SXSW Review: ‘Pulling John’

If you havent heard of John Breznk then you havent been following the still very active sport of professional Arm Wrestling. If you have seen the Sly Stalone starring ‘Over the Top’ then you definitely know John Breznk, Sly’s comeback victory at the tournament is based what John did when he was just in his early 20’s and a very young up and comer.

‘Pulling John’ is one of the best documentaries I have seen in a very long time, especially dealing with a subject that has so much history behind it and that I find very interesting. Arm Wrestling has been around for thousands of years, and the fact that John Breznk has been ruling the sport for 25+ years without being the biggest guy in the world is a true testament to being a real athlete.

The doc follows 3 of the worlds greatest arm wrestlers, John Breznk the legend, Alexey Voevoda the beast from Russia, and Travis Bagent who is just a southern boy who that is taking the arm wrestling world by storm. The reason the story follows these 3 guys is because they all meet up in a tournament in the end. Voevoda and Bagent both grew up idolizing Breznk and knew that in order to be earn the title of worlds greatest arm wrestler they had to make it through him. These guys pulled no punches, you watched them train, trash talk(mostly just Travis but he is a badass, so he can say whatever he wants), and see exactly how hard these guys work in order to rule the sport of arm wrestling. The access they were able to gain to Voevoda was pretty incredible considering the fact that in Russia the sport of arm wrestling means you are an true hero in your country, and the government takes care of you like an employee.

After the movie I thought about challenging him to an arm wrestling match, but seeing the bruisers he put down in the movie I figured he would crush my hand from the initial palm hold and I sort of need these hands to write reviews for you all. If you see this guy on the streets, whatever you do, do not try to throw down or arm wrestle him..you will lose.

**Update**

After meeting Travis tonight at the ‘Observe and Report’ after party, this guy is a freaking badass. Dont mess with him, he’s a bad man!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5