Brian Shaw is the strongest man in the world. That's not just hyperbole on our part - he's the current title holder, as he has been three times previously this decade. At 6' 8" and weighing 425 lbs (that's more than 190 kilograms), Brian Shaw is undoubtedly a big man worth featuring.
A strong start
Shaw has always been big and strong - as a kid his classmates would climb onto his back to see how many he could carry, his mother told the New Yorker. As a young man Shaw played basketball, but it wasn't until he got into weight training that he found out what he really wanted to do with his size: become the world's strongest man. And he's achieved it - Shaw has just won the 2016 World's Strongest Man competition, narrowly beating previous Big Man of the Month Hafthor Björnsson. But that's just one of the many titles Shaw's achieved.
To maintain his strength Shaw trains four or five days a week and eats seven meals a day.
Shaw's massive achievements
This year's win is the fourth time Shaw has taken the World's Strongest Man title, previously winning the competition in 2011, 2013 and 2015. He won the 2011 and 2015 Arnold Strongman Classic, and holds the world record for various feats of strength including the 825 lb Squat, the 880 lb Deadlift, and the 1,140 lb strapped Hummer Tire Lift, according to the World's Strongest Man site.
To maintain his strength Shaw trains four or five days a week and normally eats seven meals a day. To get an idea of just how big Shaw is, check out this photo of him next to Arnie:
That's right - the little guy on the left is the Terminator.
Shaw's commitment to competition
We think Shaw's worth featuring not only because of his physical strength, but also because of his strength of character. Shaw is a man who knows what he wants and is willing to go to intense lengths to achieve it.
During the first event of the 2012 WSM competition Shaw detached his bicep. Rather than drop out, he completed the following four events despite the injury, eventually coming in fourth place.
"That's still one of my top performances, everything considered," he told Esquire. "Finishing in fourth with that going on is pretty crazy."
Pretty crazy is something of an understatement, though. The injury was serious enough that it required surgery involving drilling a hole through his radius, trimming back his shredded tendon and then attaching the two with a titanium button. But he hasn't let the injury and recuperation hold him back in the long run, as his world titles prove.
A big family man
With all his training Shaw spends a lot of time in the gym, so his style runs pretty casual. And beyond his career, Shaw's life focuses on his family. He has a wife and son that are a huge part of an already huge life.
"I have to say there is no better feeling ... than coming home to my wife and son," Shaw writes on his Instagram.
And the rest of his family are proud of his success and his drive. His sister Julie told the New Yorker about how she thinks her (then 1-year-old) son will look up to his uncle:
"I'm sure Caiden will want to bring Brian in for show-and-tell—holy cow! he's like a superhero!"
What the future holds
What's next for the World's Strongest Man? For the time being, he's going to carry on doing what he's doing, as best as he can. But he acknowledges it may not be what he does forever.
"I haven't set a time that I want to stop competing," he told Esquire. "Obviously if I lose the fire or drive to want to compete, that's a good time to hang it up. But I've always set big goals for myself."
