He can pull trucks. He can deadlift the equivalent weight of a fully grown male moose. He can hoist fully grown men over his shoulders in the middle of an interview on national television.
Mitchell Hooper is the first Canadian ever to win the title of World鈥檚 Strongest Man.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been crazy,鈥� Hooper told CTV鈥檚 Your Morning on Friday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been such a whirlwind. It鈥檚 happened so quickly that it鈥檚 hard to digest.鈥�
Hooper only began lifting professionally eleven months ago, and can now lift more than 220 kg over his shoulder.
鈥淚鈥檝e played every sport imaginable growing up. I was always stronger than average.鈥�
As an owner of a kinesiology clinic in , Ont., Hooper encourages people to reach for their fitness goals, and that includes leading by example.
鈥淚 just wanted to experience everything I鈥檝e asked other people to do,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 run marathons to experience aerobically what that felt like, and then tried strength sports and I really had no idea where it was going to go.鈥�
Hooper admits to having a competitive nature. 鈥淭hat turned into power lifting, national championship, and Strong Man.鈥�
Nicknamed 鈥淭he Moose,鈥� Hooper beat international competitors in April to lift the Canadian flag on top of the podium in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
The 27-year-old has won five of his last six competitions, also clutching first place in the in March.
He has no plans of slowing down. He works out for two and a half hours a day and hopes to continue pushing his strength to new levels.
鈥淪trongman is the fundamental movement patterns of life. So it鈥檚 push, pull, squat, hinge, carry, and overhead press. Really, that鈥檚 all we do in every day life. So we replicate that in the gym,鈥� he explained. 鈥淲e see how far we can take it.鈥�
For Hooper, this journey started as a directive: 鈥淪ee how far you can take yourself. See how strong you can become,鈥� he said.
鈥淎nd I know I have a long way to go.鈥�
To see how Hooper demonstrated his strength in CTV鈥檚 Your Morning studio, click the video at the top of this story.
