You can’t miss Jeff Dabe in a crowd. With massive forearms measuring 19 inches in circumference and hands big enough to palm a Prius, Dabe draws plenty of attention wherever he goes. Apparently doctors have not yet been able to determine what made Dabe’s arms and hands so big. Health experts at the University of Minnesota ruled out gigantism and elephantiasis, but were unable to pinpoint a cause. “I’ve been to a lot of different doctors, and they’ve never been able to give me a straight answer,” Dabe told Caters News. “I was just blessed with it I guess.”
So what does one do with this type of genetic blessing? Arm wrestling is certainly one way to go, which is the direction Dabe took back in high school where he began competing in the sport as a senior; earning the obvious nickname Popeye. “I was always good at arm wrestling, but the size of my hands did shock people at first,” Dabe told the UK newspaper. “I had the strength to back it up.”
The 52-year-old heavy equipment operator continues to use his arm size and strength to his advantage. Dabe currently competes in the World Armwrestling League (WAL) where he intimidates the competition with his presence. According to his profile on the WAL’s website, Dabe admits he doesn’t do a whole lot of training or have any specific techniques other than some strength band work while watching television. Guess when you have built-in cannons, you don’t need an arsenal of muscle-building moves.
