BTB EP#4

Introducing 'Baby David' Morgan (AKA Gigadave) World ranked under 23's junior Strongman and son of Underdog Crew founder, DB. This episode is just a gentle reminder that passion, dedication and fortitude can lead you towards your dreams.

(C) The Underdog Crew CIC

Underdog Crew Studios (The Underdog Crew CIC) is a multi-award-winning community studio, harnessing the power of professional filmmaking and the creative arts as a vehicle to inspire, empower and equip marginalised and at-risk young adults. We are not 'just another' alternative provision we are a life changing, and sometimes saving, neuro diverse team who truly get it. 

​​​By embedding industry-standard practice within an accessible and supportive environment, we create pathways into education, employment, and personal growth that might otherwise remain out of reach. Our programmes focus on those most in need, with a strong emphasis on supporting young carers and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).​​

We know the struggles you've had with the education system, local authorities, CAHMS and many others in the fight for your child's 'positive inclusion'. We know, because we are you. We take broken to fixed, change can't to can and turn stigma and misunderstanding into armour and opportunity. We are the Underdog Crew and 'we just  get it!'​

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:10

This episode is brought to you by Mum's Connection Club at Underdog Crew Studios, chatting out life problems with coffee, cake and community.

SPEAKER_02 0:24

Hi, welcome to the on the breakdown podcast. We are here today with none other than Baby David, aka Digga Dave, aka my son David Morgan. Hello, random man, I've never met. Hello, this is a good one. We've been trying to get you to come in here now for weeks, yeah. You're quite a busy man. David, as well as being a chip off the old block, is actually a world-ranking under-23 strong man, somewhere between I always get it wrong, but he's in the top 10 in the world under 23s. How did that happen?

SPEAKER_01 1:00

Lots of food, lots of bananas, lots of sleep, good DNA, and just want to really.

SPEAKER_02 1:08

And a little bird told me you came to my event your first time and made a bit of a splash. What happened there?

SPEAKER_01 1:15

Somehow I got 11 million views on TikTok. I went to the Arnold Classic, I was a little tiny, like this, maybe 90 kilos. We went, and there's a silverback stand where you can win a free shirt. I thought, oh, I'd like a free shirt, that'd be nice. I sign up to it. I can't even deadlift 180 kilos, 90 kilos a hand. And they said to me, What's your goal? My goal is just pick it up. It's uh the challenge is hold these two like steel beams for as long as you can. I hold it as long as I can, I get I think a minute and two seconds, and that wins me a shirt, and I post it on TikTok and it got 11 million views. Most people just said that's not a farmer's walk, you're not walking with it, but still, Rage Bait is the way to get views on TikTok, and that's exactly what I did. 11 million views out of 100k followers, make a little bit of money from it. 2024 is crazy. Made lovely spoke right now, just a little bit of pennies on the side.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

So, how do you make money? Because obviously there's so many aspiring TikTokers down there, but my point is everyone sees that and they think, oh that's well easy, yeah, but they don't see that. So, what you've done is because of your your work rate and your dedication, yeah, it's led to this and it's led to that. People just and some people obviously gaming and streaming are really straightforward.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

So I wouldn't say that I've been I was trying to be a gamer streamer for years, for decades, since I was like three, no, that's like since I was like ten trying to do gaming YouTube, that's all. More than that.

SPEAKER_02 2:34

You used to do like the payment stuff, the ridiculous stuff. Yeah, loads of stuff, and it's it, you know. So but really I think when you you really decided that you wanted to be a strong man, you know, and I think it's that thing again. So if I was to try and tell you today that I always say everything is possible within realism is empowerment, just how much dedication and time has it taken to you to to kind of get where you are so far.

SPEAKER_01 3:02

I wouldn't say anything about where I am now because it's not that good. Like in the grand scheme of things, as a strong man, a professional, for a junior. If I don't want to go paying 200 quid to do a competition, note that down, UKNS, that's too fucking expensive. But if I entered that competition, I would be fourth or fifth in the UK for my natural status and age. That's okay, that's that's not that good, it's bothered. It doesn't really matter that much. It only matters, you know, once you're putting food on the table because of it. What's the question?

SPEAKER_02 3:31

So this is like me, it goes off on my no, I think it's it's kind of like the how much dedicated how much dedication you see, you're very you're so humble about it, and but the fact is you're you're world-ranked, you've got the ambition to be Britain's strongest natural man by the time you're 25, hopefully.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

My goal is to hit a 300kilo deadlift, which I'm I'm a beyond that now, and 140 kilo log press, and then turn to get steroids, which is highly taboo, but uh it's a part of the game. The game is a game and it's part of it. And my goal ultimately is to be at England's strongest man, Giants Live level by the time I'm 25 in a couple of years, and that I need to be doing 160 kilo log press, 400 kilo deadlift. That's not me, by the way, that's the door. But what you said before, I think it's good to talk about the uh what it takes to do the strong man and to be a streamer. There are two and to make money from social media, two ways of doing it affiliate marketing, which is kind of cheap and easy. You don't need you don't need loads of followers for. So I you kind of just be like, oh, this coffee cup's so good, it's only four pounds, buy it right now, and then you get 10%. That's what I chose to do. Now, if you're really good with people, social media, the camera, you'd uh you grow a following by posting every single day, stuff like this, stuff like here's how I train to do strongman, da da da. You build followers over time, you get sponsorship. There's a guy really good at doing that called Joe Lifts. He's he's only got like a thousand followers, but he's sponsored by Silverberg. He's making good money, he's making good fucking money doing this. But to you've just this week you've got a new sponsor, right?

SPEAKER_02 5:07

Yes, that's true. Yeah, so big up to Meatline Limited, yeah. Meatline butchers, you're now your laser sponsor. Just how much fucking meat do you eat?

SPEAKER_01 5:18

It's unfathomable. Oh, with honestly, if if I'm getting discounted meat, I'm gonna get up to like 140 kilos. I'm barely fitting in this chair as it is, so this chair is going down. Meat I eat a week, I eat at least 500 grams of beef a day, at least a couple hundred grams of chicken, a litre of milk a day, and at least six eggs. It's so much food, it's ridiculous. I when I started Strongman four years ago, I was 70 kilos. You know how little that is. That's um I'm almost double that now. Pure lean mass as well, by the way.

SPEAKER_02 5:49

Yeah, no, so I think you like say the amount, the dedication, the amount they eat, you know, the fact that it's like Olympians, you don't really get much money. There's no real grant level, not much money at all. Just that latest sponsor. Big up to the guys at Meatline. Obviously, affiliations with my programs.

SPEAKER_01 6:05

Yeah, the free stuff from TikTok as well is good.

SPEAKER_02 6:07

You know, and it helps so much. How much time we got left on the clock, guys? Six minutes. Six minutes. That's plenty. So, what do you do on a day where you literally can't be asked?

SPEAKER_01 6:19

That's pretty much every day, to be honest. Every single day, especially being super fat, like you're so lethargic all the time, but like it's worth it for the log press goals. Most of the time you feel like you can't be bothered to do it, and it's like it's like a mental disease, mental deficiency. I can't help but go do it. That's all I want to do, it's all I care about. And I'm pretty backed into a corner. Uh if I don't if I don't do good a strong man and make money from that, I'm gonna be passing out sausage rolls at Greg's forever. Or sweeping our floors while I'm desperately trying to teach you how to cook. Exactly. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 6:54

Yeah, I think sometimes though, that kind of single-minded vision, I mean, that's the kind of base level. You are compelled to do it. Yeah, massive. So that's your compulsion. So now whether that's an irrational fee, you are as dedicated. People say the the the best footballers in the world, they're the most boring people in the world because all they do is train, you live in a box. You know, um, Tom Stoltman sent me a message the other week, didn't he? What was that?

SPEAKER_01 7:19

Dad paid for a cameo. He's basically saying if you're locked in, you can be England's strongest man, whatever. That's good.

SPEAKER_02 7:24

But what what advice, what was the best advice he gave you about it's not.

SPEAKER_01 7:29

I want to talk to you about someone called Ben Glasscock, right? This guy, when he started out, he has proof that anybody can do it if they want to, and so am I. I'm working my way up, but he's there, he's just got invited to Worlds, right? When he started out, he was like he could barely do a 70 kilo log, he could barely deadlift like 150 kilos, he was shit. His genetics were he would say his genetics are poor, right? Fully devoted for six or seven years, and now he's at World's Strongest Man.

SPEAKER_02 7:55

Okay, so what's your what's your view of him? Is he someone you look up to or someone you just want to demolish?

SPEAKER_01 8:02

It's nice it's nice to see people that aren't just pure genetic freaks because it puts you off. If you look at Half Orbjonson, Brian Shaw, Tom Stolman, and you're an average sized person like me, I'm five foot eleven and without training and barely doing anything, I'm I'm like 110 kilos, you know, bit decently big built. If you're looking at them, you're just like, I can never do that. I can never do that. It's better to have some relatability in the sport, so that's why I like that's why I like seeing the underdogs more, the guys that aren't God's gift. It makes me sick. You know, I've got friends that are absolutely massive. I'm closing in on beating them now just because my brain is there more than theirs. And I say to them all the time, if I put my brain in your body, I'll be I'll be Giants Live. You know who I'm talking about, we won't drop names, but it it bugs the life out of me seeing people that are so genetically gifted doing nothing and just not like the amount of money I put into this, I I barely earn 200 quid a week. Um I spend all of it on food, sauna, cold tub, and I'm getting better fast, I'm getting better really fast.

SPEAKER_02 9:05

But is that is that's that thing about what's up here? I always pull really lame quotes out of the Rocky movies and stuff.

SPEAKER_01 9:12

I've got one for you as well. Got him. The most important genetic is your brain. With our voice crack, I'm 23. Mine is nobody there. Yeah, exactly. You want to be a ninja, miyaki.

SPEAKER_02 9:23

Yeah, but I think it's um it's that thing again about rewiring your brain to what you can do and the limits of what was capable with dedication, perseverance, positivity, energy, and focus. That is it. I reckon we're pretty much out of time, aren't we, guys? Is this about empowering children? Are we still running?

SPEAKER_01 9:41

We've got three minutes.

SPEAKER_02 9:42

Right, okay. Any right questions, please? Got three of you young lads here with the world at your feet. Any questions for baby David? Sorry, hey, you there. How much does this lifestyle cost?

SPEAKER_01 9:54

More money than we got. Tons, ridiculous amounts. But yeah, absolutely loads.

SPEAKER_02 10:05

Sorry, um, how often do you like exercise then like go to the gym and stuff like that?

SPEAKER_01 10:11

Four times a week. Four times a week. And then when you're so fat and lazy, like even going for a walk is considered exercise, so every day. But yeah, like actually training only four times a week, it's not that difficult. You can do four times a week for an hour and you'll blow up if you if you get stronger.

SPEAKER_02 10:26

Or even like doing stuff at home as well.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

Yeah, like for you, if you wanted to, if you did if you banged out push-ups three times a week, did a couple squats, did a couple pull-ups, your physique would go crazy. How old are you? Yeah, exactly. Peak of testosterone, you grow like a weed. Like it's it's unbelievable.

SPEAKER_02 10:43

Harrison, you you you work out a bit, don't you? You go to the gym. Yeah, have you got any advice you want to ask David about what your goals are? Don't get too fat. Not my plan, but I don't know. So, last question for me who are your heroes?

SPEAKER_01 11:02

Brian Shaw has to be one. I know I know he's a freak, but he's also the most professional, most devoted strongman there is. Ben Glasscock, he is absolutely one of my heroes because he started from he started from there, not God's gift at all. Howdy haynes is sick. There you go. Right, bring in all of them. Every single one of them.

SPEAKER_02 11:22

Love you, son. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 11:32

That'll be nice, that'll be nice. Competing in a giant's life, professional strong man in a couple of years. Peace out, guys. See you next time.