Richard Sorin

Richard 'Pops' Sorin (June 26, 1950 - June 3, 2024) was an American strongman and a grip strength specialist.

Career
Sorin developed noteworthy grip strength at a young age. At only 13 he managed to pinch grip a pair of 35 lb (15.9 kg) York Barbell plates. Coupled with a background of collegiate track and field and national level olympic weightlifting, Sorin rose to prominence, establishing himself as an icon among the grip training fraternity. In 1991, he became the first man to officially close the IronMind Captains of Crush No.3 gripper which is recognized as the gold standard in world class crush grip. The feat earned him the nickname 'grip king'.

Also among his noteworthy feats of grip strength are repetitively pinch gripping a couple of old York 45 lb (20.4 kg) plates with thin rounded edges which are 4 in thick together, lifting a 201 lb anvil and snatching 100 lb anvils while holding them by their horns, performing 7 reps with the Captains of Crush No.3 gripper, closing the 'Phantom 4' gripper, a max pinched grip of 123 lb, rolling thunder of 235 lb, gripping the Thomas Inch dumbbell, the original blob and his legendary 1331 lb rack pull lockout hold with a raw grip.

In March 2023 Sorin was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame.

Other ventures
Sorin was the founder of 'Sorinex' strength training equipment.