In this episode of the Shaw Strength Podcast, Brian sits down with Simon Lafontant. At 372 pounds, Simon went viral with a promise to the internet: he would step on a bodybuilding stage one year later. He tells the full story behind that video, and what it was like when millions of strangers turned his transformation into a spectator sport.

Brian and Simon break down how he lost 105 pounds in six months. He used social media to hold himself accountable, ate the same simple meals for months on end, and never missed a cardio session. Simon also talks about the parts most transformation stories leave out. He made mistakes with steroids early on, found out his testosterone had bottomed out, and started TRT. Being completely open about all of it helped him grow, but it also brought backlash. If you’ve ever been crushed by one negative comment after a hundred compliments, this part will hit home.

Then the conversation goes deeper. Simon opens up about living with Crohn’s disease. He ruptured his colon and spent seven months in the hospital, going through 11 colorectal surgeries. That trauma became his reason to “live a life worth living.” He and Brian talk about loose skin removal surgery and what it changed for his confidence and his physique. Simon also explains what he’s doing with the $100,000 he won at the Summer Shredding Classic: paying for someone else’s skin removal surgery and building an app to help people lose weight for good.

If you have questions for Brian, topics you would like to hear Brian talk about or guests you would like to see on the podcast email them to: askbrian@shawstrength.com

Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawstrengthpodcast/
Brian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawstrength/
Clothes, Supplements, and Supportive Gear: https://shawstrength.com/
Behind the scenes content and Giveaways: https://club.shawstrength.com/

Main Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SHAWSTRENGTH

On this episode of the Shaw Strength Podcast, Brian sits down with Hafthor Bjornsson.

They discuss Brian’s weight loss and Thor’s return to strongman after boxing. Thor talks about how quickly his strength came back, tearing his pec, and how long it took to feel good again.

They get into Thor’s 515 kg deadlift attempts and why he pulled out of the Rogue Invitational. Thor is taking some time to recover and is honest about not knowing whether he wants to compete next year. He hasn’t announced his retirement, but his priorities have changed.

Brian and Thor also talk about spending time with their families, the demands of competing, and knowing when to back off in training. Brian gives an update on arm wrestling, and Thor shares his interest in doing more acting.

Thor also tells the story of signing up for his first strongman show the day before the competition, showing up without equipment, and borrowing gear from the other guys between events.

If you have questions for Brian, topics you would like to hear Brian talk about or guests you would like to see on the podcast email them to: askbrian@shawstrength.com

Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawstrengthpodcast/
Brian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawstrength/
Clothes, Supplements, and Supportive Gear: https://shawstrength.com/
Behind the scenes content and Giveaways: https://club.shawstrength.com/

Main Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SHAWSTRENGTH

On this episode of the Shaw Strength Podcast, I am joined by bodybuilding legend Lee Priest.

Lee came out to train with us, and we covered a lot in this one. We start with training and why he thinks the idea that you are overtraining after 45 minutes in the gym is nonsense. Lee talks about learning to train hard, keeping bodybuilding simple, and why having fun in the gym still matters.

From there, Lee shares how He-Man, Rocky IV, and his grandfather got him started in bodybuilding. He won his first shows at 13, won Mr. Australia at 17, came to the United States for what was supposed to be a two-week trip, and ended up signing a deal with Joe Weider.

We also talk about the side of bodybuilding that most people do not see. Lee tells the story of pushing for Olympia athletes outside the top 10 to be paid, his suspensions from the IFBB, and why he has always been willing to speak up when he felt athletes were being treated unfairly.

The conversation also gets personal. Lee opens up about his family, the loss of his grandfather, the people he has lost over the years, the difficult moments he has been through, and why he tries to make the most of every day.

If you have questions for Brian, topics you would like to hear Brian talk about or guests you would like to see on the podcast email them to: askbrian@shawstrength.com

Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawstrengthpodcast/
Brian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawstrength/
Clothes, Supplements, and Supportive Gear: https://shawstrength.com/
Behind the scenes content and Giveaways: https://club.shawstrength.com/

Main Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SHAWSTRENGTH

In this episode of the Shaw Strength Podcast, Brian sits down with his wife Keri for a much-needed life update and an honest conversation about everything they’ve had going on. They talk about Brian’s recent transformation, why he decided to step away from the 400-plus-pound strongman version of himself, and how entering a new phase of life has changed his priorities around health, training, longevity, and being more active with their boys. They also look back at the Shaw Strength Summit, celebrating 20 years of Shaw Strength, and what it meant to bring the community together for a weekend built around training, nutrition, mindset, and getting better.

Brian and Keri also break down the long road back to bringing the Shaw Classic and Strongest Man on Earth back in 2027. They get candid about the challenges of growing the event, trying to do too much, the decisions that ultimately forced them to take a step back, and why protecting the integrity of the competition and keeping it athlete-first matters more than anything else. They discuss what they’ve learned over the past five years, where they’re bringing in outside help, changes being made for 2027, and why they believe the event will come back stronger. The conversation also covers their family life, homeschooling, coaching their kids, upcoming events, and what the next phase of Shaw Strength looks like.

If you have questions for Brian, topics you would like to hear Brian talk about or guests you would like to see on the podcast email them to: askbrian@shawstrength.com

Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawstrengthpodcast/
Brian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawstrength/
Clothes, Supplements, and Supportive Gear: https://shawstrength.com/
Behind the scenes content and Giveaways: https://club.shawstrength.com/

Main Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SHAWSTRENGTH

In this episode of the Shaw Strength Podcast, Brian goes on the road and sits down with Scott DeShields Jr., better known as Kentucky Ballistics, for one of the most intense conversations we have ever recorded. On April 9th, 2021, Scott loaded what he believed was ordinary military surplus ammunition into a .50 caliber rifle. It had degraded into something closer to a bomb. When he pulled the trigger, the gun came apart in his hands.

Scott walks through the entire story for the first time in this kind of detail. The cap that broke his cheekbone, orbital bone, and nose and blinded him in one eye. The piece of steel that went through his throat, sliced his jugular, and stopped in his right lung. His father running up and telling him there was a hole in his neck. The decision to pack his own throat with his shirt and drive his thumb in up to the knuckle, and the nine minutes across two creeks and a field to get to town while he fought to stay conscious and kept seeing his kids' faces every time everything went black.

From there, Brian and Scott get into the parts of the story most people have never heard. The chest tube the doctor could not get through his rib cage. The moment his wife watched his number disappear from the surgery board and believed he had died. Being opened up with a bone saw, the warning that he would likely come out of surgery having had a stroke, and the strange, peaceful place he says he woke up in while he was under. Scott is careful and honest about that last part, including the years he has spent questioning it himself.

The conversation also covers what got him there. Building Kentucky Ballistics from a bored state trooper filming on a borrowed camera into one of the biggest channels in the space, quitting a career his family told him not to leave, and the ego and the drift that came with the money and the growth. Scott is direct about what he thinks that day was and why he now says that if he could go back and stop it, he would not.

If you have questions for Brian, topics you would like to hear Brian talk about or guests you would like to see on the podcast email them to: askbrian@shawstrength.com

Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawstrengthpodcast/
Brian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawstrength/
Clothes, Supplements, and Supportive Gear: https://shawstrength.com/
Behind the scenes content and Giveaways: https://club.shawstrength.com/

Main Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SHAWSTRENGTH

In this episode of the Shaw Strength Podcast, Brian sits down with Coop Mitchell from Garage Gym Reviews for a conversation that goes way beyond gym equipment. They kick things off by exploring a surprising question: could insurance companies eventually influence how we train? If digital resistance equipment can prove it leads to fewer injuries, could traditional gyms end up paying more for insurance and slowly move away from free weights? It sounds far-fetched, but it's an interesting look at the kinds of forces that can quietly shape an entire industry.

From there, Brian and Coop dive into what makes great strength equipment stand the test of time. They talk about York's legendary legacy, why Rogue has become the modern benchmark for American-made equipment, and why some plates and dumbbells just feel right the second you use them. Brian also shares how training with Charles Poliquin changed the way he approaches activation, rotating handles, thick grips, and micro-loading, and why paying attention to the little details can make a huge difference when it's time to perform.

They also talk about building trust in the fitness industry. Coop shares how Garage Gym Reviews grew from writing simple equipment reviews into one of the most trusted voices in the space by always putting the audience first. The conversation wraps up with home gyms, raising kids around hard work, and why making fitness part of everyday family life can have a lasting impact.

If you have questions for Brian, topics you would like to hear Brian talk about or guests you would like to see on the podcast email them to: askbrian@shawstrength.com

Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawstrengthpodcast/
Brian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawstrength/
Clothes, Supplements, and Supportive Gear: https://shawstrength.com/
Behind the scenes content and Giveaways: https://club.shawstrength.com/

Main Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SHAWSTRENGTH

In this episode of the Shaw Strength Podcast, Brian sits down with Nathan Payton to break down what it actually takes to build a nutrition plan that works in real life—not just on paper.

Most diets don’t fail because of a lack of willpower, they fail because they were never designed around the chaos of work, family, travel, and stress. Nathan, a longtime strongman nutrition coach who helped dial in Brian’s own approach, explains how to build structure that actually holds up when life gets busy.

We dive into the “good, better, best” framework for making smarter food choices without chasing perfection, plus simple, repeatable meal prep systems that keep you consistent without living in the kitchen. Cook your basics in bulk, layer in flavor fast, and make it work for the whole household—no separate diet meals, no overcomplication.

From there, we get into the mindset side of nutrition: treating food as fuel while still understanding cravings, emotional eating, and the reality of human behavior. Then it goes deeper into coaching, discipline, and performance—why your “why” fades, how self-awareness changes everything, and why flexibility is often the difference between short-term effort and long-term results.

If you have questions for Brian, topics you would like to hear Brian talk about or guests you would like to see on the podcast email them to: askbrian@shawstrength.com

Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawstrengthpodcast/
Brian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawstrength/
Clothes, Supplements, and Supportive Gear: https://shawstrength.com/
Behind the scenes content and Giveaways: https://club.shawstrength.com/

Main Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SHAWSTRENGTH

In this episode of the Shaw Strength Podcast, Brian sits down with Jujimufu for a real conversation about training, longevity, and how your approach has to evolve over time. Jujimufu talks about his 16-week journey to reclaim his famous weighted chair split at 40 years old, and how training now is less about going harder every day and more about being smarter and more intentional.

Brian also shares more about his recent 25-pound weight loss and what it’s been like moving away from his Strongman competition size. They talk about the physical toll that comes with pushing your body at a high level, finding the right balance between business, family, and training, and why sometimes the best work happens when nobody is watching.

If you have questions for Brian, topics you would like to hear Brian talk about or guests you would like to see on the podcast email them to: askbrian@shawstrength.com

Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawstrengthpodcast/
Brian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawstrength/
Clothes, Supplements, and Supportive Gear: https://shawstrength.com/
Behind the scenes content and Giveaways: https://club.shawstrength.com/

Main Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SHAWSTRENGTH