Stones of Strength Podcast

In this episode we had the pleasure of talking with Jarrett McPhee. Jarrett is someone who has taken the notion of creating a welcoming and enthusiastic Stonelifting community and has cranked the volume to 11. Enter "New England Stonelifting". Bringing forth a passion for developing not only beautiful stones in remarkable locations, but also tests of strengths for people of all experience levels and abilities, New England Stonelifting has rapidly developed a fantastic circuit of modern stones of strength that recent underwent its first full stone tour. Looking to create a legacy of strength in New England that is not only about one's own physical prowess but also about respecting the stones and each other, Jarrett has created a community that lifters generations from now will be proud to be apart of.

Our "StonelyFans" competition heavyweight division winner and stone shouldering sensation Andy Crawford is in the building for Episode 17! From humble beginnings to world-class shouldering strength and skill, Andy's humble attitude, perseverance, and ability to appreciate incremental achievements has allowed him to stay dedicated to his craft and realize consistent strength gains month over month. In particular, we dig into Andy's approach to increasing the strength, and training the grit, that are critical to shouldering big stones of all shapes and sizes, and how finding a playfulness and creativity in training has allowed him to stay engaged and consistent!

in this episode we talk to one of our StonelyFans competition winners, Alex Burlison. Alex has only been Stonelifting for a few years but, under the tutelage of the great Ryan Stewart, he has been able to translate the strength and problem solving mindset he developed rock climbing into a very deep and multi-faceted Stonelifting toolkit that has resulted in some incredible lifts! He was also gifted the mantle of further expanding the "Utah Stones of Strength" circuit which has expertly done, adding in numerous beautiful and challenging modern stones of strength in recent years. We dig into his intro to Stonelifting, technique and strength development, Stonelifting etiquette, the importance of community in his Stonelifting Journey thus far, and much much more!!!

In this episode we speak with Scottish Stonelifting stud Jamie Gorrian! We discuss his close relationship with Scotland's historical stones which he garnered through hundreds of lits and dozens of self organized stone tours. Jamie is also the organizer of the McGregor Stonelifting Games, Scotland's Strongest Stonelifter, and Britian's Strongest Stonelifter (to name a few!!!). Through these competitions he has introduced countless people to Stonelifting and has made a point to teach new and experienced lifters alike about the intensely important topic of treating historical stones with respect. This is a central theme of this episode, which is timely due to some of the unsavoury lifting practices that have come to the forefront in the community as of late. By the end of the episode, we are hoping that as a community we are encouraged to reflect on our own relationship with lifting historical stones and make a commitment to lead by example as new eyes rapidly continue to find this incredible strength and cultural practice.

In this episode we had the pleasure of chatting with world class grappler, strength training enthusiast, author, podcaster and historical stonelifter, Daniel "The Raspberry Ape" Strauss! We dive into his background in grappling, his unique approach to developing strength, and how to increase your ability to lift rounded stones through wrist training. We also discuss how strength can often be the solution to injury and the beauty (and importance) of staying creative with your training. Was an absolute blast talking with him as in a community of colourful characters he is definitely up there with the most colourful (a beautiful red hue with a dapple of white).

In this episode we talk with Stonelifting phenomenon John "the Stonelifting Traveler". One of the pound-for-pound strongest natural stonelifters on the planet, John has triumphed over some of the world's most difficult historical stones with a smile on his face. Having just returned from Scotland, where he lifted an unprecedented 36 stones in 8 days, he is now in deep preparation for a trip to Ireland to tackle some granite giants! We discuss his introduction to Stonelifting, his training techniques and what it is about stone tours that has him continually living by his instagram moniker @liftstones_travel_repeat!!!

This episode features the incredible human, stonelifter, historian, and absolute character that is David "Indiana Stones" Keohan! In the 8 months since he last joined us he has nearly finished authoring a book, made appearances on national television programs, has been the focus of a number of documentaries, and, most importantly, has recovered another 12 Irish lifting stones. His journey and passion to revive this nearly lost culture of strength has captured the hearts and attention of the nation of Ireland, as well as audiences abroad, and we are honoured to have him join us for a second time to share his tales of triumph!!

In this episode we had the great honour of talking to Martin "Stoneman" Jancsics. You should all know Martin through the central role he played in the epic Stonelifting documentary "Stoneland", by Rogue Fitness. If you haven't seen it.... please take a moment to allow overwhelming shame wash over you and then GO WATCH IT! We dive into Marin's deep ties with Stonelifting, the sense of purpose he draws from it, his training techniques, and his future plans. This man is a wealth of knowledge, a true gentleman, and an ambassador for Stonelifting. Thank you Martin!

Welcome to the Stone Circle! In this episode we sit down with two stone golems of the finest quality, our good friends and foundational members of the Edmonton Stones of Strength crew, Brian Nedjelski and Troy Perreira, to do a year in review for 2023 and talk about our plans and goals for 2024! We go over big lifts, big fails, and lessons learned, and have a ton of laughs in doing so. So pull up a pedestal and join us!

In this episode we had the pleasure of talking to Dr. Bill Crawford. Widely known for his involvement in the Rogue Fitness Documentary "Stoneland", we discuss his lesser known, but equally important, contributions to the global reemergence of stone lifting culture. Dr. Bill Crawford, along with the likes of Peter Martin Sr., Peter Martin Jr., Steve Jeck, and David Webster, were members of the foundational cohort that reignited the world's passion for stone lifting.

In this episode, we talk to world class strongman, gym owner, coach, and masterful stone lifter, Keith Surette. Keith has traveled to Scotland (twice), Sweden, and Iceland, and has successfully lifted every historical stone he has placed hands on, including walking the mighty Húsafell Stone fully around the pen, a stone that is double Keith's body weight. We take a deep dive into the very analytical approach Keith took in achieving such an epic feat of strength so, if you are even dreaming of testing yourself against the mighty Húsafell Stone some day, this episode is for you!

In this episode we speak to strength enthusiast, videographer, content creator, and official Dinnie Stones lifter, Romark Weiss. Romark is co-creator of "Strength Unknown", a web series on Martins Licis's Youtube channel. "Strength Unknown" does a remarkable job exploring and documenting interesting and unique strength cultures around the world, and most recently Romark and Martins visited Scotland where they completed a stone tour, attended "The Gathering", and lifted alongside some of the key members of Scotland's stone lifting community. It was a real pleasure talking to Romark and we cant wait to see what adventures await him as he delves deeper into "Strength Unknown".

In this episode we speak to legendary Dinnie Stones lifter and creator of the Nicol Stones, Brett Nicol (@nicol.brett on Instagram). We discuss Brett's introduction to stone lifting, his deep connection with the Dinnie Stones (which he has lifted nearly 500 times!!!), the incredible stone lifting event "The Gathering" that he organizes alongside Stevie Shanks, the creation of the Nicol Stones, and his intense appreciation for the Scottish stone lifting community and its member. Brett is a true gentleman and an outstanding ambassador for stone lifting, at both a local and international level, and we greatly appreciate the opportunity to help share his story!

In this episode we talk to stone lifting powerhouse, co-founder of the Edmonton Stones of Strength Community, and organizer of the Alberta's Strongest Viking event. The episode focuses on training methods for elevating your stone lifting game, using both stones and gym equipment, and breaks down specific body parts to focus your training on and how best to train them ( in our opinion)!

In this episode we speak with Sean Urquhart (@Seanurq) who has recently returned from the first ever historical stone tour in Ireland. While on that tour, alongside our previous guest David Keohan (@_Indiana_stones_), Sean lifted sixteen massive historical stones, performing some absolutely monumental feats of strength. We also get into some of Sean's efforts researching and uncovering historical stones on the Faroe Islands, and then finish off by picking his brain about his approach to training for stone lifting!!!

In this episode we chat with David Keohan, or Indiana Stones as he is known on instagram, who is single handedly uncovering Ireland's incredibly rich and deep, yet nearly forgotten, history of stone lifting. We talk adventure, research, history, mythology, and have some good laughs. If you enjoy listening to this episode even half as much as we enjoyed recording it you are in for a treat!

On this episode we interview Ryan Stewart, an incredibly passionate and brutally strong stone lifter that has travelled the world lifting and rediscovering historical stones. He is also the founder of the Utah Stones of Strength, a series of fantastic testing stones located in Utah, USA.

During this episode we discuss who we (the hosts) are, our athletic backgrounds and why we are so passionate about stone lifting. We also get into why we are starting a podcast and what our goals are for the future of the show!