Brian began his career competing against Prime Z, and competed against Prime Thor towards the end of his career. Still picked up more trophies than almost anyone else, and had some of the best victories ever (2011 and 2017 Arnolds). He's not quite the GOAT in my opinion, but he's absolutely up there.
For me, it's Brian Shaw or Big Z, and it is amazing that they had such overlap in their careers, so they traded wins and dominated the podium together amongst the most talented field ever including other all-time greats like Halfthor, Hall, Stoltman, Martins, and now Mitch Hooper's amazing start also dovetails into Shaw's sunset. Brian Shaw is truly one of the greatest.
In recent times, yes. Only thing I might feel Brian should stranded harder for was against corruption in the sport, specifically in WSM. But other than that the man has done it all
@@bruuhhhhMostly event arrangements in favor of "more fitting" competitors. This is no secret, the best known was changing events screwing OD Wilson in favor of Jon Paul Sigmarsson in 1990, but in recent memory we also have the absolute re-arengement of 2017 WSM in favor of Eddie Hall, this wasn't done to screw Thor specifically but he was the most vocal about it and bot 21' and 22' WSM in favor of Tom, this pretty much confirmed by his brother Luke when Mark Boyd leaked a conversation between the two... Also Pa'oDwyer trying to "help" the Stoltman's did more damage. Is all under the rough now, but it did happend
I love Brian, and I properly cried for him when he went out on a win at his competition, but he isn't the GOAT, because that's Big Z. What Brian is is the most *influencial* strongman of all time. He brought about the era of professionalism we're now seeing in the sport, and is one of those most responsible for the growth in popularity. He will continue to have a positive influence even in retirement, due to his competition being both brutally heavy and respectful in its treatment of the athletes. Truly a great man and athlete. Thank you Brian 😊
Loved the video; for most of the time I've considered Brian as the second GOAT to Z; however last year's Strongest Man on Earth win made me think really really hard about who the actual GOAT is. If we're going by the best athlete, I'd still have to go with Z, as I think his IFSA, Fortissimus and 8 Arnold's beat Brian, which I think a lot of newer strongman fans forget just how many biggest comps Z has won. However, if we go by importance to the sport, its Brian hands down. Among Brian's popularity and other things, I am convinced that the last couple years Shaw Classic has been hands down the best strongman competition in history of the sport. No one has done nearly as much to grow and improve the sport like Brian, which ofc goes quite well alongside his portfolio of wins.
Brian is unquestionably the greatest American strongman, and the most popular/influential strongman ever. As far as the GOAT...I think he's right behind Big Z. Big Z's sheer number of international wins, Arnold wins, and tying Brian for WSM wins makes him the best. In my mind it's Big Z, Brian, Thor, Pudz.
Zydrunas, Brian, and Thor are like Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal in tennis - consistently far ahead of anyone else in their eras and each of them could have been EVEN MORE dominant if they hadn't overlapped
This was a really inspirational video man. All the things Brian has overcome is motivating. He's done incredible things for this sport and is in my opinion the Greatest of All Time.
Brian is absolutely amazing, competing against the toughest opponents in Big Z and Hafthor. However, you have to give Big Z the GOAT title due to the sheer number of international wins, not least a staggering 8 Arnold Classic titles.
I was introduced to strongman after watching the documentary on Eddie Hall. Then I saw what it was and respected the athletes. Brian Shaw was thought of as the most genetically gifted lifter. But I think Z is the GOAT
Great video. I love this channel. Imo. GOAT: Zydrunas, just accomplished far more than anyone The Strongest anyone ever got: Thor Bjornsson 2018-2020 Most influential: Brian Shaw, also second GOAT
In my mind, being in contention for the GOAT strongman title entails two things: 1) a dominant streak of wins against the best in the world, and 2) a serious claim to being the actual strongest man in the history of the sport. Only Zydrunas Savickas, Brian Shaw, and Hafthor Bjornsson meet those criteria, and of the three the ranking has to be 1) Savickas 2) Shaw, and 3) Bjornsson for achievements.
Most put him just behind big Z, I think Brian is the goat. He had no weaknesses in his prime, and until Thor and Tom, we really never saw anything like him. His era was the hardest ever, his battles with big Z are legendary. I think he is the greatest ever.
Brian Shaw is my favorite strongman and he's the reason I got into this sport. But there's no denying that Big Z is the greatest of all time. 4 WSM, 2 IFSA and an incredible 8 Arnold's makes him the best there is and will probably ever be
@@joeysaks6516 Poor Mariusz. I have a lot of time for the guy, and he was truly exceptional, but he'll never get the recognition he deserves because his was such a dynamic era, and the era directly after his was the reign of the giants. His achievements were immediately overshadowed by the size and static strength of Brian, Zydrunas, Hafthor, Eddie etc., which the fans now see as more demonstrative of strongman ability. Luckily we've moved slightly back towards a mix of the two, because the health of the athletes was a serious risk at 450lbs. I'm going to go and watch a couple of Mariusz's wins now, just for balance!
Fun fact: Brian is the only strongman with a winning head 2 head with Hooper! Brian: WSM 2022, Shaw Classic 2022 & 2023. Hooper: WSM 2023. That's 3 to 1 for Shaw.
Lets face it, Hooper would more than likely be in front of Brian actually did other shows other than WSM and his own competition. Hooper has done what? 15+ shows in the last two years to Brian's 4 and been on the podium in all of them.
In basketball, there is a lot of context and statistics that can change a persons view. In strongman, there is less context, and more contests, so there are more wins. While there is room to compare across eras, I don’t see the case for Brian Shaw. He competed against Zydrunas, and lost to him more than he won. What is the case for Brian over Z?
He didn't, he won the Arnold Europe which was a part of the Arnold qualifying tour for the ASC in Ohio. Nowdays unfortunately there are no such shows, other than Arnold UK but it's no longer a qualifier as far as I know.
If we're talking the absolute GOAT then it would be Big Z. But not far behind would be Brian. What makes them both so great and better than everyone else is how long they've been doing it (and I guess Big Z still competes?). I sometimes see fanboish claims that such and such is one of absolute greatest just because he won a bunch of tough shows in a row. That, while very admirable and respectable, is not as impressive as staying at the top for over a decade straight and not injuring yourself into a disability in the process. There are many great athletes at the moment, but will they be able to progress and compete in five years? Who knows. Point is, Brian and Zydrunas dominated for over a decade and this is why both of them deserve to be seen as the very top of their field.
Brian look like a gentle giant.. other strongman they look like killer..or fat blob but strong..but brian.. look really like gentle giant..from young till now..
For me, Brian is the third best strongman of all time. Big Z's accomplishments within the sport are just undeniable - more titles than anyone else, a longer (and more successful) career and constantly pushing records seemingly on a whim. I put Pudz above Brian because despite having a lower level of competitors than Brian, it is impossible to ignore Pudz having a 70% win percentage, which is just insane. The honest truth is when I was thinking about this I had three guys I wanted to put in second: Brian, Pudz and Thor. The way I decided was that I could think of arguments as to why Thor was better than Brian (same number of competitions until recently, but Thor won more of them), I could think of reasons why Brian was better than Pudz (Arnolds wins), but I couldn't really justify Thor over Pudz (deadlift? If we want one event to decide strongman?). So my top five would be 1. Z 2. Pudz 3. Brian 4. Thor and 5. Kaz.
Shaw has definitely been the face of the sport and a major inspiration, The Greatest is Definitely Savickas, The Strongest is Hafthor and Shaw, Thor, Hooper may be the guys with no weaknesses
@@bartondean4260you do realize that he had pec surgery 10 months ago and did not train pressing movements until 6 months ago? After a two year plus hiatus?
@@bartondean4260Its plainly obvious you're a hater. You're actually going out of your way across multiple videos to pretend like Thor hasn't got a higher competition log and axle than both Hooper and Tom Stoltman. He was a beast overhead in his peak and is recovering from surgery from a torn pec which has affected his pressing. So yes, his overhead was weaker at the Arnolds, but had he been at his best he would've hit 4 on the axle and finished the stone medley. You're living in fantasy world my friend, I watched him in 2018 and the man made every lift look routine. Big Loz himself said peak Thor had zero weaknesses, im going to take the word of Loz who competed against Thor and has enough strongman knowledge to fill a library. Over some crying little p**sy who is just a hater.
@@bartondean4260Hard time getting on the podium yet Tom Stoltman beat him by half a point and Mateusz only 2.5 😂😂 Thor zeroed an event lmao, so Tom got points for five events to Thor's 4 and still only managed to be half a point in front. Once his overhead is back it will be Tom struggling to get on the podium 😂
Brian or Big Z. Z because of the amount of elite title wins and podiums, Brian because of his wins, records and time at the top. Neither are my favourite. MARTINS!!!!
According to international achievements in the sport of strongman, Z should be considered the greatest. If talking about achieving the highest actual human strength at particular moment in time (in the sport of strongman) I would actually argue that is Biby.
That may not be true. Apparently, he repeatedly harassed other competitors before, during, and after competitions. Really silly stuff too... like prank calls.
Brian began his career competing against Prime Z, and competed against Prime Thor towards the end of his career. Still picked up more trophies than almost anyone else, and had some of the best victories ever (2011 and 2017 Arnolds). He's not quite the GOAT in my opinion, but he's absolutely up there.
FANTASTIC idea. Love the basketball making the case series and loved this. Keep em coming!
For me, it's Brian Shaw or Big Z, and it is amazing that they had such overlap in their careers, so they traded wins and dominated the podium together amongst the most talented field ever including other all-time greats like Halfthor, Hall, Stoltman, Martins, and now Mitch Hooper's amazing start also dovetails into Shaw's sunset. Brian Shaw is truly one of the greatest.
Competition and records aside.... has any single strongman done more good for the sport than Shaw?
Good point.
In recent times, yes. Only thing I might feel Brian should stranded harder for was against corruption in the sport, specifically in WSM. But other than that the man has done it all
@@antoniocenteno1483 I'm interested in what corruption you think there is at wsm. I don't disagree there are flaws but corruption is a big word
Totally agreed! 100 percent pure class and so humble to everyone.
@@bruuhhhhMostly event arrangements in favor of "more fitting" competitors. This is no secret, the best known was changing events screwing OD Wilson in favor of Jon Paul Sigmarsson in 1990, but in recent memory we also have the absolute re-arengement of 2017 WSM in favor of Eddie Hall, this wasn't done to screw Thor specifically but he was the most vocal about it and bot 21' and 22' WSM in favor of Tom, this pretty much confirmed by his brother Luke when Mark Boyd leaked a conversation between the two... Also Pa'oDwyer trying to "help" the Stoltman's did more damage.
Is all under the rough now, but it did happend
I love Brian, and I properly cried for him when he went out on a win at his competition, but he isn't the GOAT, because that's Big Z. What Brian is is the most *influencial* strongman of all time. He brought about the era of professionalism we're now seeing in the sport, and is one of those most responsible for the growth in popularity. He will continue to have a positive influence even in retirement, due to his competition being both brutally heavy and respectful in its treatment of the athletes. Truly a great man and athlete. Thank you Brian 😊
Loved the video; for most of the time I've considered Brian as the second GOAT to Z; however last year's Strongest Man on Earth win made me think really really hard about who the actual GOAT is. If we're going by the best athlete, I'd still have to go with Z, as I think his IFSA, Fortissimus and 8 Arnold's beat Brian, which I think a lot of newer strongman fans forget just how many biggest comps Z has won. However, if we go by importance to the sport, its Brian hands down. Among Brian's popularity and other things, I am convinced that the last couple years Shaw Classic has been hands down the best strongman competition in history of the sport. No one has done nearly as much to grow and improve the sport like Brian, which ofc goes quite well alongside his portfolio of wins.
He's definitely the best ambassador for the sport but unfortunately being a good ambassador doesn't make you the best at the sport
Big fan of Crowley, and strongman - never thought these two worlds would collide, but here we are. Looking forward to seeing the rest.
Brian is unquestionably the greatest American strongman, and the most popular/influential strongman ever. As far as the GOAT...I think he's right behind Big Z. Big Z's sheer number of international wins, Arnold wins, and tying Brian for WSM wins makes him the best. In my mind it's Big Z, Brian, Thor, Pudz.
Why is Thor on this list? Z and Brian are Goat’s. Thor is great like Iverson was great.
Zydrunas, Brian, and Thor are like Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal in tennis - consistently far ahead of anyone else in their eras and
each of them could have been EVEN MORE dominant if they hadn't overlapped
Bro really brought up tennis
Who is Andy Murray in this scenario? A guy who is just below the big 3 but who could win titles when going through a purple patch.
@@mrgaudy1954 let's say Novikov for being scrappy or Tom for being scottish
One misplaced sandbag cost him 5 total wsm titles
This was a really inspirational video man. All the things Brian has overcome is motivating. He's done incredible things for this sport and is in my opinion the Greatest of All Time.
Brian is absolutely amazing, competing against the toughest opponents in Big Z and Hafthor. However, you have to give Big Z the GOAT title due to the sheer number of international wins, not least a staggering 8 Arnold Classic titles.
Brian is amazing. But there is only one Number One GOAT, and he is vereeh happeeh.
I was introduced to strongman after watching the documentary on Eddie Hall. Then I saw what it was and respected the athletes. Brian Shaw was thought of as the most genetically gifted lifter. But I think Z is the GOAT
Great video. I love this channel.
Imo.
GOAT: Zydrunas, just accomplished far more than anyone
The Strongest anyone ever got: Thor Bjornsson 2018-2020
Most influential: Brian Shaw, also second GOAT
Wow such an impressive documentary on Brian Shaw. Keep these coming ❤💪
Yes, the goat🤙🏻
What an awesome series idea. Loved this video, i can't wait for the rest!
For me the GOAT is Robert Oberst, we need an Oberst Classic soon
This was an absolute pleasure to watch, can't wait for more to come!
This is great! Just like the NBA making the case vids, same intro song too!
In my mind, being in contention for the GOAT strongman title entails two things: 1) a dominant streak of wins against the best in the world, and 2) a serious claim to being the actual strongest man in the history of the sport. Only Zydrunas Savickas, Brian Shaw, and Hafthor Bjornsson meet those criteria, and of the three the ranking has to be 1) Savickas 2) Shaw, and 3) Bjornsson for achievements.
Great series idea! I’m looking forward to all of these. Brian is in the arguement, for sure. I’ll take Zudrunas though as number 1
In strongman I think that there are a number of GOATS, each for their own reasons, and Brian is definitely one of them.
Shaw IS the greatest!!! He forever changed the sport of strongman and Mitch will lead strongman in the new era!!!
Most put him just behind big Z, I think Brian is the goat. He had no weaknesses in his prime, and until Thor and Tom, we really never saw anything like him. His era was the hardest ever, his battles with big Z are legendary. I think he is the greatest ever.
Brian Shaw is my favorite strongman and he's the reason I got into this sport. But there's no denying that Big Z is the greatest of all time. 4 WSM, 2 IFSA and an incredible 8 Arnold's makes him the best there is and will probably ever be
Brian and Kaz are America's best 💯
Brian Shaw and Big Z are the Goats.
very nice
He definitely was the strongest man with a babyface in history.
Wow I never know Clayton Crowley had an accent and liked strongman :0
Z is the goat, Brian is 2nd, but Thor is the strongest we've ever seen
This is the correct answer
Sad Marius noises
@@joeysaks6516 Poor Mariusz. I have a lot of time for the guy, and he was truly exceptional, but he'll never get the recognition he deserves because his was such a dynamic era, and the era directly after his was the reign of the giants. His achievements were immediately overshadowed by the size and static strength of Brian, Zydrunas, Hafthor, Eddie etc., which the fans now see as more demonstrative of strongman ability. Luckily we've moved slightly back towards a mix of the two, because the health of the athletes was a serious risk at 450lbs. I'm going to go and watch a couple of Mariusz's wins now, just for balance!
Silly, he will struggle to make a podium this year, new young studs have replaced the legends that retired that used to easily beat him.
@@bartondean4260 who are you talking about
Fun fact: Brian is the only strongman with a winning head 2 head with Hooper! Brian: WSM 2022, Shaw Classic 2022 & 2023. Hooper: WSM 2023. That's 3 to 1 for Shaw.
Lets face it, Hooper would more than likely be in front of Brian actually did other shows other than WSM and his own competition. Hooper has done what? 15+ shows in the last two years to Brian's 4 and been on the podium in all of them.
@@Adam-gn5khit's still an impressive stat to have, considering how dominant Mitch is
In basketball, there is a lot of context and statistics that can change a persons view.
In strongman, there is less context, and more contests, so there are more wins. While there is room to compare across eras, I don’t see the case for Brian Shaw. He competed against Zydrunas, and lost to him more than he won. What is the case for Brian over Z?
Realy good Video 👍
But how did he win the Europes Strongest Man 😅?
He didn't, he won the Arnold Europe which was a part of the Arnold qualifying tour for the ASC in Ohio. Nowdays unfortunately there are no such shows, other than Arnold UK but it's no longer a qualifier as far as I know.
Yeah dominating the heaviest show at it's heaviest year (2017 ASC) is a big statement
If we're talking the absolute GOAT then it would be Big Z. But not far behind would be Brian.
What makes them both so great and better than everyone else is how long they've been doing it (and I guess Big Z still competes?). I sometimes see fanboish claims that such and such is one of absolute greatest just because he won a bunch of tough shows in a row. That, while very admirable and respectable, is not as impressive as staying at the top for over a decade straight and not injuring yourself into a disability in the process. There are many great athletes at the moment, but will they be able to progress and compete in five years? Who knows.
Point is, Brian and Zydrunas dominated for over a decade and this is why both of them deserve to be seen as the very top of their field.
Brian look like a gentle giant.. other strongman they look like killer..or fat blob but strong..but brian.. look really like gentle giant..from young till now..
For me, Brian is the third best strongman of all time. Big Z's accomplishments within the sport are just undeniable - more titles than anyone else, a longer (and more successful) career and constantly pushing records seemingly on a whim. I put Pudz above Brian because despite having a lower level of competitors than Brian, it is impossible to ignore Pudz having a 70% win percentage, which is just insane. The honest truth is when I was thinking about this I had three guys I wanted to put in second: Brian, Pudz and Thor. The way I decided was that I could think of arguments as to why Thor was better than Brian (same number of competitions until recently, but Thor won more of them), I could think of reasons why Brian was better than Pudz (Arnolds wins), but I couldn't really justify Thor over Pudz (deadlift? If we want one event to decide strongman?). So my top five would be 1. Z 2. Pudz 3. Brian 4. Thor and 5. Kaz.
Thor would beat Pudz on loads of events. Not just deadlift.
Why not both?
Shaw has definitely been the face of the sport and a major inspiration, The Greatest is Definitely Savickas, The Strongest is Hafthor and Shaw, Thor, Hooper may be the guys with no weaknesses
Thor's weaknesses were on full display at the Arnold show. Obvious he will have a hard time getting on a podium because of all these new young guys.
@@bartondean4260you do realize that he had pec surgery 10 months ago and did not train pressing movements until 6 months ago? After a two year plus hiatus?
@@bartondean4260Its plainly obvious you're a hater. You're actually going out of your way across multiple videos to pretend like Thor hasn't got a higher competition log and axle than both Hooper and Tom Stoltman. He was a beast overhead in his peak and is recovering from surgery from a torn pec which has affected his pressing. So yes, his overhead was weaker at the Arnolds, but had he been at his best he would've hit 4 on the axle and finished the stone medley. You're living in fantasy world my friend, I watched him in 2018 and the man made every lift look routine. Big Loz himself said peak Thor had zero weaknesses, im going to take the word of Loz who competed against Thor and has enough strongman knowledge to fill a library. Over some crying little p**sy who is just a hater.
@@bartondean4260Hard time getting on the podium yet Tom Stoltman beat him by half a point and Mateusz only 2.5 😂😂 Thor zeroed an event lmao, so Tom got points for five events to Thor's 4 and still only managed to be half a point in front. Once his overhead is back it will be Tom struggling to get on the podium 😂
Brian or Big Z. Z because of the amount of elite title wins and podiums, Brian because of his wins, records and time at the top. Neither are my favourite. MARTINS!!!!
By that criteria, it's got to be either Thor or Eddie
This isnt Clayton Crowley. This is Клейтон Кралей
For me Big Z is Number 1 and Brian a very close 2nd however it’s a very very Big gap to Number 3 thus far in history.
I think Mitch Hooper will retire as the GOAT. As for who it is now, I'd declare a tie with B and Z
Pudzian
2010 wsm was bs. He put the bag on the platform. It fell off that was a bs call.
Eddie hall is stronger than
According to international achievements in the sport of strongman, Z should be considered the greatest. If talking about achieving the highest actual human strength at particular moment in time (in the sport of strongman) I would actually argue that is Biby.
Biby 🤣 that's hilarious
@@Larry-n4non log not really that funny
Kaz was so good they did not let him compete. He is the greatest ever and would have more WSM than anyone.
That may not be true. Apparently, he repeatedly harassed other competitors before, during, and after competitions. Really silly stuff too... like prank calls.
@@justinpaul3110That, as a fact, is the reason they stoped calling him