There has been a lot of attention and focus on the #BlackLivesMatter movement in recent weeks since the death of George Floyd while he was in police custody. Numerous protests have been made across the world, most notably in the United States, with many people showing their support for minorities while objecting to police brutality.
One such protest took place in southern California last weekend and the people participating in that demonstration were joined by reigning World’s Strongest Man, Martins Licis.
On June 8th, Licis shared a post on Instagram that included two images. One was related to his sport, demonstrating his arms only rope climb attempt. The other one was of himself on a street participating in that protest while wearing a mask as a preventative measure because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He is seen holding a sign that says “I’M TIRED OF INJUSTICE”. The same image had been shared by numerous people who had seen him in the crowd that day. Licis shared many of those posts on his Instagram stories.
Licis shared his thoughts as a part of the caption on the post.
“This is a tense time. I’m not sure what’s up or down anymore. One thing that I do know, and align my heart with, is that Black Lives Matter! There’s a big movement for justice, and I want to help.”
Outside of his public demonstration, Licis announced that he was going to donate the money raised through his efforts on Cameo to a Black Lives Matter related charity. The name of the charity wasn’t announced. He will be looking for one while trying to raise the funds for the donation.
This isn’t the first time Licis had made charitable efforts through his work on Cameo. He had done this previously for another cause in the recent past which is why he’s feeling positive about his campaign.
“Thanks to you guys, in April we were able to raise money toward a charity that helped put food on the tables of families in need during this pandemic, so I know we can make a difference together for #BlackLivesMatter.”
Licis is one of many athletes in strength sports that had demonstrated support for the cause and spoke out against police brutality. In recent days, numerous CrossFit athletes had spoken out publicly against the recent Twitter controversy by Greg Glassman.
As for Licis’ role as an athlete, he had been training in a makeshift weight room during quarantine and rehabilitating from different injuries so he can begin preparing to defend his title at the 2020 World’s Strongest Man contest this November. He recently shared that he is back at his normal gym, The Training Hall, for the short-term future until his own gym opens later this year.
Featured Image: Instagram/martinslicis