An interview with Pro Strongman Jesse Marunde. Jesse placed 4th at the Men's Pro Nationals in August of 2003, and then went on to compete at the 2003 World's Strongest Man Contest in Zambia, Africa.


Jesse and Steve Kirit in Zambia, 2003 Jesse and his fiance, Callie Michney.
Callie also competes in the sport.
 
Photo credit Jesse Marunde



 NW Strongman: What were your thoughts/feelings on WSM, after qualifying at nationals? Did you feel prepared/excited/psyched?:

After nationals I decided that my best approach to training for the WSM contest was to show up as healthy and rested as possible. With nationals just 5 weeks before worlds, none of the American athletes had a chance to train for worlds properly. I love what I do, and never lack motivation. I showed up to worlds with the right attitude. However, the injury I suffered on Jim Davis's platform squat at nationals came back to haunt me in the very first event. I dropped the farmers handles several times before realizing I was in last place, so I stopped in order to save gas. On the next event, the squat, I made the first rep at 550, but bailed out of the 2nd rep of 600. My back pain was very intense, and I had to drop out.  


NW Strongman: Was the lineup at WSM tougher this year than last? Who do you feel has come up in the last year?

This year there was alot of injuries, which made for a less competitive field in the prelims. However, some of the top guys made huge improvements which made the top 10 finalists compete in what I think was one of the toughest contests ever.


NW Strongman: Local fans and friends felt terrible to hear about your injury and having to back out of the show. Can you tell us what happened?

At nationals I did some disc damage in my lumbar region and did some Sacro-iliac damage as well. Doing partial squats in excess of 1000 pounds as the first event of the second day of a grueling contest without a chance to warm up is asinine. On my final attempt with about 1150 lbs I felt and heard a large snapping and crunching in my back. I dropped to the floor and could barely walk to Dr. Graeme Van Matre who practices Active Release Therapy. He worked on me and I was able to finish the show. Competing with pain is something every top level athlete deals with. Going to the WSM show with back pain didn't alter my goal of making the finals. I wanted to continue because it's not in me to quit. But I was advised to drop out in order to avoid further and permanent damage. Thanks for the sympathy. It's like Steve Kirit, my good friend and the greatest champ America has ever seen said, 'There is shame in showing weakness but there is honor in being injured on the battle field.'


NW Strongman: What are your plans for the winter/offseason/heal-up, in preparation for the 2004 season?

I'm going to get bigger, faster and stronger. I'm going to pick my contests more carefully, avoiding dangerous shows with small crowds and sticking to the bigger and safer ones. And I'm going to beat Steve Kirit like a spoiled little step child.


NW Strongman: Can you elaborate a little on what constitutes a dangerous show versus a safe show? What do you think a good strongman contest format is?

An example of a dangerous show would be one where athletes are asked to perform more than 5 events on concrete. I've done shows where we had to do 9 events on concrete, including several medley type events. There are several problems with this kind of show. In every one of these shows that I've been to, several guys suffered severe, permanent, and/or painful injuries. Performing heavy farmer's walks, super yoke, Conan's wheel, etc all on the same day on concrete is like playing football without a helmet. If you plan on doing more than two shows a year with this format, you're begging for injuries! Alas, the almighty dollar has the final say. With that in mind, promoters should try to place more focus on entertaining. They should keep in mind that crowds won't stay for more than 2 1/2 to 3 hours. So if you want a big crowd that stays for the whole show you should have a max of 4-5 events. This will also protect the athletes. Bigger crowds leads to more exposure, TV contracts, and BIGGER sponsors. It's a win-win-win scenario. Also, we need to get rid of this ridiculous habit of making competitors where the same shirts. My mother stopped dressing me when I was 16. I can dress myself now thank you very much. Strongman needs characters in order to grow. Everyone looking and dressing the same is stupid. If athletes could choose there own attire, then more sponsors would get involved with the sport via sponsoring individuals. More sponsors means more money, more money leads to a recognized sport. How awesome would it be to have a strongman series televised with a championship on pay-per-view?!?! That will never happen in the US until the sport sees some drastic changes.


We heard you got engaged when you were in Africa?

Yep! She chased me till I caught her. After she won the light weight strongwomen nationals I knew Callie was the girl for me! I proposed to her at the Victoria Falls. It was awesome.


NW Strongman: Last comments?

Thanks Julie and Tod for publicizing Strongman in the Pacific Northwest. You guys are awesome! Keep it up and stay strong!!!





home