UK Strength Council

The United Kingdom Strength Council was founded by Glenn Ross, the famed strongman and also founder and promoter of the Irish Strength Association. ^[1] The UKSC, as it is commonly termed, was promoted by Bob Daglish's Elite Strongman Promotions until March 2010.

Beginnings

Part of the reason for the foundation was that Glenn Ross is a champion of the idea that strongman is about lifting and moving heavy objects. He has been quoted as saying that strongmen should be more akin to strongman of old, "fighting for every step, not running."

Ross's philosophy is represented in the contests the UKSC organise. There is little running with weights or like events, but rather lifting heavier weights as the main test and then struggling forward with them. Ross has said that, in relation to competing with other recognised events, such as Britain's Strongest Man, "when there is competition, it is good for everyone: competition in strongman creates an opportunity for the athletes, the fans and the sponsors to end up with a better product, and the reality is a free-market situation anyway." ^[2]

"Big, strong men are like bears. As long as you keep feeding them honey, they will stay in their caves and stick with certain organizations, but when the honey pot runs out, they must go into the forest to look for more honey." - Glenn Ross ^[2]

Bob Daglish's Elite strongman promotions was inextricably associated with the UKSC until it was announced in March 2010 that "In view of recent events and also some personal differences, Elite Strongman Promotions are hereby separating all affiliations with Big G promotions, the UK Strength Council and the UK strongest man competition." Elite Strongman promotions continued to run a version of the England’s strongest man final, whilst a separate competition run by UKSC was also run in 2010. ^{[3] [4]}

Competitions

See also: Strength athletics in the United Kingdom and Ireland

The UKSC is famed for its blue ribbon event, UK's Strongest Man. There are also a number of regional and national qualifiers.

They made history in 2024, becoming the first promoters to broadcast a live strongman event on British television when Channel 5 carried coverage of the UK's Strongest Man. Paul Smith successfully retained his title, winning three of the five events in the final.

UK's Strongest Man

Year	Champion	Runner-Up	3rd Place	Location	Promoter
2025	Andrew Flynn	Chris Beetham	Paul Smith	Nottingham	Ultimate Strongman
2024	Paul Smith (3)	Louis Jack	Andrew Flynn	Cardiff	Ultimate Strongman
2023	Paul Smith (2)	Matt Dimond	Callum Crozier	Doncaster	Ultimate Strongman
2022	Paul Smith	Louis Jack	Gavin Bilton	Milton Keynes	Ultimate Strongman
2021	Gavin Bilton	Paul Smith	Andy Black	Milton Keynes	Ultimate Strongman
2020	Gavin Bilton	Mark Felix	Mark Jeanes	Belfast	Ultimate Strongman
2019	Paul Benton	Graham Hicks	Pa O'Dwyer	St Albans	Ultimate Strongman
2018	Pa O'Dwyer	Phil Roberts	Laurence Shahlaei	St Albans	Ultimate Strongman
2017	Laurence Shahlaei	Tom Stoltman	Pa O'Dwyer	Belfast	Ultimate Strongman
2016	Eddie Hall	Jonathan Kelly	Aaron Page	Belfast	Ultimate Strongman
2015	Eddie Hall	Chris Gearing	Tom Stoltman	Belfast	Ultimate Strongman
2014 [5]	Eddie Hall	Adam Bishop	Luke Stoltman	Belfast	CNP
2013 [6]	Eddie Hall	Ben Kelsey	Jonathan Kelly	Belfast	UKSC (UK Strength Council)
2012 [7]	Eddie Hall	Lloyd Renals	Chris Gearing	Belfast	UKSC (UK Strength Council)
2011 [7]	Eddie Hall	Ken Nowicki	Richard Smith	Belfast	UKSC (UK Strength Council)
2010 [8]	Glenn Ross	Gary Gardener	Rob Frampton	Belfast	UKSC (UK Strength Council)
2009 [8]	Jimmy Marku	Glenn Ross	Mark Westaby	Belfast	UKSC
2008 [8]	Glenn Ross	Dave Warner	Jimmy Marku	Belfast	UKSC
2007 [8]	Glenn Ross	Jimmy Marku	Simon Flint	Belfast	UKSC
2006 [8]	Glenn Ross	Terry Hollands	Jimmy Marku	Belfast	UKSC
2005 [8]	Terry Hollands	Mark Lawson	Simon Morton	Belfast	UKSC
2004 [8]	Glenn Ross	Brian Irwin	Carl Waitoa	Carrickfergus	UKSC
2003	Not Held
2002	Not Held
2001	Steve Brooks	Richard Gosling	Mick Gosling	TBC	Geoff Capes/Daily Star
2000	Richard Gosling	Gary Meyern	Adam Townsend	TBC	Geoff Capes/Daily Star
1999	Richard Gosling	Gary Meyern	Adrian Smith	TBC	Geoff Capes/Daily Star
1998	Adrian Smith	Richard Gosling	Dave Miles	TBC	Geoff Capes/Daily Star
1997	Adrian Smith	Graham Mullins	Bill Pittuck	TBC	Geoff Capes/Daily Star
1996	Graham Mullins	Gary Meyern	John O'Neil	TBC	Geoff Capes/Daily Star
1995	Dave Miles	David Waters & Graham Mullins		TBC	Geoff Capes/Daily Star
1994	Tommy Smith	Bill Pittuck	Lee Bowers	Blackpool	Geoff Capes/Daily Star
1993	Bill Pittuck	Luke Green	TBC	TBC
1992	Adrian Smith	Bill Pittuck	TBC	TBC

Championships by country

Country	Titles
England	22
Northern Ireland	5
Wales	2
Ireland	1
Scotland	1

Repeat champions

Champion	Times
Eddie Hall	6
Glenn Ross	5
Adrian Smith	3
Paul Smith	3
Richard Gosling	2
Gavin Bilton	2

Regional and National qualifiers

• UKSC Midlands of England strongest man 2007
• UKSC North of England strongest man 2007
• UKSC South of England strongest man 2007
• UKSC England's strongest man 2007

See also

• List of Strongman Competitions

External links

• Official site

References

1. "www.uglyextras.com". Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2008.
2. Polish Strength Forum - Sportowe Forum Dyskusyjne
3. Elite strongman promotions statement released on ukstrongman.proboards.com
4. Elite strongman promotions statement released on muscletalk.co.uk
5. www.strongman.org - uks-strongest-man-2014
6. www.strongman.org - uks-strongest-man-2013
7. "David Horne's World of Grip".
8. Irish Strongman Association - Hall of Fame - results