The Giants of Iceland

Iceland. Its very name suggests a kind of strength. Something about its Viking history, inhospitable climate and enormous geothermal energy has given the country an almost unparalleled reputation in the world's strongest man competition. It may have a population of only 300,000 people, but among them are some of the strongest that have ever existed. This small black volcanic rock is full of strong men. Everywhere you look, there are tough guys, men at checkouts, taxi drivers or selling refrigerators. It is an island of

giants

. Isolation and adversity have fueled the strength of this small nation, but they have also contributed to tragedy.

GIANTS' NEST We arrive in the middle of winter, when the average temperature is -15 degrees and daylight rarely lasts more than four hours. Our first destination was Jakaból, a famous gym for strong men. This name translates as "Nest of Giants." JAKABÓL GYMNASIUM. From the look of the place, it has a sort of speakeasy vibe. I imagine you have to knock three times. It's a kind of "fight club." Jakaból occupies a significant but sad place in the history of Icelandic chieftains. It was first opened by Jón Páll Sigmarsson, the scene's blonde poster boy and four-time World's Strongest Man.

However, following his untimely death, the gym closed only to be reopened by his archrival and other four-time World's Strongest Man winner, Magnús Ver Magnússon. On a personal level, Magnús Ver Magnússon is someone I remember from when he was a kid, and it's quite strange to think that all these years later, he would be in the middle of an Icelandic industrial state, hanging out with this man-beast. Jakaból is not just any gym. It looks more like a construction site than a pilates studio. There are no Zumba classes here. Just steel, concrete and sweat.

So obviously looking around Jakaból, this isn't the kind of thing you can go down and buy at your local sports store. There are many things that I have developed. I know how to build things, I know how to work with metal and things like that. So making aluminum blocks, for example, was all my idea. I built the log elevator myself. The cylinders also, something that is not found anywhere else in the world, is what I call the “morning bit carry”. You wear that, like this. As far as you can. It's so hard it's unreal. All the boys hate him.

TRAINING SESSION. Are you pretty tough on boys? Sometimes. You have to find a way to get them over the edge, without killing them. 350, 351... Do you think maybe the idea of ​​the strong man has gone out of style with guys like you and Jón Páll? The sport has grown. But I'm still waiting for him to take that big leap. I loved the ride. You got in like the Flintstones, you drove away with the car and it looked incredible. Make it live, make it different, you know what I mean? What I'd love to see is throw a bunch of big, strong guys on an island and turn them into Survivor and stuff like that.

Show these guys that they can do more than just lift big things. Big men lifting big things is the essence of the World's Strongest Man competition. In its 30-year history of thrills, strokes and torn ligaments, it has gone from politically incorrect pantomime to something more akin to a proper sport in recent years. What is it made of? Concrete? Eraser. Is that rubber?! No padding or anything, it's just a steel bar. That's a big no for a strong man, don't use filler in anything. How does the four times the strongest man in the world reconcile himself with his weakness?

Losing mass and losing strength, how does that make you feel? Well, I hate it. I really do. You look at something and say, "Yeah, I used to lift that and it feels a lot heavier today." You know what I mean? It's been a bit of me for so long that I'll probably be buried with the bar. With some weights. Little by little, Jakaból began to fill with strong men. Everywhere you looked, there were big men lifting big things. But when an entire family showed up to exercise, the place took on a strangely domestic, everyday feel.

I wonder what people here did when they weren't lifting construction equipment. How they relaxed and what they did. And what is your daily job? I work as a sales representative. I sell appliances, refrigerators and more. Some weekends and nights I work as a doorman. Do you enjoy that? No. It stinks a lot. It's a horrible job. The fact is that being a strong man doesn't exempt you from paying the bills. To find out more about the people in everyday life in Jakaból, we caught up with Ari Gunnarsson, another strong Icelandic champion, who is at his day job at the local pool.

Come on, you can do it! Faster! Faster! You're a lost cause, man. I don't know what kind of swimming this was. Neither butterfly nor breaststroke. It was doggy style. My butterfly stroke was a humbling experience, especially with the local kids and Ari's colleague, somewhat out of it, watching. Is being strong useful in everyday situations? No, I wouldn't say that. I'm always tired, I'm so heavy, my knees always hurt, you know? When someone asks me to help them move something, it's very common and helpful to mess with me, you know? “Oh, you're strong, lift this cart for me,” or something like that.

Is it dangerous to get involved in terms of injuries and health issues and things like that? There are injuries in all sports, but in strongman perhaps a little more seriously. I tore my biceps tendon last summer. I was lifting a tire. 400 kilos. And I put my finger on the spot and he said, "Go!" And I just heard that sound. In England, America and all sorts of places, I think we all grew up watching The World's Strongest Man. Usually New Year's Day or something like that. We were all fascinated. It's a different sport. You don't see him very often.

You don't see guys flipping cars, picking up big rocks. You don't see it.