After doing some heavy lifting, the founder of a local strongman club is bringing a sanctioned strongman competition to Sault Ste. Marie this spring.
Valhalla’s Mightiest 2022, a qualifying event for the provincial strongman championships taking place in Ottawa this June, will be held at Rebel Gym May 7. The event is sanctioned by Strongman Corporation, the governing body for competitive strength events in North America.
“We’re hoping for 40 to 50 people,” said Gary Knox, speaking with SooToday last week. “It’s our first year, so I think it would be a pretty good turnout for us.”
Knox was initially drawn to strongman events a few years back after watching a Netflix documentary about Eddie Hall, the former professional strongman from Britain.
“It’s really different from other strength sports like powerlifting or bodybuilding - it’s a lot of lifting of oddly-shaped objects, carrying things, throwing heavy things,” he said.
An inspired Knox then began acquiring strongman equipment. This included a log bar - a metal bar that’s shaped like a log - and a set of heavy concrete balls known in the strongman community as atlas stones.
Knox would eventually found Valhalla Power Strongman Club, a group of nine Sault residents that gets together at Knox’s garage in order to practice for strongman events.
“We have a really great group of guys, and over the last couple of years with COVID and everything, everyone’s been going through a tough time,” said Knox. “Beyond just lifting together and training together, we’re a great support for each other.”
Valhalla Power Strongman Club has already seen some of its members compete in both national and provincial strongman championships, earning spots on the podium at various strongman events across Ontario.
Now, the small-yet-mighty strongman club that’s hosting Valhalla’s Mightiest 2022 will get the chance to see its members compete on home turf in Sault Ste. Marie for spots at the provincial championships.
“I’m optimistic that we’ll have at least a couple of our guys finish in the top three nationally,” Knox said.
When he isn’t practising for strongman events, Knox provides legal services for clients as a lawyer for Legal Aid Ontario.
“I’ve got a lot of stress to work off, I guess,” he said. “That, and having three kids, going out to the gym really helps me relax.”
More information on Valhalla’s Mightiest 2022 can be found on the Valhalla Power Strongman Club Instagram account and Facebook.