Life
Luke Stoltman is the 2021 Europe’s Strongest Man and is a four-time World’s Strongest Man finalist. The eldest of the Stoltman brothers, strongman’s most powerful siblings, his younger brother, Tom, was the 2021 and 2022 World’s Strongest Man. Luke was born in Invergordon in the Scottish Highlands and is known as the “Highland Oak.”
At 6’ 3” or 1.91m and 165kg/364lb, Luke is by no means the largest in his family, but he is the possessor of huge static strength, particularly in overhead pressing events. Married to Kushi Stoltman since 2016, Luke worked for much of his strongman career as a dimensional surveyor on oil rigs, but in recent times has become a full-time athlete.
Career
Luke began competing in strongman in 2013, contesting that year’s Britain’s Strongest Man in Gateshead, where he placed 9th out of 12 competitors. He also secured his first of 5 consecutive Scotland’s Strongest Man titles from 2013 – 2017. The following year he improved to 7th at BSM, in Doncaster and placed 6th in 2015.
A debut at World’s Strongest Man came for Stoltman in 2016, after a solid performance at Europe’s Strongest Man the previous year. Failing to qualify for the final after a 4th place finish in his heat, Luke gained invaluable experience and was able to place 4th at Britain’s Strongest Man in 2017. At World’s that year Luke was 3rd in his heat and would narrowly miss out on the final.
During this time in Stoltman’s career, although he was steadily improving his strength, it was not reflected in his contest results. In 2018 he again missed out on a World’s Strongest Man Final qualification and placed a disappointing 6th at BSM. Due to his offshore work, Luke was often unable to train properly for two-week blocks and this was hampering his development.
2019, and a move towards full-time training yielded a significant breakthrough for The Highland Oak as he successfully qualified for the WSM final, finishing 7th, in Bradenton, Florida, alongside his brother, Tom, who placed 5th. The pair were the first brothers to ever reach the final at WSM. At Britain’s that year, a contest where Luke has often struggled, he equalled his best placing of 4th.
2020 brought Luke’s first podium finish at BSM. He placed 3rd, behind brother, Tom and winner Adam Bishop (ENG). Disappointment at World’s was short-lived, however as 2021 proved to be Luke’s breakthrough year, despite being 36. Wins at Europe’s Strongest Man and the Giants Live World Tour Finals, in front of a Scottish crowd in Glasgow, were backed-up by another 7th place in the World’s Strongest Man final, whilst Tom lifted the winner’s trophy.
That same year, Luke established a British record in the log press, successfully completing a 221kg/487lb lift at WUS’s “Feats of Strength” showcase.
In 2022 Luke finished 7th, once again, at World’s and placed 2nd at Europe’s Strongest Man. Competing sparingly that year he returned to World’s in 2023 and took 8th in his 4th final.
Best Title
In 2021, at Leeds First Direct Arena, Luke won Europe’s Strongest Man, which is the best win of his career to date. He defeated World’s Strongest Man, Oleksii Novikov (UKR), and England’s Graham Hicks.
In 2019, Luke and brother Tom became the first brothers to ever compete in the World’s Strongest Man final. Luke finished 7th, whilst Tom placed 5th. They repeated the feat in 2021 and 2022, in Sacramento, California and again in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in 2023.
Competition Results
Personal Best Lifts
Competition Lifts
Training lifts
Present Day
Luke will be returning to the Giants Live stage at the Strongman Classic 2023, following his 4th place finish at World’s Strongest Man in 2023. For much of 2022 he was resting from a hectic competitive schedule.
Media
The Stoltman brothers have enjoyed increased media attention and have an ever-growing social media presence. Luke and his 285k of Instagram followers can be found on @luke.stoltman. Both Luke and Tom have also attracted 400k subscribers on YouTube under the name of Stoltman Brothers. Their channel is hugely entertaining and follows their competition and training exploits, among other activities. On Facebook, Luke Stoltman – The Highland Oak is where fans can catch up with Luke.
Luke’s Giants Live World’s Strongest Man Arena Tour events and his performance at World’s Strongest Man will be televised on Channel 5 at Christmas.
