Athletes Corner
An Interview With Russell Selcho

1.  Please state your stats (age, height, weight)

 33 years old, 6'3, 231

 2.  How long have you been lifting?  What got you into it?

 I have been lifting on off since I was 16. I started lifting in high school because I thought it would help for water polo and swimming, I went to high school in California, so that should explain the swimming.

 3.  What is your favorite strongman event?  Why?

 My favorite event is probably the tire flip because it requires technique with strength.

 4.  What do you think your biggest weakness is?  What are you doing to improve it?

 Deadlifts are my biggest weakness. I have been getting advice from people who I believe are good pullers and doing a lot of accessory work for deadlifts. 

 5.  Talk a little bit about your first experience in strongman

 My first experience was in March of this year (2006) at a novice contest in Albuquerque. There was a poster in the gym I went to advertising this contest and the weights advertised looked to be just above where my strength levels were, so I figured if I worked a little harder at the gym I would be able to do well at this contest. I found out real fast that strongman required a lot of technique along with strength.

 6.  What are your goals in the sport?

 My short term goal is to qualify for nationals before 2008, after that who knows, maybe you will see me on ESPN soon.

 7.  While diet isn't as important to strongmen as it is to bodybuilders, how big a role do you think it plays for you in this sport?

 My weight fluctuates between 230 and 240 and with most competitions having a 231 weight limit for LW and HW my diet becomes very important the closer it gets to the day to perform. I also believe a good diet can help with strength gains.

 8.  Any advice for those just starting out?

 I am just starting out myself, so the only advice I could give is find some people who train for strongman and learn everything you can from them.

 9. What's your proudest achievement in strongman?

 My proudest achievement so far is just having the courage to enter events, hopefully I can change this soon with a win.

 10.     What's the coolest thing you've seen or done, either in training or at a competition?

I have seen a few things that I think should go under here.

1. Watching Clay Edgin bounce a 200 lb keg off his head and just continue to lift like nothing happened.

2. A few UFC fighters flip a car at an ABQ contest and then watch all the gas flow out into the street.

3. Setting any PR during training or a contest is always cool.

Thanks a lot for your time Russell, and we wish you the best of luck in your endeavors to become stronger today than you were yesterday.

(Editors note: that keg did hurt my head, but not until I got home)