How to Succeed in Sportswriting (without Really Trying)

How to Succeed in Sportswriting (without Really Trying)

Share this post

How to Succeed in Sportswriting (without Really Trying)
How to Succeed in Sportswriting (without Really Trying)
No,. 138: LAWRENCE FARMAN (a.k.a. SLIM THE HAMMERMAN / A soldier in arms, may he wrist in peace.

No,. 138: LAWRENCE FARMAN (a.k.a. SLIM THE HAMMERMAN / A soldier in arms, may he wrist in peace.

Not all athletes populate the sports section. In today's instalment: My interlude with the legendary stunt lifer and other strength performers at the Association of Oldetime Barbell and Strongmen.

Gare Joyce's avatar
Gare Joyce
Sep 15, 2023
∙ Paid
1

Share this post

How to Succeed in Sportswriting (without Really Trying)
How to Succeed in Sportswriting (without Really Trying)
No,. 138: LAWRENCE FARMAN (a.k.a. SLIM THE HAMMERMAN / A soldier in arms, may he wrist in peace.
Share

Warning: Do not try this at home. Lawrence (Slim the Hammerman) Farman, 1934-2021.

CAN you be categorized as an athlete if you don’t compete in a sport?

It’s something that came to mind this week when I heard, belatedly, about the passing of Slim the Hammerman. Yeah, I know what you’re saying: Who? I’ll circle back to that, but let’s address the idea about an athlete in stuff that has nothing at all to do with sports.

How to Succeed in Sportswriting (without Really Trying) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscriptions ($5 a month or $50 for the year) give you access to exclusive subscriber-only features and the archive, which is now more than 140 stirring essays. And please check out my memoir, not so surprisingly also titled How to Succeed in Sportswriting (without Really Trying). Here’s a link to How to Succeed on Audible.ca for Canadian readers. (You’ll have to use Audible.com elsewhere.)

An athl…

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to How to Succeed in Sportswriting (without Really Trying) to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Gare Joyce
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share