My Thoughts on The Rogue Invitational

[@SomeYouTubeGuy]

I loved the whole event. I watched the free stream on youtube. Got a whole weekends worth of top level entertainment. Can't ask for more than that.

[@jarenci1]

I pretty much agree with everything you said. It also shows that putting pressure on Mitch can cause him to make some mistakes, making the competition more interesting.

[@terryhollands]

@@jarenci1 it’s just so rare to see! Let’s be honest though, even a couple of points lost through mistakes he still won convincingly

[@mediaproof960]

He did. Others need to rise to the occasion. He is so consistent that he will be EXTREMELY hard to beat often, even if he loses one now and again. Thors pressing comes back and we will see fireworks. Trey could potentially push him in certain shows. Tom as well. Lucas and Evan are both dangerous. There are others that have the strength but it seems like putting together all the pieces is the tricky part

[@terryhollands]

@@mediaproof960 he will be very tough to beat! Mariusz had weakness when comps got heavy, z was bad at arm over arms, Brian his overhead (don’t get me wrong they were still good at those) but I’ve not seen consistency like this in my time in strongman. I don’t think there’s an event he places outside top 5 in the world even with ALL the best guys in the world there

[@mediaproof960]

That's insane for someone like you to say that. The lads better get to work! Haha

[@FriendsOfCalvin]

Loved the event and the way it was aired, especially as a UK citizen living in Australia it made it really accessible and I could watch it back without any spoilers on who has won events etc Overall great weekend and I hope all shows do more of those larger heat style head to head event's similar to this weekend. Seeing multiple guys racing is fun to watch, and for the newbie arm chair fans like you said it makes it really engaging, fun, and easy to understand Agree on the farmers into log, odd mix but at least theyre trying out new combinations of event's, as that can only help grow the sport even if it might not work all the time Great to see the Stoltman boys back in good form and Luke is a dark horse to watch for 2025 podiums for sure Looks like he's got plenty left in the tank 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

[@mrunoriginal3248]

Completely agree, tacky towels didn't look visually professional and men against women at the same time meant it was difficult to keep track of the overall leaderboard. Loved this show, i appreciate the medleys to make the crossfit, and strongman became more hybrid, so both sets of athletes used similar equipment. Great recap video!

[@terryhollands]

@@mrunoriginal3248 I don’t mind a medley! I think they can be entertaining for sure!

[@MarkVrem]

Yup, that confused me. You hear them saying no tacky, but then you see those patented yellow towels around used on the stones, and forearms.

[@Adamcaudill]

The thing that I liked about the men and women going at the same time was watching them cheer each other on. I think the competition would’ve been better seeing separate. But it was cool to watch them support each other!

[@romeocasido5723]

So if you understand the context that Rogue loses money by throwing the invitational, and treats it more like a marketing event for themselves... Then you realize some of the decisions they make on the structure, programming, and movements/objects are to showcase the sport, the product, and help make it grow. Having men and women go together will force casual eyes on the women rather than being the bathroom break portion of the competition. Hardcaore fans will watch regardless... In crossfit circles it is understood that Rogue's goal is not to find the fittest when programming the invitational. It's also seen as more of a heavier comp compared to the CF games which is a complete athletic test. Either way the fittest always seem to find a way to the top... I'm a Strong Person newbie, found and fell in love with it through crossfit. And if I had to guess, the Rogue Invitational, for Strong, is seen as a more athletic conditioning test, with the strongest always rising to the top, no matter what you throw at them. Just like in CrossFit

[@terryhollands]

@@romeocasido5723 I don’t agree that putting the women side by side on an event is needed! The girls deserve their own platform, they don’t need to be alongside the men to make sure eyes are on them! They’re world class athletes and part of getting people to watch is making it entertaining! Competition head to head helps that! As far as the equipment things goes of course I’m aware of that but the only event I had an issue with is the farmers in to log, as a newbie you may not be aware that moving events and static events are never usually put together and the farmers was pointless as everyone finished them easily! If you wanna promote your farmers then put it in with another moving event is the best way. Anyway I hope I’m just misreading the tone and you’re not actually trying to be negative to some of my opinions

[@mattitude3674]

There is no way they rogue lose money, having been there all weekend they made a fortune. Many of the seats were terrible and a lot of disappointed people that spent a lot of money. I spent less money going to America for the week to watch WSM. Selling of used and damaged kit and putting the price up during the weekend as they saw that people would buy them

[@terryhollands]

@ that doesn’t sound good! Just the prize money alone is 1.8 million dollars, live stream cost, staff, venue hire, hotels, flights etc. the cost must be up around 2.3-2.5 million, even if 5000 (don’t think it was that many) seats at 100 a piece for 3 straight days (I know it was less than that) that still leaves them a million short. That’s a shame to hear all that though! Hope it wasn’t all bad though mate

[@mediaproof960]

What up with the wierd insecure negativity bud? U think it's cool to say stuff like that and be offensive about folks that are trying to get out there and do their absolute best? Lemme tell you, it ain't cool. It makes u sound like u have no confidence and are insecure that these women can outlift u. Get to the gym and be better little man.

[@terryhollands]

@@mediaproof960 I removed the comment

[@Baloo2650]

Thanks for your take Terry, it was a great event! So many excellent performances by many of the competitors made it really fun to watch. Cheers!

[@lululamperouge7416]

I totally agree with the no suits thing. I've actually always felt this way but don't hear people discuss it as often anymore. Great video and takes on everything

[@user-my2se7sn3s]

Just like to say really enjoying your videos feels like your views are straight to the point and honest from a guy whos been there and done it all. Yourself and Loz back when you both started out were what got me into powerlifting i know its a different sport but you 2 would go out in your comps and always give a 100%. Big respect 👍

[@MR-ly4xt]

I enjoyed listening to your opinions on the Rogue Invitational 2024. I totally agree, the women deserve their own platform, not side by side with the men. I would prefer to see the women competing with women. They are so good and lifting so heavy now, they were amazing in this competition. I agree with what you said about the farmers with the log press. A strange choice. I didn't see the need for the buzzers, no other strongman competitions use them. Tom forgot to press his which cost him some seconds. Evan hit his buzzer before pulling the sled up to the line, so I feel the buzzers are unnecessary.

[@FCMorba]

Great review. I agree on the buttons, it’s a big crowd and also live streamed so it’s fast and accurate reporting of the event end. Great addition imo :)

[@petershortland478]

Everyone on Rogue chat was righting off Tom S consistently. He done so well despite his back issue

[@terryhollands]

@@petershortland478 he gets so much unfair criticism!! He’s an absolutely quality athlete and I’m sure he will be in contention at wsm again next year! I know rogue is bigger prize money but I know which I’d rather win! I watched the deadlift on the livestream and 12k people were watching it, so far that deadlift has 64k views on KZbin, wsm gets 2 million views in the uk alone. Maybe he can’t peak for multiple shows a year, not everyone can but at the biggest show in terms of viewing figures and exposure he always delivers

[@ClintonsK]

Over all a great show but Rogue really like to hybrid strongman events and it makes the show unique in a time when a lot of them blend into one… with the level of payouts I’m sure the athletes are happy with the events no matter what way presented

[@terryhollands]

@@ClintonsK I agree it’s a different spin! I really enjoyed it

[@roadagent5158]

I was there, after the deadlifts had been completed Thor was going to go for an extra lift in order to break the strongman raw DL record. It was announced in the arena after he appeared to be talking to organisers on the floor, but he announced on the mic it was a heat of the moment thing and he was not going to go for it and save himself for the whole show. In event 2 Tom and Mel were only given the 10 second warning rather then the 1 minute and then 30 seconds. Neither athlete was prepared, expecting or listening out for the 10 second warning and even after the beeper went and the clock started they did not seem to have heard. It looked like Mel made a pretty persuasive case to the officials and it appeared they got their times amended from when they (eventually) left the start mat

[@terryhollands]

Thats a shame. I'm not sure the ins and outs on whos error it was but i'm certain it wont happen again. As for Thor thatd be great to see but was the smart choice

[@roadagent5158]

Agreed; me and my adopted best mates for the weekend were saying the weight selection seemed pretty much spot on. We were slagging off the buttons at first, but for an accurate time without fannying about looking at replays it actually made sense. Singleton looked to be keeping it calm and locked-on, and got a well deserved great result. I was interested to see Thor spent quite a bit of time on the floor looking very relaxed with his family and friends arena-side. We reckoned the place probably took about a million quid in ticket sales as the arena was set up for 4,500 capacity and it sold well though not sold out. With the prize money, venue rental and pretty mega logistics with the amount of North American crew there, hotels, flights, AV and production means right enough there is surely no direct profit for Rouge so hats off. Kiki Dixon in Aberdeen, what was going on?!😂😂

[@jonnylieberman]

Agree with almost everything - I even liked the buzzers - but I personally really enjoyed seeing the men and women competing side by side on the farmers/log. Just… fun to watch.

[@tommyrebel8344]

Great video Terry! Love hearing your honest and thoughtful opinions on the competition.

[@TobyLifely]

I agree, get rid of suits. Also agree on the women going against the men, they each deserve their own platform and shouldn't have to share. Great comp otherwise, really entertaining.

[@terryhollands]

@@TobyLifely I loved the yoke into powerstairs

[@TobyLifely]

@terryhollands I thought it was awesome - I thought the buzzers worked really well on that event, not so sure about the buzzers on the stones or arm over arm but on the yoke into power stairs it was great. Really enjoyed the overhead medley too, those axles were gorgeous

[@SteinMeister72]

I did an event at a local comp with the big sand cylinder. It isn't difficult; just annoying and time consuming. It should be relegated to the rubbish bin like the duck walk and tire flip

[@jfro5867]

Enjoyed that walk through Terry. 👍

[@goldilox811]

The show really looked amazing, and the different events are a breath of fresh air when Giants Live and WSM serve us up the same events over and over again.

[@simay4977]

That comp was peak strongman. The top 3 in the world showing why they are the top 3 in the world. Mitch currently unbeatable with Tom and Thor equally close behind in 2nd place. Luke taking the win on the medley was my highlight. Awesome comp with the women too. Great competition overall. What a way to finish the year.

[@terryhollands]

I’d agree it was peak at the top but a couple missing imho.

[@simay4977]

@@terryhollands Agreed, Trey, Mateusz, and Novikov if he can get back to his best - to name a few.

[@valleyshrew]

I appreciated them putting men and women together because I've watched a bunch of strongman events and didnt know a single woman, but now I do. The complaints about the buttons seem over the top to me, they make the timing objective rather than leaving it to human judgment & it felt more professional. Some athletes messing up is on them.

[@tuomashaanpaa8209]

Thanks Terry! You are The Man!💪

[@hugodogobob]

The button is good, leaves it up to the athlete to end their time. Then there's no questioning the judges reaction time. It's up to the athlete to react to the starting signal and hit the button to end it.

[@Hesher93]

This was my first Strongman Competition I attended and really loved it, everything was good organised and on time, the energy was awesome. The only nitpick I have, is having 5 athletes do the yoke into power stairs, the event was over to fast. It works for crossfit cause they have 20(?) Athletes competing and their event go on for many minutes, but not for strongman with 10 Athletes.

[@andrewsmith8355]

My thoughts on what I was able to see of the strongman contest was I didn't like the buzzer after some events seemed dumb. The fumble on the timer for the medley for Tom Stoltman and I can't think of the strong woman that was with him and lockout on some of the over head was soft to say the least

[@dean1807]

I’m mainly a strongman/strongwoman fan but also enjoy CrossFit so came to the Rogue Invitational this weekend (still in Aberdeen until tomorrow) and have loved it. Bumped into Big Loz, Liz plus Jerry Pritchett in the hotel and saw Pavlo Kordiyaka, Thor, Mitch Hooper, Tom Stoltman, Tom Evans and alot of the crossfitters just walking around. To anyone who’s considering coming to these events, I’d thoroughly recommend. I’m not the sort to go over and bother an athlete so didn’t speak to anyone, but if you want to they’re very accessible and seemed friendly with fans.

[@terryhollands]

@@dean1807 this is the case at all strongman events tbh. Most of the guys and girls are very friendly

[@dean1807]

@terryhollands definitely agree. I’ve been to the UK Arnolds, Europes Strongest Man, Log Lift World Championships and now Rogue Invitational this year and they’ve all been brilliant experiences. Would recommend to anyone to go to a show if they’re into the sport.

[@sergiupobereznic]

Great event this weekend. I think, as well as making the implements "look" visually as heavy as they were, it would have been nice to have the weight of each implement up on the screen instead of the commentators maybe mentioning the weight here and there. Nice video, Terry.

[@DallyLRUFC]

Do you think Kordiyaka would benefit from putting some more size on or would he lose out on what he’s good with at the moment? I’m not sure where he goes from here if he keeps his package the same

[@terryhollands]

It’s a tricky one and yes you could be right! What makes him great is his explosiveness and athleticism, he could potentially lose that if he packed on some weight!

[@JBS7551]

Agreed, ban suit. SMOE, arnolds and Rogue have it figured out. I think a raw deadlift record for Thor would be far more impressive vs suited. Wish the suited record would get less attention vs raw 505kg raw would be nuts, but not undoable for him.

[@terryhollands]

He definitely had more there but whether he had another 45kg is a big ask. Maybe he could and I'm all for seeing it! I think the Rogue and SMOE have highlighted how reliant on suits some guys have got

[@JBS7551]

@terryhollands Absolutely

[@michaelmullins1290]

Im with you on the head to head matchup was ruined for me. Thor didn't get his wrist wraps on in his heat. I also thought the buttons weren't normal for the regular strongman and strongwoman events. The having to walk around the bar instead of jumping over like normal. Thor lost a few seconds on the circus axle. T-Rex having to shoulder tackle that rolling device. To many uncontrollable bits.

[@jarheadcoffee]

Hell yeah!

[@__Raze]

In terms of phasing out suits, how do you think that should work in terms of standardising for records? Suitless for big comps of the year, suited for WDC (as we've seen this year)? We're probably stuck with them just in terms of matching allowed equipment for what Eddie used, until Trey steals the record suitless and we can put it to bed.

[@terryhollands]

@@__Raze let hooper break the record next year then scrap the suits

[@DavidVirtanen]

Great Video Terry ❤❤❤💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

[@misterc5783]

I think Tom has a good point to work from but I’m not sure he can add 50kg to his deadlift in the next 12-18 months (you’ll know better than me how possible that is). But then again,I’m not sure he needs to add as much as 50kg. If he can hit that third place spot in any max deadlift comp with Thor and Mitch in it then he’s got to be happy. But in truth, with Trey, Bobby, Evan, Luke R, maybe hicksy back in, it might also be difficult for tom to get even top 5. Some big big pullers out there. I also hope he doesn’t focus too much on deadlift when others things need improving a little, if only to stay level with Mitch whose improvements you can see quite visibly on every event. All in all, I think for Tom this was a very positive comp. And for Luke too, I think he’s been performing very well and I think occasional podiums might still be there for him, in certain comps. Mitch still currently out of reach and improving fast so it remains hard to see him being caught. But it’s sport, innit. It always changes. I agree with you on the men and women going together. It’s much better if it’s people competing against each other and I’m sure they’ll consider that. New promoter trying new things and I’m all for it. Some things work. Some things don’t. I appreciate them trying things out. I really appreciate them trying to add a level of professionalism to the sport. Things looking pristine, great for broadcast, less haphazard, less messy. The button idea to be definitive on timings I think is brilliant. Rather than this amateurish, “ooh, who had their hand off first” type of business. If the sport is to grow and move forward it has to be done more like this.

[@Twiiik]

Great review of the event! 💪

[@adamh6730]

Lukes performance on the final event is wild! He was ahead of Tom and Thor but ran out of steam 🌶🌶🌶

[@markovasil1608]

Props to Rogue for running such a professional event

[@terryhollands]

It was a decent show

[@createachanneltopost]

I think the rope pull was getting caught up on the foot platform which is strange. I think there should be a notch for the rope imo.

[@terryhollands]

@@createachanneltopost can’t say i noticed that but yes usually there would be!

[@bbrown6458]

great vid

[@andrewgilbertson5356]

‘Twas a great livestream and comp

[@anthonygilligan6598]

I think the sandbag box just helped with the set up for the next competitors. One less man needed each side to move that heavy bag back to the starting point.

[@terryhollands]

@@anthonygilligan6598 they still would have needed to reset it, it’d still need to be spun and moved so it’s same for everyone. Moving it 6 inches or 12 inches isn’t much extra effort. IMO events should be won or lost on the carrying, lifting etc not who placed their bag exactly in a square that doesn’t have much room for margin

[@anthonygilligan6598]

​@terryhollands agree with you comment on the winning and losing just trying to think of a reason why it might have been there in the first place

[@terryhollands]

@@anthonygilligan6598 if I’m honest i think you’re right and it’s a little lazy if that is the case

[@thebearujb]

Terry, you should have been there commentating together with Loz, that would have been awesome!

[@terryhollands]

@@thebearujb i would have enjoyed that but it was nice to just sit back and enjoy the show!

[@JTHMjunk]

The women’s log was just a little too heavy. Thomas Evans was the biggest surprise of the show. If he hadn’t gotten injured he may have been on the podium.

[@mikeanthony706]

Tom took his time with the stones. I'm very surprised no one is talking about this.

[@terryhollands]

@@mikeanthony706 in what way do you mean? Lapping them? Or just generally didn’t rush through

[@mikeanthony706]

@terryhollands generally, he didn't rush through. I'm not taking anything away from Thor, but going after Tom helped to pace Thor. Also, Tom appeared nervous and careful coming to the horrific SMOE stone disaster

[@terryhollands]

@ yes that could be part of it or maybe saving his back issue. Think next year we will see the best of Tom again at wsm as usual! Just needs a mini rebuild and I think his 3rd (joint second) shows he’s moving in the right direction

[@Adam-bw6dj]

​@mikeanthony706 Whilst I do agree he went slower, Tom lapped the 4th and 5th stone whereas Thor one motioned all of them. You cant ignore that fantastic feat of strength.

[@ulfg4692]

Some of these combo-events, like farmers into log, felt a bit.. cross-fitty? 😅 But overall, a fun comp. I really like that they run both men and women on the same weekend in this sport. Helps getting exposure to all the good strongwomen out there. And they're sometimes even more exciting to watch, since they don't have a Hooper that dominates everything. 😛 With the strongwomen, it's usually a fight to the very end, which is good for the audience!!

[@jtf2dan]

Mitch has only been competing for 3 years now.....Thor didnt hit his peak until 7 years after he started competing, so I think Mitch will continue to make great strength improvements for another 3 years at least.....and that will change a lot of those second places into first places, keeping him in first place for years to come. And the more experience he gets the less mistakes, also improving his placings.......could end up being the GOAT.

[@terryhollands]

@@jtf2dan because of what he had done last 2 years he would be in my conversation when talking about the best ever. I think z mariusz and Brian still have the edge based on their longevity but what he has done last 2 years is ridiculous

[@Adam-bw6dj]

​@@terryhollandsCan't see how anybody could disagree with that analysis. He's arguably the best ever with less longevity.

[@Freshprankstv1]

That's true. Injuries play a massive part. Ppl like Kevin nee pulled 900 at 19 and made it to the wsm finals but then fizzled out a yr later. Fiery Genetic potential/injuries

[@adamh6730]

Having the girls up there was the best 👍 Id watch that whole show without the guys being there at all and having such a great guys lineup was just awesome. Seeing Hoops sweat a bit was cool. Wicked fight for the podium! Event lineup was a bit ridiculous in my opinion. Huge shout out to Thomas Evans 💪 Threatining to get into that top 5 conversation Girls comradery reminds me of why i love the sport. I feel we're losing that a bit in the top level of the mens as they're needing to focus so much more on their own performances as these comps get more and more intense. All around amazing for us fans! Worth looking forward to On to The Magnus Classic 💪🥶🤘

[@Lorenzo-bq2ch]

Thanks Terry. But how can Tom Stoltman compete at all? does he not have a herniated disc? Surely you can't even lift 50kg off the floor with that type of injury

[@terryhollands]

@@Lorenzo-bq2ch not necessarily but he did and imo did pretty well!. I know his new coach is very clued up with injuries (that’s his area of expertise) so he wouldn’t have him doing anything he shouldn’t!

[@terryhollands]

@@Lorenzo-bq2ch lifting can be safe with a herniated disc so low as you are cautious. Lifting weights in the gym can actually help improve it

[@jeremysanders8766]

Watching the kettlebell being lifted was almost like watching for someone to slip up on technique then break an arm. Could just get rid of the kettlebell.

[@briefcasemanx]

"sharing a platform" is not an issue for me. I just think it would be more exciting to see head to heads since the two people are competing directly against each other. It doesnt borher me that a woman is competing next to a man at the same time. But also, if it gets more men to not skip watching the women's event, maybe its a good thing.

[@terryhollands]

That was my point! It’s great the women are getting these opportunities but I want to see 2 people competing against each other

[@terryhollands]

As far as getting the me to skip the women’s I think it’s worse! People will only watch one lane potentially and also it’s a bit disrespectful to say, hey, so you get people watching you we will put you out with the men! These girls are awesome athletes and deserve their own moments under the lights

[@goldilox811]

Men and women competing at the same time makes no sense. Buzzers remove the bias of a referee and timing is entirely in the athlete’s hands which is the best way to do it imo

[@adamh6730]

We don't have enough close calls in Strongman to justify the necessity of what's otherwise just a gimmick

[@goldilox811]

@ we do though, and we have 60 year old+ referees timing events worth 120K prize money with a stopwatch… the amount of error is far too significant. You are Totally wrong imo

[@adamh6730]

Fair point that the stakes are high but there's enough ability for a replay from multiple angles no? I feel like we're fixing something that isn't broken if that's the case I'm also bias as I personally very much dislike it

[@Fisher_Munro]

The buzzers were very abitrary, and just made the flow worse. Like when Tom celebrates after the stone and you want to see that hype, but actually he is supposed to be pressing a button.

[@terryhollands]

@@Fisher_Munro I get that! I personally didn’t mind them but I get your point

[@jackcostello5757]

Tom and Thor (on arm over arm) both forgot the buzzer luckily it didn't effect points would be sad to see someone miss a podium etc because of it.

[@terryhollands]

@ for sure! If it became the norm I think you’d see it less though

[@coach-bens]

I understand thé point you Make about the women competing with the men on farmers to press in term of Time management it was probably better and it did not brother me i love both and i found it original but yeah strongmen and strongwomen should have their own platform b

[@shiverr1337]

I would say, major upgrade from 2023 RI. Good events with proper weights, no shinanigans with weather conditions. Don't mind buttons, don't understand why they've put them for stones, but yoke to stairs it work really well. I liked the different tone of this show, going to be a mixture of strongman and crossfit (each other having something in common with each other) and I believe it's the way to go with sport growth, RI is not refurbished/outdoor Arnold, it's a different show with different vibe. Not a fan of: - athlete selection. No Lucas Hatton, Trey Mitchel, Kieliszkowski, the show would be much more enjoyable with those faces. - I would love to have bigger athlete pool, 10 is too little to have any sort of dynamic. - Not a fan of event starting order by the overall standings and not by last event standing, making catching up too difficult - Commentary - Loz was great, Kristin was great, the other guy was meh, constatly confusing facts - Your comment on "things not looking as heavy" is totally valid, this hay bale immitation was most likely heavy as hell, but it looked quite childish

[@alishabanks5697]

Terry, I think your secret long term goal is to come back and take the deadlift world record at some point. I believe you can 💪

[@TheDudeAbidesMan1969]

Sketchy call on Hoopers kettle bell

[@terryhollands]

@@TheDudeAbidesMan1969 maybe! I thought the refereeing was pretty consistent though! I noticed one where a guy pulled the sled after the buzzer and got given that distance but sometimes hard to spot in the moment, not sure if it’d have made points difference but looked like it might have

[@mattitude3674]

There were a lot of issues with event starting times for athletes, very inconsistent athletes being given different amount of times at the start of events, commentators getting athletes names wrong. Enough moaning though, equipment was beautiful athletes smashed it, women were amazing loads of great performances. Same from the men. nice venue staff. Great to have been to.one would I go again , NO P.s. the commentators did not know they were tacky towels and were telling the crowd that the athletes were wiping the moisture off their hands and arms!

[@terryhollands]

@ should have got loz down on the floor for it.

[@pagit85]

Really wasn't, plus he still would have won by like 3 points if it didn't even lift the kettlebell

[@terryhollands]

@@pagit85 if he’d not lifted the kb he’d have got zero (so 9 less points) Thor would have had 1 point more , they finished 10 points difference, 1 more for Thor makes gap 9, hooper got 9 on the medley which would have been zero so it’d have been a tie had he not got the db, but anyway I didn’t think it was bad, maybe a tiny bit quick but as I said I thought the judging was consistent and consistent is fair

[@hedlandboy]

I think the farmers into log could have looked really cool if thy had two men and two women go at the same time

[@Bigramt]

Big Brian would have loved more contests without suits, considering he didn't get anything from one Lots of fans don't realise he pulled without a suit and has pulled over 1000 a number of times

[@AlejandroSanchez-pl6jw]

Against Eddie and Thor too. Trey Mitchell proved that

[@Bigramt]

@@AlejandroSanchez-pl6jw Thor imo can pull more than Trey without a suit. He already has om the elephant bar at the Arnold's

[@AlejandroSanchez-pl6jw]

@@Bigramt agreed

[@timbo2clark823]

I agree have men against men

[@terryhollands]

@@timbo2clark823 I just think they all deserve their competitive platform and it’s more entertaining seeing a head to head rather than separate contests running at the same time

[@mikehiney4164]

Terry, do you dislike yoke into log?

[@terryhollands]

I dislike any moving event in to a static lift as they’re totally different tests of strength. I prefer when each aspect of strength (deadlift, squat, overhead, carrying weight for speed, carrying weight for distance, loading/stones etc) are combined, combining 2 moving events is cool as fuck but when the tests are so different it tests one or the other! Someone could be great at overhead and get no benefit if worse at moving or someone could be great at moving and poor overhead and they get no reward for being really strong on moving. I hope that makes sense

[@ConnoisseurOfExistence]

In event 2, I guess the reason for putting a man and a woman together, is to give more exposure to the women, as usually many more people watch just the men.

[@terryhollands]

@@ConnoisseurOfExistence I don’t think they need it personally! I actually think it’s a little insulting to the girls to say you can go with the men so people will watch!

[@ConnoisseurOfExistence]

@@terryhollands Maybe, yet I think normally the audience for male strongmen is at least 10 times larger than for strongwomen.

[@terryhollands]

@@ConnoisseurOfExistence yes of course that’s the case but why not as you had the audience let them showcase what they can do? Let’s be honest CrossFit is usually a miles bigger fan base than strongman but they didn’t put a strongman out with a crossfitter and wouldn’t even if they did the same event. I watched the livestream and saw the number and the women’s deadlift wasn’t that much lower than the men’s. Part of them showcasing the women is giving them their own platform to entertain and I’m just of the option a head to head would be more entertaining than watching 2 separate comps at the same time. If what you’re saying is true people will just watch the mens lane anyway so actually makes it worse than giving them their own moment

[@ConnoisseurOfExistence]

@@terryhollands That's not entirely correct. I, for example, wanted to watch just a bit of the Friday stream, as a motivation for my workout. It's not that I don't enjoy watching the women (I even like crossfit), but I just didn't have the time, so I was skipping to the men's events only. However, on event 2, I had to watch the women as well, which I wouldn't in that particular case, if they were separate. And I actually enjoyed it. But you're much more of an insider to strongman then me, so I respect your opinion.

[@terryhollands]

@@ConnoisseurOfExistence we are all different and it’s fine to have a preference, I just feel like they should get enough respect to give them their own platform cause on the live stream you can’t see either completely or in person will tend to only watch one lane

[@goldilox811]

Tom had zero sense of urgency on his stone run, it was like he made a point to go slow

[@terryhollands]

@@goldilox811 someone else commented this, he is nursing a back injury so could well be because of that

[@AlejandroSanchez-pl6jw]

I wouldn’t say zero. Half ass maybe and that’s a scary thought

[@goldilox811]

@@terryhollands fair point

[@goldilox811]

@@AlejandroSanchez-pl6jw I say that because he had flawless technique and easily lifted every stone, but then went 3x slower than Thor and Mitch between the stones.

[@AlejandroSanchez-pl6jw]

I liked the show minus the buzzer. But Pavlo proving why he shouldn’t have been invited. Had he been top 5 , justified

[@terryhollands]

@@AlejandroSanchez-pl6jw let’s be honest if the invite had gone a couple of weeks later trey would have been in but I guess they had to make a call and it didn’t quite work out

[@Stevelangdon93]

Don’t agree with the argument against suits. Some get more out of it than others, that’s just how it goes, like taller strongmen have advantages in a lot of events, particularly stones Also was the men’s farmers really only 25lb per hand heavier?

[@terryhollands]

But a suit is a lifting aid that you buy, your height is given! Shorter guys have advantages too. I’m more a fan of actual lifting not who has the best suit

[@terryhollands]

I’m pretty sure farmers would have been a bigger difference than that! They were around 150-160kg for men if I’m correct

[@jackcostello5757]

The commentary kept getting it wrong and saying 250lbs for the guys instead of 350

[@Stevelangdon93]

@@jackcostello5757 I thought that may be the case but they repeated the same numbers more than once! Was thinking the men were looking slow 😂

[@jackcostello5757]

@Stevelangdon93 I was the same I had to go back to the start of stream to see the weights listed on screen. Was surprised Loz didn't correct them on it as he had to correct them on everything else.

[@frasersteen]

Enjoyed the strongwoman events. One thing that was a bit frustrating is that it felt like there was a lot of space between the ladies on certain events, a lot of big weaknesses. Lucy can pull so much more than most of the rest of the field, Innes's overhead is miles away from most of the rest of the field. It felt like a lot of the events were badly configured for 80% of the girls leaving only 2-3 of them to compete to even complete half the event.

[@terryhollands]

@@frasersteen unfortunately the women’s side is still very young, the talent pool is smaller but I actually think it’s not a bad thing as it shows how good the best girls are at things! They’re most of the best in the world so not much more can be done, you can’t make things lighter for the girls weaker on events as it’s then too easy for the stronger girls and you can’t make it heavier as the weaker girls on events would do anything! I think rogue did a good job

[@DorlaVegas-cw2kz]

Raw all the way. Thor was AWSOME. He grabed the bar an stood up like he picked up a fork. Thor was in the bathrooms doing a pee I wasn't trying pulled 500 lbs. I no women can do better. I like see men an women side by side makeing a living just like 4 hundred years ago. The way it should be

[@terryhollands]

@@DorlaVegas-cw2kz I dunno if maybe you’re misunderstanding my comment about the women and men. I would rather have seen the women’s farmers and log so it was woman against woman and the men against men rather than 1 man 1 woman as they are not competing against each other. I wanna see battles so I feel I would have enjoyed a head to head battle more than 1 woman and 1 man as that’s 2 different contests

[@steffenbrygg7907]

need a 505 no suit lift, then the suit lifts die.

[@jlalonde1000]

I liked it overall but the 5 person speed event was poo it was horrible for the women we shouldn't see time spilts like in 100 m dash it was just a speed event not strength

[@renee4883]

Wish the botch on the start time for Tom and the female athlete didn’t happen. Times were adjusted but meh bummer to see. Liked hearing your thoughts!

[@Nicknoone1936]

The buzzers felt 90s TV show American gladiator. Didn't like it

[@terryhollands]

@@Nicknoone1936 I didn’t mind it but of course we don’t have to all agree :) we had gladiators here (same concept) and I loved that so maybe why haha

[@carlh296]

I'm all for the women doing their thing, yes, go for it and I hope they do well. However, I am not interested at all in watching it and do not like it being pushed on me, it should be my choice to watch them or not. As such, did not like the women and men going together in the second event.

[@AtlasSiłacz]

Absolutely my opinion. And the pinnacle of absurdity is that the prize money is the same. On what grounds, please? Absolutely inequitable and disrespectful to the men. Yes, let Rogue do what they want, but I hope the other competitions will not follow this style and I will not watch the Rogue Invitational next year. Too much political ideology, too little actual performance.

[@terryhollands]

@@AtlasSiłaczthe other comps can’t follow suit cause the womens shows don’t generate enough revenue yet. Because of the way this comp is and it’s not really a business I don’t have an issue with it!

[@AtlasSiłacz]

@@terryhollands "Cause the womens shows don’t generate enough revenue yet". That's correct and I think it's fine if the women compete before the men, so the sport of strongwoman gets more attention. This support is completely okay. But my philosophy of life is that everyone should get what they deserve. And let's be honest: the women wouldn't generate over 200k in prize money if the competitions were held separately, not even in 50 years (and not even in 50 years if inflation gets more severe). And yes I know Rogue doesn't make a profit anyway (it's a promotional show), but at SMOE you can see how much Strongman can bring in in prize money. Strongman, not Strongwoman. But again: Rogue can do what they want, but this distribution of prize money is absurd and has "politically correct" backgrounds. I don't like it and I won't be following this competition any more.

[@terryhollands]

@ I do get your point I just think in this situation it’s not like the guys are losing money they should be getting. You could argue the CrossFit brings in way more than strongman so they could complain about that I guess. I do see there could be some issues moving forward as it sets a precedent and there just isn’t the money there in other situations to pay the women the same as the men. If they were to get the same then the men would have every right to complain as they would be subsidising the women and that’s not fair

[@AtlasSiłacz]

@@terryhollands "it’s not like the guys are losing money they should be getting" That's a good argument, you're definitely right here. But as far as I know, crossfitters get more than strongmen. So Rogue can differentiate between Crossfit and Strongman, which is perfectly legitimate, but not between Strongman and Strongwoman? As I said, this has nothing to do with logic or rationality, but is classic woke nonsense.

[@nontrickpony]

The benefit of the men and women at the same time is mainly for exposure for the woman’s category cos a lot of people will fast forward through the women’s events

[@terryhollands]

@@nontrickpony see people keep saying this but I think it takes away from the women’s show! I think it shows a lack of respect! We gotta put you out with the guys to get people to watch! Did people not watch all the other womens events?

[@terryhollands]

@@nontrickpony also if you are right then putting the women with the men takes away from watching the women as everyone will watch the mens lane

[@mattdoylemedia]

​@terryhollands I can understand the thinking in terms getting more eyes on the women, but honestly, I feel like it may have had a detrimental effect to a point. Some people in the live chat seemed to think it was then a men vs women competition, which obviously, it wasn't. Others were just spouting off constantly about the women being men, and moaning during every event that wasn't strongman. I ended up just switching the chat off after a while because it was so ridiculous. If doing it this way raised a little awareness and got a handful of fans to think, "Hey, I didn't know about the women, I should check their events out, too," then job done. I do think they absolutely deserve a focus on their competition, though, without needing that theoretical boost. The women were doing some impressive stuff throughout and I do hope the popularity of their work grows. I know I'll be watching again if the chance arises.

[@terryhollands]

@ I never get the men vs women thing!! We’re in the same sport and they work just as hard as the guys! We should all be boosting the sport not making it a gender battle

[@nontrickpony]

@@terryhollands I think a lot of people will have skipped the other women’s only events the same way I fast forwarded through all the CrossFit but the way the camera work was on the stream it split between cameras on the men and women’s lane during the mixed event so wasn’t something you could skip through easily if you wanted to. I don’t think all events should be mixed head to head but having one in there will have put a lot more eyes on the women and I think some of the people who would usually fast forward would watch it all next time now they’ve seen what the women’s category are capable of if that makes sense?

[@seabasst-coffee709]

I was lucky enough to go to Rogue 2024. The men alongside women event just didn't work. And that reflected in the audience's reaction. Def didn't need sharing. Strange choice.

[@terryhollands]

@@seabasst-coffee709 bet it was great to see the show though! Some incredible performances

[@leonmunt6244]

I HATE combination events. Log or yoke into farmers is awful for the sport. If you're the best in the world at log lift but have terrible grip or yoke you deserve to be punished for the first event, not the log. I'd much rather two sperate events. I still enoy watching but it could be so much better

[@terryhollands]

totally agree

[@leonmunt6244]

@terryhollands I don't know why you seem to be the only person in the strongman world voicing this opinion

[@terryhollands]

@ cause everyone is too scared to upset people that pay them money in some way

[@llocin]

It forced people to see the woman perform not just skip by it.

[@terryhollands]

@@llocin you think? Or do you give them enough respect to have their own contest and not have the eyes pushed on to the men? I think saying that disrespects their ability! They don’t need to put them with the men as they’re great athletes in their own right

[@terryhollands]

@@llocin you’re basically saying we have to put them with the men so people watch them! Think that gives them the credit they deserve?

[@JamieVauxnut1]

Definitely remove the buzzers , if someone gets injured or passes out mid event they wouldn't score ? Really didn't like that . The woman and men together i actually did enjoy , being honest i tend not to watch womens religiously like i do the mens . If im at a mixed event live i watch the women's but its a different experience in person . So i can imagine a lot of people actually watched womens strength for the first time .

[@kalclashfitness]

Having to press the red button at the end of some of the events seemed a bit silly to me

[@terryhollands]

Definitely mixed reviews on them!

[@kalclashfitness]

@terryhollands as a fan I want to see a strong finish followed by a loud celebration. Not awkwardly fumbling around for some tiny red button. Feels very CrossFit