Life
Dennis is the current top ranked professional strongman in Germany and is a two-time winner of Germany’s Strongest Man. He is a World’s Strongest Man competitor, having competed at the 2018 competition in Manila, Philippines, where he finished 6th in his heat.
As a strongman he is best known for his overhead lifting and is the German record holder in both the Log Lift and Giant Dumbbell Press with 200kg (441lb) and 125kg (276lb). Kohlruss is a gym owner and has developed his own brand, Eisenbaer, which sells apparel and fitness supplements.
The diversity of events within the sport is what Dennis loves best about strongman. Attempting to master each of these hugely demanding disciplines is, on the flip side, the greatest obstacle to overcome. The idea that “hard work can move mountains,” is what he finds most inspiring. He believes that everybody should take part in strongman – not at a competitive level, but on a daily basis, for overall fitness.
Career
Dennis was not significantly involved in sports prior to him taking up strongman, which he did after watching the Magnus Samuelsson documentary World’s Strongest Arms, whilst on military service in the Bundeswehr. His first international competitive experiences came through the Strongman Champions League in which he has competed regularly since 2017, making his debut at the FIBO in 2015.
His first international victory came at the SCL Record Breakers event in Kenzingen, Germany, where he secured a 2.5-point victory over Kelvin De Ruiter and Ervin Toots. The following year he became national champion after winning Germany’s Strongest Man and he would go on to defend his title in 2022. Between his national title victories, Kohlruss made appearances at the SCL World Finals and the Magnús Ver Magnússon Classic, placing 8th and 9th.
Dennis claimed his second international success at the 2021 Megatron in Steinmauern, Germany, with a comfortable victory over Ilya Khazov of Cyprus. Before claiming his second German title he managed a 4th place finish at the SCL event in Holland, where he finished 6-points adrift of the podium. Kohlruss competed on just two occasions in 2022.
Best Title
In 2021 Dennis won his first Germany’s Strongest Man title, defeating Sebastian Kraus and Adam Roszkowski in Gera, Germany. With a winning margin of 14 points, Kohlruss dominated his competitors and was able to score event wins in the Tractor Pull, Dumbbell Press, and Atlas Stones.
The following year, in the same location, Dennis secured his second consecutive title with a 7-point defeat of Tim Hruby and Patrick Eibel. This time around he came out on top in five of the eight events, winning the Max Log Lift, Max Deadlift, Arm over Arm Pull, Tractor Pull and Dumbbell Press. He had secured victory with an event to spare and therefore elected not to contest the final event which was the Atlas Stones.
Competition Results
Best Lifts
Competition
Present Day
Kohlruss will be making his Giants Live debut when he competes at Europe’s Strongest Man at the First Direct Arena, Leeds, on April 1st, 2023. A podium finish would secure him one of the last remaining invites to the 2023 World’s Strongest Man, bringing a top German competitor back to the sport’s biggest contest.
Media
Dennis is active on several social media platforms including Instagram under the name dennis_kohlruss. His training videos and strongman stunts have attracted more than 73k followers. His clothing and supplement brand is @eisenbaer.official.
His YouTube account @denniskohlruss924 is even more popular and has 101k subscribers. His videos are a mixture of contest footage, training videos and collaborations with other strength and fitness competitors.
The big German’s performance at Europe’s Strongest Man 2023 will be aired on UK television’s Channel 5 as part of its Christmas time World’s Strongest Man Series broadcast.
