WTH just happened?

What. The. Hell?

As an ex-power athlete, I've always been fascinated by other's feats of strength, be it in training for activities like football or rugby, or in activities where the focus is strength itself. Over the years I've watched in awe as humans have accomplished bewildering feats during competitions like the World's Strongest Man with the likes of Thor Bjornson, Eddie Hall, or Brian Shaw casting voluminous shadows as their 400+ pound frames lift, pull, or cary loads that shouldn't be possible.

Like all competitions, especially world championships, the faces and names change.

The 2023 WSM competition featured some new personalities, not the least of which was a good ol' Canuk, Michell Hooper, a Barrie-ite to boot! At 6'4" (193 cm) and 320 lb (145 kg), he's not in the same stratosphere as Thor (6'9" 460 lb), Hall (6'3" 380 lb), or Shaw (6'8" 440 lb), but that didn't stop him from winning the 2023 WSM crown ... convincingly so! CLICK

The neatest factoid of all, at least to me anyway, is that Mitchell is the son of a good friend of mine from my Queen's days, Todd Hooper. Hoop and I were in PHE '86 together, shared numerous bevies, shenanigans, and a passion for basketball. As a pivotal member of the Gaels varsity basketball during our years in Kingston, he was a force to contend with at 6'5" 260 lbs ... not his boy's size, but when he set a pick it rattled bones! If he got position on you, it was simply over.

After graduation, we parted ways as we both chased our post-school dreams.

It was a wonderful surprise that a few years later, we bumped into each other in Barrie where he had relocated and established a landscaping business. During our reacquaintance, I met a young Mitchell, who at 9 years old (as I remember), definitely hinting at inheriting some of dad's massiveness. As the years passed, I was privileged to watch Mitch grow and develop into quite the specimen as he made his mark in basketball and football, passions that eventually landed him a spot on the Guelph Gryphons' football squad. 

Things got busy, my children chasing their own athletic dreams, and I redirected my attention, losing track of Mitch. I still ran into Todd from time to time, and social media allowed us both the opportunity to keep in touch, when a few years ago it came to light that Mitch was in Australia and dabbling in power lifting. Apparently he was doing Master's of Exercise Science and had rekindled a love for lifting. Being of quality Hooper stock, he set the Aussie dead lift record to boot!

Here's a link to Mitch's web site, if interested. CLICK

The story comes full circle thanks to a text from my boy Keaton. He stumbled across a YouTube video outlining Mitchell's grandiose accomplishment, so I immediately pulled up some of the clips. Wow! Impressive doesn't even scrape the surface, for a host of reasons! Not only did he win 7 of the 10 events, but his lead going into the Atlas Stones was comfortable enough that he knew ahead of time that all he had to do was lift the 5 stones into place ... hmmmm, yeah, simply lift the round balls of granite ranging from 100 kg (220 lb) to 160 kg (352) from the ground to a pedestal 4 ft tall. Simple?

Not sure how awesome this is? CLICK

All that is left is the slow Wiser's clap of respect! We're all Uber proud of you Mitch!