#2510 - Devon Larratt

Episode of The Joe Rogan Experience · June 5, 2026 · 2 h 49 min

Joe Rogan talks with arm wrestler Devon Larratt about training at 51, Levan Saginashvili, the sport's history, his JTF2 career, and war stories.

Summary

Joe Rogan hosted Canadian arm wrestler Devon Larratt, who described his elbows that no longer straighten after years of pressure and three surgeries, which he called "weaponized arthritis." Larratt explained the technical basics of arm wrestling, arguing that the key is making an opponent hold on to you through "rising" and pronation rather than relying on grip, and outlined his current regimen: two maximal club sessions a week plus all-day, high-repetition, light-weight table work aimed at blood flow, with heavy lifting dropped after a session with Jujimufu. He also described "pumpkin training," concentrating nearly all work on his right arm, and argued that balance is overrated for an athlete seeking a single world title.

The pair discussed genetics and performance, including Larratt's involvement in genetic scanning of elite athletes such as Brian Shaw and Levan Saginashvili, myostatin mutations, a CRISPR study on silencing Down syndrome's extra chromosome, and performance-enhancing drugs and the Enhanced Games. Larratt profiled Saginashvili, unbeaten since 2017, whom he expects to face again in about 16 months, and John Brzenk, whom he beat for the world title in 2008. He traced the sport's growth from small-prize tournaments through ESPN-era leagues to the post-COVID rise of East vs West, which he said is untested for drugs while the World Armwrestling Federation tests. Rogan and Larratt also discussed grip-strength outliers such as climber Yves Gravel.

Larratt recounted 16 years in Canada's JTF2 special forces unit, including counter-terrorism work in Kandahar, and how the unit's operational-security concerns about his ESPN exposure forced him to choose between soldiering and arm wrestling in 2014. He described coping with fear and PTSD by constructing a combat persona, and said he desensitized himself to parachuting by watching parachute failures. The episode closed with Larratt's account of seeing an eight-foot Afghan warlord, discussion of the Kandahar Giant legend, and a secondhand story of a fellow soldier in Erbil, Iraq, who was reportedly possessed and underwent an exorcism.

Chapters

0:03
Elbows that won't straighten
Larratt explains how years of arm wrestling pressure and bone growth limited his elbow extension and required three surgeries.
6:11
Goggins' knees and living with pain
Rogan describes David Goggins' knee surgery and Larratt discusses competing bone-on-bone at 51 and pain as information.
10:11
Technique and training philosophy
Larratt explains rising, pronation and cupping, and his high-repetition, blood-flow-focused table training.
31:24
Genetics and performance
The two discuss genetic scanning of elite athletes, Brian Shaw's growth hormone, myostatin mutations and a CRISPR Down syndrome study.
40:45
PEDs and the Enhanced Games
Rogan discusses TRT-era Vitor Belfort and the Enhanced Games while Larratt backs both tested and open competition.
53:16
Chasing Levan Saginashvili
Larratt profiles the dominant super heavyweight champion and recounts his losses to him.
1:05:24
John Brzenk and the sport's growth
Larratt describes Brzenk's era, his 2008 win over him, and the rise of pro leagues through East vs West.
1:18:32
Chaos, order and pumpkin training
Larratt describes sticker charts balancing chaos and order and his right-arm-only specialization.
1:35:37
Climbers and grip freaks
They discuss Yves Gravel, Magnus Midtbø, dynamometer scores and other grip-strength outliers.
2:04:59
Is arm wrestling a combat sport?
Larratt argues arm wrestling is a combat sport because of its adaptation and technique, and Rogan pushes back.
2:08:57
JTF2 career and leaving the military
Larratt recounts his special forces career, the ultimatum over arm wrestling, and building a combat persona to handle fear.
2:27:28
Giants and a possession story
Larratt describes seeing an eight-foot warlord in Afghanistan, the Kandahar Giant legend, and a fellow soldier's reported possession and exorcism.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Devon Larratt
Larratt says his loss of elbow range can be turned to his advantage, which he calls weaponized arthritis.
“Anyways, it doesn't affect me in the sport. I actually, I call it weaponized arthritis”
Listen from 3:58 · Arm wrestling
Devon Larratt
Larratt argues the key technical nuance of arm wrestling is forcing the opponent to hold on to you rather than relying on grip.
“the real technical nuance of the sport is to try and make the other person hold on to you”
Listen from 11:17 · Arm wrestling
Devon Larratt
Larratt says his high-repetition, light-weight training functions as healing rather than extra workload.
“The high rep training heals me. It heals me. A lot of people are like, oh, that's a lot of work”
Listen from 19:30 · Arm wrestling
Devon Larratt
Larratt values arm wrestling as a low-cost fight sport that can be practised for a lifetime.
“arm wrestling is one of those fight sports that has super low cost. We don't punch each other in the head”
Listen from 23:47 · Arm wrestling
Linked moment · 40:45Skip to 40:45 using a listen link in the info box.
Joe Rogan
Rogan recommends Louie Simmons' reverse hyper machine for lower back problems and urges people to avoid back surgery if possible.
“Louie Simmons, his invention, that invention, the reverse hyper, fucking incredible”
Listen from 41:40 · Grip strength training
Devon Larratt
Larratt says he supports tested sport but also believes in open competition that lets everyone play.
“I'm a big believer in tested sport. You know, I think that that's wonderful”
Listen from 44:03 · Performance-enhancing drugs
Devon Larratt
Larratt says Levan Saginashvili has not been beaten since 2017 and has dominated the field.
“LeVon, nobody has beat this guy since 2017. He has absolutely flattened the field, okay?”
Listen from 54:44 · Levan Saginashvili
Devon Larratt
Larratt contends his own training is more precise than Saginashvili's heavier, sledgehammer approach.
“But egotistically and arrogantly, I'm going to say that my training is more precise than his”
Listen from 58:06 · Levan Saginashvili
Devon Larratt
Larratt says COVID destroyed the old leagues while social media boosted arm wrestling, leading to East vs West becoming the sport's premier promotion.
“East versus West came along and now we're everything. UFC, we're like the UFC of arm wrestling now”
Listen from 1:14:21 · East vs West (arm wrestling)
Devon Larratt
Larratt says top arm wrestlers now earn a healthy six-figure income without needing side jobs.
“you definitely don't need a side job. You definitely don't. Um, and you're, and you're, you're probably definitely making a healthy, a healthy six figures”
Listen from 1:16:16 · East vs West (arm wrestling)
Devon Larratt
Larratt says East vs West has no drug testing, whereas the government-linked World Armwrestling Federation does test.
“At East versus West, there's not, okay? So it's F1, you know, everything goes, but”
Listen from 1:17:01 · Performance-enhancing drugs
Devon Larratt Prediction · due Oct 2027
Larratt says he is scheduled to face Saginashvili again in about 16 months.
“I'm going to face that guy, LeVon, in like 16 months”
Listen from 1:22:39 · Levan Saginashvili
Devon Larratt
Larratt argues that balance is overrated for an athlete trying to win a single right-handed world title.
“I think balance is a nice concept for some imaginary world that you live in”
Listen from 1:34:25 · Arm wrestling
Devon Larratt
Larratt says he spent 16 of his 20 military years in JTF2 and left largely because of arm wrestling's public visibility.
“I was with a unit called JTF2 for 16 out of my 20 years”
Listen from 2:09:08 · Joint Task Force 2
Devon Larratt
Larratt says he overcame fear of parachuting by repeatedly watching parachute failures to desensitize himself.
“But what I did was I used to watch parachute fails. Over and over and over and over and over”
Listen from 2:23:41 · Post-traumatic stress disorder
Joe Rogan
Rogan doubts that psychologists without combat experience can truly understand or prepare people for it.
“I don't think a psychologist would have the ability to understand what that experience even is”
Listen from 2:25:22 · Post-traumatic stress disorder
Devon Larratt
Larratt recounts seeing through optics an Afghan warlord he estimated at around eight feet tall.
“I think he was eight foot something. It's embarrassing”
Listen from 2:29:39 · Kandahar Giant
Devon Larratt
Larratt relays that a close fellow soldier was reportedly possessed, spoke in tongues, and underwent an exorcism by a military padre.
“he got possessed by a demon he started speaking in tongues. He knew everything about everybody he could speak different languages”
Listen from 2:36:41 · Exorcism

People

In the conversation

Joe RoganAmerican comedian and host of The Joe Rogan Experience
Devon LarrattCanadian professional arm wrestler and former Canadian Armed Forces special forces soldier

Discussed

John BrzenkAmerican arm wrestler widely considered the sport's greatest of all time
Levan SaginashviliGeorgian super heavyweight arm wrestling world champion
David GogginsAmerican ultra-endurance athlete and author among Prince's clients
Brian ShawAmerican strongman
Eddie HallBritish strongman and 2017 World's Strongest Man
JujimufuAmerican bodybuilder and acrobat Jon Call
Yves GravelCanadian climber and grip-strength athlete who took up arm wrestling
Magnus MidtbøNorwegian climber and YouTuber
Oleg ZhokhUkrainian arm wrestler with an unusually developed left arm
Vitor BelfortBrazilian former UFC fighter known for his TRT-era performances
Louie SimmonsAmerican powerlifting coach who invented the reverse hyper machine
Vitaly LaletinRussian arm wrestler Larratt recently competed against

Topics

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From the publisher

Devon Larratt is a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces and a professional arm wrestler who is widely considered one of the sport’s greatest competitors.www.youtube.com/@devlarratthttps://armbet.nethttps://linktr.ee/devonlarratt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 28, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Sports·Fitness·Religion & Spirituality