Dmitry Klokov is as impressive in real life as his is in his countless youtube and instagram videos. Dmitry is quite taller than most would imagin him. He is a lean roughly 5'10" 105kg lifter.
His shoulders and pecs bulge through his trademark Team Winner Russia T-shirts. He wears a manly 5' o clock shadow - scruff on his face. And, there are his eyes-- yes, they really do twinkle in person.
Dmitry is the kind of athlete that both men and women crush on. If anything, I know countless guy lifters who have man-crushes on him -- that is some sort of bro-admiration and desire to be like him.
Simply put, Dmitry's got Charisma.
His shoulders and pecs bulge through his trademark Team Winner Russia T-shirts. He wears a manly 5' o clock shadow - scruff on his face. And, there are his eyes-- yes, they really do twinkle in person.
Dmitry is the kind of athlete that both men and women crush on. If anything, I know countless guy lifters who have man-crushes on him -- that is some sort of bro-admiration and desire to be like him.
Simply put, Dmitry's got Charisma.
All weekend, I announced his demonstration sessions and was helping back stage where he was doing signings and photos. Dmitry has a great personality. He is humble, not a big ego. He will make sure every fan waiting in line will get an autograph. He can really work a microphone and draw the crowd in. He's generous with his attention. He seems meticulous. He's also awesome in that he will post on social media, frequently, copiously, to his fans about all the events he is doing and the companies supporting him (note to athletes who aspire to be as famous and valued as Klokov, you need to post frequently about your sponsor, ie more than 1 crummy picture of the product a sponsor sends).
And, in addition to all his wonderful qualities, he really likes our shoes and has a sweet line of plates. His Again Faster KlokovD bars and plates were meticulously designed by him. I admire someone who can seek perfection, even if it means going through the hard work of multiple iterations.
And, now about his lifting...
He put on a show, every day at the Olympia Cup. Generation Iron, the rising media giant in the fitness industry, even came over just to tape footage of him lifting.
Here are some of the lifts he did:
Every show, he warmed up in front of the audience with his partner and sidekick, Igor Zapirov. This also made history, as this was the first time Igor has ever lifted for an audience (more below)
Klokov worked up to a:
170kg pause hang snatch
200kg pause front squat
200kg snatch grip deadlift
175kg power clean plus power jerk
Here is video of his front squats and , yes, you can see how he wraps his knees.
Igor lifting at the Risto Olympia Cup also made history. This is the first time Igor has ever lifted for a crowd. Igor is a former world class gymnast, hold a Guinness book of world record for pulling a car with his teeth, and currently performs for Cirque Du Soleil in Las Vegas. You can tell from how he moves that he is super talented and a developed athlete. He weighed about 88kg and was close with a 110kg snatch- Klokov has only been training him for 7 months.
And the lifters...what was in it for them:
Lifting at the Risto Olympia Cup is a first class experience. When you arrive at the venue, there is a separate weigh-in and check-in areas for all the competitors. The Olympia generously gave 4 Weigh-ins and check-in stations JUST for OLYMPIC WEIGHTLIFTING. Each was professionally labeled with an "Olympic weightlifting " sign. Each competitor received a free pass to the expo, free t-shirt, and free gift bag form bodybuilding.com stocked with supplements.
The competition was held inside the expo itself. We had a FANTASTIC position and area. We were a stone's throw from bodybuilding.com, mucletech, generation iron... basically, all the companies anyone cared about were right by the Olympia Cup booth. And the booth was a mamouth 2000 square feet, larger than even bodybuilding.com's (if you spend anytime reading a fitness magazine, that is like a REALLY big deal).
We had ample amount of again faster weights, a signing area where both Dmitry Klokov , Igor Zapirove, the Risto Team, and Justin Compton met enthusiastic fans. Our partner, Alaskafit productions had fitness models give out flyers. It was classy by fitness standards.
The best part for me was the CROWD! Let's put it this way, Olympic weightlifting has never, ever been exhibited at the Olympia Expo - what do you think the crowd's reaction would be --- it was utter amazement and fascination. During down time, in addition to competing, I did an expo of technique. People, like flies to a jar of honey, came over -- taking photos, video, cheering, ooo-ing and aweing-- and, I was only doing 35kgs. I would be surprised if theres a random video of me on a bodybuilding site snatching 35kgs. I suppose that could be the only possible downside, or travesty- people didn't realize I was just doing a work out...and to come to my real show the next day .
Again, for our competitors, they got the respect they deserved. An engaging crowd watched every session. 90% of the crowd was not related to or has ever been to a weightlifting meet , they were simply bodybuilding and fitness fans who stumbled upon this interesting sport of Olympic Weightlifting.
You can see photos and video of many of the lifters who competed at the Risto Olympia Cup on the Risto Sports Facebook page and Instagram, please like and follow to see more content.
Here is video from the first women's session:
And the lifters...what was in it for them:
You can see photos and video of many of the lifters who competed at the Risto Olympia Cup on the Risto Sports Facebook page and Instagram, please like and follow to see more content.
The competitors Ca-Ching:
Awards were given out to top 3 lifters in the following categories on Sinclair: Youth men's, Youth Women's, Junior men, Junior Women, Senior Men, Senior Women, and Masters. Each Winner (Y-SR) received several hundred dollars worth of product from MetRx and Newgrip, high quality made in the USA medals. All competitors received a free gift bag from bodybuilding.com and a free competition t-shirt. With more competitors next year, and more sponsors, we desire to give out even more prizes and cash.
In case you saw that 35kg snatch of mine on bodybuilding media outlets, I'll post some videos of my actual competition lifts:
And, in addition to all his wonderful qualities, he really likes our shoes and has a sweet line of plates. His Again Faster KlokovD bars and plates were meticulously designed by him. I admire someone who can seek perfection, even if it means going through the hard work of multiple iterations.
And, now about his lifting...
He put on a show, every day at the Olympia Cup. Generation Iron, the rising media giant in the fitness industry, even came over just to tape footage of him lifting.
Here are some of the lifts he did:
Every show, he warmed up in front of the audience with his partner and sidekick, Igor Zapirov. This also made history, as this was the first time Igor has ever lifted for an audience (more below)
Klokov worked up to a:
170kg pause hang snatch
200kg pause front squat
200kg snatch grip deadlift
175kg power clean plus power jerk
Here is video of his front squats and , yes, you can see how he wraps his knees.
And the lifters...what was in it for them:
Lifting at the Risto Olympia Cup is a first class experience. When you arrive at the venue, there is a separate weigh-in and check-in areas for all the competitors. The Olympia generously gave 4 Weigh-ins and check-in stations JUST for OLYMPIC WEIGHTLIFTING. Each was professionally labeled with an "Olympic weightlifting " sign. Each competitor received a free pass to the expo, free t-shirt, and free gift bag form bodybuilding.com stocked with supplements.
The competition was held inside the expo itself. We had a FANTASTIC position and area. We were a stone's throw from bodybuilding.com, mucletech, generation iron... basically, all the companies anyone cared about were right by the Olympia Cup booth. And the booth was a mamouth 2000 square feet, larger than even bodybuilding.com's (if you spend anytime reading a fitness magazine, that is like a REALLY big deal).
We had ample amount of again faster weights, a signing area where both Dmitry Klokov , Igor Zapirove, the Risto Team, and Justin Compton met enthusiastic fans. Our partner, Alaskafit productions had fitness models give out flyers. It was classy by fitness standards.
The best part for me was the CROWD! Let's put it this way, Olympic weightlifting has never, ever been exhibited at the Olympia Expo - what do you think the crowd's reaction would be --- it was utter amazement and fascination. During down time, in addition to competing, I did an expo of technique. People, like flies to a jar of honey, came over -- taking photos, video, cheering, ooo-ing and aweing-- and, I was only doing 35kgs. I would be surprised if theres a random video of me on a bodybuilding site snatching 35kgs. I suppose that could be the only possible downside, or travesty- people didn't realize I was just doing a work out...and to come to my real show the next day .
Again, for our competitors, they got the respect they deserved. An engaging crowd watched every session. 90% of the crowd was not related to or has ever been to a weightlifting meet , they were simply bodybuilding and fitness fans who stumbled upon this interesting sport of Olympic Weightlifting.
You can see photos and video of many of the lifters who competed at the Risto Olympia Cup on the Risto Sports Facebook page and Instagram, please like and follow to see more content.
Here is video from the first women's session:
And the lifters...what was in it for them:
You can see photos and video of many of the lifters who competed at the Risto Olympia Cup on the Risto Sports Facebook page and Instagram, please like and follow to see more content.
The competitors Ca-Ching:
Awards were given out to top 3 lifters in the following categories on Sinclair: Youth men's, Youth Women's, Junior men, Junior Women, Senior Men, Senior Women, and Masters. Each Winner (Y-SR) received several hundred dollars worth of product from MetRx and Newgrip, high quality made in the USA medals. All competitors received a free gift bag from bodybuilding.com and a free competition t-shirt. With more competitors next year, and more sponsors, we desire to give out even more prizes and cash.
In case you saw that 35kg snatch of mine on bodybuilding media outlets, I'll post some videos of my actual competition lifts:
