Popular content creators Heber Cannon and Marston Sawyers, collectively known as “Buttery Bros”, are best known for traveling the world filming engaging videos with their favorite athletes for their popular Youtube channel. Now they’ve taken things to the extreme with the very first Buttery Games.
In this three-part series, the fittest and strongest athletes in the world compete for their respective teams. The goal: each team pushed, pulled and sweated in the hope of winning the delicious title of “Most Buttery”.
Seven teams of two (one male, one female) will take on insane challenges such as deadlifts, obstacle courses and even off-road races. So, with the final round now complete and set to land on YouTube on January 19th, M&F was able to provide a spoiler-free look at who and what is involved, and glean some thoughts from the stars themselves.
Who participated in the Buttery Games?
The official team list is below. (The Buttery Bros. had to make some substitutions when making the games, which led to some great cameos from CrossFit’s Alison Scudds and former MMA star Brendan Schaub.)
- Justin Medeiros (twice Fittest Man on Earth) with Sophia Rose (trainer, ballerina)
- Martins Licis (World’s Strongest Man) with Brooke Wells (CrossFit)
- Kai Greene (three-time Mr. Olympia finalist) with Kari Pearce (CrossFit)
- Hafthor Björnsson (the strongest man in the world) with Kelsey Henson (physical trainer)
- Jonathan Coyle (fitness trainer) with Natalie Eva Marie (WWE, trainer and movie star)
- Rob Kearney (strongman) with Alex Gazan (CrossFit)
- Jon “Jujimufu” Call (powerlifter and bodybuilder) with Ellie Turner (CrossFit)
In part 1 of the series, the theme was “Speed”. The events included a 400 meter relay race and beep test, capped off by a trophy truck race in which each athlete had to complete five laps behind the wheel of the trophy truck. Of course, Björnsson couldn’t fit in the assigned truck and had to take another vehicle (and of course)!
Athletes were forced out of their box during the Buttery Games
“The most fun event was the 400 meter relay. Seeing all the strong men warming up and reaching 200 meters at maximum effort was a sight to behold! Medeiros tells M&F. “I think the best part of the Buttery Games was seeing how competitive all the athletes were, even though most of the events were so off the beaten track.”
For Part 2, the theme was “Skills” and included an American Ninja-esque obstacle course with 10 stations such as balance steps, rings, and the very difficult salmon ladder; where the competitor must grab the bar and lift it several rungs themselves using a pulling technique to increase their height and secure the bar on the next rung. “I had a lot of fun participating in many events, especially the ninja course and the basketball event,” shares Hafthor Björnsson.
Where and when to watch the final
With the third and final part premiering on YouTube on January 19, viewers and athletes relished the concept of these stars competing in different styles, outside of their comfort zones. “Which event hurt the most? “All!” Björnsson laughs. “All jokes aside, CrossFit training (CrossFit Metcon) was probably the hardest. I think I was too hard on the Concept rower and completely destroyed myself before doing the burpees! The overall experience was really great, I had a lot of fun!”
Of course, behind the competitiveness and the desire to win, there is the love of pushing the limits to the extreme, and for this, no matter the result in the final round, all these participants are winners. “Being able to rub shoulders with athletes of such caliber in all aspects of fitness was so cool,” says Medeiros. “I definitely met some of my childhood heroes.”
Looks like a group hug will be in order after all the Buttery madness is said and done!
