Why did you decided to be a referee?

I became a referee because I was losing to the same people over and over again. This was about two years into my arm wrestling.

So I felt the only way to understand how they manipulated me was to ref, to see how they manipulated others up close... Reffing and arm wrestling have their own separate challenges.

When I ref, I’m nobody else. I pretend I don’t know anyone at the table. I’m clear, straight forward and stern. I believe communication is an athlete’s best tool to working with the refs...

Arm wrestling is a complement to my martial arts in my opinion. And I love arm wrestling. The action of testing your mind along with muscle memory has always fascinated me to train.

What is harder – to be a sportsman or a referee?

Comparing the two – to be a sportsmen and a referee... I like reffing when I’m sore (laughs – ed.) I like pulling when I’m fresh and when I’m fresh you better watch out!

How is it to be a monitor referee? Do you like the idea to change one referee with a camera?

Cameras are crucial to the sport. No ref can see everything.

Even with the concept of roaming eyes. The cameras take all and tell us the truth... I believe it’s the next step in our industry for efficiency and quality control. Refs can be accountable. I believe refs should be ranked just like athletes and these camera systems should be utilized to rank our refs accordingly.

As well as help new refs manage the tricks of particular athletes.

How do you think, who is the strongest armwrestler?

Strength in my opinion relies on genetics and your previous generations of family that utilized there body mechanics in particular ways. My family where Persian Turkish on one half. Strong tendons I believe are Mediterranean based. My other half is Irish, Lithuanian and British, which provide me with some pretty abstract genes... Everyone’s different. You adopt your mother’s mitochondria. So your mom’s genes have a lot to do with how strong you can be... Yet your mind is so important. Creating your own reality is the path to success. Finally technique is by far the main factor. I’ve beat many people that were a lot stronger then I was or am. Yet I was smarter or more technical then they were during that moment in time.