LEGENDARY strongman Brian Shaw is giving World's Strongest Man everything he's got one last time.
Just two months out from his final appearance at World's, 40-year-old Shaw is getting into the "meat and potatoes" of his training.
Speaking to The U.S. Sun, the four-time Champion has been tailoring the setup of his impressive newly-built gym for this year's events.
CONAN RETURNS
The finals, set to take place in Myrtle Beach, are set to feature two events that Shaw hasn't seen in some time.
He explained: "Conan's Wheel is one that we haven't seen in a long time.
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"I've actually never done a Conan's Wheel at World's Strongest Man. It was a very common event towards the start of my career, so I got to see it a lot."
Then there's Fingal's Fingers, which Shaw said is probably the event he's "most excited" for.
"Ironically enough, the last time it was in the final was 2009, which was my very first final.
"So, I guess in a lot of ways, you can kind of say it comes full circle maybe - my first final and potentially my last final with having Fingal's Fingers as an event there."
Standing tall at 6ft8, this particular event should, theoretically, suit Shaw well, with the Colorado native saying "historically speaking it's always been a good event for me."
But while this event could be a good fit, the same could be said for a number of contestants.
THE NEW WAVE
In recent years, the sport has seen something of a new wave of youngsters break their way in.
Having watched the likes of Shaw, Mariusz Pudzianowski, and Žydrūnas Savickas take the sport to a new level since the turn of the century, combined with the growth of the sport via social media and YouTube thanks to others such as Eddie Hall and the Stoltman brothers, the wealth of young title contenders has grown rapidly of late.
When quizzed on this new wave, Shaw seemed far from daunted by this level of competition.
In fact, he seemed to relish it.
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He explained: "It's neat to see the progression when you look back and you were mentioning the early 2000s where Mariusz was really doing well at World's Strongest Man.
"And then kind of [in the] late 2000s where I came in [and] Zydrunas came back to compete at World's Strongest Man after the IFSA split in the sport [and] the level just went up, and the level went up, and the level went up then, and I really feel like the level has gone up in a lot of different ways.
"But, as the popularity of Strongman has grown, it's natural to draw in more competitors as well, and for the level of the competitors to go up.
"So, looking back at it you can always compare the weights that were lifted and things like this, but from a competitive standpoint, the field gets deeper.
"So, as we've gone on, the new crop if you want to call it that, of guys that are coming in and doing really well - that part of the sport has grown a lot I think.
"And the field gets deeper with these guys coming in that are super talented and able to come in and be very very competitive.
"So, it's neat to see the growth of the sport, and it's really awesome to see the bar going up and the competitiveness going up and that's what I've always loved."
Among those young bucks looking to knock the likes of Shaw off the top spot are two-time winner Tom Stoltman, 2020 champion Oleksii Novikov, and up-and-comers such as Mitchell Hooper and Pavlo Kordiyaka.
CONTROL WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL
But despite the pressure from the youngsters, Shaw remains laser-focused on controlling what he can control.
He said: "I think the biggest thing that I've done throughout my career is try to focus on myself, and what I'm doing and what my preparation is like and where I can push myself further.
"So, certainly having those opponents there is a motivating factor, but within the sport of Strongman it's unique in the fact that you can really only do what you can do.
"So, yes you can bring strategy in, and there's different things that come into play with the actual competition, but I've said before it's kind of like a game of chess, but you have to be strong enough to make the move.
"So, you can play the perfect game, but if you're not strong enough to make that move, then it doesn't really matter.
"At the end of the day, for me the way I look at it is, I've got to be hungry, I've got to be motivated, I've got to go into training and push myself as far as I possibly can"
'THE MOTIVATION IS NOT LACKING'
And while 2023 may be Shaw's sixteenth appearance at World's, he's as motivated as ever.
He admitted that for him, the motivation is not lacking," citing his inherent competitiveness.
"I really thrive off of competition and I'm going to have to find something else to be competitive in.
"And whether that's business or life or something, that's just who I am by nature."
Looking forward to Myrtle Beach, Shaw said his "body feels good."
"I'm building up in training instead of trying to play catch up, so to speak, it's like I hope I can just build up.
"I don't have anything before World's Strongest Man, so I can just focus 100 percent on that.
"And so, my motivation is high and I think what I'm saying about each and every session, I am thinking of it as 'Okay this is my last opportunity on this day to get better.' And so, it's enjoying the process.
"But throughout my career, I'd say that when you look at it you have the end goal, and you have the competition, and you place how you place, and obviously, the goal is to win.
"And that's still very very much the case for me right now."
WALKING AWAY
While Shaw may be more than capable of winning this year, and confident that he "could stay at a high level for a long time" had he decided to hang around, he explained how he was keen to retire on his terms.
He said: "I think a lot of people are probably shocked by that a little bit, especially with the fact that I'm still so competitive and up there.
"But that was my goal, was never to necessarily go until I couldn't go anymore, it was to walk away when I wanted to walk away on my own terms.
"And I think I'm able to do that, which is nice."
