The strongest man in the world is a pastor for God.
SUPERNATURAL STRENGTH
Imagine throwing a 25-kg (56-lb) weight straight up in the air and clearing a bar twice as high as you are tall. Now imagine strapping yourself into a harness and pulling a fire truck 33m.
Kevin Fast of Cobourg, Ontario, is recognized as one of the strongest men in the world. Given a set of dumbbells when he was a teenager, Fast, born in April 1963, became a dedicated body builder. While in his thirties Fast learned about Scottish Games, a traditional Celtic athletic competition featuring feats of strength such as the Caber Toss and the Hammer Throw. Although he has no Scottish heritage, Fast joined in and eventually competed at the professional level. In 1997 he heard of people setting world records through feats of strength, such as towing busses through brute force, and decided he could do that too. He has set several Guinness world records. In 2008 he towed a 57,243 kg (126,200 lb) fire truck 100 feet using only the strength in his legs. The next year he set the record for heaviest aircraft ever towed: a 188.83 ton (416,299 lb) CC-177 Globemaster III cargo plane 8.8m (about 28’ 10-3/4”). In 2010 he pulled a house that weighted 35.9 tons (79.145 lb) 11.95m (39’ 2-1/2”). In 2011 he set two world records: most people ever lifted at one time (22) and heaviest vehicles to be towed 100 feet by two people, with his son Jacob. They lashed together to pull two giant fire engines.
BIG-HEARTED BRAWN
Fast is also a pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cobourg. Known as “The Powerlifting Pastor,” Dr. Fast uses his feats of strength as part of his ministry. Towing airplanes and fire trucks has got him in the newspapers and on television, including a broadcast of his fire truck pull on the USA’s Live with Regis and Kelley. He sells sponsorships for his feats to raise money for charity. With the people lift and truck pull records, the modern day Samson raised $60,000 for Habitat for Humanity.