Mark Felix (born 17 April 1966)[1] is a Grenadian-English strongman competitor and regular entrant to the World's Strongest Man competition. He has competed at a record 18 World's Strongest Man contests, reaching the finals three times. He is the winner of the 2015 Ultimate Strongman Masters World Championships, 2016 WSF World Cup India and has won numerous international grip contests, including the Rolling Thunder World Championships in 2008 and 2009, as well as the Vice Grip Viking Challenge in 2011 and 2012. Having competed in over 100 international competitions throughout 19 years, Felix is the 3rd most prolific strongman contestant in history.[2]
Felix has been affectionately called "The Miracle Man" due to his immense grip strength, deadlift ability, and continued impressive performance in strongman competition despite his relatively older age, with many of his competitors over a decade younger than him.[3]
Early life edit
Mark Felix was born in 1966 in St. George's, Grenada. At the age of 23, he moved to Rishton, Lancashire, England.[4] He was a dedicated bodybuilder and turned his attention to strongman competitions in 2003 at the age of 37, comparatively late in relation to other strength athletes.[4]
Felix also works as a plasterer, with his strength training done four evenings a week. [5]
Strongman career edit
Felix turned pro as a strongman within a year when the IFSA Strongman Federation was launched in 2004.[6]
Felix came third in England's Strongest Man in 2004, and in 2005 he went on to come second to Eddy Elwood in the IFSA version of England's Strongest Man. This led him to the IFSA British Championships, which he won in 2005. Of the five events, Felix won three (Deadlift, Farmer's Walk and Atlas Stones).[6] Afterwards, Felix credited his victory to "Big hands, big heart".[6]
In 2005, Felix was invited to compete in the IFSA World Open in Sao Paulo, Brazil which was a qualifier for the 2005 IFSA Strongman World Championships later in the year, but he failed to finish in the top four and did not qualify for the IFSA World Championships.
Felix also competed in the IFSA World Team Championships in 2005 as a part of Team World representing Grenada, where the team placed third overall.
In 2006, Felix placed second in the Britain's Strongest Man competition and this led to a place in the 2006 World's Strongest Man (WSM), where he placed fourth in the finals.[7]
In 2007, he repeated his second-place finish in Britain's Strongest Man and finished seventh in the 2007 World's Strongest Man. In the same year, he also finished third in the Strongman Super Series 2007 Mohegan Sun Grand Prix.
In 2008, he came fourth in Europe's Strongest Man[7] and went on to finish third in Britain's Strongest Man, qualifying him for a third successive WSM appearance. Felix has said, "Every year I gain more experience and learn more about what I am capable of." [7]
Felix regularly competed at the Europe's Strongest Man from 2008 to 2020. His highest placings were coming in at 3rd place in the 2010 and 2015 competitions. He was also a perennial contender in Britain's Strongest Man competitions, coming in 3rd place two times (2008 and 2013) and 2nd place four times (2006, 2007, 2015, 2016).
In both 2010 and 2012, Felix placed 3rd at the Jón Páll Sigmarsson Classic held in Reykjavík, Iceland.
In 2016, Felix won the World Strongman Federation World Cup held in Varanasi, India. [8] This was his second international competition win.
In 2023, Felix became the oldest competitor ever in the 2023 World's Strongest Man at 57 years old. A new award, the Knaack Tools of the Strongman Award, was also awarded to both Felix and four-time WSM champion Brian Shaw. The award was voted on by the athletes to recognize the hardest working athlete in the year's competition. [9]
Rolling Thunder/Grip edit
Felix won the inaugural 2008 Rolling Thunder World Championships which took place during the 2008 Fortissimus contest in Canada. He also set a new world record with a lift of 301 lb.
In June 2009, Felix successfully defended his Rolling Thunder World Championships title.[10]
Felix won the inaugural 2011 Vice Grip Viking Challenge[11] which took place on 29–30 January at the LA Fitexpo.
Felix retained his Vice Grip title by winning the 2012 Vice Grip Viking Challenge. He also set a world record in the Captains of Crush "COC" Silver Bullet event (holding a suspended weight from within the handles of a Captains of Crush no. 3 gripper) with a time of 43.25 seconds.[12]
Felix set a new Rolling Thunder world record at the 2012 Bodypower Expo in Birmingham, England with a lift of 323.5 pounds (146.7 kg), more than 20 lbs. heavier than his previous world record of 301 pounds (137 kg).[13]
Felix set a new world record in the Hercules Hold event at Giants live Manchester 2019 with a time of 87.52 seconds.[14]
Felix set a new world record in the Dinnie Stone hold at the 2020 Arnold Strongman Classic with a time of 31.40 seconds.
Personal records edit
done in the gym
- Squat – 350 kg (770 lb)
- Bench press – 240 kg (530 lb)
- Deadlift (without wrist straps) – 405 kg (893 lb)[15]
done in competition
Strongman edit
done in official Strongman competition
- Hercules hold (160 kg (353 lb) in each hand) – 92.37 seconds (2020 Europe's Strongest Man) (World Record)[17]
- Hummer Tire Deadlift with straps (15 inches off the floor) – 511.5 kg (1,128 lb) (Arnold Strongman Classic 2013)[18]
- Silver Dollar Deadlift with straps (18 inches off the floor) – 515 kg (1,135 lb) (UK's Strongest Man 2021)[19]
References edit
- ^ "Mark Felix". World's Strongest Man. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "Strongman Archives - Athletes". Strongman Archives. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ^ "Mark Felix". Giants Live. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ a b Athey, Neil (17 August 2019). "Strongman Mark Felix set for Manchester Arena show". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- ^ Mcfarlane, Lydia (28 September 2022). "Successful careers with Mark Felix". Professional Builder. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
- ^ a b c "Previous News". IFSA Strongman. Archived from the original on 6 January 2006.
- ^ a b c Cruces, Emma (4 September 2008). "Rishton man is Britain's third strongest". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "Strongman Archives - 2016 WSF World Cup India". strongmanarchives.com. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
- ^ Blechman, Phil (20 April 2023). "2023 World's Strongest Man Day Two Results — Mark Felix Curtain Calls His Legendary Career". BarBend. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ Strossen, Randall J. (26 June 2009). "Mark Felix Wins the 2009 IronMind Rolling Thunder® World Championships". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ Strossen, Randall J. (31 January 2011). "Grip Contest at FitExpo Crushes the Competition". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ Strossen, Randall J. (30 January 2012). "Mark Felix Wins the Visegrip Viking Challenge". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ Strossen, Randall J. (22 May 2012). "Mark Felix Demolishes Rolling Thunder World Record". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "A strong finish! World Tour Finals 2019 full results and round-up". Giants Live. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ Strossen, Randall J. (11 August 2008). "Mark Felix on the Deadlift: Four and More". IronMind. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ FULL SHOW - World Deadlift Championships 2016 - FULL & UNCUT. YouTube. 30 June 2019. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
See from 31:43
- ^ "The Future Is NOW! Europe's Strongest Man 2020 RESULTS". Giants Live. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "Arnold Strongman 2013 Results". Strongman.org. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
- ^ Blechman, Phil (1 June 2021). "Watch Strongman Mark Felix Partial Deadlift 515 Kilograms (1,135.4 Pounds) At Age 55". BarBend. Retrieved 21 June 2021.