Martins Licis

Licis was born in Riga on September 28, 1990. He holds dual citizenship with Latvia and the United States, and speaks Latvian fluently. He represents the United States in competition, having moved there with his family at the age of four. He grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts. During summers, he visited his grandparents' farm in Latvia, where he was first introduced to stone lifting by his grandfather Imants Līcis, a sculptor who formerly competed in Olympic weightlifting. After being bullied at age 12, he turned to weight-training to, as he said, become “outrageously strong so that nobody can touch me.” Licis wrestled in high school and began competing in strongman contests while still a teenager. In 2010, Licis moved to California together with his friend Mikel Monleon. Licis eventually found a job as a personal trainer in West Hollywood, and later found out about the Odd Haugen All-American Strength Classic. Through this, Haugen invited Licis to train at his gym, but only let him compete in the Strength Classic three years later in 2015. ==Career==

In 2015, Licis placed first in the Odd Haugen All-American Strength Classic. In 2016, Licis reached the World's Strongest Man finals for the first time and placed sixth. He placed fourth in the World's Strongest Man finals in 2017 and 2018. Licis' first pro triumph came in 2017 at the Ultimate Strongman Summermania, winning the competition representing his home country Latvia. In 2019, Licis came in second during the Arnold Strongman Classic, behind Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. In June later that year, however, he won his first World's Strongest Man title, beating out defending champion Hafþór, who finished in third after suffering a torn plantar fascia in his left foot during the heats that significantly hampered him in the final. Licis also placed ahead of Mateusz Kieliszkowski who placed second, and 4-time World's Strongest Man winner Brian Shaw who placed sixth, still recovering from a hamstring injury sustained in the Arnold Strongman Classic earlier in March of the same year. At the Arnold Strongman Classic, Licis finished 3rd, behind the winner Hafþór and the second place Kieliszkowski. Licis spent most of the 2020 and 2021 strongman season in recovery, with his ultimate comeback taking place in the inaugural Rogue Invitational Strongman competition in 2021, which boasted the biggest prize purse in the history of strongman competition with four WSM champions competing. Licis beat Tom Stoltman and Oleksii Novikov to win the competition and a top prize of $133,685. The next day he set a new record in Thor's Hammer Lift by lifting a 136-kilogram (300-pound) hammer. In March 2022, at the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic, Licis performed consistently well in all five events, with first, second, or third finishes in all but one event. His win in the last event Stone-to-Shoulder for Reps secured him the title of the Arnold Strongman Classic for the first time, after finishing runner-up and third place in 2019 and 2020. In May 2022, Licis returned to World's Strongest Man for the first time since winning the 2019 contest. He finished 2nd, behind the winner Tom Stoltman and beating Oleksii Novikov on a tie breaker. In November 2022, Licis competed at the 2022 Rogue Invitational looking to defend the title he won the year before. He picked up a bicep injury midway through the competition and finished 4th. In March 2024, Licis competed at the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic, but finished in a disappointing 8th place. In April 2024, Licis withdrew from the 2024 World's Strongest Man competition due to sciatica in his right leg, and stated that he would take eight months off from strongman competitions to recover. In March 2026, Licis competed at the 2026 Arnold Strongman Classic, after a two year hiatus from the sport. He was the oldest at 35 years old out of all 9 competitors competing in the male Strongman division. He finished in 3rd place, taking his place on the podium alongside 1st place winner Mitchell Hooper and 2nd place winner Austin Andrade, with no injuries. With only two points separating him from first place, many fans saw this as a comeback, although he has stated many times on his Youtube Channel that this "may be my final year competing" and this is "my last year competing". He will compete in Worlds Strongest Man 2026 in Myrtle Beach. Strength Unknown In 2022, Licis and his friend/editor/handler Romark Weiss initiated the 'Strength Unknown' YouTube series where they explore hidden strength cultures around the world. The franchise has released 37 episodes covering Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Basque county in Spain, Georgia, China including Tibet, Mongolia, Japan, Polynesian islands, Pakistan, Greece and Burkina Faso. During a 2025 episode in Norway, Licis pulled the 16-ton Myklebust ship—a full-scale replica of the largest Viking ship ever discovered—single-handedly from the Sagastad Viking Center in Nordfjordeid. Twitch Channel and Social Media Martins Licis currently streams semi-regularly on his Twitch channel, showcasing his workouts, along with his videogaming sessions and painting sessions. At the time of this posting, he currently has ~400k followers on his Instagram. He also maintains an active community on Discord with fans all over the world. == Personal records ==

• Rogue Elephant bar Deadlift – (Raw with straps) (2019 Arnold Strongman Classic) • IronMind S-Cubed bar Deadlift – (with deadlift suit and straps) (2017 World's Strongest Man) • Axle bar Deadlift with wheels (for reps) (with deadlift suit and straps) – x 8 reps (2018 Giants Live World Tour Finals) (Joint-World Record) • Barrel Deadlift – x 7 reps in 47.00 seconds (2018 World's Strongest Man - Group 4) • Deadlift Static Hold – for 41.25 seconds (2019 World's Strongest Man) • Silver Dollar Deadlift – (2018 World's Ultimate Strongman) • Sorinex Saxon bar Deadlift – (2024 LA FIT Expo - Grip Contest) (Former World Record) • IronMind Rolling Thunder (V2) – (2016 Visegrip Viking) • IronMind Little Big Horn – (2012 Visegrip Viking, San Jose) • Double overhand Axle Deadlift – (2016 Visegrip Viking) • Double T Squat (with suit) – (2022 Arnold Strongman Classic) • Giant Barbell Squat (for reps) – x 9 reps (single-ply suit w/ wraps) (2019 World's Strongest Man) • Giant Barbell Squat (for reps) – × 13 reps (single-ply suit w/ wraps) (2017 World's Strongest Man) • Steinborn Squat – (2019 Arnold Strongman Classic) (World Record) • Flintstone barbell split jerk (behind the neck) – (2022 World's Strongest Man) • Log press – (2022 Arnold Strongman Classic) • Axle press – (2018 World's Strongest Man) • Cyr Dumbbell press – (2020 Arnold Strongman Classic) • Giant Dumbbell press – x 3 reps (2022 Arnold Strongman Classic) • Bale Tote – for 3.78 meters (2017 Arnold Strongman Classic) • Timber carry – (10 meter ramp) in 10.03 seconds (Raw grip) (2022 Arnold Strongman Classic) • Hercules hold ( in each hand) – 50.94 seconds (2019 Giants Live Wembley) • Thor's Hammer one arm grip lift – (2021 Rogue Invitational) (World Record) • Atlas Stones – 5 Stones weighing in 20.37 seconds (2019 Giants Live Wembley) • Atlas Stones – 5 Stones weighing in 18.73 seconds (2018 Giants Live World Tour Finals) • Inver Stones over hitching post – 5 Stones weighing in 23.53 seconds (2021 Rogue Invitational) (World Record) • Inver Stone press – (2020 Arnold Strongman Classic) (Joint-World Record) • Húsafell Stone carry – for (2019 Arnold Strongman Classic) • Odd Haugen tombstone to shoulder - x 2 reps (2019 Arnold Strongman Classic) • Sandbag over bar – over 4.57 metres (15 ft 0 in) (2020 Arnold Strongman Classic) • Bankier sack carry – for (2019 Arnold USA) (Joint-World Record) • Rogue-a-Coaster (arm over arm pull) - over a 54 ft inclined ramp in 33.83 seconds (2022 Rogue Invitational) (World Record) • Conan's Wheel of Pain – 36.50 meters (119 3/4 feet) (2019 Arnold Strongman Classic) (World Record) ==Competitive record==

Winning percentage: 30.76%Podium percentage: 69.23% ==Submission grappling==

Licis made his submission grappling debut in the beginner over 100 kg division at the ADCC San Diego Open on January 18, 2025 and submitted both of his opponents to win a gold medal. He was then promoted to blue belt in jiu-jitsu by his coach Thiago Rodrigues on March 6, 2025. ==Filmography==

Television ==Media appearances==

In May 2020, Licis appeared on Game On! as an obstacle, engaging contestants in a strength contest. In August 2020, Licis appeared on an episode of To Tell The Truth with two other people all of them claiming to be the reigning World's Strongest Man. In March 2021, Licis appeared in a Geico commercial titled "Worlds Strongest Man Takes On The Recycling". ==References==