For the first time in the 20-year history of the Arnold Classic Armwrestling Challenge, an annual event of the Arnold Schwarzenegger Fitness Expo, an entire family has qualified to participate, and they reside right here in Hot Springs.
"Monster" Michael Todd, his wife, Rebecca Todd, and her son, Ryan Morin, will compete in the challenge in Ohio next month, and each have high hopes of placing in the top three in their respective divisions.
Michael Todd is a 1991 graduate of Magnet Cove High School and said he began arm wrestling in school.
"In my senior year in high school, in 1990, a gentleman told me about a wrist wrestling tournament at the Saline County Fair, so I went to that, I took third, I was hooked and, basically, the rest is history," he said. "I started putting on local tournaments in Malvern at the Boys' Club, went undefeated for about a year, you know, just local competitions. I went to my first professional wrestling tournament in August of 1992."
Since then he has participated in high-profile competitions around the world, including Poland, Italy and England, and has earned 26 national arm wrestling titles and 17 world titles. In addition, he is a trained official in the sport and promotes his own events as a United States Armwrestling Association Certified Promoter.
Rebecca Todd, although new to the sport, has already earned a Caribbean National Title and several U.S. National titles. This will be her first appearance at the ACAC.
She met Michael Todd through his 12-week physique and lifestyle transformation program.
"She had heard about the program, came to me and I was her trainer. We fell in love and she started arm wrestling. She had completed my program and she was really strong and in great shape," Michael Todd said. "I threw her into the state championship back in 2012; she had just gotten out of the hospital the night before, against doctor's orders, and the next day I was like, 'Hey, we're going to throw you into this,' and she ended up winning the state championship, and now she's won three national titles."
The Todds now run the transformation program together.
Michael Todd said that Morin began working out and arm wrestling at age 15 when "his friend started noticing that his mother was more buff than him," adding, "I knew if he got into (arm wrestling) and liked it, with him growing up, his natural strength was going to keep getting better."
Morin is now a three-time national champion and this year will be his second year to qualify for the ACAC.
The family trains year-round from competition to competition in their home training facility.
Though Michael Todd said arm wrestling is what keeps him young, he's had his share of injuries, particularly seven years ago when an x-ray revealed that he had more than 70 fractures in his right elbow.
"The doctor came back in and said, 'I've never seen an elbow look this bad.' I could probably get a disability check from this, it's so damaged, but I'm just too stubborn to quit. The 70 fractures was seven years ago so I'm sure I've added to that number," he said.
"I always wanted to be in shape growing up and I started working out as a kid. It keeps me young, it keeps me fit. We love sharing health and fitness with other people because you get to see what kind of change they make in their lives. It's a lot more than just the physical transformation; there's a lot of things that take place. Health and fitness for us is just, fortunately, a way of life. I've been competing, this is my 27th year, and I'll be 44 this year, so this is all I know."
He said the best advice he could give to an individual interested in becoming a professional arm wrestler is to find a group of people and simply start practicing.
"The more times you get on the table and arm wrestle, the better you're going to be. No one arm wrestles the same way, no one grips the same way. The more people you can arm wrestle, the better," he said. "Anytime someone wants to arm wrestle, you arm wrestle. The best experience is practice. The more you do it, the better."
Local on 02/13/2017