Cleveland's Arm Wrestling Club Is Booming in Berea

It’s noon on a Saturday at the Berea Recreation Center. Just past the front desk, you’ll find a room full of men — and a few women — grunting, twisting and slamming fists down on tables. Welcome to Cleveland Armwrestling Club.

The energy is palpable and distinctly “Rocky,” with “Eye of the Tiger” literally playing on the stereo during this practice.

Cleveland Armwrestling Club has grown since its inception. When Kevin Palko started the club in 2020, there were just five members. Today, upward of 30 people attend each practice, making it one of the most established armwrestling clubs in Northeast Ohio.

Palko started it after his previous team, Team Knuckleheads in Huron, Ohio, disbanded. A former high school wrestler from Elyria, Palko discovered arm wrestling in 2014 after meeting a competitive arm wrestler while rock climbing at Lorain County Community College. The two sports use many of the same muscle groups, so for Palko, it was a natural fit.

He started the club with a few former teammates, including co-captain Rich Calero, affectionately dubbed “Uncle Rich.” But the club got off to a slow start. COVID-19 hit, and many people were hesitant to come to practice. Then, in 2021, Palko won the prestigious Arnold Classic Arm-Wrestling Championship. Attendance grew to 10 to 20 people per practice, and Palko won another national championship in 2022. Today, he’s ranked fourth in the nation in his 154-pound weight class.

One of the sport’s draws is its accessibility. Participants don’t have to come from an athletic background. It’s what Palko calls “the sport for the common man” — something many people believe they can become good at. There’s also no age limit. Seventeen-year-old high school seniors compete alongside people in their 60s.

Calero, a stocky, burly man with biceps practically the size of cantaloupes, is 52. He calls arm wrestling a blue-collar sport.

“It’s accessible to everyone, not just people built to be in the NBA,” he says. “It also doesn’t require a lot of money or equipment. You can start in local competitions, work up to state, and then to nationals.”

For Calero, who moved to Ohio from Puerto Rico, the community is just as important. Camaraderie is a common thread among the club’s members.

“I would say 90% of the people are doing it for fun and community,” Palko says. “The other 10% are probably taking it a little more seriously. They’re actively trying to get better and become nationally ranked.”

Practices take place at the Berea Recreation Center Saturdays from noon to 2 p.m. and Wednesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. The bulk of training consists of table time, where members face off with partners and work on different angles and holds. The traditional top-roll technique keeps your wrist relatively straight as you pull your opponent’s hand toward the table. There’s also the hook, where opponents rotate their wrists around each other as they pull downward and toward themselves.

Competitors can travel to tournaments almost every weekend, from local events at the Medina County Fair and the King of Cleveland Tournament to national competitions with hundreds of participants — like the recent Michigan State Tournament with prizes upward of $500 and the infamous gorilla trophy. The club showed particularly well at this prestigious event, with Palko and member Megann Galehouse winning the gold and silver trophies respectively in both the right and left arm categories.

I got on a table myself, and the full-body nature of the sport surprised me. I had assumed the body stayed relatively stationary while the arm took most of the force. Instead, you use your abdominal and back muscles to pull and twist, your legs to find leverage and power, and your opposite hand to grip a peg on the table for stabilization. Within minutes, I was sweating.

Of course, when it comes to arm wrestling, injuries can be serious. One of the sport’s most notorious injuries is a spiral fracture of the humerus, or upper arm bone, which can occur when the hand and forearm are relatively fixed while the body and shoulder generate rotational force.

Cleveland Armwrestling Club emphasizes safety, particularly for newcomers. Palko insists experienced members work with beginners first.

“The most dangerous guy in the room is also the safest because they know how to train,” he says. “If you have two brand new people, those are the people that don’t know what they’re doing, and they’re just trying to win. They’re just trying to tap you out, and that’s when injuries are most likely to happen.”

Clint Moehle, a club co-captain, says he gets new requests to attend practice through social media almost every week. He talks to members about sportsmanship and provides waivers so newcomers understand the risks.

“This sport does come with pain and soreness at first,” he says. “And that’s usually what catches people off guard.”

The club’s growth has also brought more women to the sport. There are currently two permanent female members, Jackie Zeleny and Megann Galehouse.

Galehouse came to arm wrestling from powerlifting, where she was coached by the late Amanda Wakut. After Wakut encouraged her to compete, Galehouse placed first at the Pittsburgh Fitness Expo and knew she wanted to continue but needed somewhere to train. She found Palko and Cleveland Armwrestling Club on Reddit and, within the first practice, was hooked.

“Arm wrestling is more intricate than everyone thinks it is,” Galehouse says. “You have to train the ligaments and tendons in the wrist.” Much of that training is done through isometric holds. Galehouse likes to hold barbells until failure to build strength.

Galehouse has only been in the sport for four months, but because of the smaller pool of female competitors, she has already been invited to compete in the 2026 World Armwrestling Championship in India. A fundraiser for her trip will be held at Little Rose Tavern on Sept. 6.

She’s driven by competition, but also by the community. “It’s a great bonding sport,” she says. “I love the one-on-one banter.”

There aren’t many women competing or places for them to practice, so the club has been working to expand its female reach. Recently, it brought in nationally ranked arm wrestler Valerie Beach for a clinic and public armwrestling event at Little Rose Tavern. About 30 women showed up.

Women aren’t the only people finding a place at the club. The sport also has a growing para-armwrestling division. Kevin Hyatt, who suffered a brain injury in a car crash, has found an outlet for exercise with the group. He’s nonverbal and uses a walker but shows up consistently and has been developing strength.

For all its emphasis on competition, the club’s real strength may be its community.

For Palko, it’s everything.

“Other than my job and my family, the club is the third most important thing in my life,” he says. “Without my club, I’m not getting better. Every time these people come in, they’re helping me improve. They’re helping me win national championships, and they’re helping me reach that next level.”

“It’s the people,” Moehle reiterates. “When you’re able to really connect to another person and be on the table with them for three or four minutes—they have the same motivation as you. Everyone just wants to let loose and have fun.”

For more updates about Cleveland, sign up for our Cleveland Magazine Daily newsletter, delivered to your inbox six times a week.

Cleveland Magazine is also available in print, featuring immersive stories, helpful guides and beautiful photography and design.