Your United States Strongman has been burning the midnight oil to provide opportunities for all athletes to enjoy fun and exciting events and to advance to the next level! We have been approached by a group of young turks that are eager to advance the sport of Strongman for all the right reasons. Here is their story!
The International Strongman Federation or ISF was born out of a need to support Pro Strongmen internationally, devoid of politics, in-fighting and disputes between organizations that has done very little to protect and positively exploit strength athletics on the world stage. It was created to promote the massive up swell of talent coming from international and US ranks. It was created to give back to charities and the communities that host its events. ISF was created to change the US public’s perception of what Strongman is and make its athletes household names again.
The sport of Strongman in America is on the rise. However, it is still a niche sport and has achieved nowhere near the level of fame that it has in Europe. Many of its “hero’s” are European. Ask the average American about strongman and a few will remember “Kaz” the great Bill Kazmaier, but most will say “that Magnuson guy”, meaning Magnús Ver Magnússon. Magnus won the WSM title 4 times, the last being in 1996. They may have seen it on ESPN but that was some years ago. Now the sport is relegated to 1 hour on Christmas day. The birth and success of CrossFit has helped grow awareness and drive people to compete and watch. There is no better way to grow the sport then competition and Federations like USStrongman will hold over 100 competitions in the US this year alone. Yet the level of support across the US is still not big enough. ISF feels they can do better. We can bring athletes and potential sponsors together at events. We can ensure top medical care onsite; we can bring better prize packages, bigger exposure and bigger crowds to cheer them as they fight to be the best in the world. All of this without any politics involved. What is best for the athletes is best for the sport and the ISF. We feel we can all succeed together.
On Saturday June 10th of this year, ISF will hold ISF 1. It will bring together 10 of the world’s best Strongmen to compete in New Braunfels, Texas. ISF1 will be held in conjunction with Texas Riverfest, 3 days of tubing, drinking and eating that will culminate at Gruene (pronounced green) Harley- Davidson and a venue filled with vendor booths, music and displays of strength rarely seen in the US. The event will feature a duel car deadlift, the Viking press with a 2017 HD Trike, a Hercules hold featuring more HD’s as ballast, the traditional truck pull provided by a local beer distributor and finally a car yoke. The ISF athletes will be flown to Texas several days prior to walk the event grounds, meet the sponsors, make media appearances, tour local sites and prepare for Saturday. After the event, ISF will make our athletes available inside Gruene Harley-Davidson to sign autographs and pictures. That night there will be a VIP party and concert for participants, VIPs, vendors and fans at the “The Freiheit Country Store” music venue.
ISF is collaborating with other entities for five to seven shows through the remainder of 2017. In conjunction with USStrongman, ISF will tour the US promoting our best competitors in a number of classic strongman competitions. On the docket for this year are TEAM USA vs the World, TEAM Europe vs the World and several other variations to the classic head-to-head match ups that fans enjoy. That’s still not all but if you are a fan or an athlete, you will have to watch our social media, this website and our own and see a major announcement following the June 10th event. Join the revolution in Strongman and support ISF as we grow together.
The 10 athletes and all the details will be announced in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned to www.unitedstatesstrongman.com for all the latest information.