Phil Pfister Strongman Profile Photo taken by Sami Koskinen The much-touted American strongman phenomenon that is Phil Pfister has granted us all this opportunity to get to learn a little more about the man behind the record of victories. Many of his proponents accurately claim that Pfister has only been beat by one American in head-to-head competition. However, Pfister is not without his detractors. Some have pointed to his self-admitted lack of gym strength as his weakness. Pfister has come a long way in a short amount of time to begin to remedy this situation. One thing is for certain about Phil Pfister…as it stands right now he is one of the Americans that strongmen world-wide are gunning for. Vital Statistics Birth date: May 15, 1971 Height: 6 feet five inches Weight: 310 pounds (give or take 5 pounds) Occupation: Professional firefighter Sponsors: BALZOUT clothing manufacturer Interview conducted on July 25, 2000 WSL: First of all Mr. Pfister, I want to thank you for giving us all this opportunity. Pfister: No problem. WSL: Let’s begin this interview with a simple question. Before you competed in the sport of strongman, what sort of other sports or activities did you undertake? Pfister: Skateboarding. I didn’t play football in high school or any other sport. I just skated. WSL: So that begs the question…how and why and when did you get started in the sport of strongman? Pfister: Well, I guess I’m like anyone nowadays….I saw the World Strongest Man (WSM) competition on ESPN and thought it was cool. When I went to my first WSM, I had no idea who anyone was. I hadn’t seen most of the events like the powerstairs and the cask circle. I mean you got to remember that WSM 1998 was only my third contest ever. I was cocky, confident and thought that I could win. I knew that I lacked experience. I knew that would be my weak spot. Nowadays, I know my weak point is in brute strength and endurance—especially my lower back. Anyone who knows me can tell you that. WSL: You mentioned that a lack of brute strength is a weak point. Would you care to share with us some of your best gym lifts? Pfister: My best bench is 405 for a double. I’ve done an 805-pound partial deadlift and only a 675-pound full pull from the ground. I think I’ve done 550 [squat] for one with only knee wraps and a belt. Photo taken by Sami Koskinen WSL: Well then to what do you attribute your success in strongman then? Pfister: I really credit my success to three things. First is genetics. I guess I am just naturally strong—if there ever was such a thing. I mean everyone knows about my big hands. I also have big wrists. I think I have the heaviest skeletal frame in the sport. I’m not taking muscularity. I know I have lots of room to grow in that department. I’m still very, very green in this sport. I’ve only been competing for 26 months. I have lots of room to grow in terms of strength and conditioning. Second, I think is mindset. I have this way to approach things. In most situations, I can be calm, relaxed and confident—not anxious. Third is technique development through practice in contest-like scenarios. I have every event you could dream of. It’s a pain in the ass to drag them out, to do them and practice them in the dirt and mud. I think it makes things mentally easier come competition time. Most people, when they come to a competition sight unseen, have a lot of anxiety about their abilities, but not if they are familiar with what’s going on. I mean it’s as much mental conditioning as it is physical conditioning. My ideal is to make an implement playground where the events are already set up for me to play with. Where I can do a dozen or so events per day. Not going all out, but somewhere between 60% to 80% maximum effort. Photo originally appeared on samson-power.com WSL: Of all the past strongmen that you are ware of throughout history, who do you admire and why? Pfister: Kaz and Brookfield. Both of those guys are like from another planet. [I admire] Kaz for his mental attitude. He is so focused, intense and confident. He has such a strong belief in who he is. He centered his whole life around being the strongest and made it so. There will never be nor has there ever been another man like him. [I admire] John Brookfield because he is plain strong. No one ever has or ever will have stronger hands than this guy has. I mean I’ve gone to see him a few times. He’s also come here to see me. He is so strong. WSL: A lot of discussion has been made lately, especially on the internet. About a perceived strongman gap here in the US…in that the American athletes are far behind the Europeans. Would you care to comment on that? Pfister: I sure would. I’ve heard of this gap. There’s been a lot of discussion about it. If anything, I think it is a cultural gap. A cultural thing. Americans have the ability and the talent. We just don’t have the opportunity or the exposure yet. There just aren’t enough quality contests. I mean there are several here in America who are handling 400-pound stones and loading them. In Kokomo, three Americans loaded the five stones. Americans are pushing the envelope. I think we will narrow the gap more and more. I think it will be frightening in the next five years. I mean we just used 330-pound farmer’s walk implements in Kokomo. I think in America we are going through a Renaissance in strongman. WSL: Several people have commented on your psyche, your emotional manner of competing or your vocalness. Would you care to comment on that? Pfister: Huh. Funny you should mention that. The cameras only get little bits of the competition. I mean most people who know me or have met me say I’m very laid back. They think that they feel that they would see me out in California on a surfboard with a joint in hand, but then I compete and the “Wolfman” comes out. It’s like I’m someone completely different. I remember my first competition. It was in Burlington, Iowa. The very first event….Whit [Baskin] would tell you this…it was an oxygen cylinder cheat curl for reps event. I yelled from beginning to end---the whole time. I took a rest holding on to the cylinder for about two minutes because there was no time involved. I remember turning, looking at my competitors who were watching me. I grimaced. Then, I yelled again, reping out on the curls again. They all thought I was bizarre, crazy and psycho. That’s how I got called “Wolfman.” I don’t scream that much anymore. What I do do a lot is pray. I pray a lot because this shit is scary. I just pray God keeps me safe and strong. I put it all in His hands. I mean He’s made me into a strongman with some degree of success and a top American strongman. It’s become part of my self-identity. It gives me a new sense of destiny. I see my fate in it. I want to work with kids and be a positive role model for them. Strongman has turned me and brought me closer to God. It’s a spiritual thing. God’s will. Photo originally appeared on samson-power.com WSL: Is there anything else you would like to say to your fans out there? Pfister: Yes. Train hard and compete! WSL: Thank you Phil for this opportunity.