A competition tells you who won. Spending time with the people doing it helps you understand why they keep coming back.
Behind the Strength, the documentary from Strongman Champions League, follows that second question. Across its roughly 40-minute running time, the film moves from competition in Ohio to the world finals in South Africa. The heavy implements are there, but so are the work schedules, travel, families, friendships, and personal reasons that make a demanding season worth pursuing.
Two of the athletes featured will be familiar to Table Talk listeners: Brian Kichton and Adam Roszkowski. Their episodes are embedded below, along with the full documentary.
Watch Behind the Strength
Film and header image: Strongman Champions League. Watch the original on YouTube. The documentary looks back at competition from the 2025 season; its release does not make those contests new results.
The Work Around the Work
Brian describes a full-time finance job alongside professional strongman and weekend volunteering at a dog shelter. Adam talks about a sporting background that includes years of competitive dance and American football, then brings the conversation back to family and the example he wants to set.
Those details matter. A competition performance has to fit inside a life. The training session is only one part of the commitment. There is also getting to the contest, paying for the trip, returning to work, and having people around you who understand what you are trying to do.
For a lifter watching at home, that is a useful place to start evaluating a plan. Look at the week you actually have. Where will the sessions go? What happens when work runs late? What can you consistently recover from? A plan that depends on every other part of life cooperating is going to be difficult to sustain.
Rivals Who Help Each Other Improve
The film makes room for Evans Nana, Kevin Hazeleger, Andrea Invernizzi, and Rayno Nel, alongside Brian and Adam. Their conversations show competitors who want the same title and still value the people trying to take it from them. Travel and repeated contests give them time to learn who the other athletes are.
Andrea's experience and relationships are especially important to the story. The respect between athletes is earned over time, through the work and through how they treat one another when the contest gets difficult.
There is a practical lesson here for any training group: get around people who can challenge you and who will tell you the truth. Learn from the lifter who does something better. Ask a specific question. Pay attention to the answer. Being competitive should give you more reasons to learn from someone, not fewer.
What the Result Means to the People Around You
In South Africa, the attention around Rayno Nel gives the final a different weight. His reflections connect his own competitive ambition to the people watching him represent their country. Other athletes speak about family, belonging, and what they hope their effort leaves behind.
For context, SCL's official 2025 finals recap identifies Upington as the host city and records Nel's victory, with Hazeleger second and Roszkowski third. It also credits Kichton with winning the Atlas Stones on the second day. Those results provide context; the film spends its time showing the people attached to them.
You do not need an international title to ask the same question. Who benefits from the way you approach your training? What are the people around you learning from how you handle progress, frustration, and responsibility?
Brian Kichton on Table Talk
Brian joined us for episode #359, “Losing 30lbs In 24 Hours...The Death Cut.” If his part in the documentary makes you want to know more about the athlete, here is the full Table Talk conversation.
Watch Brian Kichton's Table Talk episode.
The episode title refers to an extreme weight cut. Treat discussion of that experience as an account, not a weight-cutting protocol to copy.
Adam Roszkowski on Table Talk
Adam joined us for episode #402, “11 Years of Ballroom Dancing Made Him This Strong.” His conversation explores the transition from competitive dance to football and strongman. It is a useful companion to the documentary's look at his background and priorities.
Watch Adam Roszkowski's Table Talk episode.
Take Something Back to Your Own Training
Watch the lifts, but listen to the conversations around them. Then look at your own preparation:
- Build a week you can repeat. Account for work, family, travel, and recovery before filling every available hour with more training.
- Use your training partners. Ask for help with something specific and be willing to offer the same attention in return.
- Know why you are doing it. A placing is one measure. The habits you build and the example you set continue after the contest ends.
The documentary gives you a reason to care about the people before the next implement leaves the ground. Spend the time with it. Then take a useful question back to your own gym.
Live. Learn. Pass On.
Dave Tate
