I also can't help but to wonder if Ronnie would be doing what he is doing to his body if all that social media attention stopped one day.
To summarize this:
I didn't start for attention on social media, and I don't think most people start for that reason. But I do wonder if part of why some guys push themselves to the highest level possible has anything to do with it. Given how LITTLE some strongmen, powerlifters, bodybuilders, and even MMA/UFC fighters make [!], I would think something else is motivating them...but sometimes I stop and wonder.
And to be fair - I even worry about NFL players getting millions of dollars, now that we know about about long-term concussive trauma [CTE], and its potential long-term consequences, and impacts on longevity.
That - and I'm a major hypochondriac who overthinks everything, so take all this with a massive heaping of salt.
