Life
Kevin Faires is one of the USA’s top professional strongmen who rapidly rose to prominence, finishing 7th at the 2020 World’s Strongest Man finals, just 4 years after first competing internationally.
At 6’, 2” (1.87m) and around 270lb (122kg), Faires is often the smallest man in any open class contest, however this has not prevented him from achieving terrific all-round strength and establishing more than one world record. Being smaller than most of his competitors and training partners has been a source of motivation for Faires; as a high school wrestler he was often pitted against heavier athletes
Kevin lives in Provo, Utah and is both a father and husband. As a high school footballer and wrestler, he noticed that he was stronger than most, including some of the massive linemen in his team. He is perhaps best known for his grip strength, which serves him well in Farmer’s Walk and stone carries, such as the Dinnie and Nicol Stones in which he holds world records.
Career
Faires made rapid progress in strongman, following his high school participation in soccer, football, baseball, and most successfully, wrestling. He was motivated to lift weights to overcome his comparative lack of size and quickly realised that strength came quickly to him.
Things moved very quickly after a successful debut in Reno, for the 2016 Nevada’s Strongest Man, which qualified him for nationals U105kg, which he won, earning him his pro card. He then went on to win the world title at U105kg. By 2017 Faires was competing in the Strongman’s Champions League with the heavyweights, building his confidence and gaining vital experience.
That same year Kevin attended the Official Strongman Games, where his second place to Trey Mitchell’s first, earned him a spot at Giants Live’s North American Open, where he also came runner-up to Mitchell, qualifying him for the 2019 World’s Strongest Man.
In contrast to his 7th place finish at the 2020 World’s Strongest Man competition, Faires has suffered the ignominy of losing out on a place in the finals on three occasions. In 2019, after placing 3rd in his heat he was defeated by J.F Caron when he failed to make a single lift of the stone after experiencing major problems with his tacky. However, in both 2021 and 2022, after being comfortably 2nd in his heat, he lost stone-offs to Luke Stoltman of Scotland and Canada’s Gabriel Rhéaume.
Best Title
Faires made an almost immediate impact in strongman when he won the 2016 U105kg World Championships, held in Kokkola, Finland. He defeated a field of 12 lightweight athletes, besting Finland’s Paavo Passo by a huge margin of 11 points, in just 5 events.
The following year Kevin consolidated this win, cementing his status as the world’s premier U105kg lifter by winning the U105kg Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championships, in Columbus, Ohio. The margin of victory was not quite so large, but Faires was able to defeat the Czech Republic’s Jiři Tkadlčik, taking event wins in the super yoke, deadlift, Atlas Stones and medley.
Competition Results
Best Lifts
Competition Lifts
Powerlifting
Present Day
Faires will be hoping to put behind him the disappointment of once again falling just short of qualifying for the 2022 World’s Strongest Man finals and will be looking to build on his 2021 successes, including his 4th place finish at the Shaw Classic, when he takes part again in August ’22.
Kevin has stated that his main objective is to continue getting better and not get injured. He feels that humility is an important attribute in a sport where things can go wrong very quickly. Faires has competed at numerous Giants Live events in the past and will be looking to get back across the Atlantic during 2022 and beyond.
Media
Faires has featured on UK television, which airs both World’s Strongest Man and the Giants Live Arena Tour events during the Christmas period. There is also plenty of content available to watch on YouTube and other media, including a podcast with Shaw Strength, titled “Overcoming challenges in your Path,” in which they discuss Faires’ near-lethal car accident as a youngster.
Kevin has a fairly low-key presence on both Facebook – Kevin Faires – and Instagram – kf_strongman, but there is plenty of training and competition content for anyone who wants to see what Faires is all about.
