Brian Shaw (strongman)

Shaw was born in Fort Lupton, Colorado, on February 26, 1982, Both of his parents were taller than average, with his father standing at and his mother . Shaw's mother has also noted that Brian had uncles of exceptional stature on both sides of his family tree. He then attended Otero Junior College in La Junta, Colorado. There, he was able to form an inside combination with current Louisiana State University-Alexandria Head Women's Basketball Coach Bob Austin. Shaw was one of the team leaders for the Rattlers in his sophomore season. Following Otero, he went to Black Hills State University where he was on a full basketball scholarship and received a degree in wellness management. During his basketball career, Shaw was "hooked on the weights" and he has said that the weight room was his "sanctuary". In his own words, "I've always been able to do this. The biggest tire, the heaviest stone ... I've always been able to walk up and lift it. Odd strength is what it is, not weight-room strength. It's brute strength". ==Career==

2005–2006 Shaw began his career as a strongman with a win when he entered the Denver's Strongest Man contest in October 2005. He had entered with no formal training. Just seven months later in June 2006, he joined the professional ranks and his successes continued. Shaw won the inaugural Jón Páll Sigmarsson Classic on November 21, 2010. Shaw won the Strongman Super Series Swedish Grand Prix and became the 2010 overall Super Series champion on December 18, 2010. This was Shaw's second consecutive overall Super Series championship. 2011–2012 In 2011, Shaw once again participated in the World's Strongest Man competition. Going into the final event, the Atlas Stones, Shaw was tied with two-time champion Zydrunas Savickas. Shaw beat Savickas in the final event, taking 1st place. Shaw also won the 2011 Arnold Strongman Classic, becoming the fourth man to do so (after Mark Henry, Savickas, and Derek Poundstone). Doing so, he became the first man to win both the Arnold Strongman Classic and the World's Strongest Man in the same year. However, in March 2012, at the 2012 Arnold Strongman Classic, Shaw suffered a left distal biceps tendon rupture in the first event, the Apollon Wheel,. While he finished the event, he only finished 4th overall, missing out on a podium finish. This injury affected Shaw's performance in the 2012 World's Strongest Man Competition, resulting in him falling out of the podium for the first time since 2009. 2013–2014 In the 2013 World's Strongest Man competition, 13 weeks after surgery to repair his left biceps tendon, Shaw led Savickas into the final event (again the Atlas Stones) and again beat Savickas to win the competition. He broke Savickas' record in the deadlift, lifting 442.5 kg (975.5 lbs). He also won his inaugural national title by winning 2013 America's Strongest Man. In 2014, Shaw placed 2nd overall in the Arnold Strongman Classic and 3rd overall in World's Strongest Man. He won 2014 North America's Strongest Man. 2015–2016 Shaw also won the 2015 and 2016 World's Strongest Man competitions. This made him one of five men to have won four World's Strongest Man competitions, together with Mariusz Pudzianowski (the only man with five), Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Magnús Ver Magnússon and Žydrūnas Savickas. Shaw also won the 2015 Arnold Strongman Classic competition, repeating his feat of winning both the Arnold Strongman Classic and the World's Strongest Man in the same year. Shaw also won Americas Strongest Man for the second time in 2016. 2017 In 2017, Shaw competed in both the World's Strongest Man and the Arnold Strongman Classic competitions. Shaw won the Arnold Strongman Classic, but later in the year, he finished 3rd at the World's Strongest Man, behind the winner Eddie Hall and runner-up Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. 2018 In March 2018, Shaw competed in the 2018 Arnold Strongman Classic, finishing 2nd place overall with 41.5 points to winner Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson's 46. Shaw secured another podium finish at the 2018 World's Strongest Man after emerging 3rd behind Björnsson, who won his first World's Strongest Man competition, and runner-up Mateusz Kieliszkowski. In October 2018, Shaw competed in the inaugural World's Ultimate Strongman which contained one of the most stacked lineups of all-time. Shaw struggled with some of the events including the deadlift where he had trained with a different bar height and the yoke walk where the stage cracked under the combined weight of Shaw and the yoke, causing him to briefly drop the yoke and increase his time. However he performed well, lifting all the objects in the overhead medley and was separated from leader Björnsson by 5.5 points going into the sixth and final event. In the sixth and final event, the Atlas Stones, Shaw lifted all five stones but this was not enough to surpass Bjornsson, leaving Shaw in second place. 2019 In March 2019, Shaw competed at the 2019 Arnold Strongman Classic. In his third attempt in the first event, the Rogue elephant bar deadlift, trying to keep up with Björnsson, Shaw tore his left hamstring. While he was able to complete four of the five events, he ultimately withdrew before the final event, finishing in 8th place. He had not finished below 2nd place in his previous six years in this contest. His next competition was the 2019 World's Strongest Man held in June 2019, where he finished in 6th place, falling out of podium position for the first time since 2012. His final event of the year was the World's Ultimate Strongman in Dubai, where he finished in 4th place. 2020 On January 18, 2020, Shaw placed second overall at the Arnold Strongman USA, behind the winner Martins Licis. As he failed to win the contest, he did not qualify for the 2020 Arnold Strongman Classic for the first time in 11 years. On November 15, 2020, Shaw placed fifth overall at the 2020 World's Strongest Man competition, failing to make the podium. Shaw placed seventh in the Giant's Medley, fifth in the partial deadlift, sixth in the Hercules Hold, and seventh in the Log Ladder. On December 11, 2020, he hosted the first Shaw Classic competition. Shaw hosted, organized, and paid out the purses for the competition. Rogue provided equipment for the competition with Trifecta announced as a sponsor. Shaw invited an All-Star cast of ten Strongmen to compete including the reigning Worlds Strongest Man Oleksii Novikov (who finished third.) Shaw would end up winning the competition and forfeiting his winning purse giving the winners share to the rest of the athletes. All ten competitors walked away with a share of the winning pool which included money Shaw invested, GoFundMe donations, and pay-per-view earnings. 2021 In the 2021 World's Strongest Man Competition, Shaw placed 2nd behind Scottish Strongman Tom Stoltman, his first podium finish since 2018. In the event he qualified for his record 13th WSM final, breaking a tie held by him and Zydrunas Savickas. All 13 of these finals were consecutive, another record. He also extended his own record by appearing in his 14th consecutive WSM contest, and equaled the record 10 podium finishes of Savickas. Shaw also set a new world record in the keg toss for height, clearing a height of (his previous record of m was broken by 4 other men in the competition). Brian also finished in 2nd and 7th place at the Shaw Classic and Rogue Invitational later that year. 2022 In the 2022 World's Strongest Man Competition, Shaw placed 4th in the final and extended his record for consecutive WSM competitions to 15 and consecutive WSM finals to 14. He was also the runner-up at the 2022 Shaw Classic. 2023 In 2023, he announced that he would compete in two competitions prior to retiring, the World's Strongest Man and the Shaw Classic. Prior to World's Strongest Man, he contracted an infection in his leg requiring hospitalization and IV antibiotics. He recovered in time for his record extending 16th consecutive WSM competition. He competed in group four and finished in second behind Jaco Schoonwinkel. He had to face off against the third place finisher in his group Rauno Heinla in a stone off and was victorious advancing to his record-extending 15th final. He ended up finishing in 7th place in the final. A new award, the Knaack Tools of the Strongman Award, was also awarded to both Shaw and veteran strongman Mark Felix. The award was voted on by the athletes to recognize the hardest working athlete in the year's competition. In the 2023 Shaw Classic, his final professional strongman competition, he scored the overall win by seven points over Mitchell Hooper to become a two-time Shaw Classic champion. ==Competitive record==

Placements: 30 x 1st places, 16 x 2nd places and 7 x 3rd places = 53 x podium finishes from 72 total competitions. • Winning percentage: 41.5% at International circuit & 42.9% at National circuit • Podium percentage: 73.8% at International circuit & 71.4% at National circuit • Top 5 percentage: 86.2% at International circuit & 85.7% at National circuit ==Personal records==

During competitions • IronMind S-Cubed Bar Deadlift (with straps) – (2017 World's Strongest Man) (former joint-world record) • Ironmind S-Cubed Bar Deadlift at partial deficit (with straps) – (2016 World's Strongest Man) (joint-world record) • Silver Dollar Deadlift (18 in) (with straps) – (2018 World's Ultimate Strongman) • Hummer tyre Deadlift (15 in) (with straps) – (2014 Arnold Strongman Classic) • Car Deadlift (for reps) – x 12 reps (2018 World's Strongest Man) (joint-world record) • IronMind Rolling Thunder (V1) – (2008 Rolling Thunder World Championships) • Giant Barbell Squat (for reps) – × 13 reps (single-ply suit w/ wraps) (2017 World's Strongest Man) • Log Lift – × 2 reps (2014 Arnold Strongman Classic) • Axle Press – (2011 Giants Live London) • Flintstone barbell push press (behind the neck) – (2022 World's Strongest Man) • Cyr Dumbbell press (for reps) – x 3 reps (2016 Arnold Strongman Classic) (World Record), Shaw has broken this world record a total of 3 times ever since he did it first with onto a 4 ft 6 in barrel in 2014 and over 4 ft bar in 2016 • Manhood Stone (Max Atlas Stone) for reps – x 4 reps over 4 ft bar (2011 Arnold Strongman Classic) (World Record) Shaw has also done x 3 reps over 4 ft bar in 2013 ASC • Atlas Stones – 5 Stones weighing in 14.20 seconds (2010 Giants Live Turkey) (World Record)5 Stones weighing in 17.76 seconds (2010 Giants Live South Africa) (World Record)6 Stones weighing 19.05 seconds (2014 Força Bruta) (World Record) • Africa Stone – for (2010 Giants Live South Africa) • Bale Tote – (4 meter course) in 14.87 seconds (2017 Arnold Strongman Classic) (World Record) • Keg Toss – 8 kegs over bar in 16.59 seconds (2014 World's Strongest Man) (former world record) • Keg Toss – over bar (2021 World's Strongest Man) (former world record) • Sandbag over bar – over (2018 Arnold Strongman Classic) • Kettlebell toss (for speed) – 7 bells () over in 42.07 seconds (2015 World's Strongest Man, group 1) (World Record) • Tyre flip – x 6 flips in 27.28 seconds (2017 World's Strongest Man) (World Record) • Power Stairs (3 x Duck walks / total of 15 steps) – 37.81 seconds (2015 World's Strongest Man) • Arm over arm uphill boat pull – for 20m course in 32.44 seconds (2009 World's Strongest Man) (World Record) • Conan's Wheel of Pain – 28.96 meters (95 1/16 feet) (2019 Arnold Strongman Classic) • Truck pull – for 25 meter course 'uphill' in 40.56 seconds (2014 World's Strongest Man) (World Record) • Viking boat pull – for 18 meter course 'uphill' in 44.05 seconds (2019 Strongest Man in History TV show) (World Record) • Trap Bar Deadlift (for reps) – x 8 reps • Hummer Tyre Deadlift (15 in from the floor) (with straps) – • Rack pull/ hip lift – x 3 reps (Weight resistance measured at very top of the pull. The lift was done using resistance bands, hip harness and a loaded barbell and belt squat machine) • Squat – • Safety bar 'bottom-up' Squat – x 3 reps, x 5 reps (Bottom up portion of the lift only. Weight resistance measured at very top of the squat. The lifts were done using resistance bands and the loaded SSB) • Bench press – × 2 reps • Dumbbell bench press – dumbbells in each hand × 5 reps • Log press – • Manhood Stone (Max Atlas Stone) – x 2 reps • Dinnie Stone carry in farmers walk style (with the original stones) – for (former world record) • Inch Dumbbell one hand lift (grip), both left and right hands at the same time – and (4.3 and 3.7 lb heavier than the original) with 2 " (6.03 cm) diameter handlesDouble Inch dumbbell lifts, converted into incline presses – 5 reps (former world record) • Millennium Dumbbell one hand lift (grip), left and right – dumbbell with 2 " (6.03 cm) diameter handle • IronMind Little Big Horn – (former unofficial world record) • Captains of Crush Grippers – No.3 (/ RGC 149 of pressure) • Pinch grip and lifting a pair of York plates – x 2 York deep-dish barbell plates • Blob run – 19 x 2nd gen York blobs weighing 13–71 lb (6–32 kg) raised to a 1 ft platform in 41 seconds (unofficial world record) :→ Starts with a half 30 which goes in increments of 5 until the half 100 Sorin blob (#15 of the run) and goes in increments of 10 until the half 130 Blobzilla (#18 of the run) and ends with the half 150 Shaw blob. • Indoor Rowing – 100 meters in 12.8 seconds (former unofficial world record) ==Arm wrestling==

2024 Shaw started his Armwrestling career on December 14, when he faced Eddie Hall at King Of The Table 13 in a right handed best of 7 supermatch. He was trained by Devon Larratt. He won the match 4-2. 2025 Shaw faced Brandon Allen on August 15, Allen who had previously defeated Larry Wheels, Shaw was nonetheless able to defeat him by winning the match at the Shaw Classic 3-1. Becoming his second supermatch win in his newly started Armwrestling career. 2026 Shaw faced Leonidas Arkona on April 18 at East vs West 23 in Germany, but was defeated 2-3. Arkona overcame an weight gap and pinned Shaw three times while Shaw's scoring came as a result of fouls, not being able to pin Arkona even once. Notable matches ==Personal life==

Brian married his wife Keri in 2015. Keri was formerly married to strongman competitor Mike Jenkins until his death in 2013. The couple have two sons, Braxton and Kellen, and they live in Brighton, Colorado. ==Other ventures==

Shaw has a YouTube channel, SHAWSTRENGTH, which has videos of training footage, fitness and strength challenges, and eating challenges. Eddie Hall is also seen occasionally on his videos. Shaw was one of four strongmen to be featured in the History Channel series, The Strongest Man in History, which premiered on July 10, 2019. On the first episode of the show, he pulled a viking ship on a incline course which translates the weight to around in 44.05 seconds. On the third episode, he lifted, via the very top of a yoke squat, a platform and water-filled barrels weighing . Even though the range of motion here was approximately an inch, this is considered the heaviest partial squat of all time. Shaw is also the owner of the supplement brand Undefined Nutrition and the supportive gear equipment company Evolution Athletics. ==Filmography==

Film Television ==Bibliography==