Really? An entire website and business based on grip strength? Yes! It’s our hobby, our interest, and our passion.
ABOUT GRIPSTRENGTH
It all started when our fearless leader, Zane Cope, was a freshman in high school. His humanities class was watching a video profiling a sculptor and his art. The artist worked with various rock and tools and commented on how strong his hands had become. The interviewer asked the now older artist if he still had strong hands. The sculptor responded that they weren’t as strong as they used to be, but that he could still do “this.” With one motion, he took the apple that was in his hands and ripped it in half as if it were nothing. Watching this, Zane’s fascination with strong hands was ignited.
Through his teens and 20s, Zane would try to tear decks of cards, phone books, and stacks of junk mail, while also discovering the strongman competitions. Year after year, he’d tune in to watch athletes like Mariusz Pudzianowski, Phil Pfister, Terry Hollands, Zydrunas Savickas, and Brian Shaw do events like the keg toss, the car walk, the truck pull, and the Atlas Stones. These giants were larger than life and their strength seemed super-human. Zane dreamed about attending these events in person and cheering from the sidelines as he’d listen to the legendary Bill Kazmaier commentate and interview competitors.
One year while attending the Mr. Olympia body building expo in Las Vegas, Zane spotted an expo booth featuring a grip-related contest. They had a Thomas Inch dumbbell and were challenging attendees of the expo to lift it off the ground with one hand. Zane was pulled in instantly. Though his interest in grip strength was high his whole life, he hadn’t done a lot of serious training. He attempted the lift but could only budge it. He was committed at that point to strengthen his grip and return the next year to try again.
Since then, Zane has sought out and acquired anything he can “get his hands on” regarding grip strength. Any device, tool, specialty weight, or band that will help him strengthen his pinching grip, crushing grip, or supporting grip is probably in his gym.
Zane’s love for grip sport and personal strength is extended to you and anyone else visiting GripStrength.com. This is a place where grip-enthusiasts can unite in sharing experiences, workouts, helpful tips, and products. We aim to highlight and praise those who have paved the way in grip sport and make their expertise accessible to anyone at any level.
