Life
Andy Black, AKA “The Bulldozer,” is a two-time Scotland’s Strongest Man, World’s Strongest Man competitor and one of the largest individuals on the professional strongman circuit. He is one of a crop of super-talented Scottish strength athletes that have been dominating the domestic and international strongman scene of late.
Hailing from Cumbernauld, near Glasgow, his progression from 29-year-old self-confessed “fat b******,” to 31-year-old Scotland’s Strongest Man is nothing less than extraordinary. A father of three, Andy joined the gym to lose some of his 31-stone before his 30th birthday and discovered that he was incredibly strong. Within months he was winning novice contests and he hasn’t looked back.
When not competing and training, Black is a personal trainer and the co-owner of West Coast Strength and Conditioning gym, with fellow competitor and training partner, John Pollock.
Career
With just three months of training under his belt Andy won his first novice contest at Gateshead’s Strongest Man, back in December of 2018. He competed in a few more novice events before contesting his first open competition, Gwynedd’s Strongest Man where he placed 4th.
During his rapid development as a strongman, Black has benefited from the advice and guidance of some of Britain’s best strength athletes, such as Ben Brunning, John Pollock, and Andy Bolton, the first man to ever deadlift 1,000lbs.
In September 2020, Black secured victory at Belfast’s Strongest Man and a few months later took part at Scotland’s Strongest Man, taking the title and completing his incredible journey from strength obscurity to national champion. Winning the title again the year after, Black was invited by Giants Live to compete at that year’s Britain’s Strongest Man (taking 9th), World Open – where he deadlifted 425kg (937lb), and World Tour Finals.
2022 saw another step up in class for Andy, qualifying to take part at World’s Strongest Man, following his 6th place finish at Britain’s Strongest Man. Finishing 5th in his heat, for Black it was the chance to pit himself against the world’s best and an opportunity to reflect on how far he might yet go with the huge potential he possesses.
Andy would contest three more Giants Live events in 2022, as well as competing at the Shaw Classic, Strongman Champions League and World Strongman Championships, where he placed 8th.
Best Title
With his first Scotland’s Strongest Man title won behind closed doors during the pandemic, Andy’s 2021 victory, with a full programme of six events, in front of a packed crowd, is arguably his best title victory to date.
Black produced some superb performances in this contest, coming equal first in the deadlift for reps, and setting a new world record in the Nicol Stones. Rounding off the show, he completed a difficult stone run with relative ease, claiming his second national title from Mikey Wilson in second, and Zake Muluzi in third.
Competition Results
Best Lifts
Competition Lifts
Training Lifts
Present Day
2022 was a big year for Black, taking his best finish at Britain’s Strongest Man and representing Britain at World’s Strongest Man. In 2023, The Bulldozer has set his sights on adding to his 425kg (937lb) deadlift personal best and hopefully exceeding 1,000lb, a number that has now become the benchmark of truly elite pulling, such are the unbelievably high standards in strongman right now.
A regular on the Giants Live Tour, Andy will be looking to improve on some of his contest placings and raise his overall level of consistency, with a view to getting back to World’s Strongest Man. His first competitive outing of 2023 will be Britain’s Strongest Man, and he will surely be eyeing a podium finish.
Media
Sponsored by SBD apparel, Andy is active on social media and can be found on Instagram under @andy_black. His account has nearly 15k followers and includes plenty of training and competition videos. His channel on YouTube, Andy Black Strongman, features several videos focusing on his training and he is also active on Facebook as Andrew Black.
As a Giants Live regular, Andy is now a familiar face on UK television where his exploits at Britain’s Strongest Man, the World Tour Finals, and several other contests have been broadcast on Channel 5 at Christmas time.
