Life
Gavin “The Bull” Bilton is a two-time Wales’s Strongest Man, and five-time World’s Strongest Man competitor. From Caerphilly in South Wales, Bilton is a former professional rugby player and multiple podium-finishing Giants Live competitor, having placed runner-up at the Strongman Open and twice at Britain’s Strongest Man.
Bilton is one of the most popular strongmen on the international scene and has made tremendous progress over recent years towards achieving his goal of winning the World’s Strongest Man title and emulating his fellow countryman, Gary Taylor. Gavin was a former bricklayer and joined the army as an infantryman, serving in the Welsh Guards for 13 years, including two operational tours of Afghanistan.
Career
Gavin’s rugby career saw him play at several top clubs, including London Irish, Newport and Swansea. A second row, Gavin was unusually strong for a rugby player, even at a slender (by comparison!) playing weight of 120kg/264lb. After 3 years in the Welsh Premiership, Gavin began to focus on gaining weight and strength and soon entered, and won, his first strongman contest.
The Bull took a couple of years to emerge from the shadow of fellow Welshman Ben Brunning, who beat Bilton to the Welsh title in 2018 and 2019. Once domestic competition restarted in 2020, following the covid lockdown, Bilton had begun to compete internationally, finishing 8th at the 2020 Europe’s Strongest Man, and qualifying for his first World’s Strongest Man competition after capturing the UK crown.
Retaining his UK title in 2021, Gavin returned to WSM and competed regularly on the Giants Live Arena Tour. Overcoming some health issues which stopped him competing for a while, he once again qualified for World’s in 2022 and at the World Open, in his home country of Wales, he placed 5th overall and established a new Welsh record in the deadlift 0f 425.5kg (938lb).
2023 would be an excellent year for The Bull, beginning with his runner-up finish to Adam Bishop at Britain’s Strongest Man. At World’s Strongest Man, he produced his best performance to date in the heats, narrowly missing out on a finals qualification after reaching the stone-off against Luke Stoltman. A Strongman Champions League victory in Serbia was followed by a second-place finish at the Strongman Open in Cardiff, raising his deadlift record to 430kg (948lb).
2024 got off to a flying start with a runner-up finish to Tom Stoltman at Britain’s Strongest Man. This proved to be the highlight of his season, however, after finishing 6th in his heat at World’s Strongest Man, he struggled to find his best form.
Best Title
Aside from his Welsh and UK titles, Gavin’s best win came at the Strongman Champion’s League contest in Zrenjanin, Serbia. Defeating Turkey’s Fatih Karaca and Kelvin de Ruiter of the Netherlands, he claimed a 3.5-point victory having taken event wins in the Viking Press and Hercules Hold.
At the 2023 Strongman Open in Cardiff, Bilton’s second place finish is arguably his best international result. Evan Singleton took the title, but Gavin’s consistent performance and brilliant stone run in the final event saw him move ahead of Rob Kearney and Luke Stoltman to clinch second.
Competition Results
World’s Strongest Man: 2024 – 6th in heat, 2023 – 3rd in heat, 2022 – 4th in heat, 2021 – 4th in heat, 2020 – 5th in heat)
Europe’s Strongest Man: 2024 – 10th place, 2023 – 11th place, 2022 – 11th place, 2021 & 2020 – 8th place
Britain’s Strongest Man: 2024 & 2023 – runner-up, 2025 – 6th place
Giants Live:
World Tour Finals: 2023 – 6th place, 2021 – 6th place
Strongman Open: 2024 – 11th place, 2023 – 2nd place, 2022 – 5th place, 2021 – 6th place
Strongman Classic: 2024 – 11th place, 2022 – 8th place, 2021 – 8th place
Wales’s Strongest Man: 2023, 2022 & 2021 – Winner, 2019 & 2018 – runner up
Strongman Champions League:
2023: Portugal – 3rd place, Serbia – winner
2022: Gibraltar – 7th place, England – 3rd place, Holland – 3rd place
2023 Shaw Classic – 11th place
UK’s Strongest Man: 2021 & 2020 – winner, 2022 – 3rd place, 2019 – 4th place
2024 Arnold UK: 7th place
Best Lifts
Deadlift: 430g (948lb – Welsh record)
Hummer Tyre Deadlift: 431kg (950lb)
Silver Dollar Deadlift: 460kg (1,014lb)
Log lift: 170kg (375lb)
Axle press: 170kg (375lb)
Media
Gavin has become a fan favourite and is well known on the strongman scene from his appearances at World’s Strongest Man and the Giants Live WSM Arena Tour events, all of which are aired over the festive period on Channel 5, in the UK.
Gavin has guested on the Giants Live Strongman podcast, where he discussed his ambitions in strongman and his fascinating background with hosts Radzi Chinyanganya, Colin Bryce and Darren Sadler.
Bilton’s social media presence is a growing one and he can be located on Facebook under the name Gavin “The Bull” Bilton. Similarly, on Instagram, he can be found under @gavin_the_bull_bilton, where he has some 59k followers.
How old is Gavin Bilton?
Gav Bilton is currently 35 years old, he was born on 23 October 1988.
Who did Gavin Bilton play rugby for?
