If we Strong nothing is impossible. - By Charindra Chandrasena

If we Strong nothing is impossible. – By Charindra Chandrasena

How the World’s Strongest Man made autism his superpower.

Tom Stoltman, who won the World’s Strongest Man competition twice in 2021 and 2022, was on the autism spectrum as a kid and a teenager. Because he needed to have his mother with him all the time to control his behavior, he wasn’t able to sleep over at a friend’s house or travel far from his house.

Stoltman’s teachers said he wouldn’t accomplish anything with his life and he was bullied by the boys at school. So he quit his football team and locked himself up in his house. He planned to either go into Scotland’s social care system, or just commit suicide.

When he turned 18, Stoltman’s older brother started taking him to the gym, and this completely changed his perspective. His autism made him repeat the workouts over and over again, helping add muscle to his tall but skinny 6’8 frame. This proved crucial to his training and success at the Strongest Man championship.

If we learn to turn our challenges into our strengths, nothing is impossible.