Eddie Hall

Hall was born on 15 January 1988 in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.[2] As a teenager, he was a successful competitive swimmer and rugby union player. Hall attended Clayton High School, but was expelled at the age of 15. Soon afterwards, he received in-home tutoring.[6] In 2008, he began working as a mechanic in the garage at the Robert Wiseman Dairies site in Market Drayton, Shropshire.[7] He trained and competed as a bodybuilder and entered the strongman circuit, having done a strongman competition at the Iceman gym in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. In 2010, Dave Meer of Tamworth, Staffordshire had to drop out of the England championships organised by Elite Strongman because of injury. He arranged for Hall to take his place and led to Hall making it into the 2010 finals, which he won on his first attempt by half a point.[8]

Hall finished first at the UK's Strongest Man 2011 competition in Belfast, with Ken Nowicki in 2nd and Rich Smith in 3rd.[9] His win was helped by setting a new national record in the "Viking Hold", hanging on to 20 kg (44lbs) axes in each hand at full stretch for one minute and 18 seconds. Hall tore tendons in an arm during the competition, but was hopeful of a spot at the World's Strongest Man in September. However, his improved ranking could only guarantee a spot for 2012, and he did not compete at WSM in 2011.[10]

Winning the UK title meant that Hall became the first choice to replace Jono MacFarlane of New Zealand in the Giants Live Melbourne event in February 2012, when the latter suffered a back injury.[11] He placed fourth in his first taste of international competition. Later, in April 2012, he was invited to compete at Europe's Strongest Man, another Giants Live event. This was held at Headingley Carnegie Stadium, home of the Leeds Rhinos rugby league team and Hall found himself competing alongside six of the ten finalists from World's Strongest Man 2011, including two-time World's Strongest Man, Žydrūnas Savickas. Hall finished in eighth place.[12]

In 2012, Hall competed at the World's Strongest Man competition, but did not progress beyond his qualifying group.

In April 2013, Hall failed to qualify for Europe's Strongest Man 2013. However, he was given a second chance when Ervin Katona was forced to retire due to injury. Hall competed in his place and came in eighth place. In April, Hall also featured on BBC One's Watchdog programme, who enlisted his help to test even the strongest of drivers in specific circumstances.[13] Hall competed at the 2013 World's Strongest Man competition later that year, winning two events in his heat but narrowly missing out on qualifying for the final.

In 2014, Hall reached the final for the first time, coming second in the Squat Lift event and ultimately finishing 6th. In March 2015, Hall achieved the world record for lifting the weight of 462 kg (1,019 lb; 72.8 st) in the deadlift.[14] The record was achieved at the Arnold Classic in Australia, and Arnold Schwarzenegger was present to cheer him on. He promptly broke his own record at the World Deadlift Championships 2015, with a 463 kg (1,021 lb; 72.9 st) deadlift.[15][16]

In 2015, he also finished 4th at the World's Strongest Man, an improvement of two places on the previous year.

In December 2015, a feature documentary about Hall, titled Eddie: Strongman, was released. The film, directed by Matt Bell and produced by Tom Swanston, follows Hall for two years of his life as he strives to become the strongest man in the world.

In March 2016, he achieved a new world record for the Elephant Bar deadlift in the Arnold Strongman Classic, by lifting 465 kg (1,025 lb).[17]

In July 2016, Hall set a new world record in the deadlift with a lift of 500 kg (1,102 lb)[5] besting the world record he had previously set at 465 kg (1,025 lb)[18] earlier that same day. The 500 kg lift made Hall pass out.[5][19] Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson lifted 501 kg (1,105 lb; 79 st) on 2 May 2020,[20] but the validity of this lift is disputed, as it was set in Björnsson's own gym and not at an official event.[21] Hall is the winner of the 2017 World's Strongest Man competition and announced his intention to retire from the World's Strongest Man and return to lower-weight competitions after expressing health-related concerns.[22] In an interview, Hall stated that a genetic analysis had shown that a genetic mutation that causes myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy contributed to his large muscle mass.[23]

In 2018, Hall appeared on the Channel 5 show Celebs In Solitary, where he attempted to spend five days in solitary confinement.[24]

In 2019, Hall presented the SPORTbible webseries Beasted!, where he, along with Luke Fullbrook and Chris Peil, helped guide 8 men through exercise plans and diets to improve their fitness.[25][26][27]

In competition:

• Deadlift world record with straps and suit – 500 kilograms (1,102 lb)[5][28] (former world record)
• Axle press – 216 kilograms (476 lb) (world record)
• Rogue Elephant Bar Deadlift with straps – 465 kilograms (1,025 lb)[17]
• Deadlift with straps – 463 kilograms (1,021 lb)
• Log lift – 213 kilograms (470 lb)
• Crossfit Grace – 60 kilograms (132 lb) for 30 repetitions in 50 seconds (World Record)

Gym lifts:

• Squat – 405 kilograms (893 lb)
• Bench press – 300 kilograms (661 lb) (equipped)[29]
• Leg press – 1,000 kilograms (2,205 lb) for 10 reps[30]
• Silver dollar deadlift – 536 kilograms (1,182 lb)[31] (former world record)

• Eddie Hall at IMDb
• Eddie Hall on Twitter