Life
Born in Barrie, Ontario, Mitchell Hooper is the first Canadian strongman to ever win World’s Strongest Man, having captured the title in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 2023. He works as an exercise physiology clinician and has one of the biggest deadlifts in strongman history, with a massive personal best of 475kg/1,047lb.
At 1.93m (6’ 4”) and 145kg (320lb), Mitchell is not as big as some of his giants-sized competitors but has shown huge static strength, as well as an ability to move under load at lightning speed. He is a tremendously versatile athletes who has competed in several sports prior to strongman, including American football, golf, marathon running and ice hockey.
Career
Hooper’s sporting background involves 10 years of Ice Hockey, which is quite common for Canadians, as well as a period in high-level golf before settling to play football at the University of Guelph. His transition into lifting came as a result of a weight loss regime that saw him enter a men’s physique contest in Barrie, Ontario. Mitchell lost 40kg/88lb and after a brief spell running marathons (his best time was an impressive 3 hours 24 minutes) he began powerlifting whilst completing his master’s degree in Sydney, Australia.
Hooper competed at national and state level, establishing national records lifting raw in the -120kg weight class. He began strongman competitions around this time and was able to win everything he entered, instantly displaying world class performances in yoke and farmer’s walk/medley events.
During 2021 Hooper was able to drastically improve his already brilliant deadlift. His meteoric development in what is regarded as possibly the greatest test of strength, culminated in him successfully deadlifting 475kg/1,047lb at the Excalibur Max Deadlift Exhibition. This performance grabbed the strength community’s attention, resulting in his invite to the 2022 World’s Strongest Man contest, where he qualified for the final following a dominant display in his heat.
The 2022 season ended with victory at the World Tour Finals and in March the following year, Hooper took 1st at the Arnold Classic. Returning to World’s Strongest Man he was able to defeat defending champion, Tom Stoltman, to become the first Canadian to win the title.
Best Title
At the 2023 World’s Strongest Man contest, Mitchell came through his heat with supreme confidence and looked to be favourite to win the final. Winning the opening two event, the Shield Carry and Deadlift, a minor slip-up in the Fingal’s Fingers was soon put behind him as he took joint 1st in the Dumbbell and won the Bus Pull outright. A 4.5-point margin over Tom Stoltman secured victory for The Mosse, making him the first Canadian to do so.
Competition Results
Best Lifts
Competition Lifts
Strongman
Training lifts
Present Day
Hooper is fully committed to being the best strength athlete he can be. His 2023 World’s Strongest Man victory and the steep curve of improvement he seems to be on suggest that plenty more success lies ahead of him.
The Canadian is confirmed to compete at the 2023 Giants Live Strongman Classic at The Royal Albert Hall on July 8th, 2023.
Media
Mitchell has an extensive media presence including accounts on Facebook: Mitchell Hooper Strength Athlete, Instagram: @mitchellhooper, where he has 112k followers and on YouTube where his channel, Mitchell Hooper has over 5k subscribers. He also has his own website: www.mitchellhooperstrongman.com.
There are a multitude of YouTube videos available either profiling, interviewing, or showing highlights from Hooper’s training and competing. Mitchell has appeared on the Giants Live Strongman podcast, following his exploits at the 2022 WSM contest. His 2023 WSM, as well as his 2023 Giants Live appearances will be aired on UK television’s Channel 5, over the festive period.
