Red Deer arm-wrestling heavyweight thinks he can best his idol and nemesis

The Red Deer arm-wrestling pro is headed to Los Angeles for Aug.9 to go head to head, or in this case arm to arm, against Devon Larratt from Ottawa to claim the top prize at the Supermatch Showdown Series hosted by the World Armwrestling League.

• Want to speak the arm-wrestling lingo? Here's a guide

Some quick facts about arm-wrestling:

• There are weight classes just like in boxing.
• Depending on the opponent, playtime can be anywhere from half a second upwards.
• In some tournaments, players compete with both arms.

Q: Where did your interest in arm-wrestling begin?

A: It's kind of been a bit of a passion of mine since when I was a kid growing up. Like most of the arm-wrestlers around my age, my favourite movie was Over the Top. I was always doing it in high schooland grade schoolat lunchtime and stuff, and I always had a bit of a knack for it.

A: I started competitively in about 2000. In the last five years, it's taken a real good push and started getting out there. For the longest time, it was just a complete underground sport. There have been a few people who have come along the way in the last couple years and really started to push the sport in a positive way. Really getting it out there in the public eye and making it more recognized as an actual sport everybody used to think it's just one of them bar sports.

A: Strength will only get you so far. Like, I'm strong, but I'm definitely not the strongest in the series I'm with. The biggest thing is dedication. To get to that top level it takes ample amounts of hours of dedication and time a lot of people think they'll come in within a year or two and think they're going to be at that top level. There's there's so many different little tricks and trades and little techniques and moves that you learn along the way, like even 15 years into it.

A: Table time for me is most important. I'll be on the table training with my guys at least two days a week, upwards of three days a week, and then every day in between is just weights just trying to keep yourself beat down so you're always walking around at about 70 per cent but slowly making gains. Then it's a 10-day rest leading up to the tournament, not doing so much, just light weights keeping the blood moving. That's where you're gaining your strength back.

A: Every year it's been me and him in the finals and every year I keep getting closer and closer. We're actually right now the only two people in the Super Heavyweight division that have gone undefeated so far. This is going to determine who's going to be sitting where for the finals on September 5.

A: There are a few things I haven't really been able to do over the last couple years, just because of injury and fatigue in a certain area of my body. I've really been working on it this last year so I feel that it's more ready.

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With files from the Homestretch