Nate Hodges at the North Fork Mid-Sierra Loggers Jamboree in 2025
Personal information
Nationality
American
Born
1984 (age40–41)
North Fork, California, U.S.
Sport
Country
United States
Sport
Timbersports
Nate Hodges (born 1984) is an American professional lumberjack. He is the 2024 STIHL Timbersports Individual World Champion,[1] becoming the first American to win that global title. Hodges is also a two-time U.S. national Timbersports champion (2024 and 2025)[2] and has won numerous regional logging competitions, including fifteen titles at the Mid-Sierra Loggers Jamboree in his hometown of North Fork, California.[1]
Hodges was born and raised in the mountain town of North Fork in Madera County, California.[1] He comes from a family of lumberjacks – his father Patrick, mother Cathey, brother Jerry, and sister Amanda have all competed in the North Fork Loggers Jamboree.[3] He received his first axe from his grandfather at age four.[4]
At 18, Hodges entered his first Jamboree competition, competing in the axe throw. He tied for first and won in a tiebreaker throw-off, which he described as the moment he became "hooked" on the sport.[4] By 2019, he had claimed eleven “Top Logger” all-around titles at the Jamboree,[4] and as of 2024 he held at least 15 local championships.[1]
Career
Hodges entered the STIHL Timbersports national circuit in 2019. That July, he finished as runner-up at the U.S. Pro Championship in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just one point behind Cassidy Scheer.[3] The same year, he qualified for Team USA at the World Championships in Prague.[5]
In 2022, Hodges helped Team USA win the silver medal at the Team World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden.[6] He was again part of the U.S. squad that claimed silver in 2024 in Toulouse, France.[7]
Hodges won his first U.S. Championship in July 2024,[8] which qualified him for the Individual World Championship later that year. In Toulouse, he set three personal-best times and defeated rivals Jack Jordan (New Zealand) and Ben Cumberland (Canada) to claim the 2024 Individual World Championship.[1]
In July 2025, Hodges defended his U.S. title, becoming back-to-back national champion.[2] At the same event, he set a new world record in the Hot Saw discipline with a time of 4.28 seconds.[2] He will represent the United States at the 2025 Individual World Championship in Milan, Italy.[2]
Achievements
STIHL Timbersports Individual World Champion: 2024[1]
STIHL Timbersports U.S. Champion: 2024,[8] 2025[2]
STIHL Timbersports Team World Championship: Silver medal – 2022,[6] 2024[7]
In November 2024, Hodges was profiled on ABC30's Good Sports segment after his world championship win.[1] He was also interviewed by NPR affiliate KVPR on The Central Valley Daily podcast.[9]
Personal life
Hodges lives in Cascadel Woods, near North Fork, California, with his wife and three daughters.[4] He has worked as a general contractor, building more than 50 houses in the Madera County region.[4] In 2019, he opened Yosemite Axe Throwing, a family-friendly axe-throwing venue in Oakhurst, California.[10]
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