Brian Shaw wasn’t sure what to expect when he took his first bite of ostrich meat. The four-time World’s Strongest Man has eaten just about everything in the name of performance, but this was new—even for him. “I have never, never heard of ostrich meat,” he admits, eyeing the bowl loaded with rice, beef bacon, duck eggs, and chopped ostrich. A few bites in, his verdict is simple: “It’s not bad, not bad at all.”
For a guy like Shaw, that says a lot. The American powerhouse stands as a behemoth in strongman history, capturing the World’s Strongest Man title four times and dominating the global stage with unmatched static power. He made history as the first athlete to win the Arnold Strongman Classic and WSM in the same calendar year—and did that double twice. Add three Arnold titles, multiple world records, and his own Shaw Classic victories, and you’re looking at a Hall of Famer with a legacy as one of the strongest humans to ever walk the earth.
This time, though, Shaw isn’t loading an axle or deadlifting a truck. He’s loading a spoon.
Enter the Anabolic Acrobat
The ostrich experiment is part of a full day of eating designed by Jon Call, better known as Jujimufu. Call is an American strength athlete who shot to fame in 2016 when a viral video showed him holding a 100-pound barbell overhead while in a full chair split. Dubbed the “Anabolic Acrobat,” he blends explosive powerlifting with elite flexibility, has wowed audiences on America’s Got Talent, and built a massive online following with stunt-heavy YouTube content. Deadlifting 700-plus pounds, throwing backflips at 240, and mixing heavy compound lifts with martial arts tricking, he’s built a niche on proving that big muscle and serious mobility can coexist.
Shaw visited Call’s home for an episode on his ShawStrength YouTube channel with one mission: spend a day eating like this “anabolic acrobat” and see what “performance eating” actually feels like. For Call, food isn’t about restriction or macros on a screen—it’s about power. “People are on the defensive with their eating. It’s time to go back on the offensive,” he says. “I look at food like that, I’m looking for power ups… what’s gonna give me the most power, that’s it.”
Inside a Day of Performance Eating
The day’s eating is heavy on high-quality protein (ostrich, duck eggs, sable fish), strategic carbs (rice and potatoes as adjustable fuel), and micronutrient-dense plants (Swiss chard, radish sprouts, bell peppers, sage, berries). Beets show up as straight beet juice for a nitric oxide kick. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are there for satiety, potassium, and better electrolyte balance. Pre-workout, Shaw downs a cream-of-rice and protein blend spiked with raw milk, butter, and fresh blackberries—fat included by design to keep a 360-pound athlete from crashing mid-session.
By the end of the day, Shaw became more impressed with short-lived diet change. “Functional eating, your fuel is what you put into your body at the end of the day, and this is fuel,” he says. Main Photo: YouTube: @SHAWSTRENGTH