Devon Larratt

Date: 2026-06-05 | Duration: 2h 42m

Category: Combat Sports, Health & Medicine

Episode Overview

Joe Rogan welcomes Devon Larratt, legendary arm wrestler and former Canadian special forces operator, for a wide-ranging discussion covering Larratt's unique training philosophy, incredible physical adaptations, and extraordinary life experiences. The episode takes a casual yet intense tone as Larratt details his journey from military service to becoming a top-ranked arm wrestler at 51, despite significant physical challenges like elbow surgeries and bone-on-bone joints. He introduces his concept of "weaponized arthritis" and explains his unconventional high-volume, low-weight training regimen, designed to maximize blood flow and prioritize sport-specific movements over traditional heavy lifting, a method he attributes to his sustained success. The conversation delves into the physical extremes of elite strength athletes, including Larratt’s competitive rivalry with Levan Saginashvili—a 420-pound Georgian arm wrestler—and the "freakish" genetics of individuals like strongman Brian Shaw. Larratt also shares stories from his 20-year military career with Canada's JTF2, including his difficult decision to leave the special forces due to the increasing public visibility of arm wrestling. The episode concludes with Larratt recounting astounding, unverified anecdotes from his time in Afghanistan, including a sighting of an eight-foot warlord and a chilling account of a fellow soldier’s demonic possession, offering a glimpse into the unexplained phenomena he's encountered.

About Devon Larratt

Devon Larratt is a legendary Canadian arm wrestler and former special forces operator with the elite JTF2 unit, now competing at the highest levels of professional arm wrestling at age 51 despite multiple elbow surgeries and severe joint degradation. He's known for his revolutionary "weaponized arthritis" training philosophy, which prioritizes high-volume, low-weight exercises designed to maximize blood flow and sport-specific strength rather than traditional heavy lifting. Larratt's unconventional approach has allowed him to remain a top competitor against much larger opponents and younger athletes throughout his career.

Key Moments

00:01:03 – Devon Larratt's Elbow Injuries and Surgeries
00:03:59 – Weaponized Arthritis and Arm Bar Defense
00:06:12 – David Goggins' Bone-on-Bone Knees
00:11:15 – Technical Nuances of Arm Wrestling: Rising
00:13:35 – Devon's High Repetition, Blood Flow Training Approach
00:22:32 – Arm Wrestling as a Lifelong, Low-Cost Fight Sport
00:27:16 – Crazy George and the King's Move Technique
00:27:39 – Pronator Muscle Development in Arm Wrestlers
00:30:05 – Devon's Longevity and Training Volume at 51
00:31:47 – Genetic Engineering and Ending Down Syndrome
00:33:40 – Devon's Genetics and Endurance Predisposition
00:34:31 – Brian Shaw's Unique Genetics and Growth Hormone
00:38:00 – Myostatin Inhibitors and Extreme Muscle Growth
00:40:07 – Follistatin and Anti-Aging Genetic Therapies
00:41:45 – Louis Simmons' Reverse Hyper for Back Health
00:42:34 – Impact of PEDs on Combat Sports and Longevity
00:47:06 – Juji Mufu's Influence on Devon's Training
00:53:30 – Levan Saginashvili, the World's Best Arm Wrestler
01:05:23 – John Brzenk: The Goat of Arm Wrestling and Specialization
01:24:23 – Pumpkin Training: Extreme One-Sided Specialization
01:27:31 – Oleg Zoch: The Hellboy Arm Wrestler with Extreme Unilateral Development
01:35:40 – Eve Gravel: Rock Climber with Unbelievable Grip Strength
01:42:52 – Eve Gravel's Scientific, Test-Based Training Approach
01:48:10 – Discussing the nuances of grip strength in arm wrestling
01:49:00 – Devon Larratt's surprising personal grip strength confession
01:52:29 – The extraordinary, almost unnatural, physique of Smyev
01:54:33 – Visual comparison of Smyev's pre- and post-transformation physique
01:55:18 – Speculation on why Smyev's Instagram page was removed
01:57:31 – Leonidas Arkona's surprising victory over Brian Shaw in arm wrestling
02:03:47 – The phenomenon of 'hidden' strength with Eric Spotto
02:05:06 – Debating the classification of arm wrestling as a combat sport
02:08:46 – Devon Larratt's extensive career in Canadian Special Forces (JTF2)
02:09:50 – Devon's difficult decision to leave JTF2 for arm wrestling
02:13:42 – The immense financial and personal stress of pursuing arm wrestling professionally
02:19:19 – Experiences from combat tours in Afghanistan, including Kandahar
02:21:22 – Developing a 'combat persona' to overcome fear in the field
02:27:27 – Discussion about the legend of the Kandahar Giant
02:29:29 – Devon's personal sighting of an unusually tall warlord in Afghanistan
02:30:07 – Accounts of exceptionally large individuals in Northern Canada (Cree people)
02:36:18 – Story of a military colleague's demonic possession in Iraq
02:39:23 – Details of the exorcism and the lasting impact on the possessed individual

Transcript Excerpt

[00:00:01] Joe Rogan podcast, checking out. The Joe Rogan Experience. Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. Check, check. What's happening, my man. I'm so happy. So happy to see you. Wow. [00:00:17] What's going on. Joe, thank you so much, first of all. My pleasure. I feel like, you know, you are the loudspeaker of the planet, man, and I'm so honored to be here. That's a very uncomfortable position to be in, I'll tell you that. It's very weird. Yeah, I bet. I bet. [00:00:32] But look, I mean, you've talked to. everybody in the planet. And I think I'm honored to be your first arm wrestler. Well, if I'm going to have an arm wrestler, it has to be the goat. Oh, highly debated, but I'll take it. You're in the conversation. Yeah, I'm in the conversation. There's a couple of us, I think. [00:01:03] No, they don't. going unfortunately. That didn't work. Yeah. It didn't work when I was trying to fight Thor either. It kind of limited the extension. When did that start happening? So I was, I got into club arm wrestling. [00:01:20] I'm wrestling when I was a kid, but I got in a club arm wrestling around like 18. By the time I was 20 or so, we have this champion called Crazy George. okay he's like a very old very decorated champion and he famously at the time for me he couldn't straighten his elbows and i was like oh man i can't wait until my elbows don't straighten like a silly a silly wish right so it started early like i think i was like probably like in my late 20s and it just the the range started to shrink and how why does that from it's just pressure mostly, like just the constant pressure on the elbow joint causes, you know, osteophytes potentially. And it doesn't happen to all the arm wrestlers. [00:02:35] that armresters get is, you know, if the bone growth gets bad enough, it can start to constrict your nerves or blood flow, and that's when it becomes a problem. Has that happened to you? 100%. Yeah? Yeah. [00:02:47] So I was what I was probably, it...

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Frequently asked about this episode

Did Devon Larratt talk about the Kandahar Giant on Joe Rogan?

Yes. On JRE #2510, arm wrestling legend and former JTF2 operator Devon Larratt recounts Kandahar Giant stories alongside training, injuries, and arm wrestling technique.

What Joe Rogan episode is Devon Larratt on?

Devon Larratt appears on Joe Rogan Experience episode #2510. Read the transcript and topic breakdown on this page.