Back in 1977, after years of debate over whom was ‘the strongest’, the idea of the World’s Strongest Man competition was born, pitting the best strength athletes against each other, in a variety of testing disciplines. However, the one thing the competition was missing… the athletes we now call ‘strongmen’. In order to tackle this, a special invitation was given to a number of weightlifters, arm wrestlers, shot putters and power lifters to battle it out and become the first World’s Strongest Man.

From then on, the only way a person could compete in WSM was with the previous winner gaining an automatic place or getting ‘seen’ at a national level and being invited to the ‘Giants Live’ WSM Qualifying World Tour.

There are various ways of getting ‘seen’: there’s a simple form with open contest days, however, if there are no contests near you that suit then there is less chance for you to be ‘seen’. And less of a chance of an invitation to ‘Giants Live’ WSM Qualifying World Tour.

Well that was then and this is now. The search for the future generation of Bill Kazmaier’s will start on the Internet.

With sport ever growing in popularity, and the worldwide fitness ideals changing towards functional strength, the strongman community is swelling in its ranks. We appreciate the need for change and the opportunity, so here it is: The system is called Official Strongman.

Now you can make WSM no matter where you live.

Giants Live will remain in its place as the ultimate showcase for the world’s strongest to gain access to WSM, but how you get there is shifting. From now on, Official Strongman will allow you to get ranked in the world on strength-based events that are extremely measurable and simple to judge.

This is a historic moment and a great opportunity to compete against the best of the best. It’s time to showcase your talent to the international stage.

For the first time ever, the Giants’ doors are being opened to the entire Strongman community and YOU can become part of the action.

Before Official Strongman, the only way to make your ‘best lifts’ official was by entering a Powerlifting or weightlifting contest, there was no simple way to compare your individual gym lifts with others around the world. That is all to change. Qualifiers are broadening their horizons so that anyone can take part, not just the ‘giants’. Weight and age are categorized accordingly, creating fairness for all.

Official Strongman takes your best gym lift and changes it into an internationally recognised, official lift, which anyone can view with just the click of a button.

We welcome you to join and truly be one of the few who can walk the walk.

Go to officialstrongman.com and upload a video. Let’s find out if you’ve got the right stuff.

We are currently in the process of making sure all ‘Pro Strongmen’ worldwide are supplied with a login and password to take part. If you are a pro then go to the site and click on the appropriate button. For everyone else, please go to officialstrongman.com and sign up.

We look forward to welcoming you all into this exciting online community.