With the European and British Strongest Man titles already secured, the Stoltman brothers are aiming to complete a triple crown at World’s Strongest Man.
Together Tom and Luke will take on the biggest heavyweights in the world at the competition, which begins in the US this week.
The Highland duo are at the peak of their powers ahead of the gruelling events with big wins to boost their build-up.
Tom, who stands at a towering 6ft 8ins, is aiming to become one of a select few to conquer the world three times. Meanwhile, Luke regained his European title earlier this month.
And both believe they are better prepared than ever to outmuscle the global competition.
Mindset key to Tom and Luke’s World’s Strongest Man bid
This year the Stoltman brothers have recruited extra help in their question to conquer World’s Strongest Man.
Instead of focussing purely on their physical prowess, they have also devoted time to their mental strength.
This year they have been working with a sport psychologist who has helped the England men’s football get over their jinx of penalty shootouts.
Luke, better known as The Highland Oak, said: “We’ve been picking up some tips and tricks, talking about the importance of breathing right, visualising what you’re doing and taking that into your performance.
“It’s been an investment for us financially, but that’s the level we want to be at.
“When we started we were maybe just happy to be at these events and that was it, but we want to take it up a level now.
“It’s technique too. When you look at some of the tournaments the events come down to fractions of a second. It can’t just be about how strong you are, you’ve got to be able to move fast too.”
This year Tom, also known as The Albatross due to his massive arm span, is aiming to win his third global title, which would put him in an elite group with just five others.
After coming second last year, he believes he’s added more tools to his armoury to get back on top.
The reigning British Strongest Man said: “This year I’m the most mentally confident that I’ve ever been. Every single year you’ve got to think about getting better and better.
“I wasn’t 100% last year, it was damage limitation. I’ve added things this year though in my recovery and psychology.
“I believe I’m the strongest person in the world. If I perform at my 100% then nobody is going to beat me.”
What it takes to be a Stoltman strongman
To get to the top of World’s Strongest Man, the Stoltmans follow a strict training and diet regime.
Ahead of the competition, Tom consumes anywhere between 8,000 and 9,000 calories a day to ensure his body is fuelled to lift incredible weights.
Days begin with up to eight eggs for breakfast, topped off with mushrooms, followed by porridge, followed by up to 1kg of meat throughout the day.
Tom said: “You have to be strict to a certain extent, but it isn’t body building, which is the reason why we are so heavy.
“Food is fuel at the end of the day. I’ll have a burger before a two or three-hour training session because I need that energy to stay in my system.
“It’s not really eating different stuff, it’s just bigger quantities. At the weekend I cheat and have what I want, to a certain extent.”
The brothers have a rigorous daily training schedule, including three hours in the gymn, one hour of physiotherapy, one hour of condition and a further hour in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.
They’re in their own Stoltman Strength Centre in Invergordon four days a week with more familiar gym equipment.
One day a week they take their workouts to a warehouse owned by Ross-shire Engineering they use for their more unconventional exercises.
Luke: “We’ve had the Strength Centre since 2019 and we’ve got 100 members that come and train. It gets quite busy with people wanting to see Tom and I train, which is fun.
“For the more specialist stuff we’ve got the warehouse. We want to build a facility that would encompass everything we want to do.”
How Tom Stoltman became two-time World’s Strongest Man champion
World’s Strongest Man is a Christmas tradition
This year’s World’s Strongest Man is in Myrtle Beach in South Carolina from May 1 to 5.
However, while the athletes will be pushing their bodies to the limit in over 20C in the US, Scottish audiences will need to wait until the heart of winter to watch the action on TV.
For 40 years the tournament has been a fixture of Christmas television, and current broadcaster Channel 5 show no sign of moving from that.
The contrast means the brothers benefit from a double hit for their business every year.
Luke said: “You can see it in the merchandise sales, they go through the roof every Christmas.
“It’s a busy time, I almost wish it was Christmas every day.
“I enjoyed watching it growing up on TV and I still do. They do a good job with it now. They really go into the stories and I learn more about the competitors.”
Conversation