Four-time World’s Strongest Man Brian Shaw has given fans an honest update on the future of the Strongest Man on Earth (SMOE) competition — and it’s clear just how much time, effort, and sacrifice he’s poured into the event over the past six years.
In a new Q&A video on his YouTube channel, Shaw addressed fan questions about Strongest Man on Earth 2026 while also thanking viewers for their support of his new documentary series.
“First and foremost, I want to say thank you. I’m really, really glad you enjoyed the documentary,” Shaw said. “For anybody that has not heard about it, it is a four-part docu-series. We put a lot of time and effort and energy and money into making it happen.”
Shaw then candidly and directly tackled the biggest question on strongman fans’ minds: What’s happening with the Strongest Man on Earth event?
“It’s Not As Simple As A Lot Of You Seem To Think It Is”
Known for building his brand around transparency, Shaw didn’t shy away from explaining the challenges of organising such a massive contest.
“Obviously, I shared quite a bit in the wrap-up video about The Strongest Man on Earth,” he said. “And from that there has been a lot of information that has been shared. There’s been a lot of, you know, people out there sharing their thoughts and giving their advice and trying to say, ‘This is what should happen and this is what you should do and this is the answer to all of it.’”
“But the reality is that even though I don’t necessarily share or Keri doesn’t share some of the things that we have gone through that we have explored, the reality is that we have explored all of those different things and gone through them and tried to find options. And it’s not as simple as a lot of you seem to think it is to figure out solutions to these things.”
The Strongest Man on Earth title, which has become synonymous with Shaw’s own Shaw Classic, was born out of his desire to celebrate the athletes and push the sport forward. But behind the scenes, Shaw and his wife Keri have shouldered much of the load themselves.
“We’ve Taken A Lot Of Time Away From Our Family”
“The time and energy and effort that we have both put into this event, I also don’t think a lot of people realize what we have gone to to make the event happen,” Shaw explained. “And this has happened now for the sixth year of the Shaw Classic, the Strongest Man on Earth, you know, coming to life. And we’ve taken a lot of time away from our family, away from our businesses, away from things that we could potentially do to make this event happen.”
He also reminded fans that his dedication has come at personal cost — not just financially, but physically.
“For me, I haven’t taken a dime of prize money. And that includes this year as well with the arm wrestling match. I didn’t get paid anything for that at all,” Shaw stressed. “So all of my money that I would have earned from the strongman has always been given back to all of the other competitors. I didn’t take anything for the arm wrestling. So there’s a lot of giving to the event for sure.”
But even for a man as relentless as Shaw, there’s a limit to what can be sustained.
“I have to make sure and Keri has to make sure that the time and energy and effort that we put into the event is worth it, right? Because we’re taking time away from our boys. We’re taking time away from our family and from our businesses,” he said, adding that he doesn’t get caught up in the financial side, but all the other sacrifices that come with it. “When is that worth it and when is it not worth it? Because you start to compromise your health at a certain point.”
“I Was In The Hospital Over The 4th Of July”
In one of the video’s most revealing moments, Shaw shared how far things went this year.
“A lot of people will not realize that this year, quite literally, I was in the hospital over the 4th of July, which the 4th of July happens to be my anniversary. It was my 10th anniversary,” Shaw revealed. “And on that day, I was in the hospital. And that’s when I booked all the flights for the athletes. And you can go ask those guys, ‘When did you get your flight booked?’ Well, it was on the 4th of July because I was in the hospital and needed to make that happen.”
He explained that the experience forced him to take a step back and assess the toll that organising the event was taking on his health, family, and business ventures.
“These are all things that I have to strongly consider,” he said.
“We are Actively Having Meetings To Figure Out Solutions”
While some fans have speculated that the Strongest Man on Earth could be cancelled, Shaw made it clear that he’s not giving up on it — at least not yet.
“With that being said, we are also actively having meetings to figure out solutions to make this work and make it work better for Keri and I and make it work better for the contest in general,” he explained. “Even today – I’m taking time to do this question and answer – but I have two different meetings today where the Shaw Classic and Strongest Man on Earth is going to be discussed right so it’s not something where I’m sitting here and saying like hey we’re completely taking it away.”
“The contribution to the sport of strongman is not something that I overlook and, you know, for anybody out there, you would be hard-pressed to find another athlete that’s competed in this sport and taken more time when they were competing to try to grow the sport and to give back to the sport and also taken the amount of time that I have taken after I’ve got done competing to give back to the sport and to grow the sport and to provide opportunities,” Shaw continued.
“As Of This Moment Right Now…”
Ultimately, Shaw was honest that the future of the event is still being discussed.
“I wish that there was a simple answer. I wish that there was something where we could say, ‘Hey, we’ll just do this, right? And this is the answer to all of it to make it work.’ But, you know, an event like this, there’s a lot going on within it,” he said.
“And again, financially, let’s not get caught up in the financial side of it because that can go up and down and there can always be an answer to that. The time and energy and effort and sacrifice that has to go in — that’s something that we’re really, really looking strongly at and that Keri and I are talking very strongly about.”
“So, as of this moment right now, I cannot say yes, it’s happening or no, it is not happening. All I can say is we are actively working on it and trying to figure out what direction we’re going to go.”
The Bottom Line
Shaw’s update offers fans a candid look behind the curtain of one of strongman’s most beloved events. It’s clear that Strongest Man on Earth remains a passion project — but also a massive personal undertaking.
Whether or not SMOE 2026 happens, Shaw’s message to fans is unmistakable: his mission to grow the sport and support its athletes hasn’t wavered, even when the weight of the world is on his shoulders.
Featured image credit: YouTube/@ShawStrength (Screenshot)
