#370 Why a World's Strongest Man Competitor Quit to Make Movies | Josh Thigpen

Dave Tate's Table Talk

Dave Tate

Fitness, Health & Fitness

4.9 • 586 Ratings

🗓️ 23 September 2025

⏱️ 121 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We welcome Josh Thigpen to this episode of Dave Tate's Table Talk Podcast!

Josh Thigpen is a professional strongman from Houston, Texas, whose incredible 20-year career has taken him to over 60 contests in 30 countries. A four-time World's Strongest Man competitor, Josh has earned 12 international podium finishes, held multiple world records, and achieved the legendary feat of holding the most weight ever by a human—600 pounds in each hand. At his peak, standing 6'5" and weighing 320 pounds, Josh was a dominant force in the sport. Today, he maintains a powerful 275-pound frame while continuing to inspire athletes worldwide.

Beyond the competition platform, Josh has made a major impact as an author, penning 13 bestselling eBooks that have become essential resources for strength athletes. His works include The Cube Method for Strongman, The Grip Guide, Training Camp, The Complete Guide to Strongman, and Adventures of a Pro Strongman. These guides blend his deep competitive experience with practical, no-nonsense training strategies, making them a staple for anyone serious about strongman or strength training.

Since transitioning from full-time competition, Josh has shifted his creative energy to the film industry. He is the creator, writer, actor, director, and producer of the indie fantasy web series Sword of Alentius—a passion project that merges epic storytelling with his larger-than-life presence. In addition to his own productions, Josh is acting in other film projects, further showcasing his versatility and creative drive.

https://www.instagram.com/josh_thigpen/

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Once I was retired from Strongman and Lifting, I always wanted to get into film of some kind, on some level. Some people are kind of scratching their heads, like how did you go from this to this? The cute method for Strongman, it it real, and cut the bullshit.
0:28.6	Welcome to Table Talk.
0:30.8	All right, guys, we're back with another episode of Table Talk.
0:33.4	Today, my guest is Josh Thickpin.
0:36.1	Before I get into your intro, we have a private crew that
0:40.8	helps support the podcast that has a Discord forum and emails and all their kind of stuff. And I asked
0:47.1	them for questions to be able to post out to some guests. And this question, while we got a lot to talk about, is the one that kind of stuck
0:56.5	out to me. And it was, how does a man who held 600 pounds in each hand become a fantasy
1:02.1	filmmaker? Which is a big, broad question. So as concise as you can, because we'll get into this.
1:09.2	Yeah, I mean, I just, it's what I've always wanted to do.
1:13.3	And so I, you know, once I was retired from Strongman and lifting, it's, I always wanted
1:19.1	to get into film and of some kind on some level.
1:23.0	And then the story just came to me, so I wrote it and I'm like, I'm going to make it.
1:27.0	This is what I'm gonna do
1:27.8	did you have a passion for the fantasy genre yeah yeah I mean those types of films and shows
1:35.6	whether it's you know Braveheart's my favorite movie the Lord of the Rings gladiator all that
1:42.3	type of stuff I just love uh swords and uh you know hope honor
1:48.9	battling all those kinds of things and so cool stuff yeah all that cool stuff and so i just
1:54.7	it it just came naturally to me um yeah i'm like if i'm gonna make something it might as well
2:00.0	be fantasy it might as well be cool might It might as will be cool. Might as well be fun. Yeah. And so, yeah, it's, it's, that is kind of, some people are kind of scratching their heads. Like, how did you go from this to this? But when you're done, as you know, uh, you have to have something that you're passionate about that keeps you going and keeps you like uh keeps your
2:20.4	attention otherwise i'll come right back to it i'll be i'll be right back oh yeah lifting you know and my
2:25.8	my body is just like stop you know well last time i tried to make it comeback uh i got strong but
	...

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