10 Great Strongmen That Just Disappeared

[@Rossi.selfdefense]

When I was in 7th graded i attended the same school as Kevin Nee. I was picked on by most of the kids in my grade but Kevin was always so cool to me. Would give me daps in the halls and anytime he saw me walking home he would pull off the road and tell me to get in bring me home. People like that you never forget. A true class act. Changed my prospective on how to treat people. Was a rough time in my life.

[@mark4lev]

Stefán Sölvi Pétursson was another who disappeared overnight with heart issues. Arild haugen had to retire with health issues before we had seen the best of him

[@AlanThrall]

great video

[@Tamarack_Barbell]

8:40 That 19yo not only beat the axle press record, he did so while scratching his leg with his other leg. That's ridiculous strength.

[@Pletzmutz]

Paul Pirjol is definitely one of the bigger "what if"s in Strongman.

[@colinselfridge3935]

What Uncle Loz generously forgot to mention was he was a competitor at that comp. 2010 Giants Live Turkey and he beat Paul a few minutes later with 205kg. Unfortunately that was the same comp where Big Z then set the 215kg record. Paul shared the points with Big Z on the log press, so no denying his overhead credentials.

[@incamoran9532]

That's a diva showing off.

[@DanielAbe-o6o]

Ben Brunning- Verdict: went back to the 3rd century C.E (2018-202) @ 11:41

[@lukemurphy7209]

😂

[@alangrace8628]

Thats brilliant 😂😂

[@MegaLegz]

He had to lead a rebellion against Rome.

[@incamoran9532]

Hey, it's his superpower :)

[@ToKerrIsHuman]

Watching Belsak in SCL was awesome, he was a warrior.

[@roohaa8382]

Luka Doncic of strongman, Slovenia produces some great ball players. If youve seen his technique on the stone to shoulder.

[@MoralesCorner]

I was always in awe of him. By far the smallest guy on most shows yet he was able to compete with the best of them. Unreal strength

[@ebeneezerswashbuckle3509]

I remember back in the days Mike Burke was what I figgured was the manifestation of what a man has to look like :D

[@Maddolis]

That's only because Raimonds Bergmanis had retired.

[@neilkirkley1500]

Are you sure Pavlo wasnt banned for illegal shoulders?

[@Zihark_]

I didn't realize Matjaz had left the sport 😢😢 He was always one of my favorites. Hope he's doing well these days. Can't imagine how difficult it is to readjust to life without Strongman after being at the top level for several years.

[@rokericsson]

He is in to MMA now.

[@judahkratz5846]

What about Robert Oberst?

[@petergibson6589]

Would be great for you to have an interview with Mike Burke, see if his grip is as good now as it always was!!

[@jamiedavieswright]

Arild Haugen is another name that springs to mind. Whenever I think of Nee and Pirjol I always think of Haugen as well due to being so young.

[@mattyhartley9079]

I remember Arild looking so impressive and then deciding to leave to take up boxing

[@jamiedavieswright]

@@mattyhartley9079 Yeah I used to follow him on social media actually but he keeps a pretty low profile. Mainly posted family pics etc. Think his account is private now.

[@gavindart-ot4jf]

I really felt for Manfred Hoberl,he was so great to watch back in the day. The one I always remember quitting the sport was Arild Haugen,his conditioning was insane for a strongman.Last time I seen anything of him was a boxing match quite a while ago..........

[@stephencardenas602]

Mike Burke is a very nice and humble guy now. I actually know him. Just talked to him about 1 month ago.

[@KalleLagerlof]

Yea he seems like a great guy

[@hasanzz7930]

what hes doing now?

[@stephencardenas602]

@@hasanzz7930 Working, just living life. We go to the same church now. He’s still up in Denver, Colorado area.

[@A-A-RonDavis2470]

​​​@@hasanzz7930He was a framing consultant I believe before doing full-time Strongman for a bit. I'd imagine he's stayed in that space. He probably would've stayed in the sport a couple more years had he not had the fallout with Brian. I've always heard it was because Keri, formerly known as Keri Jenkins, Mike Jenkins's wife, had gotten with Brian after Mike's death, and Burke didn't agree with that. There's probably a lot more context to that, but I'm assuming Brian's woes with relationships brought him to be Keri's white knight and Burke wasn't a fan of that.

[@goatbearman514]

@@A-A-RonDavis2470 I've heard about this too. Keri was married to Mike Jenkins and VERY shortly after his death she was with Brian instead.

[@carlgibson7850]

That 'verdict to serve Jesus' was unexpected and hilarious.

[@ChocolateJesii]

yeah I don't know if I should feel bad for literally laughing out loud 😂

[@AlejandroSanchez-pl6jw]

His delivery is what made it funny

[@9256steven]

All jokes aside you couldn't do anything better.

[@espenstoro]

Crossfit. Ba-dum tssh!

[@LatinoAaron]

Y'all don't need SBD, y'all need Jesus 😂

[@dovydas1329]

Could mention Vytautas Lalas, placed 2nd in 2012 WSM behind Big Z, ahead of Shaw and Hafthor, won 2013 arnold classic against prime Shaw, then had multiple back injuries 2014-2016, could've retired then but still tried to compete. He was only 30 in those two events as well.

[@Purgingking23]

Derek Poundstone, Jesse, Mike Jenkins, Konstantine Janashia, jerry pritchett, JF Caron, Luke Richardson, Krzysztof Radzikowski,

[@A-A-RonDavis2470]

Mikhail Shivlyakov as well. He did a bench-only meet a while back in his home area and did 500 lbs I believe. He's just a seasoned and beat-up vet. He got into his 40's and couldn't keep going at that level. Mike Jenkins passed away on Thanksgiving morning, 2013. His wife, Keri Jenkins, now known as Keri Shaw, became a widow and eventually married Brian Shaw in 2015. JF Caron has been covered a lot for the reason why. We saw it live on the Log Press at the 2023 ASC. Snapped both of his quad tendons I think. He still looks able to compete, but he has retired world-class Strongman competition. Luke has just been injured back to back. He got injured AGAIN (dude needs to take care of himself and remove the problem from his PED stack). He will probably quietly retire and do something else, his body is getting absolutely torn up. Strongman's not his thing. Konstantine has been trying to get back to form, as we saw for this past World's, but he hasn't been in shape and can't peak well. His last bit of success was 5 years ago at WSM 2019, where in the Finals or qualifiers, he tore his right tricep on a Circus Dumbell press. Jesse passed. Pritchett has gotten a fair bit of injures and has backed way off. Coupled with his age and mileage in the sport, has reduced to competing at OSG in Master's comps. He is now using his talent to train his son, whom is ungodly strong for his age.

[@Purgingking23]

Thanks for this maybe big loz will do a second part to cover other athletes. I know Luke Richardson being injured all the time has become so tragic because he had so much potential and still does. But i just really dont see him becoming a wsm champion anymore especially with Tom, and Mitchell being so young. Then lots of of younger competitors coming along

[@wanderer_oti]

Janasha was at WSM recently I'm pretty sure

[@KerboOnYT]

This was a neat look at some of the lesser known names. Thanks for putting it together

[@DanDavisHistory]

Great video, thanks guys.

[@BenHigginsOfficial]

Didn't realise you were a strongman fan as well Dan 👍👍

[@jeffarmfield2346]

Didn't expect to see you here. Love your channel

[@ObscuraDeCapra]

I haven't been keeping up with the sport recently. Didn't hear about Wide Pavlo's accident. That absolutely sucks. Hoping he can get back to it soon.

[@parisferguson8654]

This answered a lot of questions especially Johan Els. Loved watching Mike Burke and love settling down with farmland idea.

[@strengthsciencejim]

Hi Loz, had 2 heart attacks in the past 2 weeks and im only 34, my strongman career is done i think. thank you for providing some great content to keep me hype about strongman

[@deadpoolkoa7108]

Dam that's not good sorry hear that.yeah take it easy I would say.

[@branominal]

Don't get too hyped though, don't want another heart attack...

[@bigmatt2896]

really enjoyed that video loz, can you do one with these guys please Krzysztof Radzikowski bjorn andre solvang Benedikt Magnússon Sean O'Hagan jonathan kelly dave ostlund Vidas Blekaitis warrick brant lloyd renals

[@garagestrongman9525]

Sean is still competing in champions league I believe, and vidas was last seen in masters comp run by Glen ross

[@1vootman]

Krzy was a powerhouse

[@bigmatt2896]

@@garagestrongman9525 thanks buddy, i miss the team comps that were a yearly event, shame they stopped doing them

[@bigmatt2896]

@@automaticninjaassaultcat3703 ??

[@garagestrongman9525]

@@automaticninjaassaultcat3703 whys that?

[@TheJoork]

Wildauer is still active in the scene. He was the judge in my first strongman competition. Really humble and inspiring person

[@EdwardHinton-qs4ry]

Jesse Marunde is the one that gets me. I didn't realise he'd passed away so young and in his prime until years later.

[@PhillipCalvin627]

Johnny Perry was another one. Didn't make it to the final in 2000 and 2001 then came 4th in 2002, then died shortly thereafter. Tremendously strong athlete gone way to soon.

[@DH1985-MB]

Jesse was awesome - unreal strength and athletic ability. Was sadly only in his 20's when he passed. I believe his widow is now married to Nick Best.

[@EdwardHinton-qs4ry]

@@DH1985-MB Is she? I follow Nick on KZbin too.

[@DH1985-MB]

@@EdwardHinton-qs4ry I believe so mate, might be worth checking but I'm 99% sure.

[@AdmiralRustyShackleford]

​@@EdwardHinton-qs4ryNick's wife is Callie Marunde-Best. And I might be wrong on her last name but Brian Shaw's wife is Keri Jenkins-Shaw because she was married to the late great Mike Jenkins.

[@bobz4968]

I really like these videos. Liz does a great job editing and Loz has great knowledge and voice for documentary style videos.

[@-Erebus]

Mike Burke was awesome always wondered what happened to him

[@A-A-RonDavis2470]

He just started late and maxed his potential out. Without the huge Big 3 in Thor, Brian, and Zydrunas, he would've gotten multiple podiums at WSM. I think he got bronze at the ASC though.

[@BenaiahFit]

What about arild Haugen?

[@Davespow]

That was a brilliant video, seeing Hoberl again took me back to being a young kid watching WSM with my dad back in the 90’s, Thanks Loz 😊❤

[@lemon_j22]

Thanks for covering these Loz.

[@mrgaudy1954]

Where’s Mark Felix? He burst onto the scene then seemed to disappear just as quickly!

[@SteveE293]

Flash in the pan 😅

[@JonahIronstone]

I hope you mean Mark Henry, because Mark Felix has been at WSM 18 times, and just retired from international competition last year. I think he still holds the world record for grip strength, though Kevin Faires and Gabi Dixson have been working on changing that.

[@Bren689]

​@@JonahIronstonedamn, the joke went WAY over your head, huh?

[@mikeanthony706]

Do the inverse. For those who became pros and never wanted to leave, pro years in the sport

[@bagaskarahadjarputra6070]

he's just announcing retirement only in WSM, but still competing in Giants Live if I'm not mistaken

[@LANDERS1978]

Cracking video that Loz, it's worth another episode as I am sure there will be other athletes

[@SneeMacher]

Thanks for the great video, really liked 'verdict' part and your takes

[@cardiac777]

I tip my hat to these lads of strongman, sad to see them go but also good to know what happened and why. Thanks Loz 👍🏻

[@raditzdaimao1357]

Great informative vid Big Loz 🙏

[@lesterthurtle9621]

What’s happened to the Scott Andy Black ?

[@dtosmanm4743]

I would assume lack of progress. He was basically the same very year at some point

[@A-A-RonDavis2470]

He had the body, but not the mind. He wasn't progressing, and he's only won one comp his whole career. He's barely podiumed either.

[@ShaunOnTheTubesMain]

I'm still curios as to what happened to Krzysztof Radzikowski not seen him since what... 2018? He was a seriously strong competitor and had amazing shoulder strength.

[@eznir84]

He had a nasty triceptear and never fully recovered to reach his full potential I feel, even though he won the strongman championsleague at one point

[@ShaunOnTheTubesMain]

@@eznir84 damn, always a shame when any strongman has a serious injury, let alone such a promising guy. I really believe he could have won wsm one year.

[@dtosmanm4743]

he got tired of constantly injuring himself

[@paulpirjol]

@Big Loz Official Great and well-informed video, my friend, I hope you're doing well

[@prostrongmanzack]

I enjoyed this one, great concept for a video and I would love to see more of these or videos following up with what happened to athletes after they left strong man

[@jakubk.8580]

Great video, wanted to see something like that for a long time. Great job u guys are doing. Loving it.

[@rrhaywood1235]

Absolutely love these videos. Brilliant work.

[@Schrodingers_kid]

Nice to see people from my country here

[@shahsurajbharat9888]

Thank you for making this. Always wondered what happened to the likes of Burke and Els, as they seem like guys who are social media friendly and could build a following. Big respect to them for following their own path though, and much respect to Mike Burke for not feeling he needed to air any dirty laundry regarding the fall out with Brian Shaw.

[@sarahstorr]

Great video. Thank you ❤

[@charlessavoie2367]

Scott Norton/Terry Szopinski/Sione Vailahi/Anatoli Pisarenko

[@svenske71]

Great video! love u loz

[@tonycapp9377]

This may just be me, but whatever happened to Derek Poundstone? I remember he looked a world beater for a few years but i never knew why he seemed to stop abruptly?

[@reavsie1]

Bicep injury I believe. Real shame, I thought he was going to dominate.

[@tonycapp9377]

@@reavsie1 Ah I see. I presumed it was an injury as like u said he had the tools to dominate. Thanks for the heads up

[@Truckerdaddy]

Injuries got him.

[@tonycapp9377]

@@Truckerdaddy Aye an all too familiar story. Cheers

[@ΛεωνιδαςΑργυρος]

What about Arild Haugen? He had enormous potential!

[@limitLess26-i9k]

Hey man , great content. I am wondering if you can reach Mariusz Pudzianowski and make a video together? We have endless footage of eddy, thor, brian workouts but, even though this guy won 5 times and has a great body, only training videos of him posted in the first years of youtube and low quality. I would love the watch him do shoulder presses etc.

[@aronhegedus]

Really cool video idea! Real shame about Pavlo, I was following his training leading up to his 505 attempt. I firmly believe there was a day where he could have pulled it either in his home gym or somewhere else. But his travel lead to him losing a LOT of weight. Shame

[@rayleneknight8718]

Love content like this!

[@ImmortalBikeRider]

Another great video and a very interesting topic

[@TheUrbanBeekeepers]

Robert Oberst!

[@rickswordfire4774]

Yes. What happened to him?

[@kylewhite5845]

Decided to tactically 0 all future strongman events

[@alexbryant5537]

He became an actor.

[@trident1314]

​@@rickswordfire4774who cares 😂

[@User-b9q2z]

​@@rickswordfire4774realized he can't win anything besides a shoulder press

[@unlockwall]

Top 10 biggest beefs between strongman next ?

[@branominal]

That'll just be Eddie vs Thor, and then 9 iterations of Kaz vs other competitors, organisers, even commentators

[@AdmiralRustyShackleford]

​@@branominal Don't forget Nathan Jones being a sore loser to MVM.

[@gio.u]

@@branominalalso don’t forget about Novikov vs Pavlo

[@mrRunist]

Also Shaw vs Savickas.

[@adamborivoj3048]

Damn! So many of these had so much potential. Maybe if the sport had paid more money back then, they wouldn't be forced to compete so often and gotten injured.

[@Eparker09]

Thanks for the Video Auntie Liz

[@thinkforyourself2109]

You could do a similar video for all the strongmen who ever competed and are now gone. This could be a multi-part series. There are many I can think of. I used to watch strongman contests al the time. Manfred is going way back.

[@mazboengineer]

Loved that ❤ thx Loz mate

[@DH1985-MB]

Awesome that, always wondered about Mike Burke, he was up there on his day. You could do another 10 easily.

[@Bossman_aus]

I always wondered what happened to Marko Varalati (I’m sure I spelt it wrong) never heard of him in 1995 he placed 3rd and I’ve never heard of him since.

[@sethpendergrass9255]

Shout out to Mike Burke! He was a favorite of mine as I was getting to know the sport. Wish he was around a bit longer.

[@craigj4979]

arild haugen is somebody I'd love to see on the channel he just disappeared aswell

[@Bbssochs]

Great video guys! 🙌🏽

[@Redsok]

Great vid sure can get a part 2 what happened to Arild Haughen, Dominic Filiou etc such talented guys who weren't around long.

[@dtosmanm4743]

Filiou died in 2019

[@Redsok]

@dtosmanm4743 Yeah another 1 to go young. I was interested in why he finished his career after only few years when appeared he'd only get better and possible contender. He seemed a natural & crazy genetics.

[@jonasbugge1841]

Arild Haugen: World Records in Stones his first competition. Got involved with the bad Company, left the sport for wrong decisions.

[@JEkglw]

​@automaticninjaassaultcat3703 what do you mean?

[@OJN1]

@@JEkglw He talks about steroids very openly and honestly, opening the curtain to steroid abuse, and what it can lead to for a lot of people (self deletion and mental problems etc). Him and Sven Karlsen has talked about starting a drug free Norwegian Strongman competition where there is rigid testing. And as demonstrated in the comment above yours, some people think he should shut up and not be honest about these things, for "the love of the sport".

[@skoromny]

You are forgot Arlid Haugen that was diamond in strongman.

[@FlyingDo]

Awesome Video!!! 🎉

[@DatBRejectz]

Great video... I feel like Poundstone and Vitas Lalas could have been in this list too,.but regardless, I really enjoyed it. 👍

[@mattysmith83]

What happened to Andy Black from Scotland? Haven't seen him in ages now

[@overmole3389]

I really liked watching Murumets compete back in the day 🇪🇪

[@cantilever]

Phil Martin. Made the WSM finals in 1995 and was on the scene for a couple more years. Strong as an ox and a character besides. Have no idea where he is or what he's doing now...

[@michaelkirkland6573]

Surprised to not see Arild Haugen on this list

[@Realtime1501]

Anton Boucher,mick and Richard gosling,Chris Gearing

[@willjaeger1878]

Brunning is the one I miss most. He was devastated after the injury. Big respect for Badger

[@norminpontu9905]

Always wondered about johan els

[@BuJammy]

Ted Van Der Paar? Did you ever do a "best to never win WSM"?

[@dtosmanm4743]

Ted should be in the "worst to ever win WSM" tbh

[@HectorCamacho67]

Where did Robert Oberst go?

[@HenDiesel]

He’s an actor now. He’s on Righteous Gemstones

[@themonsterunderyourbed9408]

He's more focused on social media.

[@andrewgilbertson5356]

Thank you

[@eliheinrichs1185]

11:41 numbers should be switched, should be 202-2018. Crazy to have an 1800 year career and we don't talk about his longevity

[@themonsterunderyourbed9408]

Are you talking about Mark Felix?

[@AlexanderMichelson]

I wonder where young Novikov disappeared. I heard he had horrible injuries but zero details. He was a beast for sure.

[@Jacksonboe21]

Hey you’ve got to respect Els for choosing to serve the Lord in his retirement. He was a quirky strongman, but pursuing a higher calling now, good for him.

[@branominal]

Not really, judging by his Instagram it's got smatterings of homophobia and then amusingly posts about not judging others

[@Maddolis]

Not when he was spreading hate while competing in the same contest as Rob.

[@Jacksonboe21]

@@Maddolis I said this already in a comment but it’s not here anymore, wonder why: calling out homosexuality and all sin is a necessary for those who serve Jesus wholeheartedly. It’s not the individual (Rob in this case) it’s the sin. It’s not spreading hate it’s calling out the behavior in hopes people come to Christ.

[@dtosmanm4743]

Els is actually not really mentally stable. He was crying way too much and a religious devout

[@Jacksonboe21]

@@dtosmanm4743 so he’s an emotional guy. Oh well, that’s looked upon favorably until it’s someone of faith.

[@johanels7611]

Love you Loz🤗

[@richard7586]

How about Marko Varalahti? Finland's Strongest Man 1995, 3rd place at World's 95, 3rd Place FSM 96, then never seen again.

[@keldsports8337]

Jorma Ojanaho is another name to add to the list. Only one WSM appearance in 96, an impressive one. Not certain, but I believe since Finland had the likes of Kiru, Varalahti and the rising Ahola and Virtanen, Jorma wasn’t invited back due to other Finish athletes already invited.

[@Maddolis]

I recall reading that Mike (Burke) wasn't happy with Brian getting together with his mate Mike Jenkins' widow so soon after his passing. Wouldn't take that as gospel but it seemed to be scuttlebutt back in the day.

[@dtosmanm4743]

that was true

[@douglasnisbet1189]

Such an interesting video.

[@damiensmith9240]

Eythor kind of disappeared, too. Says he's not retired, just been busy and may return to comp some time.

[@johanbarnard3435]

Johan Els was a massive talent and had huge potential Unfortunately he started his strongman career late in his life.

[@jeffwiman4451]

Hey Loz, wonder how many competitions Harold "Chief Iron Bear" Collins won? I remember he was in atleast 1 WSM maybe more I don't remember.

[@manreviews1174]

What about Like Richardson?

[@everythingstrength1485]

I do miss Bellsak dominating the SCL 👍

[@MrRiehu]

Arild "Hulk" Haugen should be in there

[@9256steven]

I do hope Pavlo does comeback.

[@Elsalover]

11:42 wow he went back in time

[@aaronbarlow4376]

Manfred Hoeberl had an insane physique for a strongman and could've won Mr Olympia if he trained for it. His arms were absolutely insane. Fun fact he was born in the same Austrian town as Arnold Schwarzenegger.

[@canalefit4819]

Gabriel Peña might well get an honourable mention here. I'm positive he won't be back anymore.

[@rachelpark8700]

He's competing in Fefor soon

[@canalefit4819]

@@rachelpark8700 A huge step down from where he used to stand. No hater here, just trying to be objective.

[@Crazyoldman84]

Dominic Filiou had potential to be an all time great. The guy was massive.

[@cbomcnasty]

Kevin Nee was the man, what a curse to be so strong that your body breaks

[@crazycjk]

What an athlete. Loz's Talking Strongman episode with him is one of my favourites

[@dokterkarel]

Pavlo Nakonechnyy was one of those young guys with the potential to become one of the strongest human beings on the planet. It must have broke him not only physically but also mentally when he was injured after the car crash.

[@captainsunshine64]

Such a shame to see athletes with a tonne of potential not be able to afford to compete. This video also shows the importance of not pushing too hard too soon, a lesson we can all follow even outside of sports