Brett Fain is a pro strongman who has competed in the U80 and U90 class, placing 7th at OSG in 2017. He's also the founder and owner of Iron Vault gym in Tallahassee. We talk about his penchant for building unusual equipment, water cutting, and the strongman community. TIMESTAMPS: 00:20 I signed up for my first strongman competition without doing any research 00:35 The Iron Vault Classic 01:30 Brett teaches physics by day 02:10 Brett’s advice on becoming an educator 02:50 Brett replaced his high school physics teacher 03:20 My anticipatory synopsis of this episode 03:45 Brett started out as a wrestler 04:10 There is a trove of old equipment in the basement of the Pep Boys across the street from my apartment 04:45 Brett’s best numbers as a powerlifter 05:00 The legend of Dave Covan 05:15 If you look under enough tarps, you just might find yourself an Atlas stone 05:45 Brett’s resume as a strongman 06:25 The sweat shed 08:00 What drew Brett to strongman 08:15 Brett’s homebrewed strongman equipment 09:00 The events for this year’s Iron Vault Classic 11:10 Brett became handy out of necessity 13:00 Bud Jeffries and the odd lifts 13:45 Strongman is a spectator sport 14:30 Brett says I deadlift a lot, and I can’t wait to disappoint him 15:15 Daughter cameo 15:45 What to order at Chick-Fil-A 16:00 Brett’s kids are all lifting 17:00 Iron Vault Classic will be an evening event to minimize instance of heatstroke 17:30 Jamie Lewis’s X-rated blog 19:00 The diet of the Saxon Trio would get a 2/3 from Stan Efferding 19:45 I pick Brett’s brain about strongman training 21:15 You’d better be doing your cardio 21:40 Brett usually water cuts from 210 to 198 22:00 Andrew Clayton’s 38-lb water cut and other horror stories 23:20 Going keto on comp week to drop water weight 24:00 Hot baths and sauna suits 24:25 But do I have to stop taking creatine? 24:45 Brett tells me which events will suck the most 27:00 We program our own reward systems as teenagers 28:00 Even gen pop should pick performance goals 28:40 Brett has helped me become slightly less unprepared 29:00 Strongman has a WHOLESOME community 31:20 It’s harder to get competitive when you’re woefully unprepared 32:00 Event lottery at Will Development’s Psycho Circus 32:15 Florida strongman community