Interview With Larry Greenfield of Big Back Grips®
Featured Product - 2009
Interviewed by: Angela Courduff
Larry Greenfield is the creator and owner of Big Back Lifting Grips®, more commonly referred to as Big Back Grips®. He has been involved in bodybuilding for over 20 years. In the late 1980’s, he was a competitive bodybuilder, and took trophies in the Westchester, New York Classic (First Place), and the New York Grand Prix. He was also Manager of Chelsea Gym in New York, as well as a personal trainer. He specialized in beginners; the kind of guys who were always intimidated by gyms. He was a College Teacher for seven years in Manhattan where he taught English and Public Speaking. Later, he went into advertising and marketing. He started Big Back Grips® in 2007.
WP: You are certainly a jack of all trades! What do you feel has been your stepping stone to get where you are today?
LG: They have all been stepping stones. I think the most important thing for me has been understanding how all the different things I have done are really related, or really same thing in different settings. Teaching, training clients, managing, writing, marketing ;even competing on stage, they all share certain fundamentals, and you can use that if you allow yourself to see it.
WP: Can you tell me about your company and your product, Big Back Grips®?
LG: Big Back ® Grips was founded to develop and market a highly effective yet affordable weightlifting grip to solve the long and troublesome relationship between a weightlifter’s hands and all the bars and handles they encounter at the gym. While we’ve been in business since 2007, Big Back Grips ® were introduced to the bodybuilding world big time this summer at California’s Muscle Beach through our sponsorship of the 2009 Muscle Beach Venice competitions. Big Back Grips ® are now in use by top trainers and bodybuilders and are fast gaining a reputation for working better, feeling better, and costing less than other products across the spectrum, from simple gloves to fancy wraps and straps. They only cost $5 or $6 bucks, but I’ve seen Dennis Rodman and 50 Cent using them. And it’s not because they’re trying to save money.
WP: That’s amazing! What made you want to start your own company? How did you come up with the idea for Big Back Grips ®?
LG: Well, there were a lot of products out on the market attempting to do what Big Back Grips ® do. Some are very elaborate, some simple, some are quite expensive contraptions. But, there was nothing that I personally found usable. I wanted something simple that would feel great on the bar, be low cost, and really improve my workout. I did some research and discovered a lot of lifters shared my distaste for gloves and straps but no one was taking them seriously. There were some simpler grips out there, but most were fairly ineffective and outrageously priced and were not widely used. I saw an opportunity to serve a segment of the market that no one else was taking seriously.
WP: Where can we find your grips?
LG: We are in a number of Max Muscle stores, Nutrishops and various individual gyms and supplement stores, including multiple Powerhouse Gyms, around the country. If you can’t find a dealer in your area, you can always go to www.BigBackGrips.com. Or, if you have a retailer you prefer, let us know and we’ll see if we can set them up as a dealer.
WP: I hear you used to compete in bodybuilding. Can you tell me about your experience?
LG: To be honest, it was life-changing. As a kid, I was always entranced by big bodybuilders; there was almost something other-worldly about them. Even while I was lifting hard and getting big, I didn’t really think I would ever be one of “them”; the guys who stand on stage and get the trophies. Then, a guy named Dave Barton joined my gym (of the famous Dave Barton Gyms in New York) and he said to me, “Go for it. I’ll guide you.” He did, and I took the Overall in the Westchester Classic, a major New York contest, and I took 4th in the Middleweight class at the New York Grand Prix a week later. It was big show, with guys from all over the East Coast. Dave Dearth won and well deserved to. I see he’s still very active in bodybuilding.
WP: What is the hardest thing you had to deal with in preparation for your competitions?
LG: The biggest challenge was simply managing the “do it all” realities. I was very busy as a trainer back then; I started with clients at 5:30 am, took the middle of the day for training, and I’d bike around Manhattan for 2 hours to cut up. Then, I’d train more clients and make sure there was always food available. I kept cooked turkey cutlets and rice cakes in my knapsack at all times. Every hour I had a snack. Bodybuilding is part athletics, part administrative life management.
WP: That’s a very good way of looking at it. What did you learn from competing?
LG: The most important thing I learned was the value of leaving no stone unturned in pursuit of a goal. I was going to compete just one month out of my life. Whatever could be done, I did.
WP: Do you think you will compete again in the future?
LG: Probably not in bodybuilding, but who knows?
WP: Do you, or have you ever, been involved in power lifting?
LG: I never power lifted, but am awestruck by the men and women who do.
WP: What are some of your best lifts?
LG: Once, at the end of a 3 hour bike ride around Manhattan, I went straight to Mid City Gym in New York and squatted 450 for the first time in my life!
Enjoy this video: This is what Big Back Grips can do for you!
WP: After 3 hours of biking? That’s unbelievable! Can you tell me how your training has changed over the years?
LG: I don’t push as much weight as I used to. I use less weight and focus on strict form and the burn. I don’t need to court injuries or prove how strong I am. I incorporate vigorous stretching, and I still believe in the life changing power of the simple 3-hour bicycle ride.
WP: A 3-hour bike ride does not sound simple! What are the key factors that dictate the way you train today?
LG: Many years ago, I had the opportunity to train with a Mr. America-level competitor named Tom Terwilliger. He actually taught me a few basic things about leverage and simple ways you can use it to either great advantage or disadvantage. He kept using the phrase, “Muscle it up. Just muscle it.” He taught me to always maintain full control of the weight. I have used those ideas and refined them in my own training practice ever since.
WP: Can you give me an example of your current workout?
LG: I train with a partner. We train fast, intense and no-chat. We are both busy people. He’s a Hollywood Casting Agent and we get a lot done in one tight hour. We train 4 days a week together and I bike nearly every day.
WP: That’s great and very productive! Can you tell me about your family? Are you married, dating, any children?
LG: I have a friend I like very much. I keep my private life pretty private otherwise.
WP: What titles/accomplishments have you attained thus far? Tell me about them.
LG: In addition to the bodybuilding titles I mentioned, I actually have a number of awards for writing. I have had ideas/political pieces published in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. I am also a guest lecturer in advertising at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. And, Big Back Grips ® was the class project in the advertising department this semester. I have included a link to a recent article in their campus newspaper, Click Here
WP: Very impressive! With all you have going on in your life, how do you create balance?
LG: Sometimes, balance is created for you. Seriously, being able to take the bike out for an hour a day is very therapeutic.
WP: Who do you most admire?
LG: My dad, of course. He is 84 and still runs his own manufacturing business and is very active in his community. In bodybuilding, I need to mention Arnold. Here is a man who came to America with broken English and a dream. Most people would have looked at him on the surface and thought, “Yeah, sure, but he’ll never marry into the Kennedy’s, become the world’s biggest movie star and then governor of the biggest state in the country…” I admire Arnold for his relentless pursuit of the improbable.
WP: You and I both! Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
LG: I simply expect to be ten years younger than I am now.
WP: That is a fantastic outlook! What are your pet peeves?
LG: As a cyclist, morons more focused on their cell phones than their driving bother me. And stores that won’t carry Big Back Grips ®, because they only want to sell more expensive stuff.
WP: Both are very understandable pet peeves. What do you consider to be important in life? Why?
LG: It's who you touch. It's who you reach. It’s who you help and love and take care of.
WP: Any shout outs?
LG: Shout outs go to some of the people who have really been supporters of Big Back Grips ®. Con Demetriou, a 6-Time Australian Champ, Adam Strachman, one of LA’s top bodybuilders, and Robert Loigu, who has really embraced Big Back Grips ®. And, thanks go to our first dealer, N101 in Hollywood, California.
WP: Do you have any future projects in the works?
LG: Making sure Big Back Grips ® and Larry Greenfield are in the best shape of their lives.
WP: Is there anything I have forgotten to mention that you would like to bring to light?
LG: We will be holding a video contest soon. Check out the website for details!
WP: I will have to check that out. It has been a pleasure interviewing you! I wish you the best of luck!
LG: And thank you so much. It’s been a pleasure.
