LEVER LENGTH (ELBOW TO FINGERTIP): 21"

FAVORITE ARMWRESTLING TECHNIQUE: High-Side Pressure

TITLES: WAL 2014 2nd Place Right-hand and Left-hand Champion; WAL 2015 Southern Region: 2nd Place Right-hand, 1st Place Left-hand; WAL 2015 Championships: Left-hand Champion

RIVALRIES: Devon Larratt, Dave Chaffee, John Brzenk

Travis “The Beast” Bagent doesn’t really care what you think of his swagger. He’ll back it up on the table.

“I’m getting in my own head,” the 38-year-old out of Charles Town, W. Va., declared. “If I accidentally get in yours too, so be it.”

Armwrestling runs in Bagent’s blood. His father learned the sport from his fellow Devil Dogs while serving in the Marines in the 60s and 70s.

Bagent’s dad came home and set up “The Big Arm,” a tavern in Charles Town that became a hub for guys looking to drink some suds and battle on one of the bar’s eight armwrestling tables.

“If things got weird, you move the drinks and get busy,” Bagent said.

Bagent's early teen years were spent working at that bar, training and watching hundreds of competitors crowd the bar every weekend night. He came in at 17 and put a table beating on two of his older brothers. They were stronger than Bagent, but the up-and-comer won the day on technique.

He's snagged 25 national titles and 13 world titles since then.

Don't wait around for him to apologize for some of his heel moves, or the smack he's talked.

“There is something to be said for letting everyone know how you view yourself,” he said with a grin. “Nothing’s worse than the guy talking a bunch of shit that fails”

Bagent loves the “near-collision sport” of armwrestling because of its intricacy but also because of how easy it is to follow.

“Our best asset is the controlled violence,” he said. “It’s the closest thing to a fistfight that you can get to.”