Vice Features Westside Barbell & “Westside Vs. The World” Premiere Announced

Score another point for strength sports making an appearance in major news outlets. Vice Canada recently released a video that goes inside Westside Barbell to learn more about the gym’s infamous owner, Louie Simmons, and the training that goes on within.

The 8-minute Vice feature interviews Simmons, along with two long-time Westside Barbell athletes Anthony Oliveira and Jason Coker. Their interviews dive into how they found Westside Barbell, what it means to them, and how the outside world perceives the gym.

To kick off the video Vice asks Simmons, “How did you get started in powerlifting?” 

Simmons responds with, “I just wanted to be strong, and I had, well, you know, a low self-esteem problem. I didn’t have much growing up. And so I got into a lot of fights. But weights turned me around. It gave me self-confidence.” 

Check out the full video below.

Westside Vs. The World

On top of the feature above, there’s also been a release date and premiere details dropped for the documentary, “Westside Vs. The World”. Late last February, we wrote on the trailer for the documentary and it gained a lot of attention, although, there had been no official release dates dropped.

Now the good news, if you’re going to the Arnold Classic weekend and you love Westside Barbell, then you’re in luck. They plan to have three public premieres over the course of the 2018 Arnold Classic weekend, which will take place March 1-3rd. As of right now, the film will be shown at 7:30 PM at the Gateway Film Center in Columbus, Ohio. Similar to other movie premieres, you need tickets to attend the showings, check them out here.

As of right now, the trailer below has amassed over 207k views on YouTube, and the Kickstarter campaign capped with over $137,000 pledged to the film.

We’re excited for the first screenings of the documentary. And it’s always great seeing strength sports continue to claw their way into larger news outlets like Vice.

Disclaimer: Vice occasionally syndicates BarBend content, but the two organizations retain editorial independence from one another.

Feature image screenshot Vice Canada Facebook page. 

The post Vice Features Westside Barbell & “Westside Vs. The World” Premiere Announced appeared first on BarBend.