The four-time World’s Strongest Man champion Brian Shaw stepped away from his training for the 2021 WSM contest recently as he was cast to pull a row of three Hyundai cars for their new commercial airing on ESPN.
Being one of the sport’s best ambassadors, Shaw headed out to set where he harnessed up during a windy day in what appears to be a desert-like location. Check out the full video that Shaw shared on his YouTube channel with a behind-the-scenes look at how the commercial was made — helicopter shot included — and how he fared performing so many car pulls:
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Unique Camera Shots
The production team for the commercial tasked Shaw with actually pulling a trio of Hyundai cars. Considering that Shaw has experience pulling 17,000-pound trucks and literal airplanes, it didn’t appear to be too much of a struggle for the 6’8″ tall strongman early on. The hard part for Shaw was combatting the dust and sand that was being blown in his direction by the aggressive winds during the sunny afternoon shoot.
In addition to the main shot of Shaw putting his strength on display hauling the set of Hyundai Tucsons — which weigh around 12,000 pounds, collectively — there were some unique camera shots included in the filming itinerary.
Helicopters and Plexiglas®
An overhead helicopter captured Shaw pulling the cars. At the 6:23 mark of the above video, you can see just how close the helicopter has to fly to the ground as Shaw is pulling the cars to achieve the desired shot.
Next, they had Shaw step onto an inch-thick Plexiglass platform with a cameraman underneath. From this position, they captured a shot that will allow the post-production team to place the audience as the ground where Shaw steps before transitioning to another shot.
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Wet Tarmac
Following the Plexiglass shot, trucks sprayed water over a tarmac — the reflection of the water in the light looks good on camera. Shaw was tasked with pulling the trio of cars the full length of the tarmac and began to feel the fatigue:
My legs are going to be on fire…I’m exhausted…but this shot’s going to be worth it.
Shaw was right. On day two, they filmed Shaw training with Hyundai-inspired implements, including a tire bench press, shrugs with car doors, and a car deadlift. Check out the completed commercial below courtesy of his Instagram page:
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Shaw is part of the official roster of strongmen scheduled to compete at the 2021 WSM contest in Sacramento, CA, on June 15 through 20. We’ll see if he can claim his fifth title in as grand of fashion has as he can pull luxury vehicles.
Feature image: @shawstrength on Instagram
