Dmitry Volegov Certifies on the Captains of Crush No. 4 Gripper

[Florian Kellersmann]

38 minutes ago, Alawadhi said:

Many have stated that he is not genuine (until proven otherwise). I have personal experience with exceptional individuals. Hussain Ali, for instance, easily closed a #3.5 gripper with his beginner set and nearly closed a CoC #4 (rated at 214) on his first attempt doing anything grip besides his strongman training. His hands and wrists were shaking. Similarly, Khaled, after only 2.5 months of training, managed to close a #3.5 from a wide set, also with shaking. Fip closed a #3 on his first try and came close to closing the #3.5, which also caused him to shake. I've witnessed many others strong people achieving similar feats. This individual's closing ability is matched only by Joe Kinney, though I believe Joe surpasses him...

The guys you mentioned and witnessed in person also showed great grip strength with fat dumbells, Blobs, etc. 

[Ivan Cuk]

2 hours ago, Florian Kellersmann said:

 In this video he "closes" a #4 and some other grippers, no chalk of course. They are just too easy. The way he "opens" the grippers is also suspicious, just letting them go. 

I had a good laugh watching this

[DoctorOfCrush]

47 minutes ago, Ivan Cuk said:

I had a good laugh watching this

Wait, you aren't doing all of your elite level closes back-to-back without chalk in the back of your car?! Maybe that's the secret sauce. . . 

[Charlie Hayes1]

On 7/14/2024 at 3:18 AM, Allen Heineck said:

Point number two was literally suspect to many, if not all  people with a more clear view point.

 

Said a different way;  I saw the card swiped in a fashion contradictory to what was required.   But,  Ironmind said it was fine, so it is. 

Fair enough. I admitted that my experience is limited, but it did look similar to other attempts I have seen.

[Ivan Cuk]

25 minutes ago, DoctorOfCrush said:

Wait, you aren't doing all of your elite level closes back-to-back without chalk in the back of your car?! Maybe that's the secret sauce. . . 

Damn... no I'm not sadly, not worthy enough)

[DoctorOfCrush]

1 minute ago, Ivan Cuk said:

Damn... no I'm not sadly, not worthy enough)

Keep your head up, lil guy. Maybe you'll join the big leagues one day!

[Charlie Hayes1]

On 7/13/2024 at 7:54 PM, Jared P said:

There are a number of factors which have made me highly suspicious since the beginning.

- The extreme rapid progression, week after week, ascending to world record level after only 9 months of using grippers total
- 3 x 211 CCS of a GHP 9 while talking casually
- 227 rgc CCS this week of a SGR Naval Ranks Admiral, smashing Carl's best CCS by 7 rgc, who trained grippers for 7 years to reach that level
- Shaking his hand in pain during his 2 reps on his CoC 3.5 cert - which doesn't make any sense if he can easily CCS 211 x 3. The 3.5 should be an absolute joke of a warmup gripper to him. Watch how Ivan and Carl manhandle 3.5s for instance, but a CoC 4 CCS is still extremely difficult for them.
- Loose handles on his grippers with excess glue seeping out in videos where they are being rated
- Beyond-rare 67mm spread on his CoC 4, almost unheard of
- The constant hiding or obstructing of the spring in his videos, seemingly intentional
- The rumor mill talk of him possibly making, altering, and selling counterfeit grippers as authentic
- Having no credible live witnesses

If he is legit, which he theoretically could be and in which case I'd be happy to apologize to him, he's by far the strongest gripper athlete we've ever seen. More dominant than Carl, Ivan, Nikita, Nathan, David, or Joe Kinney. And he's only 9 months into training. The world is his oyster. He should be able to CCS the GHP 10 next year, and break Nikita's GM150 record as a side hobby.

Also if he is legit, I'm Elvis Presley playing blackjack with Bigfoot and Santa Claus in the Bermuda Triangle.

I am not disagreeing, but in general, there have been some very slim successful grip athletes and also a few young prodigies, who closed some strong grippers straight out of the packet and who - almost by definition - did not have a long training history. At the same time, there are some hefty Strongmen who don't do very well.

I am not saying this to argue that he is legit, just to put forward that there are exceptions out there. The other thing I would raise is that while grip, like all training, is somewhat specific and so "to get good at torsion grippers, use torsion grippers", it simply isn't realistic to think that is the only factor in grip strength. While I am not very strong at all in absolute terms, my grip strength was relatively high the very first time I tried a gripper, because I had a long background of using my grip in various ways, both in the gym - Deadlifts and Chin/Pull Ups and Hangs, etc., and in daily life. (As a disabled person, I have used my hands all the time, even after I became able to walk relatively normally and I was generally much stronger than my classmates during most of school.) 

Does anyone know anything of Volegov's background prior to his appearance in the gripper field? Has he got any sort of strength sport background or has he done heavy manual work? Remember how some of the most successful Strongmen had a manual or farming background - e.g.; Magnus Samuelsson. (Not sure if I spelled that correctly.)

Absent that background and any evidence of being a grip freak/prodigy, then it does seem very suspicious. I look forward to more definite evidence either way.

[Hannes]

2 hours ago, MrSadFace said:

 Letting it fly open seems like a good way to increase the probability of getting hurt

I just tried it with a 0.5 and instantly had pain on the outside of my elbow

[Charlie Hayes1]

Someone commented that Volegov doesn't look like he has the strength to do this.

I just thought I would mention a Japanese guy, who looked relatively slender and lacking forearm size - in long sleeves - who qualified on the #3 and was pictured in Milo sometime ago. Unfortunately, I don't have my Milos to hand to corroborate.

Also, some people with a relatively small physique can have a very strong grip, e.g.; Dennis Rogers and Tommy Heslep.

Apart from my father, who had a fairly strong crushing grip, I knew 3 men with phenomenal grips. One was a mechanic who maintained road building machinery. He could tighten nuts with his fingers to almost "spanner-tight" (a spanner is a wrench for those outside the UK). He was Sicilian, not very tall but very solidly built. Another was a small, but stocky, Greek guy, who also could do up nuts with his fingers and who thought nothing of lifting the engine out his sports car. (If I told you his feats of strength, I doubt I would be believed and he claimed his little brother was even stronger and their "old man" - their dad, was stronger than both!) The third guy was around 140 lbs/63.5 kg/10 Stone and was fairly spare, although he had large hands. He was a carpenter/woodworker and used his hands to hold wood in place while machining it. This sort of workman's strength developed in his youth, never left him and while not a strongman or lifter, his hand and finger strength were phenomenal.

I never got the chance to test him on a torsion gripper, so I am not using him to try to prove Dmitry Volegov is legit or anything. What I am saying is that you can never really tell how strong someone is just by sight, even in person.

[Dimitar Nenkov]

4 hours ago, Florian Kellersmann said:

 In this video he "closes" a #4 and some other grippers, no chalk of course. They are just too easy. The way he "opens" the grippers is also suspicious, just letting them go. 

That 4 was closed as if it was a guide or trainer, it is so funny. I bet he is stronger than Khan Baba

[DrBartlebee]

19 minutes ago, Dimitar Nenkov said:

That 4 was closed as if it was a guide or trainer, it is so funny. I bet he is stronger than Khan Baba

Yea he closes the 4 like it's 20% of his max haha. I hadn't seen this video until now, it's as good as it gets for me in terms of knowing he's been faking stuff. I feel like he doesn't even know enough about grippers to know how ridiculous it would be to close a 4 like that, much less close all those other grippers in the same way right after each other. Seriously, if that video wasn't a joke I don't think there's anything more to be said lol

Edited July 15 by DrBartlebee

[Austin Seitter]

4 hours ago, Cannon said:

Is Eva Green the thumbnail for everyone else?

Yep she is for me to lol 

[insane.warrior]

[MrSadFace]

1 hour ago, Hannes said:

I just tried it with a 0.5 and instantly had pain on the outside of my elbow

 I tried it on a very light (40rgc) gripper as well, to see what it felt like. If done on a heavy gripper and something went wrong it would put extreme pressure on the last joint of your finger, in a way that it's not supposed to bend. No thanks, I'll stick to letting it open slowly, as I see practically everyone else do.

[Alawadhi]

5 hours ago, Florian Kellersmann said:

The guys you mentioned and witnessed in person also showed great grip strength with fat dumbells, Blobs, etc. 

Oh yes! Hussain and Fip lifted the Millennium on their first attempt. Khaled did a strict 98KG Inch first time doing grip. Fatman blobs were easy. Pinch lifted my 2 35s plates (which is as hard as seasoned 2 45s). Anvils, you name it. Basically crazy grip strength overall. 

If I remember correctly, I believe Rich Williams had the most stable CoC #3.5 hands while certifying. Still not as stable as this #4 close.

[weightlifter]

21 hours ago, Charlie Hayes1 said:

Does anyone know anything of Volegov's background prior to his appearance in the gripper field? Has he got any sort of strength sport background or has he done heavy manual work?

Most of you are quite bold in accusing him of fraud, although he has not given any reason and has not been caught in anything like this before. but you didn’t even bother to study the information about this person, which is in the public domain and was published on the Ironmind website.

https://www.ironmind.com/news/Dmitry-Volegov-Certifies-on-the-Captains-of-Crush-No.-4-Gripper/

It's very disrespectful and unsportsmanlike, friends

Edited July 16 by weightlifter

[David_wigren]

2 hours ago, weightlifter said:

Most of you are quite bold in accusing him of fraud, although he has not given any reason and has not been caught in anything like this before. but you didn’t even bother to study the information about this person, which is in the public domain and was published on the Ironmind website.

https://www.ironmind.com/news/Dmitry-Volegov-Certifies-on-the-Captains-of-Crush-No.-4-Gripper/

It's very disrespectful and unsportsmanlike, friends

IMO it’s actually a compliment.

I would personally love to be called a fraud. I would just find the closest accuser and ask if he wanted to meet for a training session. Afterwards they’d know I wasn’t a fraud. Or better yet, I’d also find a local comp that hosted grippers as an event. And then just completely dominate that event.

Hopefully Dmitry will do something like that. My guess though is that he either gets caught of being a fraud or he disappears or gets an “injury”.

[Charlie Hayes1]

3 hours ago, weightlifter said:

Most of you are quite bold in accusing him of fraud, although he has not given any reason and has not been caught in anything like this before. but you didn’t even bother to study the information about this person, which is in the public domain and was published on the Ironmind website.

https://www.ironmind.com/news/Dmitry-Volegov-Certifies-on-the-Captains-of-Crush-No.-4-Gripper/

It's very disrespectful and unsportsmanlike, friends

Hi, Thanks for quoting me, but my question was genuine.  While I accepted that I am inexperienced in judging such things and so fraud might be possible, I have also pointed out factors that mitigate against that and which might tend to support him. For example, other people have achieved some amazing feats with a relatively short public grip career. Thanks for the link, btw. 

[Florian Kellersmann]

4 hours ago, weightlifter said:

Most of you are quite bold in accusing him of fraud, although he has not given any reason and has not been caught in anything like this before. but you didn’t even bother to study the information about this person, which is in the public domain and was published on the Ironmind website.

https://www.ironmind.com/news/Dmitry-Volegov-Certifies-on-the-Captains-of-Crush-No.-4-Gripper/

It's very disrespectful and unsportsmanlike, friends

I heard he is a former basketball player. 

What if... he is known in the russian gripper community for selling fake grippers? Have you done your research beyond reading the info on the Ironmind website which comes from Volegov himself?

[slazbob]

I’m still not sure why the package didn’t look like it was from Iron Mind?

it’s always an yellow envelope…unless Iron Mind uses an affiliate to ship a gripper for them.

[Cannon]

49 minutes ago, slazbob said:

I’m still not sure why the package didn’t look like it was from Iron Mind?

it’s always an yellow envelope…unless Iron Mind uses an affiliate to ship a gripper for them.

It was not from IronMind directly. For both Dmitry's #3.5 and #4 certifications, the gripper was provided by a Russian company BearGrip. This is due to on-going sanctions which prohibit financial transactions and shipments between USA and Russia directly.

[slazbob]

12 minutes ago, Cannon said:

It was not from IronMind directly. For both Dmitry's #3.5 and #4 certifications, the gripper was provided by a Russian company BearGrip. This is due to on-going sanctions which prohibit financial transactions and shipments between USA and Russia directly.

Hmm…how could it be official if it’s not directly from IronMind? Thought that was the whole point.

but it’s done…they call the shots.

[Cannon]

16 minutes ago, slazbob said:

Hmm…how could it be official if it’s not directly from IronMind? Thought that was the whole point.

but it’s done…they call the shots.

This was my main objection to Dmitry's #3.5 cert, which has nothing to do with Dmitry himself. I really think the gripper should come from IronMind so they can select all certification grippers the same way. (Never mind it gives them a chance to place identifying markings on the package to ensure the same gripper was used, if they wanted that kind of added security. I've always thought it would be cool if Dr. Strossen signed the back with a Sharpie.)

If I was tasked with sending one from here, I would have to do something like prepare the box and then tell my family, "Go find one and put it in there." If I can see the gripper then I know what I'm sending. Meaning narrow, wide, uneven handles, sharpness of knurling, etc. Tons of factors. Even where it's pulled from in inventory I know when that arrived and if the ratings trend higher or lower versus other inventory. When I'm pre-rating grippers, I find a whole diversity of ratings by measuring spreads in the package and pick out narrow and wide options. But I would definitely know what I was sending.

[Charlie Hayes1]

The whole sanctions business does complicate things and it works the other way around, as a recent post on getting grip tools from Russia/Ukraine/Belarus pointed out. Whether Dmitry is legit or not, he is hardly in control of the geo-political situation and IM seem to be happy about dealing with him. After all, that was supposed to be the ethos of the modern Olympics, that sport would bring people together regardless of politics and purely for the love of sport. We know that politics has always obtruded, e.g.; in 1936, during the Cold War and after, but the ideal was there.

If we took the time to dig deep enough we might not all agree with one another on a range of issues, but we are able to come together on the common ground of an interest in and a love for all things grip. I hope and pray that the Ukraine situation gets resolved, primarily for the sake of the people on both sides, but it would also allow relatively minor questions like "Did he really . . .?" to be resolved more easily in future.

[Zeferin]

8 hours ago, weightlifter said:

Большинство из вас достаточно смело обвиняют его в мошенничестве, хотя он не давал никаких оснований и ранее ни в чем подобном не был уличен. Но вы даже не удосужились изучить информацию об этом человеке, которая находится в открытом доступе и опубликована на сайте Ironmind.

https://www.ironmind.com/news/Dmitry-Volegov-Certifies-on-the-Captains-of-Crush-No.-4-Gripper/

Это очень неуважительно и неспортивно, друзья.

 

8 hours ago, weightlifter said:

Большинство из вас достаточно смело обвиняют его в мошенничестве, хотя он не давал никаких оснований и ранее ни в чем подобном не был уличен. Но вы даже не удосужились изучить информацию об этом человеке, которая находится в открытом доступе и опубликована на сайте Ironmind.

https://www.ironmind.com/news/Dmitry-Volegov-Certifies-on-the-Captains-of-Crush-No.-4-Gripper/

Это очень неуважительно и неспортивно, друзья.

I tried to find at least one of Dmitry’s fights, but Google doesn’t know anything about 28 years of mma training! Well, probably you bothered to check the information and you have links to fights or a professional record???