02/23/2026
Daniel Brechmann, of Bochum, Germany, has been officially certified on the Captains of Crush No. 3 gripper! Daniel, who is 39 years old and stands 6’ 4” at 225 lb., started training with CoC grippers in 2023, with some sports-store grippers—"I was a bit disappointed with the feel and resistance of those”—and then got a CoC No. 2.5 and No. 3, and closed the No. 2.5 right away, with the No. 3 a few weeks later. Daniel says he trains grip “almost every day, varying thick bar, pinch and grippers. With [grippers] I tend to mix parallel set, credit card set and no set closes, performing a couple of each once or twice a week. I also like to experiment with training regimens and set challenges. For instance, I lifted a 78-kg Inch bell every day for 100 days straight and got up to 21 reps that way.” A high school teacher of English, German and Latin, Daniel uses his grip strength in his hobby of bouldering, house renovations and “DIY kinds of stuff.” He is “really into sports, such as powerlifting,” and is also a trained coach and teaches bouldering classes and runs a powerlifting club for his students at school, noting, “I’ve found that it really helps with general motivational aspects of school and learning, a real benefit for my students.” He has also “been lifting weights on and off most my adult life and I enjoy road cycling.” Daniel says he has achieved his first grip goals quite quickly, lifting an original Fatman Blob and a Thomas Inch dumbbell and closing a CoC No. 3 gripper within his first six months of grip sports. He adds, “In my second year, I did some more elite feats, such as closing CoC No. 3.5s, double Inch lift, combo lifts (e.g., an Inch / CoC #3 combo, which I particularly liked), double No. 3 no set close, lifting the Holle 30 blob as the 7th person in the world, and a proper deep dish 45-lb. plate pinch. These feats [were] achieved with the support of members of the grip community, especially Florian Kellersmann (CoC3 ’04), with whom I train occasionally, and also Carl-August Mertz (CoC3 ’15), who gave me a lot of useful advice. My wife and daughter are very supportive of my goals, too. Further grip goals include certifying on the CoC No. 3.5 and closing CoC No. 4, which is WAY down the road. I also hope to certify the IronMind Red Nail and to lift heavier Inch bells. Congratulations, Daniel: your name has been added to the official list: https://ironmind.com/product-info/certification/captains-of-crush/whos-who-no.-3-coc/ You can watch Daniel in his certification attempt here: https://youtu.be/LtL4lu4-o3o
