Why the name?
I was inspired to name my gym Riddle Of Steel by the 1982 Adventure movie Conan The Barbarian. Within the story there is a recurring philosophical quest called “The Riddle Of Steel” where by the hero Conan seeks to understand as he travels the land on his adventures.
My inspiration came from a memorable scene in the movie whereby Conan is captured by the main antagonist, warlord Thulsa Doom. During their interaction the topic of The Riddle Of Steel is brought up. Doom responds with a legendary monologue
“Let me tell you the riddle of steel. Steel is weak, boy. Flesh is stronger. What is steel compared to the hand that wields it? Look at the strength of your body, the desire in your heart. I gave you this.”
While working out my mind was reminiscing about this quote and jokingly I thought to myself “What is the barbell compared to the hands that lift it?” This started to grow on me and my pondering this movie’s philosophy in regards to Weight training and Strongman began to expand in relevance. Soon the phrase “Steel is weak, Flesh is stronger” morphed into “Steel makes weak flesh stronger” and hence the gym’s motto was created.
In the opening scene of the movie a young Conan watches his father forge a sword and as they admire the fruit of his hard work his father explains the Riddle Of Steel.
“No one, not no one in this world can you trust. Not men, not women, not beast…..(pointing to the steel sword) this you can trust.”
Like the sword, so too can the heavy weights we lift be that one thing in the world we can trust. Weight does not lie to us, nor can we lie to weight. A weight is what it is and either you can lift it or you can’t. If you don’t show it discipline, you will receive no rewards. If you treat is with disrespect, you will get hurt. But if you treat weight with discipline and respect it promises to reward you with strength. Honesty in its purest form.
Conan’s village gets raided and he is sold as a slave. He is forced to turn a giant mill called “The Wheel Of Pain”. Time passes and Conan gets stronger and stronger until he becomes the living testosterone infused He-Man. This scene inspired an actual Strongman implement called “Conan’s Wheel”.
For the remainder of the movie Conan dons a mini replica of the Wheel Of Pain around his neck to honor his former master who gave him his strength, fighting skills, mastery of war and most of all, his freedom.
The gym’s logo is a version of the Wheel Of Pain. Using strength implements causes discomfort and sometimes pain, but we fight through it. A bar on the upper back doesn’t feel good to anyone, especially when you are pushing your limits. But by suffering the ordeal we gain the rewards to strength.