19 hours ago
‘Planes aren't fun': What it's like being Australia's strongest man
B.J. Stone is just your average bloke, who just happens to also be Australia's Strongest Man.
In May, the 29-year-old won the multi-day contest to be crowned the strongest man in Australia in 2025.
In the footage below, Stone can be seen lifting five massive balls each weighing between 160kg and 210kg over a barrier in 31 seconds — pumping up the crowd as he won the title.
Speaking to Stone, who weighs 140kg, said having the title of Australia's strongest man is 'very, very cool'.
'It's something that I didn't think was ever going to be in the realm of possibility growing up, but I think most young adults or young kids always want to know who the strongest is and will be the strongest and that's how I get the story at least for a year.
'To call myself the strongest person in Australia, at least for a year, is pretty cool.'
So how does one become Australia's strongest man?
'There's some sort of standard things that you'll find in most strongman comps,' Stone explained.
'There's always like a dead lift, always some form of pressing overhead, always some sort or grip event, and then usually a medley or carrying something, a certain distance or a certain weight for a certain time. Those things kind of cultivate into five to eight events.'
'A typical week of training, I do four days of weight training and I try to get in two days of walking at a relative pace to get my heart rate up, just to keep my heart healthy as being 140kg person is not exactly healthy.
'The most I've ever jerked overhead is 252.5kg. I did that in training for Australia's Strongest Man this year. The most I've ever deadlifted is 410kg. I don't really do bench (press).'
Stone works as a window manufacturer, and manages to balance his day job and strength work.
'It can be hard, but my work's pretty supportive with it, which is good,' Stone said.
'Usually I'm the one that they rely on for all the heavy lifting.'
Asked if he's somewhat of a celebrity at work, Stone said: 'Not really. I'm just another one of the boys.'
Stone gets his protein intake mostly through red meat, chicken and fish.
'Typically I try to eat as clean as I can but I like a treat here and there,' Stone said.
'Usually I sticked to 2.2 grams per kilo of body weight for protein, about 1 gram per kilo body weight of fat.
'So that's works out to be about 350 grams of protein, 140 grams of fat per day, and then I usually have between, anywhere between 500 and 800 grams of carbs a day.'
Like a scene out of Superman, Stone decided to try his hand lifting in a gym, only to discover he was far stronger than he ever imagined.
'I was a gymnast for nine years, but I wasn't a strong gymnast — I was tall and weak compared to the guys I was training with.
'I kind of needed an outlet because I was dealing with some degenerative issues in my back from genetics.
'Then one day I decided to try dead lift when I was about 16 years old at the school gym, and I ended up deadlifting 185 kilos — yeah, no, no one had seen that at school.
'I didn't realise how much it was until I started going to a and then I started going to a gym and of personal trainers and I realised I'm actually pretty strong compared to what I thought.'
And the rest is history.
'I found strength training in bodybuilding, then I did bodybuilding for a year and a half and powerlifting for a couple years and then ended up working at a strongman gym in Adelaide,' Stone said.
'That took me over to the Arnold's Australia that they held in at the Melbourne Convention Centre.
'I actually got to see Brian Shaw (four-time World's Strongest Man) compete and a few other big names and strongmen. I just fell in love with the sport then, and it took me eight years to claim the title.'
There are pros and cons to being Australia's strongest man, as it turns out.
'I mean, aeroplanes aren't fun,' Stone chuckled.
'A lot of normal cars aren't fun to get in and out, those car spots are tight and whatnot. But for the most part, it's pretty awesome.
'Everyday things are just easier, I would say, because I am stronger and, like, just doesn't take me as much effort to do things.'
Stone said the biggest misconception about lifting and strong man competitions is the pure level of physical strength required to lift at that level.
'The biggest thing is like, and this is what's hard to portray really, is just the actual difference in strength between the guys that go to World's Strongest Man and whatnot and just a normal everyday person.
'It's such a vast degree of difference, lot of people don't actually comprehend and the hours of work that it takes and the genetic disposition you need to be that strong.'
Despite pushing himself to the limit, Stone said is body is in 'pretty good' condition overall.
'I've got some like asymptomatic bulging disks in my back, about five of those in my lumbar spine, but they're mostly asymptomatic, so they're not an issue,' he said.
'With the degenerative disease that I have some arthritis in my facet joints, which plays up every now and then, which makes training a bit tricky sometimes. I can usually get that to settle down in a week or two and then get back to it. Everything else, like knees, ankles, wrists and shoulders all feel good.'
So what's next for BJ Stone?
'The next thing that me and my coach are working towards is going to the Arnold's Ohio professional pro competition,' he said.
'Our goal is to go there, win that, and that'll qualify me for the 2027 Arnold Ohio Pro Comp, um, which is probably one of the heaviest comps in the world.
'Apart from that, it'll be next year's Australia Strongest Man. Definitely some bucket list comps in the near future, hopefully.'
He said he eventually plans to shed some kgs when he finishes up competing, but he will also be partial to a dead lift.
'Being this body weight is not sustainable, even if it is mostly muscle mass.
'Definitely I'm hoping to get anywhere between five and 10 more years out of this sport.
'Then after that everything will be pointed towards losing weight, getting my body weight down to that 110-115kg mark. Then just maintaining as much strength as I possibly can as I age — lifting weights and being strong and capable is never a bad thing. So it's something that I'm going to do for the rest of my life.'
Australia is going through a fitness craze at the moment — Stone says staying active and going to the gym 'is one of the most important things we can do'.
Stone will be appearing at the AusFitness Expo in Sydney next month, where he'll be lifting a 'monster dumbbell' and aiming to break the world record of 151kg.
'It's like an oversized dumbbell which we lift with one hand, like pick it up to our shoulders and then put it over our head with one hand,' he explained.
'There's three of us doing it. We're all trying to beat the current Australian record that got set at Australia Strongest Man. All three of us have the capability, if we have a good day to push for the world record as well.'
