00:02It takes a lot of grit and grunt.
00:06We're all mates, no matter what club, whatever, but on the table, it's pure war.
00:13This arm wrestling club on the Gold Coast only launched last year, but it already has
00:18big dreams.
00:19I mean, if breakdancing man can be a sport in the Olympics, then goddamn it, arm wrestling
00:23can.
00:24Competitions are popular across Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
00:27In Australia, there's around 30 arm wrestling clubs.
00:31Originally when you first start, yes, it hurts a lot.
00:35There are some mind games.
00:37Like some people, they do like to trash talk each other a lot.
00:40But it's all in good spirit.
00:42It builds a stronger bond with the person after the match.
00:46Tomu Glesher started arm wrestling 13 years ago during a struggle with his mental health.
00:51We're all kids on the inside.
00:53We all just want to have a talk.
00:55It doesn't matter how big and blokey you are, you want to have a communication.
00:57In competition, there's camaraderie.
00:59They call you over and start to talk to you.
01:01It's like, this guy's my best friend already, you know, and I want to be his best friend.
01:05Being able to watch the sport that I love grow has helped me, you know, focus on something
01:11other than just, you know, being in the rat race doing a nine to five.
01:15But the physical strain doesn't stop on the table.
01:18You know, your tendons, your ligaments, your muscles, everything just gets conditioned
01:21and eventually it just stops hurting until it hurts again.
01:27It's hard to figure out what you know what to do.
01:27It's like, yeah.
01:27It's like, yeah, it's gonna have to be a little bit in a little bit.
01:27But then all the time I'm going to try to do is take care of my mind
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