Interview with Ben Hanson - July 22, 2008
Early last year, I published the beginning of a multiple part piece entitled "It started with a picture" detailing the process my dad and I went through to get a strongman contest up and running at our county fair.
While the conclusion to the piece is still forthcoming, we have continued promoting the contest, making it into one of the centerpieces of the fair. Recently, a reporter from the local news paper called me to do an interview regarding the upcoming contest. It's a really good article and you can read the original here.
WASECA -- Ever try pulling a 23,000 pound semi truck?Of course not.
Ask someone like Ben Hanson and he'll say 'of course'.
In fact, Hanson, a 32-year-old weight lifter from Waseca, will perform that unorthodox method of mass movement Saturday as a competitor of the North American Strong Man Contest, which will be held at 10:30 a.m. at the Waseca County Free Fair.
"It's the contest I most look forward to each year," said Hanson, who competes in roughly half a dozen contests each year.
And pulling semis is just scratching the surface of the Strongman.Lifters such as Hanson will also man the tasks of dead-lifting weight, pressing kegs overhead, hauling oxen yoke and loading concrete stones.
Naturally, all these events incorporate an astounding amount of weight.
The semi truck is 23,000 pounds worth of pulling. Following that event is the dead-lift, which starts at 405 pounds and continues to climb until the last man standing succeeds. Next in line is the keg press, requiring men to lift four kegs (ranging from 160-240 pounds) of increasing weight overhead as quickly as they can. Following is the Super Yoke, where lifters burden 750 pounds (650 for lightweights) over a 75 foot course, one Hanson called "spine-wrenching." Capping of the contest is the Atlas Stones, calling for competitors to pick up spherical stones (240-370 pounds) off of the ground and load them onto a four-inch platform.
"The Atlas Stones have become a mainstay at the fair," Hanson noted, "and will again put an exclamation point on what's sure to be a very close race."
And if you ever wondered what one thinks about when all of the weight is being controlled by muscles and exoskeletons, Hanson can probably answer for everybody.
"Not screwing up," he said. "One mistake can negate the gains of weeks of hard training. One bad event can mean the difference between going home a winner and just going home."
When those initial 'don't-screw-up' thoughts subside, Hanson, however, says that he thinks about "Absolutely nothing," adding, "my mind is blank."
That kind of focus enabled Hanson to take second place behind Atilla Gabrielli last year at the fair in the lightweight division, just like he had two years ago. This summer, Gabrielli bowed out of the contest due to a broken ankle.
"I only have on goal in mind," Hanson said.
Whether Hanson wins or not, as long as he places in the top three he, among others, will earn an invitation in September to the North American Strongman national championship in Salt Lake City, Utah.
td>But first and foremost he is looking forward to Waseca County Free Fair's Strongman.
"It's special for me," Hanson said. "My dad does so much to make this contest possible and I want to make him proud. The county fair gives us a great stage and it's definitely a boost so see so many fans each year."
Posted by Ben Hanson at 3:13 PM
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