(Image: AEG Powertools Australia)
Mattias "Hellboy" Schlitte of Germany has a huge Popeye-like forearm. It's ripped with muscles that he has developed after several years of rigorous training. Schlittle uses that arm to win arm wrestling competitions around the world.
His left arm, in contrast, is not muscular. That's because Schlitte was born with a rare genetic disorder that increased the size of the bones in his right forearm. That forearm is a whopping 18 inches in circumference.
Schlitte's career began in 2004 when he was 17 years old. He describes the experience:
In 2004, a little bar in Haldensleben was looking for the strongest armwrestler in the region – my first tournament and the beginning of my career. Without any knowledge or practise I competed in the amateur-class up to 90kg – being only 16 years old with a weight of 65kg. At first, older and more experienced fighters smiled at me for being so light-weighted, but after winning the contest the opinions changed immediately.
Here's a funny commercial that Schlitte made for an Australian tool company.
-via Break
A story for you: My wife's late uncle was one challenged to an arm wrestling contest by a professional arm wrestler. Now, he was kind of a skinny, unathletic middle-aged guy at the time - but he handily beat the professional. Stunned, the guy asked him how in the world could he be so strong. Bowling, he answered. My wife's uncle was a bowling champ who bowled every single day for decades.