Episode 13.3: They Feared the Best with Bill Kazmaier

In this, the 3rd and final part of our sit down with the legend Bill Kazmaier, we talk about why he was forced out of World's Strongest Man, his history as an announcer, and the current crop of elite strongmen. Stick around for a bonus talk with Kaz including a story about one of the worst gym related injuries we've ever heard of.
Don't forget to visit wenningstrengthmedia.com for training videos and digital training manuals! Use code "KAZ" to receive 15% off your purchase!
For more information about Matt and the Ludus Magnus Gym visit wenningstrength.com.
Subscribe and share!

[@COFFMAN255]

I hope you can have Kaz on again soon! Amazing I love hearing Kaz talk about everything. Thanks and keep up the great work Matt!

[@WenningStrength]

🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@christianbolt5761]

Kaz is still a beast. I remember when OD Wilson lost to Jon Pol, that was also BS

[@RobertP2000]

They also had an event where they were shovelling gravel that year. That year's WSM was a joke.

[@AlexBelte3002]

I guess it was like nowadays yokes type of event, carrying a weight on your back and run. I can get it since being a strongman includes to have great cardio, but man.. Why in hell running for 200 freaking meters ?? With only 100kg wich wasn't so heavy for those guys to handle. At least give them 200kg and 50 meters maximum, but there it seemed that it was perfectly calibered to have a 4x champion to try to eclipse Kaz 3x. But it eventually failed since Kaz is what he is, a strenght god (and I quote JPS himself)

[@BradArbic]

I'm stunned this doesn't have more views. Matt this was awesome to watch. Thanks for sitting down with the man himself and getting him to talk about his experiences, that was great.

[@WenningStrength]

We try brother

[@rahsheedtalbert3286]

dude looked wayy bigger then the older kaz when they were sitting down, but once they walked in the gym kaz looked like the bigger man at 65 years old

[@cooperhiphop]

Kaz an O.D. both were a beast of a team. I wish I Kaz was my trainer. Kaz has no filter and he's the real deal.

[@ThePitPony]

I remember Kaz's dominance,hence the unscrupulous actions of the sports organisers,i know this as i experienced it myself with the same people as a younger man. Kaz was so far ahead,he was the yardstick by which every newcomer was judged against. He was a strength God amongst mere mortals.

[@WenningStrength]

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@sunlightofspirt]

Deployed 05-06 with 4TH ID 🇺🇸.... loving that flag Matt..... lots of respect 💪 ! And great interviews with KAZ what a legend. And he truly is one.

[@WenningStrength]

He is awesome!!!

[@willyruger7895]

This podcast series is my favorite!

[@Pibodabo]

Man Kazmaier is born to talk!

[@markreif8879]

It's really cool to see Matt and Kaz chatting Luke that. So much history and knowledge. Awsome series of interviews and I have so much more respect for Kaz for everything he has been through. Still a beast!!

[@WenningStrength]

🙏🙏🙏🏆🏆🏆🏆

[@jeffreythompson5064]

Sans injury, kaz would be a beast in ipf and strongman

[@mikedinno8413]

I wish someone would ask him about Ken Patera. One of the most underrated strongman that ever lived. he placed in his WSM and hadn't trained for years. Imagine that.

[@93hopkinsonr]

I like Kaz a lot. He’s a true legend, but it’s always sad to see him discredit Jon Pall Sigmarsson so much. He makes excuses for every time Jon Pall beat him and I’m sure Jon Pall has a better head to head record.

[@brianholland5447]

"Head to head" it was no comparison! The numbers don't lie! And again Kaz wasn't invited to WSM 83-86.

[@jefferylord3068]

jon pall was fast kaz was strong. what is the thing called??? worlds STRONGEST man. strength wise there was no comparison.

[@brianholland5447]

@@jefferylord3068 Well said! Can you imagine him in today's era? With the science and tech that exists today?

[@Mattyboyzie]

@@jefferylord3068 you obviously haven't watched pure strength 1987 my guy

[@jefferylord3068]

Matty Boyzie i will check it out.

[@andrewmilner3480]

Would have been interesting to see what his 3 lifts are now

[@WenningStrength]

✅

[@Yeomannn]

"Bruce Wilhelm, guy walking around telling everyone else their fat and he's fat." 😂😂😂😂

[@WenningStrength]

😂😂

[@wildmanfrost]

They did the same thing to Jill Mills in WSW.

[@coryboyd7958]

OD was not 450 lbs. I spotted him squatting in an all service meet at Ft Indiantown Gap Pa. Nicest guy in the world.

[@WZ912]

yes he was

[@coryboyd7958]

@@WZ912 no

[@jefferylord3068]

they listed his body weight in a team strongman event as 375.

[@WenningStrength]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@venomslayerx177]

Holyyy shitt look at kaz next to matt a 38:42 thats insane he was an absolute monster when he was younger because now being older and smaller hes still huge.

[@WenningStrength]

Yep!!!

[@Hanuman_]

Kaz is such a fucking beast. Sad to hear that about mariusz, I've heard rumours both good and bad about the guy. Heard similar things about Franco Columbo behaving appallingly around women even as a married man.

[@WenningStrength]

🤣🤣🤣

[@josephwilkinson1610]

A gem

[@WenningStrength]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@mattepton5731]

The one and only Bill Kazmier...

[@WenningStrength]

💪💪💪

[@JohnDoe-pe1em]

What an American hero

[@littlemoo52]

165’s overhead. Wish there was video of that.

[@MattStoyanoff]

I’ve got antique glass bottles from Kaz’s ancestors in the central Pennsylvania area. I’d love to be able to share these items with people interested in strongman. Reach out to me if you are and I’ll gladly provide one. “Kazmaier Brewing Company Altoona Pennsylvania” The best part is the embossing also features a large muscled man in a flex.

[@robbennett3704]

I distinctly recall Jon Pall's best powerlifting results as follows: Squat - 365 kg (804.7 lbs) Bench press - 235 kg (518.1 lbs) Deadlift - 370 kg (815.7 lbs) Those are pretty good numbers, especially for a guy with Jon Pall's build. Though very close in height (Jon Pall was an inch taller), Kaz's stature was a bit different than Jon Pall's, and was definitely more suited for powerlifting. Jon Pall was better at Olympic lifting than Kaz. Not sure if that was due to more practice or simply more natural power, but such a skill set comes into play in certain events in strongmen. While being good at powerlifting will benefit you in strongmen, strongmen is truly a different arena. Certain techniques that may disqualify a lift in powerlifting have long been permissible in strongmen. How many times did Mariusz and others slide deadlifts up their legs? Or do overhead presses where the weight was pressed unevenly? Or, going the opposite direction, how many times are bars loaded with different weight on each side in powerlifting, which is something they may do in strongmen? The simple fact of the matter is that the sports--though related--are different. As much as Kaz may have had lopsided victories over Capes, Capes was also easily beating powerlifters that could lift significantly more weight than he could (not named Kaz). Kaz happened to be a pretty good athlete compared to most powerlifters in his day, so he was able to apply his strength effectively to many events. Similarly, Jon Pall was a very good athlete. Now, despite disagreeing with Kaz on correlating powerlifting strength directly to strongmen events, I do also agree with Kaz that there were conspiracies to try to keep him from competing, or minimize inherent advantages he had over other competitors. The events of the first Pure Strength contest (1987) were a joke for a contest with such a name. No deep strength was ever really tested. Biomechanically, this favored Jon Pall over Kaz. Also, Jon Pall was in good form for the contest because he came in much heavier than usual--Kaz was far more cut than Jon Pall in that contest. Though Kaz complained about Jon Pall's technique in the crappy deadlift event they had (this was like a 2-foot deadlift, there was almost no lifting), and the log press, in what I consider true strongman form, Jon Pall figured out techniques to better apply his strength. One other thing to touch on that caused Kaz issues in his '88 and '89 WSM attempts (aside from the car not having its brake set!): after his last win in 1982, the event format of strongmen changed. The events used were often steeped in European traditions, and in some years, there was no squatting or deadlifting. Those are two events Kaz scored highly in, and being replaced with events perhaps requiring more endurance or grip strength--not common prerequisites for powerlifting, but again, important in European strength traditions--definitely favored Kaz's competitors. While I think Kaz is going a bit overboard in some of his critiques, truly, changes were made in strongmen that didn't favor his background, or in some cases, were done to mask his strength advantage. That said, I've heard Kaz speak in a more gracious manner regarding his fellow competitors in the past, so I'm a bit curious why I've heard him say things rather sharply in interviews in the last few years--it seems to go beyond simply being blunt. Just like with Arnie, though, I'm still a huge fan!

[@WenningStrength]

💪💪💪

[@LeeH3nson]

For the algorithm mate 👍🏾

[@WenningStrength]

🏆🏆🏆🏆

[@JFatGlentract]

Jon Páll Sigmarsson powerlifted far less than Kaz, but JPS beat Kaz several times over the years in strongman. Not just Pure Strength 87

[@AlexBelte3002]

They were like 5-4 or maybe 5-3 for Jon Pall, as far as I know for the main competitions back in the days, but it was far from the early 80s Prime Kaz, especially after 1985, that's why a lot of people thought he would've have won 5 consecutive titles, from 80 to 84. On the other hand, the late 80s was the best Jon Pall especially since 1985. Overall they crossed pass a little bit late, even though Kaz was still a beast.

[@WenningStrength]

💪💪💪💪

[@kylepeterschmidt6023]

Thank God you didn't interrupt Kaz- much....

[@WenningStrength]

Thank god I posted anything for ungrateful ppl 😂😂

[@Pibodabo]

It's weird your KZbin channel is nowhere near active as your Instragram account is

[@andrewmilner3480]

Does Mr kazmaier still lift?

[@davenportbarbell734]

Andrew Milner nope he’s just permanently huge lol

[@samotargos5199]

He said he only does curls so he still looks stong when hes not. Love that guy.

[@mogenvonbogel7342]

That’s just left overs

[@guygraham8016]

yeah he speaks poorly of a lot of people he serms bitter.

[@anthonyluisi7096]

Kaz is not bitter . He just doesn’t like assholes , cheats and bullies .. just saying..

[@WenningStrength]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@BearPower1337]

Goat

[@WenningStrength]

👍👍👍

[@JoeZombie]

Wtf is that background noise

[@sridasaliyange7407]

Kaz the lifter

[@WenningStrength]

💪💪💪

[@bradcastlebury3310]

Was he as good as he says he was?

[@ryanotoole3767]

Better

[@AlexBelte3002]

Well... Let's just take his 3 World's Strongest Man victories. 1980 : wins by a 28.5 points margin, reconized as 18.5 since the last event was counted for double points back in the days, winning 6 events out of 10 1981 : secures his title before the 11th (and last) event, won it with a torn pec during the 7th event, and even managed to easily 18inch Deadlift near 1000 pounds two times (just for the show) after that on the 9th event 1982 : wins by a 13 points margin with tore hamstrings (or quads, can't remember wich) and managed to win the first three events in a row I can't say how much he would've dominated between 1983-1986, because Capes grew stronger and JPS was quite strong and fast, and progressed every year.. But IMO 1983 and 1984 at least could've been his. Maybe up until 1986.

[@WenningStrength]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@leesc11]

Kiri was screwed out of the title the Finns say because he had no personality

[@AlexBelte3002]

He lost because he lost, injuries is part of the sport, it's never an excuse. Magnus Ver Magnusson beat everyone back in the days from 94' to 96' because he beat them, no politics. But, if Ilka Nummisto and Marku represented Finland for all those years despite Riku was already in the business (and already really good at it!) was because the two made sure to own the finns competitions so they were one of them who would get invited for WSM instead of guys like Kiri

[@WenningStrength]

💪💪💪💪

[@Nastgardaren]

@@AlexBelte3002 good point! Kiri was already on elite level in strongman and stronger than anyone (in PL also) in Finland in the late 80's

[@littlemoo52]

35:33 classic

[@Yeomannn]

LMFAO 18:55

[@ben9965]

They feared the most possessed

[@WenningStrength]

😂😂😂

[@mattepton5731]

Kazmaier...

[@WenningStrength]

Badass!!