sORRY FOR NOT UPDATING THE CALENDAR OR DOING WEEKEND IN STRONGMAN
I’ve been very sick and have not had it in me to write anything. I also do this all at work because that’s where I’m at a computer most, so when I have actual work to do this comes second.
I have plans for posts when I feel better.
This weekend in strongman 02/01
Another weekend of strongman has passed, and though there were less competitions, they were certainly not uneventful.
In the Pro Strongman League East Coast qualifier, athletes competed in a trump log for reps, deadlift for reps, farmers into duck walk, yoke into sandbag load, and trump stone over bar. 31 athletes competed. Scores are not yet uploaded for this competition, but it can be found on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8DDsP2uKT0
In the first 210 Strong Texas Championship Qualifier, athletes competed in circus dumbbell for reps, deadlift for reps, and stone over bar for reps. Kimmie Everett dominated the Women’s Middleweights, with 15 reps of a 60lb circus dumbbell, 23 reps of 225 deadlift, and a 65lb stone over bar for 13 reps. Marsha Stokes did a great job keeping up with her on stone over bar, finishing one rep short at 12. In the Novice Men’s Heavyweights, Michael Maldonado took first, and in Open Men’s Middleweights, Justin Reyna took first. Shawndra Haak and Thaddeus Haak were unopposed in Masters Women’s Middleweights and Masters Men’s Heavyweights respectively.
At the Winter Classic Expo in Fargo, ND, athletes competed in log for reps, heavy farmers carry, max Kratos bar deadlift, super yoke, and max sandbag to shoulder. Standout performances include Matt Slagus pulling 815lb in the Men’s Super Heavyweight max deadlift, and Jonathan Wenzel shouldering a 335lb sandbag in the Men’s Heavyweights, matching the best of the SHW. Danielle Hertaus in the Masters Women pulled an amazing 415lb deadlift, the highest of all the women’s classes.
Staying up north we had the Black Thunder competition in Montana, featuring max circus dumbbell, max 18” axle deadlift, Hercules hold, frame carry, and head to head stone of steel. The heaviest circus dumbbell of the day went to Matt Dewhurst in the Men’s Heavyweights, with 180lb. The Novice Men had 3 athletes compete, with 1st and 2nd separated by only 1 point at the end of the day. Mathew Kozlowski and Tyler Sonne stayed tied in CDB and max deadlift, at 105lb and 531lbs respectively, before trading wins on the Hercules hold and frame carry. Matthew would take 1st, but Tyler and Matt Killham gave him a good battle.
And finally, the biggest show of the weekend was the 2nd Clearwater Classic in Clearwater, Fl. 60 athletes competed in this show, featuring a yoke and sandbag medley, fingal’s fingers, last man standing log, wagon wheel axle deadlift for reps, and head to head stone over bar. It’d be impossible to give equal attention to all of the weight classes in such a stacked competition, so I’m going to focus on the novices and women. Isabelle Reynolds in the Open Women’s Heavyweighs had the heaviest log press of the women’s classes with 140lb. She won her weight class, but Bridget Karr stayed right behind her the whole way. In the Novice Women’s Lightweights, Jeanine Balestrieri had an awesome 23 reps of 200lb axle deadlift, and a 120lb log press. On the novice men’s side, Nicholas Stowers won the Novice Men’s Lightweights in a very tight race with several other athletes, and Dom Carmosino won the Novice Men’s Heavyweights in a similarly tight race.
Full scoreboards can be found at:
Pro Strongman League Qualifier(not yet updated) https://ironpodium.com/events/live/professional-strongman-league-east-coast-qualifier
210 Strong Texas Qualifier https://ironpodium.com/events/live/210-strong-texas-championship-series-qualifier-1
Winter Classic Expo https://ironpodium.com/events/live/winter-classic-expo
Black Thunder https://ironpodium.com/events/live/black-thunder-1
Clearwater Classic 2 https://ironpodium.com/events/live/clearwater-classic-2-baddest-on-the-beach
ancient culture meets modern athletics: the growing sport of strongman in Japan
When you think of Japan and strength, you probably picture a huge Sumo wrestler doing shiko, or perhaps a Ninja Warrior contestant like Makoto Nagano. If you’re more privy to strength sports, you might even have heard of Chikaraishi, traditional Japanese lifting stones. But until recently, you’d be unlikely to think of Strongman and Japan together. Now, organizations like Tenka Musou are working to change that, and bring modern Strongman competition to Japan.
Although Strongman has existed in Japan for many years already, it was largely discreet, with very little organization or attempts at growth. Tenka Musou cofounder and head David Dunlap is working to change that.
David has worked as a professional Japanese translator for 15 years, regularly traveling between Japan and the US. So when he discovered Strongman shortly after COVID lockdowns, it was only natural that he would bring his new passion for the sport with him overseas. David is particularly interested in the Chikaraishi stones, of which there are over 14000. These stones, traditionally associated with Shinto shrines, have been lifted competitively for hundreds of years, in events such as a lift above the head, a carry for max distance, and a leg press. David has documented his own journey with Chikaraishi on Youtube since August of 2023, when he found and lifted his first Japanese stone.
Although Chikaraishi was very popular in the 19th and early 20th century, it has dwindled in popularity since, with David believing that Japanese people are largely unaware of historic feats of strength such as stonelifting. Not all is lost however. In the small town of Soja, for example, a Chikaraishi festival is held every summer, featuring 23 stones ranging from 1.8kg to the 180kg Yokozuna stone, so that anyone can compete. And indeed, everyone does compete. The whole town participates, from big men to ladies in their work clothes and children. The competition has been held for hundreds of years, attracting competitors from all over the country. Local university powerlifting teams and champion bodybuilders are among those who have attempted these feats of strength.
Last year, Tenka Musou hosted their first strongman competition, aimed at novices, and had over 20 athletes enter. “That’s more than have ever competed in a single Strongman competition in Japan, as far as I know,” said David, when asked what he was most proud of in this venture so far. Part of what Tenka Musou is doing differently is opening competition to foreigners. In addition to 20 Japanese athletes, that first competition also featured multiple expats and athletes from Taiwan.
Now, they are gearing up for two 2025 competitions. In addition to another novice competition, Tenka Musou will be hosting Japan’s official OSG Qualifier, with 65 athletes registered. Taking place from February 8th to 9th, the competition blends common strongman events such as Log Press, Farmer’s Walk, and Axle Deadlift, with Chikaraishi events in the form of a stone press and a stone to shoulder. David is excited that a local TV station has already agreed to come and cover the event briefly, and hopes that this qualifier will put Japanese strongman on the map. The competition will also feature a traditional Japenese Taiko performance, as well as live music on both days. In this way, western Strongman and Japanese culture are entwined. By featuring Chikaraishi events, an important piece of Japanese history is helped to stay alive, and promoted to a greater audience.
The competition will also be livestreamed on the Official Strongman website
This weekend in strongman 1/25
Once a week I am going to make a simple post like this to summarize the past weekend’s strongman competitions. I will still aim to write recaps of at least one show but at the very least I’d like to just put this info out while I work on those other posts. It was a very eventful weekend, so if I don’t spend as much time on a competition, I apologize in advance.
The weekend of the 25th saw a lot of competitions, some big, some small. One that stands out for it’s fun concept is Snowballs And Sandbags. This competition in Iowa was an unsanctioned event, just for fun, and invited athletes to participate in 4 total events using only sandbags. The highlight event has to be the Sandbag Snowman, where athletes had 60 seconds to assemble a snowman out of sandbags by carrying them 50 feet at a time and stacking them from heaviest to lightest. In the Women’s Heavyweight class, Taylor Ash assembled all 3 of her bags in only 30 seconds, winning the event. She would go on to win the Women’s Heavyweight class that day. For the Men’s Heavyweights, only 1 second separated Adam Wekenmann and Tyler Reeder’s scores, but although Tyler would win the Sandbag Snowman, Adam would end up taking 1st in the class at the end of the day. Finally, out of two Men’s Super Heavyweights, Brendt Lauck took 1st place with a 4 event sweep.
Saturday also saw multiple record breaker events. At Maine State Record Breakers, several Max Log records were broken, and several were set for the women. In Men’s Super Heavyweight, Zachary Wallace set a new state record for the log at 290lb, beating the old record by 20lb. Teejay Sinclair set the new state record for Men’s Lightweights(-198) at 220lbs, a 25lb increase over the previous record. Other state records broken include Kristen Dye shattering the Women’s Super Heavyweight(-242) 18” Axle Deadlift record by over 100lbs with a final pull of 530, and Kristy Marker setting the new standard for the Masters Heavyweight Women with a 255lb atlas stone over bar.
Moving over to Oregon, the 2nd Annual Valhalla Classic saw Cody Osuna win the Men’s Super Heavyweight class, with a max log of 275lb, 6 reps of a 605lb axle deadlift, and a blistering 19 second time in the yoke/sled medley. Adam OpBroek started the Men’s Middleweights off by losing a point on log, but would go on to win the next 2 events and tie the fourth to win his class. Brady Chisholm similarly started down on points in the Men’s Heavyweights, but made them up on the yoke/sled medley and stone to shoulder.
At the Masters only Silver Strength Showdown in Gatesville, Texas, Iva Liou pulled an incredible 520lb Axle Deadlift in the Women’s Heavyweight class. The heaviest log press of the day went to Jonathan Norris-Green in the Men’s Heavyweights with 330lb, Jonathan and Iva both went on to win their respective weight classes.
The 2025 Battle Of The Ozarks in Arkansas saw 40 athletes compete, including a Pro class of 6 men. I’d like to acknowledge the Teen Men’s Heavyweight class, where Xyler Botelho pulled 12 reps of 365lb in the deadlift event, and pressed 225lb in the Max Log. In the Women’s Novice weightclass Dinah Hardin took 1st place, although Teagan Hobbs was not far behind her. Ryan Argyle won the Men’s Novice class, while Chris May and David Spry finished 1 point apart for 2nd and 3rd respectively.
At Florida’s Strongest Man, in my favorite place on Earth(Polk County), athletes competed in a Trump Circus Dumbbell, Max Distance Yoke, Max Kratos Bar Deadlift, Wheelbarrow Of Death, and Natural Stone To Shoulder. Of note, Rich Canning took a 600 pound yoke for a 200 foot walk in the Masters Super Heavyweight Men, the farthest distance of the day across all classes. He swept all 5 events to win his class. Brooks Larkin just narrows took 1st in the Men’s Heavyweights, beating out Dillon Meeks by half a point. Highlights of Brooks’s performance include a 900lb yoke for 117ft, and a max deadlift of 750 pounds.
In Mamaroneck, NY, Todd Giorgi hosted two competitions(fun fact I have competed at one of Todd’s shows at this same park). In the New York Novice Battle, 11 athletes competed. Erin Ruggiero took 1st in Novice Women’s Lightweights. Kayla Frye took 1st in Novice Women’s Heavyweights. Harrison Moss won the Novice Men’s Lightweights, and Joe Vignola and Santiago Wills won the Novice Men’s Heavyweights and Hero Men classes respectively. On the same day, Todd hosted USS Record Breakers, with athletes competing for National, NY, and CT records in Max Log Press, Max Axle Press, Max Standard Deadlift, Max 18 Inch Deadlift, Farmers Hold For Time, and Max Stone(NY and CT records only).
Denver saw yet another record breakers event. Mile High Max Outs saw athletes attempt to break Colorado state records in several events. Patricio Duran set a new Max Circus Dumbbell state record for the Master Lightweight Men 50+ with 145lb, breaking the old record by 36lb. Bethany Brewer also set a new state record for Circus Dumbbell for the Heavyweight Women(-198) with 130lb. In the same weight class, KaTarra Taylor set a new deadlift record at 455lb, and a max yoke record at 600lb for 25ft.
In Leavenworth, KS, the 2nd Annual First City Coldsnap(say that 5 times fast) had one of the most interesting events, in the form of a stone over bar last man standing. All athletes regardless of weight class got in line, and attempted stones from lightest to heaviest, one at a time. If the stone was loaded, they got back in line. If they failed, they were out. I wish I could have seen this event in person because it sounds intense. Other events included a Viking Press, where some standout performances include Travis Vaughn pressing 230lb for 25 reps in the Novice Men’s Heavyweights and Brad Spier pressing 280lb for 25 reps in the Men’s Super Heavyweights. In the Ukrainian Deadlift, Buffy Gordon pulled 205lb for 20 reps, winning that event for her class. The Men’s Middleweights(-220) all managed at least 30 reps of 280, but it was Aaron Boots who won the event with 35 reps.
Finally, the best for last. In Chicago, Mike Lohman held a charity event, Warpath Strength’s Pull For Paws. This was a team deadlift event, where teams of two would compete to deadlift either 400, 800, or 1200lb for as many reps as possible. I am so happy to see that this charity competition completely sold out at 60 athletes. As this was a competition for fun, I won’t highlight any scores. I will just highlight some fun team names. “I Just Met The Guy” is good. “I Love Heavy Petting” is possibly concerning as it is listed right above “Grandmas Who Lift And Take Naps.” Good team names. Full points all around for creativity. Most importantly, Mike set a goal of raising 5000 dollars for K9s For Warriors, and as of typing this, he has smashed that goal and raised 6,165.20. Of every competition this weekend, I think this was the most important, and in this moment I am proud of this sport. You can still donate at https://secure.qgiv.com/event/k9sforwarriorscommunityfundraisers2024/account/1840483/ to help provide veterans with service dogs.
That’s it. Wow. I am so glad that the coming weekend doesn’t have as many competitions. Full scoresheets can be found below:
Pull For Paws: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/warpath-strength-pull-for-paws-2025
2nd Annual First City Coldsnap: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/2nd-annual-first-city-coldsnap
Mile High Max Outs: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/mile-high-max-outs
USS Record Breakers: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/uss-record-breakers-2025
New York Novice Battle IV: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/new-york-novice-battle-iv
Florida’s Strongest Man: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/florida-strongest-man-richard-lamb-toy-drive
Battle Of The Ozarks: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/battle-of-the-ozark-s-northwest-arkansas
Silver Strength Showdown: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/silver-strength-showdown-united-states-strongman
Valhalla Classic: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/valhalla-classic
Maine State Record Breakers: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/maine-s-strongest-man
Snowballs And Sandbags: https://ironpodium.com/events/live/sandbags-and-snowmen
Beer bullies viii recap
On Saturday, the 18th of January, over 50 athletes gathered at Liberty Performance Training in Phoenix, AZ for the Eighth Annual Beer Bullies strongman competition. From complete novices to experienced vets of the sport, one thing that tied them together was fun. Although I have only been present for two iterations of this competition, it has consistently been one of the most friendly and exciting shows in amateur strongman that I have seen. I asked event organizer Zac Miller about his beginnings with strongman and Beer Bullies, and his thoughts on the last several years of the competition.
It was all smiles as athletes locked out their deadlifts
Zac began his involvement with the competition in its very first year, when a mentor at GCU asked if he had any interest in strongman. Despite having never touched a strongman implement before, he jumped right into the sport. He has competed in all but 2 Beer Bullies competitions since then, instead hosting and organizing in 2023 and 2025. When asked about what the biggest change in the event has been since 2018, Zac said, “it’s been awesome watching the community grow over the years. The first Beer Bullies was like 20-22 people. Since then we’ve had 4 years at 50+(athletes), including 1 at 60+and 1 at 70+!” He also remarked that the implementation of Iron Podium for organizing and running the events has been a huge game changer.
If Zac had any concerns about taking up the reigns of organizing this competition, they should certainly be quelled now, as the show went off without a hitch. Athletes began their day with a Mammoth Bar deadlift for max reps. The 10 foot long bar began at 225lb with the Lightweight Novice Women, where Sara O’Neill won with 13 reps, and ended at 545lb for the Super Heavyweight Men. Mathias Milford took first in this event for the Super Heavyweights with a whopping 10 reps. Other standout performances include Jake Hancock with an unbelievable 22 reps of 365lb to secure first in a packed Heavyweight Novice Men’s class, and Chloe Esperance, who pulled 23 reps of 250lb for first place in the Heavyweight Novice Women.
Athletes moved on to a pressing medley, featuring a log, axle, and circus dumbbell. Athletes would press the log and axle in order for a singular rep each, before cleaning and pressing the circus dumbbell as many times as possible. Melody Steiger maintained her lead here in the LW Novice Women, with a score of 5 in the event, while Brittany Shepard took the lead from Chloe in the HW Novice Women with a score of 15. Jake Hancock, Randy Skinner, Bodie Giron, and Taylor Dutcher all were the only ones to score in the double digits in their respective weight classes, securing much needed points.
The weather could not have been better for a day of strongman
The event next moved outside, and with palm trees and spectators lining the parking lot, athletes began a farmer’s walk event with an interesting twist. Rather than just pick the farmer’s handles and walk, athletes would have to deadlift the implements twice before picking them one more time and traveling 40’. There they’d stop, deadlift the implements 2 more times, and traverse another 40’ to complete the event. There were stumbles and falls, and missed commands, as athletes adapted to this event. Randy Skinner and Bodie Giron put in blistering fast times in the Open Lightweight Men and Open Middleweight Men’s weight classes respectively, but special note goes to Jud Von Kolnitz and Timothy Edwards in the Masters Men 60+, who were just over a tenth of a second apart in their runs. Things stayed tight between Jud and Timothy all day, as the two alternated winning events, eventually sharing 1st place in their class. Jud’s daughter Megan also competed, and could be heard cheering for her dad all day with the rest of the attendees and athletes.
Competitor Sara grins through her max distance sandbag carry
Staying outside, athletes headed into another moving event, a max distance sandbag carry. It was a close race in the Open Middleweight Men, with 3 competitors managing over 200 feet with a 225lb sandbag, but Bodie Giron continued his dominance of the class with yet another event win. The Lightweight Novice Women also had a close race, with all 3 managing over 400 feet with a 100lb sandbag, but the farthest distance of the day would go to Christina Tice, in the Masters Lightweight Women, who would do an astonishing 519 feet with a 100lb sandbag.
The competition would wrap up back inside, with the classic finale: a stone load. Athletes loaded 4 stones of ascending weight onto platforms of descending height, with the heaviest stone being in the Super Heavyweight Men’s class, at 340 pounds. Gabriel Foarde would end up lifting that stone and completing his whole run for the event win, but it wouldn’t be enough to stop Mathias Milford from securing 1st place overall for the Super Heavyweights.
At the end of the day, your competition winners would be:
Novice Lightweight Women: Melody Steiger
Novice Heavyweight Women: Brittany Shepard
Open Lightweight Women: Megan Von Kolnitz
Open Middleweight Women: Diana Flores
Open Super Heavyweight Women: Lacy Hughes
Masters Lightweight Women: Christina Tice
Masters Middleweight Women: Miriam Rojas
Masters Heavyweight Women: Kelly Aasen
Novice Lightweight Men: Michael Mariea
Novice Heavyweight Men: Jake Hancock
Open Lightweight Men: Randy Skinner
Open Middleweight Men: Bodie Giron
Open Heavyweight Men: David Clark
Open Super Heavyweight Men: Mathias Milford
Masters Middleweight Men: Robert Schuman
Masters Lightweight Men 50+: Daniel Rathbun
Masters Men 60+: Jud Von Kolnitz and Timothy Edwards
Masters Heavyweight Men: Brandon Ford
Congratulations to all of these athletes, and well done to all who participated in Beer Bullies VIII, whether complete novice or experienced strength athlete. I hope to see you all again next year!