Brian Shaw’s new Strongman contest has finally been announced to the public — and it’s coming this December, against all odds.
Brian Shaw has obviously had a tremendous amount of impact on the Strongman sport, but at 38, he’s ready to embark on a new chapter of his life. For Shaw, that means founding the Shaw Classic — a Strongman event that will be held in Colorado on December 12th. Take a look at the video above for more details on which athletes Shaw plans on inviting to take the stage.
Zydrunas “Big Z” Savickas, Mateusz Kieliszkowski, Robert Oberst, J.F. Carron, Rob Kearney, Adam Bishop, Terry Hollands, Jerry Pritchett, Maxime Boudreault, and Brian Shaw himself are all confirmed to be making appearances on the stage and will participate in the upcoming competition.
Shaw said he hopes to build the show out into something that will last and hopefully “something that people will take an interest in,” but also mentioned that “only the first year is guaranteed.” Obviously, it’s extremely hard to build your own annual fitness competition from the ground up, but if anyone can do it, Shaw definitely can. He’s a one-man machine of the sport who commands respect and can definitely get high-quality athletes interested in a competition with his name on it. Whether or not it takes off in the future probably depends on the success of this first contest.
Although COVID-19 has led to the cancellation of may fitness competitions around the world, Shaw plans to hold the show at his own gym in Colorado, which should offset a lot of the safety concerns surrounding the huge crowds that are drawn to competitions like the Arnold and the Olympia.
Another interesting draw is that Britain’s current Strongest Man, Adam Bishop, will be showing up to defend his title against Shaw, a four-time former champion. What goes down between them on this stage will obviously not formally decide which one of them is Britain’s Strongest Man, but it’s still an interesting match-up between two athletes who have similar claims to fame in terms of strength. Does Adam Bishop have what it takes to become the next Brian Shaw? Is Brian Shaw still Brian Shaw, even if he is almost a decade older than some of the athletes invited to compete on the stage? These are all questions that will be answered at the inaugural Shaw Classic.
Whatever does end up happening on the Shaw Classic stage, it’s such a stellar lineup of talented athletes it’s guaranteed to deliver a truly riveting experience. We might not be able to be there in person due to the pandemic, but Shaw can still deliver a truly epic show, and we can’t wait to see it. The many talented athletes featured on this stage will get an opportunity to share their skill with a wider audience and compete against worthy adversaries. It’s also a great way to ramp up to some of the more established shows for many of them.
*All images and media courtesy of YouTube.
