小猪视频

Some people learned to bake sourdough bread or play guitar during the pandemic. Brothers Caleb 鈥�26 and听Josiah Gennell听鈥�22, 鈥�24 started a YouTube channel dedicated to arm wrestling.

鈥淲e were working out together a lot, and Caleb was getting into powerlifting,鈥� Josiah, a听Manning School of Business听alum, says of his younger brother, who is currently a senior听business听major at 小猪视频.

The Gennells began filming their strength-training sessions at their family鈥檚 home in Methuen and posting their videos on YouTube. But in a vast online sea of workout content, they needed a niche to stand out. So they tried arm wrestling.

鈥淲e had always arm wrestled when we were kids, but we didn鈥檛 really know what we were doing,鈥� Josiah says.

Through YouTube videos, the brothers soon learned about the world of professional arm wrestling and stars such as Devon Larratt and Chance Shaw. With an app called Armbet, which connects arm wrestlers by location, the Gennells found Granite Arms, a club in Manchester, New Hampshire, where they started training with professionals.听

Their pandemic pastime has since evolved into听, a fast-growing YouTube channel and live-event series that鈥檚 putting the brothers 鈥� and the New England arm wrestling community 鈥� on the map.

鈥淭he sport has been growing a lot over the past few years, thanks to social media,鈥� says Caleb, an honors marketing and management student who also serves in the Air Force National Guard.

Since launching in 2021, The Natty Bros 鈥� a nod to their natural, drug-free approach to training 鈥� has grown to nearly 7,500 subscribers and more than 2.5 million views. They鈥檝e filmed matches in Chicago, Atlantic City and Orlando and interviewed some of the sport鈥檚 top athletes. A听听features Caleb taking on several New England Patriots football players.

In addition to competing 鈥� Caleb is ranked among the top 50 left-handed arm wrestlers in the U.S. for his 187-pound weight class, while Josiah regularly places in the top three at regional events 鈥� the brothers have become event organizers.听

Last summer, they hosted their first 鈥渟uper match鈥� competition at their Manchester club to test the logistics, production and operations. The small event went smoothly, giving them the confidence to plan something bigger.

This December, they鈥檒l stage 鈥淣atty Strength Wars 2鈥� at Dave & Buster鈥檚 in Woburn, featuring 15 matches and a main event between two of the nation鈥檚 top-ranked super heavyweights, Shaw and Nic Stone. The Gennells are handling every aspect 鈥� matchmaking, sponsorships, promotions and video production 鈥� while both competing in the lineup themselves.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot that goes into it; it鈥檚 basically like our own small business. But 小猪视频 has definitely equipped us to do it,鈥� says Josiah, who as an undergrad participated in the听Rist DifferenceMaker Program, helped launch the Manning Consulting Group and served as president of the Real Estate Network Association.

鈥淚 was able to do real-world entrepreneurship that directly helps with running our business,鈥� he says.

Caleb, who is already taking classes for the听Bachelor鈥檚-to-Master鈥檚 Program, sees the project as hands-on education.

鈥淭his is 100% marketing,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f we don鈥檛 promote the event, no one shows up. We make event posters, run social media campaigns, reach out to sponsors 鈥� everything.鈥�

One of their event鈥檚 main sponsors is oneITz, a Concord-based information technology company where Josiah works as a service delivery manager and Caleb has an internship as a marketing associate.

While there鈥檚 not yet enough money in professional arm wrestling to make it a full-time career, the Gennells are eager to keep building The Natty Bros brand and helping the sport grow.

鈥淭here's a lot of local guys in New England who are really good, but their names aren't out there, so we're giving them a platform to show off and compete on a big stage,鈥� says Caleb, who approaches the business the same way he does an arm wrestling match: with confidence.

鈥淣o matter who you鈥檙e going against,鈥� he says, 鈥測ou have to go in with the mentality that you鈥檙e going to win.鈥�