"Best of Beast" FOGO of the year, Greg "Beast" Gurenlian, gives us in depth answ

Who was your biggest inspiration growing up? My Father. I learned what it meant to be Man by watching him every day. He worked hard, provided for his family, helped anyone he could and fought for anything he truly believed in. I asked him one day when I was young why he was working Overtime, his response: “Because it needs to be done.” That right there explains how I look at life in a nutshell.

•What was your major at Penn State?

Kinesiology which is the study of the human body as it pertains to movement.

•What does your workout regimen consist of?

That is a long answer. It is a total body routine that focuses on power, flexibility and sprint endurance. It is put together in 4 mesocycles and my primary focuses changes based on what time of year it is. My main exercises are Olympic lifts, Kettlebell swings and sled sprints.

How do you balance lifting with lacrosse?

I train with FOA 4-5 days per week so my lacrosse training is easy and my technique and skills are reinforced every time I run my coaching. I show up to every event and I perform and demonstrate all of the movements every night at full speed so it’s like daily practice for me.

•You have accomplished so much in your Lacrosse career...What drives you to keep pushing?

I used to think that I was hell bent on winning. Driven to succeed or maybe a hatred of losing. After this summer when I finally reached the top, broke records, won an mvp and a championship I realized that actually wasn’t it at all. It’s the struggle, the constant fight to improve myself and the heat of competition. All of these years it was intrinsic, I was born with the obsession of fighting to be better. That actually comforts me because I know that no matter what I accomplish, I will always be able to feed the need to compete against myself.

•We were excited to hear about the launch of the "Beast 7", should we be looking out for other "Beast" gear, in the near future?

Tribe 7 has given me a ton of freedom to develop the solutions that I believe Lacrosse athletes need. Heads, shafts, pads, it’s all something that I have been given say in and hopefully we’ll see more fun stuff coming out.

•After tearing your ACL early in your career, do you have any special taping/bracing, you use while playing?

I never used a brace after my surgery. I rehabbed as hard as I could and gave everything I had to make sure it was done right and that I could move on from it. It was an excellent test and something I’m glad happened.

•What is your stick set up (inc. head, mesh, shaft, taping placement, etc.)

In the league T7 is not a partner. So for a long time I have used the OG blade. Shaft doesn’t matter to me as long as it doesn’t break too easily. I place my tape at the bottom and top of the shaft in rings for grip. I always mark my left hand placement for face-offs a forearms length from my butt end.

•If you could give one piece of advice, to a young face off athlete, what would that be?

Your overall greatness will be a sum of Stance, technique and ability. Do not waste your time focusing on things you can “get away with” at the faceoff. Focus on your technique and mastering your skills from proven people and it will be a great short cut to realizing your potential.

•What do you think the most important exercise is, for an athlete to include in their work outs, during the off season?

Pushing and pulling sleds is excellent. It increases power and strength. It does not load your joints and it won’t make you overly sore because there is no negative movement.

•What inspired you to share your gift/talent, with so many people, via the Face Off Academy?

I gave everything I had to this sport and this sport (mainly the FO position) has given me a ton in return. We were on the verge of losing this position because there was a contingent of people teaching cheating to make a quick buck. This caused the FO to become a laughing stock and it really cut me to my core. I jumped in with two feet with 2 other pros that were like minded (Chris Mattes and Jerry Ragonese) and developed an all encompassing system based on actual technique. We combined that with the push and drive to restore morality and respect to the FO position. Now we spend our time spreading that knowledge to athletes, coaches and officials. When you see how far the position has come in less than 3 years it is completely stunning. The response has been tremendous and not only have we created something impactful but I truly believe we saved the position and have given it the respect and attention it deserves.

& a litte Quick Fire Fun...

•What is your "Go To", Chipotle order?

The bowl but only on wednesdays when I eat high carb.

•We all want to know..."how much do ya bench bro”?

I don’t bench anymore but in 08 i trained specifically for it to see if I could reach a +400lb bench. got 405 and now I rarely bench and only focus on olympic variations.

-Who would win in an arm wrestling battle, you or Scotty Rodgers?

Scotty. His arms are roughly 3x the size of mine. But in a wrestling match…….well, big dawg’s gotta eat.

Thanks Greg! Wishing you continued success, dominating the X and in all the rest!Your....A Beast!