World's Strongest Man: IMG Press Release
by Randall J. Strossen, IronMind Enterprises, Inc. © 2008
The strongman world has been whispering about it for months, but the curtain has just been raised: minutes ago, World's Strongest Man producer Tim Kowalski sent IronMind® the IMG press release naming "Charleston, West Virginia as the host city for the upcoming 31st season of the MET-Rx World's Strongest Man,'" with filming to begin on September 6.
World's Strongest Man is simply called "World's" by the biggest names in a world populated by guys who often stand about 6' 6'' (two meters) tall and weigh about 350 pounds (160 kg) - these are the guys who pull planes and buses, and who casually lift rocks that most people would think of as forklift material. After Bill Kazmaier retired, Americans were not known for being especially good at this sort of thing, but when a Charleston firefighter named Phil Pfister won the title in 2006, that was just the spark needed in the U.S.
With Pfister's win as the catalyst, the mayor of Charleston, Danny Jones, the governor of West Virginia, Joe Manchin, and numerous businesses rallied in full support of the cause, and Pfister's hometown is about to host a sports-entertainment event unlike any other.
The World's Strongest Man contest is the brainchild of Barry Frank, Executive Vice President, Media Sports Programming at IMG, a show so successful that it's embarking on its 31st season, with worldwide broadcasts - and it's the stuff that fills some big strong men's heads with visions of greatness as they fight gravity in many forms for television broadcasts around the globe.
For more information on this year's contest and the history of this show, please check the official World's Strongest Man webiste and for more information on IMG, "the world's largest independent producer and distributor of sports programming," please check IMG's website.