Sky is the limit for Strongman Tom... and brother Luke is not for slowing down either

STANDING at 6ft 3ins and weighing 364lbs, Luke Stoltman safely qualifies as a man mountain. But next to his younger brother Tom, even he looks small.

A mere 6ft 8ins tall and tipping the scales at 408lbs, Tom Stoltman is now a three-time World’s Strongest Man having reclaimed his title earlier this month with victory in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

A keen footballer who was invited along to trials with Ross County and Rangers in his youth, Tom has always had a hand in sport. However, having seen Luke, 10 years his senior, take up and excel at Strongman, the younger Stoltman quit football and dove into weight training aged 16.

With his bigger brother acting as coach inside a year of weight training, Tom quickly displayed an aptitude for Strongman and Luke had no hesitation in helping his younger sibling navigate that new world.

‘Tom is a phenomenon, I knew that early on from taking him to the gym,’ says Luke. ‘Everything just seemed easy for him. I knew his potential early on and, of course, it was easy to accept (that he could go as far, if not further, than me).

‘There is nothing that makes me more proud and happier than seeing Tom at the top of the world and being discussed as one of the best to ever do the sport. To overcome what he has done in his life to be here now is the stuff of Hollywood films.’

As well as winning World’s Strongest Man in three of the last four years, Tom holds numerous records for the discipline, including the world record for lifting five (light set) Atlas Stones — weighing between 100 and 180kg — in 16.01 seconds. He also holds the record for a single lift of an Atlas Stone, weighing in at 286kg, over a 48ins barrier. It’s no wonder he’s nicknamed King of the Stones.

The first Brit to win the global crown three times, as well as the first to do it back to back in 2021 and 2022, reigning champion Tom still has his sights set on the overall record of World’s Strongest Man titles, currently held by Mariusz Pudzianowski, who has five under his belt, the last of which came aged 31.

‘The way I feel just now, I think it’s achievable,’ admits Tom. ‘I would obviously love to. WSM is such a special competition and the title every man competing in Strongman wants.

‘Maruisz was an amazing athlete too, so to even be considered as someone who could potentially match his feat, that is an honour in itself.’

It hasn’t always been easy for either brother. Both have previously spoken about the sad passing of their mother, Sheila, in 2016 and how they use her influence to inspire them to success within Strongman.

Not only that, Tom has been diagnosed with autism. Though many use the term and suggest it is a disability, to Tom it is his ‘superpower’ and hopes he can show others with the condition that it isn’t a barrier to achieving their goals.

‘It’s very important (around the gym and in competitions),’ he says. ‘There can be a stigma around it, and people can call it a disability and in general not understand it.

‘In truth, there can be positives about living with autism, and I want to inspire people to see that you can achieve great things and most importantly help educate people about it.

‘I called it my superpower after winning my first WSM title. At that point I was no longer the autistic kid that was being held back, I had channelled it to help me focus on achieving my goal of becoming the world’s strongest man.’

Once again, Tom’s special power came into its own at the start of this month in Myrtle Beach, where he was never out of the top three in any of the six events.

The only man of an elite field to complete the Atlas Stones challenge in the final event, Tom took joint first place in the third challenge, the Keg Toss. Strongmen were tasked with throwing a 15kg keg overhead, highest throw wins. There was another new record for the Albatross, at 7.76metres, though he was forced to share the accolade with Mitchell Hooper and Wesley Derwinsky.

It’s that consistency over the last few seasons which has seen Tom rise to the top of the sport and reclaiming his crown this year was all the more special having Luke on hand to present him with his trophy.

‘That was a beautiful surprise by the organisers, they know how special our bond is and obviously Luke is such a huge part of my story. When I win, he wins — it was really special,’ says Tom.

‘Last year’s result was the incentive I needed to work harder after winning two years in a row, We assessed and made a plan of how to get the title back, and fortunately everything came into place.’

Like his brother, Luke has also struggled and is using his experiences to help others. Whether it be through training, leading a healthy lifestyle or a dip into the North Sea, the Stoltmans are massive advocates for using the gym and sport to help process and handle mental traumas.

‘(The gym is) extremely important, and I try to tell as many people as possible the benefits from training,’ says Luke. ‘Being healthy, active and strong are to be shouted about.

‘I’m a huge advocate for cold water therapy too. I try and start most days by getting into the North Sea. It helps me reset and clear my mind for what’s ahead in the day and if I get to see a sunrise doing it, even better. That’s something I feel a lot of energy from.

‘We train 4-5 days a week and sessions last between 2-5 hours depending on what stage we are at in the run up to a competition, while the event specific training days are the ones that take longer (3.5-5hrs).

‘Recovery and rest is just as important, so we will ensure we have 2 days — usually weekends — off per week.

‘With the hectic schedule through the year there isn’t really a lot of time off. This year we have lined up competitions in January, March, April, May, July, August, October and November. And consistency is the key, the sport is getting a lot more competitive, so we know we need to put the work in to stay at the top of our game.’

Even at the age of 39, Luke can still hold his own against the best from around Europe and the world. It was just earlier this year that he became a two-time Europe’s Strongest Man, reclaiming the title he last won in 2021 ahead of Aivars Smaukstelis of Latvia by a point.

With events around the world — and in Scotland — still to come this year, the eldest Stoltman has no plans to hang up the lifting kit just yet.

‘Like Tom getting his title back, it was special for me to know I could still mix it in the big competitions,’ he says.

‘I had also made a number of changes to my training, employed a new coach, worked to maximise recovery and we worked with a sports psychologist who had a huge impact on myself and Tom in the run up to these two competitions.

‘While I’m still seeing progression I will keep going, and with the changes mentioned earlier I feel I am as strong as I have ever been.

‘I don’t recover as quick as Tom, but we have a lot more recovery techniques now that we use to ensure we are in optimum condition.’

One such event that is coming to Scotland later this year is the Rogue Invitational. A weightlifting competition that works in tandem with CrossFit, some of the biggest names from both CrossFit and Strongman will be in Aberdeen from November 8-10.

It’s the first time that the event will be hosted outside of America, with a total prize purse set to be over $1.5million. Few places are better suited to feats of strength than Scotland. And with the World’s Strongest Man just a few hours away, it would be no surprise to see Tom go one better than his second-placed finish in the competition last year.

‘It’s amazing to have such a big competition come to Scotland, it’s really special,’ the brothers agree. ‘Scotland has so much to offer and such a history in strength sports and stone lifting, so it’s a fitting venue and great to put it on the map.’

Both brothers work with Autism & Neurodiversity North Scotland (www.a-nd.org.uk) currently working on bringing more support services to the Highlands of Scotland. To keep up to date with the Stoltmans, you can follow their YouTube channel @stoltmanbrothers