Eddie Hall: World Strongman Champion

Eddie Hall is one of the most popular strongman athletes of the current era. The World’s Strongest Man champion and owner of multiple world records has achieved mainstream popularity from competing and his multiple television programs.

Date of Birth:	January 15th, 1988
Hometown:	Newcastle-under-Lyme, UK
Nickname:	The Beast
Height:	6 ft 2 in(188 cm)
Weight:	313 to 434 lbs(142.2 to 197 kg)
Strongman Career:	2005 to 2023
Championships:	World’s Strongest Man Champion(2017), 13x Champion in England/UK Strongman Championships
World Record Lifts:	20+ World Record Lifts(Competition & Training)

Here’s a quick breakdown of strong champion and TV personality. Eddie Hall. Read below to learn how Eddie became a weightlifting legend and how his personality made him a mainstream star.

Eddie Hall’s Start in Strongman Competition 

Eddie Hall grew up in Newcastle-under-Lyme, England and got into athletics from an early age. The first sport that Hall excelled at was swimming.

As a teen, Eddie was one of the best swimmers in the country, who won 4 national gold medals in swimming. He also held two national records in swimming.

Hall’s career as a swimmer ended after he was expelled from school at 15.  This led him to became a mechanic’s apprentice to learn a trade.

While working as an apprentice, Hall became passionate about bodybuilding and looked up to Arnold Shwarzenegger. Unfortunately, Eddie realized he didn’t have the right frame to be a good bodybuilder.

However, he was incredibly strong, which led many to encourage Eddie to try his hand in Strongman and powerlifting.

After four years of training, Hall entered his first Strongman competition in 2007. Taking 5th place out of 15 competitors.

Eddie fell in love with competing and dedicated his life to becoming the World’s Strongest Man. Five years later, Hall qualified for his first WSM event in 2012.

Eddie’s World Strongman Career 

After making his WSM debut in 2012, Hall would gradually gain experience and move up the ranks. In his fourth WSM appearance, Hall would finally earn a bronze medal at the 2016 event.

A year later, everything would come together for Eddie as he achieved his dream of becoming WSM champion. Hall had the performance of his career at the 2017 event. 

Besting both Brian Shaw and Hafthor Bjornsson to win the 2017 World’s Strongest Man Championship. This would be Hall’s last WSM appearance as he announced his intention to retire from strongman competition.

Hall’s International Strength Sport Career 

Eddie Hall is the most decorated strongman that the UK has ever produced. He has combined 13 titles between the three most prestigious strongman events in England and the UK.

• Britain’s Strongest Man: 5 Titles
• UK’s Strongest Man: 6 Titles
• England’s Strongest Man: 2 Titles

Eddie Hall’s Lifting Records 

Competition World Record 

• Deadlift(Straps & Suit): 1,102 lbs(500 kg)
• Rogue Elephant Bar Deadlift(Straps): 1,025 lbs(465 kg)
• Raw Deadlift: 794 lbs(360 kg)
• Bench Press Elbow Sleeves): 617 lbs(280 kg)
• Axle Press: 476 lbs(216 kg)
• Log Press: 470 lb(213 kg)
• Circus Dumbbell Press: 220 lb(213 kg) x 4 reps
• Keg Toss: 6 Kegs 40-50 lbs(18-22.5 kg) 4.9 meters in 60 seconds
• Atlas Stones: 5 stones 264-441 lbs(120-200 kg) in 23.81 seconds
• Husafell Stone(Replica): 410 lbs(186 kg) for 27.15 meters
• Bate Tote(Super Yoke): 1,499 lbs(680 kg) for 2.67 meters
• Crossfit Isabel: 132 lbs(60 kg) for 30 reps in 50.9 seconds

Training World Records

• Raw Squat:893 lbs(405 kg)
• Raw Bench Press: 606 lbs(275 kg)
• Bench Press(Straps & Suit): 661 lbs(300 kg)
• Bench Press For Reps: 584 lbs(265 kg) 6 reps
• Raw Incline Bench Press: 573 lb(260 kg)
• Incline Dumbbell Press: 220 lbs(100 kg) each hand for 7 reps
• Long Bar Squat(Beltless): 761 lbs(365 kg) for 8 reps
• Safety Bar Squat(Beltless): 761 lbs(345 kg) for 6 reps
• Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 132 lbs(60 kg) for 40 reps

Eddie’s Training 

When Eddie was a competitor, he would go all out in training. He was known for the high-intensity training he always brought with him in competition.

After retiring, Eddie still moves around big weight but trimmed down to have a leaner look. However, don’t be surprised to see Eddie continue his passion of achieving incredible feats of strength.

Hall’s Diet

Eddie is known for his appetite. At his peak, Hall claimed to maintain a diet of 20,000 calories daily. He eats every few hours to fuel his body for the intense workouts.

Today, Eddie eats 5,000 to 10,000 calories daily to maintain his large frame and keep it functioning properly.

Hall’s Growing Popularity

Eddie’s star has been rising since his debut in the strongman competition. Here are some of the projects that Hall is most known for.

The Legacy of Eddie Hall

Hall’s Documentaries

Outside of hardcore Strongman fans, Eddie started gaining popularity outside his sport through different documentaries. His first documentary Eddie: Strongman, came out on Netflix in 2015.

This documentary follows Eddie’s journey as one of the world’s top Strongman competitors. In 2017, Eddie took part in another Strongman documentary called Born Strong.

Eddie’s Youtube Channel

Hall is one of the most popular Strongman athletes in the sport’s history. He owns a widely successful YouTube channel with over 2 million subscribers.

The vlog follows everything from Hall’s training, diet, and his day-to-day activities.

The Strongest Man in History/Eddie Eats America 

Hall made his international TV debut as a host for the History Channel show, Eddie Eats America. He spent a year traveling the US taking on the toughest eating and physical challenges in the country.

Eddie’s show then evolved into another show, The Strongest Man in History. In this series, Shaw was joined by Strongman champions Brian Shaw, Nick Best, and Bryan Oberst.

The four friends traveled the world trying to complete historical feats of strength.

Expend4bles

Eddie’s most recent was landing his first film role in the fourth installment of the Expendables series. He plays a small role as a bartender.

Eddie Halls vs. The Mountain 

Eddie has a long-standing rivalry with World Strongman champion Hafthor Julius Bjornsson or better known as The Mountain from GoT. On a few occasions, the two nearly came to blows at Strongman competitions, which showed they legitimately dislike each other.

Hafthor challenged Eddie to a boxing match after Hall broke his deadlift record in 2020. Hall accepted the challenge and began his boxing training for the next two years.

If you follow Eddie on YT or social media, you’ll notice that he lost a significant amount of weight in preparation. 

After the fight contracts were agreed upon by both fighters, they set a date for March 19th, 2022 in Dubai. The match was billed as “The Heaviest Match in Boxing History.”

Eddie would get the better of The Mountain in the first two rounds, while scoring a knockdown. Bjornsson would bounce back from the knock down and score two knockdowns of his own before the time limit expired. 

Hall would lose a unanimous decision to The Mountain as all three judges scored the contest 57-54. A month after the bout, Hall got a tattoo that says “World Strongest Man-Hafthor Julius Bjornsson.”

Eddie Hall’s Retirement 

After years of competing in Strongman and winning every title possible, The Beast was a large brand. He spent years punishing his body and realized that he didn’t need to risk hurting himself in competition anymore.

In 2018, Eddie retired from competition after winning his fifth Britain’s Strongest Man title. After retiring, Eddie Hall would address some health concerns and lean down to increase his overall health.

Eddie Hall will go down as one of the best strongmen of his generation, who transcended his sport. He is not only a world record holding weightlifter, but an entertaining personality that earned everything in his life. We’ will continue to see Eddie in pop culture for years to come.