Hey Thor can you please tell mitchell that you were stronger in 2020 than you were in 2018 so people can finally stop saying the 2018 thor was the strongest human to ever walk the planet when actually it was the 2020 Thor and not the 2018 Thor
Nah, I miss the days where men had aggression, pounded on their chests and demanded it was their stage, this hugging holding hands stuff is not as interesting
It brings a very high level of class to the sport. Appreciate the positivity and support between each of them there needs to be more of this across the board
I like how you can be objective and don’t have a huge ego despite your accomplishments. Your humility and honesty must be part of your success. Great video. I think you and Thor battling over the coming years will push each other and the sport to new heights.
Because he’s going with the numbers. Im not saying he would boast about being the best of all time but he would certainly mention it if the numbers supported that, just like he knows he’s close to being in the conversation right now and he’s not even close to retiring
I don't ever comment on videos but I just wanted to say hats off to you Mich. Ur videos keep me motivated when I've been struggling from injury in the gym. I've followed u since worlds strongest man and have watched every video. To come onto UA-cam and see a post from u everytime has been amazing. I love how ur sharing ur knowledge with us and are a very humble guy who has his priorities right. Well done for all ur accomplishments, big and small.
The Hafthor and Larry Wheels training videos were some of my favorite videos. That is what got me into deadlifting...even though I´m not very strong compared to others.
Can't wait to see you guys compete again, Hafthor has become a completely different athlete having matured more as a person and fixing some of his weaknesses. I think a large part of the motivation he has now to work as hard as he does to become the best version of him we've yet to see is because of you Mitchell Hooper. I hope you guys push each other to new heights!
The honesty and kindness with which you approach strongman, and the other things you share with us here, as well as the respect and humility you show, are just exeplary. You are the most Canadian Canadian I have ever even heard of. "Be nice, it's the right thing to do" is the way you always present yourself, and it just makes me happy. Cheers mate, and carry on :) You rock!
I’m glad Thor is back. Glad you have Tom breathing down your neck from time to time. You need that push to be the best version of yourself that you can be, and I’m here watching every minute of it.
Indeed! And I don't think we'd ever see the things Tom has done if it wasn't for Hooper! Tom Log Pressed 210 kg, Axle pressed 210 kg and he'd never do that if Hooper wasn't there to push him
Fully agree. 2018 Thor was just absurdly strong. 2025/2026 Thor has got the potential to be something from another planet. And same goes for you Mitch! Gonna be a spectacle to watch the two of you go head to head in the future!
Yep totally agree. 2018 Thor was the peak of the sport. Doesn’t have the titles that match his ability and a shame that he stopped competing at his peak.
I love this kind of positive content where someone in a unique position to appreciate someone else's accomplishments talk about what made it so great. Please do more like this!
Mitch, 5:02 Hafthor's WR on this is 100 lb (45.4 kg) from 2017 ASC. 5:22 You should not consider 2023 ASC deadlift to the Elephant Bar arsenal because except for 2023, every single year (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24) it was RAW, and no briefs were allowed. So your true PR on the Elephant bar is 431.5 (951) from 2024 ASC, and not 445 (981) from 2023 ASC. 2023 pulls are legit but cannot be compared to all other years. 5:29 456 (1,006) 6:43 Hafthor is THE Greatest Stonelifter of all time. To be the best, you have to be good at all stone events (both Standardized and Natural stones) including loading, shouldering, carrying and pressing. Hafthor has the highest international stone event wins (28) of all time, highest international stone event winning percentage (58.33%) of all time and the most Stonelifting World Records (15 of them still stand) of all time. Numbers for Brian and Tom are 25, 42.37%, 8 and 16, 53.33%, 6 respectively. 11:15 Hafthor's 460 (1,014) Squat was daylight robbery because of Powerlifting politics. Boris Sheiko did not want Hafthor to just give PL a go for fun and break his boy Malanichev's 1,140 (2,513) ATWR at that time. Strength Universe did a layout superimposition of the 440 and 460 (2nd and the 3rd lifts) and proved that Hafthor reached the 'exact same depth' on both, proving it was human error at judging. 12:00 6'9"
Thor is definitely on the Mount Rushmore of strength athletes. He has adapted very well. Eddie was stronger statically so Thor went and got stronger but was able keep his athleticism and explosiveness.
@@antoniocenteno1483 Eddie’s gym lifts leading into 2017 wsm Beltless bare knees squat 760lbs x7 Bench 584lbs x6 Deadlift beltless no suit 926x3 With the exception of the deadlift, I don’t think Thor could have done any of those even at his prime.
An amazingly candid and self depreciating video about who is the strongest human to actually ever walk the earth over his total accomplishments/achievements within a 1-year time frame. I have thought the same thing myself pretty much. He will be a hard person to beat but because of this video and your personality mate, I would love for you to be the one to at least match him in some way. Good luck.
Another good vid. Back in Thor’s 2018 PL meet, if he had got given that squat (it looked good to me?) he would have been sat at 5th of all time right now. He was aiming for a 1140kg total which at the time would have given him the joint highest total of all time. I think that was his goal. Won everything in strongman so might as well win PL too.
You made some really valid points. I'd have to agree about Bjornsson. Plus, he's always a threat regardless of the events. Much like you, him just showing up at a comp, brings the best out of the other athletes making for an exciting competition.
I love how honest you are Mitch especially with yourself. No ego and no false self deprecation. Just a man evaluating the facts. I think this honesty will serve you well in setting and achieving goals.
Totally, and neither in the conversation for GOAT until the remaining criteria met, longevity. Success over time ie. Years/decades of peak performance, like Z or Shaw
@@adamh6730 Thats one school of looking at it. But then theres the other : who is the best strength athlete ever. Then it's Thor. So far. Shaw doesn't come close to Z in *your* logic of reckoning, by the way.
@TheVanillatech my point exactly, Shaw by my reasoning is well behind Z and Thor would be behind Shaw. The question just isn't worded in a way for me to see it differently. Best over time has to include success over time as a key criteria. A few years of dominance, even at such a divide, isn't yet sufficient for this argument. Similar to Kaz, one of the best historically? Of course. Best of time? How could we tell? He doesn't meet the criteria . I had a different response but it erased on my end so apologies if you got both
I still think that if Kaz was in his prime today, having the same advantages of strongmen today over those of decades ago, he would be one of the best. With the possible exception of Savickas, I've not seen another strength athlete who was so far ahead of the competition.
Absolutely ridiculous. Mariusz beat Z in 77% of ALL the events they ever competed in together. And it was Mariusz who was literally called "The DOminator". Cos he dominated everyone (INCLUDING Z).
I think so too, not just his strength but his training intensity and competitive drive were simply on another level - tore his pec and still dominated the WSM competition!
@@johnarleentaninecz2867 He had some competiton, he wasn't as dominant as Mariusz. Problem was, the pool of talent wasn't so great back in the late 70's / early 80's. Lots of NFL players and WWF wrestlers etc.
As someone who has watched every single WSM since the early 80’s more than once, Mariusz Pudzianowski was the most dominant strength athlete of all time. He has the explosive athletic power to pair with respectable absolute strength. He was more dominant than any other winning by 10-20 points many years.
If you’re talking numbers on the bar though which I believe Mitch puts a lot of emphasis on Thor massively out performs Marius……..not disrespecting Pudzianowski he was an incredible athlete bust the weights at that time were nowhere near as crazy as what the guys are throwing around now.
@@frasergullan1420 correctly stated. I am biased against the way they are focusing on max lift. They have gotten rid of more entertaining dynamic events, IMO to reduce injury which is great but it’s not the same sport. A Magnus Ver, M. Samuelson, Jouko Ahola etc. couldn’t compete anymore. You need to be 320 lbs. +
Love nerding out over how obscenely good Thor is. The 8 WSM podiums in a row is unmatched, and a couple of those were within like 1 or 1.5pts of being title wins (mostly vs Zydrunas and Brian for extra context!) Z is the goat for longevity and total accomplishments, Thor is the strongest that a person has ever been
Glad to see someone acknowledging Thor, I’m not blowing steam up his butt but he’s also one of the most humble athletes too. His genetics and well roundedness is insane. He also had prime kielizkowski, licis, and novikov to compete against
@@IbrahimAl-Khwarizmi me and my cousin chuckled in disbelief when Z lifted a big bag of coal for his outdoor grill with 1 hand in one of his videos!holding the bag like a shopping bag!not like up on the chest with both hand around it like regular people
100% agree. Thor has the unique quality to integrate strongman athleticism, flexibility etc with the most brutal strenght. He can beat Mateusz in loading race and at the same time squat one of the heaviest weight. With huge respect to all athletes, there is no other strongmen like him in this sense.
Great argument. I still go with Big Brian Shaw as the greatest ever but for one year, one peak, that is a good argument. Brian just has so much raw power, best grip in the world, really great all around and was elite for a very long time. He has some incredible one off feats of strength, had the potential to be the best dead lifter at one point if he went for it… he’s the best to me.
I am 100% sure Mitch is the one single person on earth that is waiting for Thor to reach his peak the most. Sad that due to injuries and them being human beings we will never see a Mitch, Thor, Tom, Martins, Oleksii and Mateusz comp all together at their very best, that would've been the greatest comp of all time.
I just can’t look beyond saying big z is number 1, the man would be winning an event and still do an extra lift to try break world records. Competed so much more than everyone else and if he didn’t go ifsa and stayed at worlds, he’d have a few more WSM titles to his name and Marius would have a few less. No disrespect to Thor though, such an incredible athlete and I’d love to see him at worlds battling with yourself, Mateusz & Tom all in top form.
Mitchell I think you end up one of the most winning competitors of all time in the world of strongmen events. You are the greatest athlete I have ever seen compete. Your top and horsepower is top 5 alltime. The athleticism and power is there, hopefully you are injury resistant and everyrhing will click into place for a long decorated career.
Hi Mitch, I appreciate this video and your appraisal of Thor's career. The big variable here is the competitive field. Who was competing at each contest and how well others performed makes a direct comparison basically impossible. That being said, I think you did a great job with this video. Thank you sir!
A lot of people would bash Thor in your situation as a marketing ploy. Respect to you for focusing on other things than money and attention. Lift heavy be kind, props to you man. 💯
Theirs a tone of great power lifters and olympic lifters out their but im just a strongman fan and the G.O.A.T of strongman are Capes, Kaz, Pudzinowski, ver Magnuson maybey even Sigmerson, but Bjornson is write up their with Shaw and Zaviscas for me they are the big 3. Tom Stolman is very big strong and young with 2 titles already deffo a future G.O.A.T
@@askalds Strongest man in recorded History then. At the forefront of genetic evolution of our species. With abundant food, quality food, and performance enhancing drugs. So it's a safe bet to say he is.
@@TheVanillatechconsidering he was neck at neck at all his competitions, it’s not comfortable at all to say so. I can easily argue that big z, Shaw, Eddie’s static lifts in 2016-17… all are more impressive strength wise then Thor. No disrespect to Thor, but he has some more to prove before he can say he was the strongest to walk the earth
I've been a huge fan of Thor since volunteering with him at the Arnold's in Melbourne 2014. He was here in Victoria, BC at my home this past April while here for Fancon. He's a genuine and sincere human plus he's the strongest man of all time! I have to have love for Hooper not only being Canadian but also from my hometown Barrie, Ontario. Love your videos and all you put into your training Mitch!
Great means something more than what he is. Everyone makes mistakes. But others have carried themselves better more consistently, even on the 'stuff'. I'd say Shaw and Hooper both preset a more consistent kindness and maturity despite being on the same 'stuff'. It looks like he shows growth; but that still puts him at best 3rd if I otherwise find him competitive for that title. Not meant as disrespect; I'm a nobody, my opinion doesn't matter ... but my comment increases channel engagement and helps the algorithm :)
The strongest man to ever live. I have to agree. 2018 was the peak Thor, until his torn plantar fascia at the WSM 2019. Of course, that is different to the greatest strongman to ever live, which includes more longevity.
@@DavidVirtanen He could well have been stronger in 2020 but results matter so it is hard to say. The one caviat in 2020 was Kieliszkowski performance at the Arnolds. Whilst, Thor won the whole event, Kieliszkowski won 4 of the events, but as always was let down by his deadlift. Which shows that consistancy is key. In many ways Kieliszkowski is very similar to Thor 2024, in that he was amazing in most events but let down in a couple. Whether Thor will ever get back to 2018 levels, it will be hard to say. He is coming back from a big injury and he is 35 years old. So stands more chance of getting injured and in some ways harder to recover from a serious injury, and as 'Strongest Man on Earth' proves consistancy is key and having a single big weakness can make a big difference between 1st and 2nd.
In 2018 Thor beat Brian by what, 5 points? In 2017 Eddie, Thor, and Brian were all within what, four points. In 2016 Brian won and Thor and Eddie were close. In 2015 Brian won and Z and Thor were close. From 2015-2018 Brian won two, came or came in third. 2018 Thor was still two years away from the 501kg. It’s a toss up, 2016 Shaw, 2017 Hall, 2018 Thor are all debatably the strongest person to have lived by total strength. The fact that Shaw won 2015 and 2016 beating Thor, Eddie in their primes and Z at the end of his prime is more impressive than Thor beating no prime Eddie and Brian at the end of his prime in 2018.
i suspect Hafthor will overtake you soon, however, due to the massive age difference you will likely attain #1 again, since you still have a long way to go and your strength increases don't seem to be dropping, if you continue to get stronger at this rate I cans ee you as the best ever to do it, thats if you don't plateau or experience any major injuries.
Micht:"You don't have to opportunity in every single contest to be seting new PRs to getting WR" also Mitch on SC2024:"winning show by setting two and equaling one WR"
Ed Coan basically handled the same weights as Thor at about half his body weight. Ed coan: 1,018 squat and 2,463 total at 242, 901 deadlift on a stiff bar no straps and 2,402 total at 220. Thor: 1,014 squat, 551 bench, 904 powerlifting deadlift and missed 948. No one can deadlift 1,100 under powerlifting rules! Lol! Ed Coan's bench was around the same as Thor's, maybe a little better. Thor weight was close to double what Ed Coan's was! In 1998 Ed Coan posted the highest powerlifting total of all time at 2,463 in the 242 class. Soon after Gary Frank broke it at heavy weight. There is another contender for the strongest man ever, Gary Frank but none of you young guys have even heard of him. Lol
But seriously. If we are talking powerlifting prime eddie hall wouldve given prime thor a run for his money or even had an edge. Deadlift equal. Squat about equal. Eddies bench crushes thor.
I think Thor and Shaw were absolutely the two best I have ever seen. Shaw was probably more tactical and played the points game better such as yourself. But in overall raw strength I believe your assessment is spot on. I have no doubt at the end of the day you will be considered one of the strongman GOATS as well!
If you like getting into the history of strength, check out Angus MacAskill, a compatriot of yours that may have been one of if not the strongest man to ever live in any time.
To say the era doesn't matter is ridiculous.. the weights go up every year and guys get stronger.. it doesnt mean guys in the past werent strong or can't be the greatest because they did what they needed to do at the time. Thor when he broke the deadlift world record was absolutely pushing the limits with certain things and its not a knock on him at all but its why he retired in the first place because he knew his body was taking a hit. I think guys from the past would have pushed more too if they had to. You're gonna see it the more stuff gets heavier and heavier. Eddie Hall is another good example of pushing the upper limits, he always looked like he was gonna explode. He had to retire or he could have given himself an early exit in life.
2018 Thor was the STRONGEST. No doubt. Greatest? Mariusz Pudzianowski. No one dominated the way he did. Z second. You and Brian and Thor can fight for third.
That is some high-tier glazing, but well-deserved for Thor. I still think you are the smarter strength athlete, which can be the edge in complex competitions.
Yup! Mitch does have the higher IQ advantage over probably every Strongman that ever lived. But Hafthor is no slouch either. He used to be the one to talk about when it came to training/competing smart, until Mitchel came. hafthor does have a speech impediment, which may make people think he is dumber than he is. But i do think he in fact is quite smart.
@@palmarolavlklingholm9684 Yes I never implied that Thor is not smart. Mitch is just the first strongman that has somewhat of a scientific background, which shows. He isn't just saying that his secret to strength is drinking 1l of cranberry juice a day (Eddie please don't hurt me).
I don’t see 2018 being statically stronger than 2017 Eddie… I think depending on the events either one would be considered the strongest. I think a static event 2017 wins 9 out of 10 times.
Thing is Eddie trained multiples lifts one at a time to set massive PRs. Guys like Haftor and Brian always trained for full competitions. Eddie was never at a single point in time able to replicate all his personal bests, and that's where people are confused. 2018 Haftor was both the strongest static lifter in strongman history has a behemouth 200kg bodyweight. And still able to beat the likes of Kieliskowsky in dynamic events. This version of him was simply out of reach for any man in this world as of now.
@@J.c410 I think everybody is discounting 2017 Eddie a lot here with how good he was. People forget he did the 2nd highest Deadlift at the time during WSM 2017 as one of the final events? He won all the static event, came a close second on a plane pull and lost in tire flip and stones. Im not disputing Thor being number 1, my argument is that 2017 Eddie would Rival 2018 Thor depending on the events. So if the event has Throwing, moving and loading event, with 2 static events Thor would win every day. But visa versa if the events where 3 static events and 2 dynamic, I think Eddie win. A guy pulling 472.5kg Deadift on a 5th event at WSM and after multiple days of competing is absurdly strong and I think it’s highly likely 2017 Eddie when he was ready for WSM could of likely pulled 510-520kg
That’s probably the nicest video someone has done about me. Appreciate the kind words and support brother! 🫡❤️
Hey Thor can you please tell mitchell that you were stronger in 2020 than you were in 2018 so people can finally stop saying the 2018 thor was the strongest human to ever walk the planet when actually it was the 2020 Thor and not the 2018 Thor
@@DavidVirtanen 😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣😂😂🤣😂😂
@@DavidVirtanenHow about 2019 Thor? That year the only rival was an injury lol
@@DavidVirtanennah bro, 1997 Thor was a different breed
I love the degree of mutual respect between Mitch, Thor, & Tom right now
Nah, I miss the days where men had aggression, pounded on their chests and demanded it was their stage, this hugging holding hands stuff is not as interesting
It brings a very high level of class to the sport. Appreciate the positivity and support between each of them there needs to be more of this across the board
If only their fans could show the same level of respect.
Yes❤
@@polarbear4612 an impossible feat.
I like how you can be objective and don’t have a huge ego despite your accomplishments. Your humility and honesty must be part of your success. Great video. I think you and Thor battling over the coming years will push each other and the sport to new heights.
Because he’s going with the numbers. Im not saying he would boast about being the best of all time but he would certainly mention it if the numbers supported that, just like he knows he’s close to being in the conversation right now and he’s not even close to retiring
I don't ever comment on videos but I just wanted to say hats off to you Mich. Ur videos keep me motivated when I've been struggling from injury in the gym. I've followed u since worlds strongest man and have watched every video. To come onto UA-cam and see a post from u everytime has been amazing. I love how ur sharing ur knowledge with us and are a very humble guy who has his priorities right. Well done for all ur accomplishments, big and small.
good luck healin
Well said!
The Hafthor and Larry Wheels training videos were some of my favorite videos. That is what got me into deadlifting...even though I´m not very strong compared to others.
Good job bro! I am not strong either but I deadlift now because of Thor and Mitch. I can lift more than my bodyweight now and I'm proud of it. :)
@@AbsoRuud76Awesome, keep up the good work!
Can't wait to see you guys compete again, Hafthor has become a completely different athlete having matured more as a person and fixing some of his weaknesses. I think a large part of the motivation he has now to work as hard as he does to become the best version of him we've yet to see is because of you Mitchell Hooper. I hope you guys push each other to new heights!
The honesty and kindness with which you approach strongman, and the other things you share with us here, as well as the respect and humility you show, are just exeplary. You are the most Canadian Canadian I have ever even heard of. "Be nice, it's the right thing to do" is the way you always present yourself, and it just makes me happy. Cheers mate, and carry on :) You rock!
I’m glad Thor is back. Glad you have Tom breathing down your neck from time to time. You need that push to be the best version of yourself that you can be, and I’m here watching every minute of it.
Indeed! And I don't think we'd ever see the things Tom has done if it wasn't for Hooper! Tom Log Pressed 210 kg, Axle pressed 210 kg and he'd never do that if Hooper wasn't there to push him
Fully agree. 2018 Thor was just absurdly strong. 2025/2026 Thor has got the potential to be something from another planet. And same goes for you Mitch! Gonna be a spectacle to watch the two of you go head to head in the future!
always said 2018-2020 Thor is the strongest human ever, Z is the greatest but Thor is the strongest at their respective peaks.
Yeah, I don't think I could say it better myself. Z just won everything, his Wikipedia entry is almost comical with the number of wins he has.
Pretty sure this is canon by now
Thor is not done..he can deadpull 520kg with ease if he goes for it
Yep totally agree. 2018 Thor was the peak of the sport. Doesn’t have the titles that match his ability and a shame that he stopped competing at his peak.
@@solareiusdeiu
But I doubt his pressing strength will ever by the same as it was.
I think that 213kg log he did in 2018 is so underrated!
I Follow You On Instagram Are You On TikTok?
Why is it so damn hard to push press a log? I can strict it but can’t use my legs. Wth
@@Jitar1the circumference of the log makes it way harder to keep your elbows up in the dip and drive for push press. Just takes more getting used to
@@cisrael468 Ok thank you
I love this kind of positive content where someone in a unique position to appreciate someone else's accomplishments talk about what made it so great. Please do more like this!
Mitch,
5:02 Hafthor's WR on this is 100 lb (45.4 kg) from 2017 ASC.
5:22 You should not consider 2023 ASC deadlift to the Elephant Bar arsenal because except for 2023, every single year (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24) it was RAW, and no briefs were allowed. So your true PR on the Elephant bar is 431.5 (951) from 2024 ASC, and not 445 (981) from 2023 ASC. 2023 pulls are legit but cannot be compared to all other years.
5:29 456 (1,006)
6:43 Hafthor is THE Greatest Stonelifter of all time. To be the best, you have to be good at all stone events (both Standardized and Natural stones) including loading, shouldering, carrying and pressing. Hafthor has the highest international stone event wins (28) of all time, highest international stone event winning percentage (58.33%) of all time and the most Stonelifting World Records (15 of them still stand) of all time. Numbers for Brian and Tom are 25, 42.37%, 8 and 16, 53.33%, 6 respectively.
11:15 Hafthor's 460 (1,014) Squat was daylight robbery because of Powerlifting politics. Boris Sheiko did not want Hafthor to just give PL a go for fun and break his boy Malanichev's 1,140 (2,513) ATWR at that time. Strength Universe did a layout superimposition of the 440 and 460 (2nd and the 3rd lifts) and proved that Hafthor reached the 'exact same depth' on both, proving it was human error at judging.
12:00 6'9"
But Mitch had an injured hamstring coming into ASC 2024. Hos deadlift was compromised
Spot on good facts
Pin this comment.
@@daviesugo7641Then he should pull a bigger weight next year :)
Intresting stats and info 👍👍
Thor is definitely on the Mount Rushmore of strength athletes. He has adapted very well. Eddie was stronger statically so Thor went and got stronger but was able keep his athleticism and explosiveness.
Eddie was a stronger static package, Thor passed him in every static event but pressing
@@antoniocenteno1483
Eddie’s gym lifts leading into 2017 wsm
Beltless bare knees squat 760lbs x7
Bench 584lbs x6
Deadlift beltless no suit 926x3
With the exception of the deadlift, I don’t think Thor could have done any of those even at his prime.
@@TrenchStormereddie is just stronger in shoulder/chest. Squat is almost equal, but Thor is putting up those squat numbers with ease
Eddie being a rival to Thor was a 1-year flash in the pan. Europe's 2017 and WSM 2017 are the only years Eddie beat him or got close.
@@BashUin2Pieces i don’t think so. I’ve never seen thor do anything beltless and bare knee. 750x7 in those circumstances is actual insanity
Visited him in his GYM last week. Nicest man I ever met! (And strongest of course)
The best thing is he is still young. Brian retired 8 years older than thor is now. So he can have a whole decade almost of peak strength
Came here for the video, left with a follow. Mitch is such a humble sportsman. Very refreshing athlete. and an awesome video
An amazingly candid and self depreciating video about who is the strongest human to actually ever walk the earth over his total accomplishments/achievements within a 1-year time frame. I have thought the same thing myself pretty much. He will be a hard person to beat but because of this video and your personality mate, I would love for you to be the one to at least match him in some way. Good luck.
Hey Mitch just wanted to say that you're doing a good job promoting the DL champs in Vegas in every video, I'm sure that Giants Live appreciates it
Another good vid. Back in Thor’s 2018 PL meet, if he had got given that squat (it looked good to me?) he would have been sat at 5th of all time right now. He was aiming for a 1140kg total which at the time would have given him the joint highest total of all time. I think that was his goal. Won everything in strongman so might as well win PL too.
You made some really valid points. I'd have to agree about Bjornsson. Plus, he's always a threat regardless of the events. Much like you, him just showing up at a comp, brings the best out of the other athletes making for an exciting competition.
Another great informative vid 💪
It's weird and amazing how different Hafthor and Mitch are physically.
Thor is basically the evolved version of Brian Shaw and Mitch is basically the evolved version of Mariusz Pudzianowski
@@ben1ben2ben1 gotta catch em all 😂
@@ben1ben2ben1Mitch is Mateusz with a good deadlift
I love how honest you are Mitch especially with yourself. No ego and no false self deprecation. Just a man evaluating the facts.
I think this honesty will serve you well in setting and achieving goals.
Have to respect a man who's humble in pointing out another man's greatness. You both along with others are Insane. Blessings
Awesome video mitch really appreciate the humbleness and respect
Mitchell is literally the best ambassador to the strong man sport
Liz is going to nerd out on this sure. Love the breakdown n best of luck with 2024
John Haack and Hafthor Bjornsson are to me 2 of the absolute strongest in the world. Each a class of their own.
Rocky Balboa still number 1 for me. Dragged a tree trunk up a mountain in the snow ffs.
Haack is (probably) the #1 powerlifter... But not particularly close to a strongest in the world list. Similar situation to Naim Suleymanoglu.
Totally, and neither in the conversation for GOAT until the remaining criteria met, longevity. Success over time ie. Years/decades of peak performance, like Z or Shaw
@@adamh6730 Thats one school of looking at it. But then theres the other : who is the best strength athlete ever. Then it's Thor. So far.
Shaw doesn't come close to Z in *your* logic of reckoning, by the way.
@TheVanillatech my point exactly, Shaw by my reasoning is well behind Z and Thor would be behind Shaw. The question just isn't worded in a way for me to see it differently. Best over time has to include success over time as a key criteria. A few years of dominance, even at such a divide, isn't yet sufficient for this argument. Similar to Kaz, one of the best historically? Of course. Best of time? How could we tell? He doesn't meet the criteria . I had a different response but it erased on my end so apologies if you got both
I watched that power lifting meet over and over, his third squat was just as deep as his second all three judges were blind
I still think that if Kaz was in his prime today, having the same advantages of strongmen today over those of decades ago, he would be one of the best. With the possible exception of Savickas, I've not seen another strength athlete who was so far ahead of the competition.
Absolutely ridiculous. Mariusz beat Z in 77% of ALL the events they ever competed in together. And it was Mariusz who was literally called "The DOminator". Cos he dominated everyone (INCLUDING Z).
Louis Cyr And Paul Anderson As Well They Were Both Insane
I think so too, not just his strength but his training intensity and competitive drive were simply on another level - tore his pec and still dominated the WSM competition!
Kaz so dominated when he won 3 straight WSM. He was so far ahead of everyone. WSM literally banned him and then made the events much lighter.
@@johnarleentaninecz2867 He had some competiton, he wasn't as dominant as Mariusz. Problem was, the pool of talent wasn't so great back in the late 70's / early 80's. Lots of NFL players and WWF wrestlers etc.
As someone who has watched every single WSM since the early 80’s more than once, Mariusz Pudzianowski was the most dominant strength athlete of all time. He has the explosive athletic power to pair with respectable absolute strength. He was more dominant than any other winning by 10-20 points many years.
You are speaking the facts!!!🎉🎉
Lol ikr.... it's not even a debate... not even close... he was the biggest freak athlete ever in wsm by ALOT
If you’re talking numbers on the bar though which I believe Mitch puts a lot of emphasis on Thor massively out performs Marius……..not disrespecting Pudzianowski he was an incredible athlete bust the weights at that time were nowhere near as crazy as what the guys are throwing around now.
@@frasergullan1420 correctly stated. I am biased against the way they are focusing on max lift. They have gotten rid of more entertaining dynamic events, IMO to reduce injury which is great but it’s not the same sport. A Magnus Ver, M. Samuelson, Jouko Ahola etc. couldn’t compete anymore. You need to be 320 lbs. +
You nailed it and i fully agree with you. Hafthor is something else
Mariusz is my all time Favorite. Pudzianowski did things consistently for a decade, and is still the all time World's Strongest Man (5X).
Love nerding out over how obscenely good Thor is.
The 8 WSM podiums in a row is unmatched, and a couple of those were within like 1 or 1.5pts of being title wins (mostly vs Zydrunas and Brian for extra context!)
Z is the goat for longevity and total accomplishments, Thor is the strongest that a person has ever been
Half a point in 2014 and 1 point in 2017.
Big Z would have a 15 podium streak if it weren't for the split with ifsa and his knee injury in 2001
Remember he was in game of thrones at the same time of competitions
Glad to see someone acknowledging Thor, I’m not blowing steam up his butt but he’s also one of the most humble athletes too. His genetics and well roundedness is insane. He also had prime kielizkowski, licis, and novikov to compete against
Brilliant as usual Mitch!
Great vid, keep em comin 👏
Everyone with always remember the name hafthor 💪 love the videos Mitch
Agreed. Hafthor is the greatest strength athlete of all time. He is also the strongest man to have ever walked the earth.
Perhaps. But don't forget Paul Anderson and Angus MacAskill.
No, Big Z is the Greatest, but sure Thor is ghetto strongest
@@IbrahimAl-Khwarizmi me and my cousin chuckled in disbelief when Z lifted a big bag of coal for his outdoor grill with 1 hand in one of his videos!holding the bag like a shopping bag!not like up on the chest with both hand around it like regular people
@@palmarolavlklingholm9684They have no place in this conversation
Andre the giant enters the chat
100% agree. Thor has the unique quality to integrate strongman athleticism, flexibility etc with the most brutal strenght. He can beat Mateusz in loading race and at the same time squat one of the heaviest weight. With huge respect to all athletes, there is no other strongmen like him in this sense.
Bravo Mr. Hooper! Pour vos accomplissements et surtout, pour la personne que vous êtes 👍🙂
Thor is a beast, looking forward to watching you and him compete in the future comps. Will be cheering on the Moose though! 🇨🇦👍
I hope we see fullthor again. It really is something special.
Same 🔥🔥🔥💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻
Great argument. I still go with Big Brian Shaw as the greatest ever but for one year, one peak, that is a good argument. Brian just has so much raw power, best grip in the world, really great all around and was elite for a very long time. He has some incredible one off feats of strength, had the potential to be the best dead lifter at one point if he went for it… he’s the best to me.
Zip it up when ur done 😂
love the respect you got for other athletes! 💪🏽☺️
Really nice fact based video. Loved it.
I am 100% sure Mitch is the one single person on earth that is waiting for Thor to reach his peak the most. Sad that due to injuries and them being human beings we will never see a Mitch, Thor, Tom, Martins, Oleksii and Mateusz comp all together at their very best, that would've been the greatest comp of all time.
I just can’t look beyond saying big z is number 1, the man would be winning an event and still do an extra lift to try break world records. Competed so much more than everyone else and if he didn’t go ifsa and stayed at worlds, he’d have a few more WSM titles to his name and Marius would have a few less. No disrespect to Thor though, such an incredible athlete and I’d love to see him at worlds battling with yourself, Mateusz & Tom all in top form.
Finally some positivity in the fitness/strength community ❤ love it!
Mitchell I think you end up one of the most winning competitors of all time in the world of strongmen events. You are the greatest athlete I have ever seen compete. Your top and horsepower is top 5 alltime. The athleticism and power is there, hopefully you are injury resistant and everyrhing will click into place for a long decorated career.
Hi Mitch, I appreciate this video and your appraisal of Thor's career. The big variable here is the competitive field. Who was competing at each contest and how well others performed makes a direct comparison basically impossible. That being said, I think you did a great job with this video. Thank you sir!
True stuff man 2018-19 hafthor is like 2008 Michael phelps 2012 Lionel messi
Ye I guess he got good once Z and Brian were too old/injured…
@@kanedelaney7645 Thor really upped his game after 2017 I think he had the highest peak ever no one in their prime could defeat prime Thor
@gsftbeast9761
2012 Messi? The year he missed a penalty against Chelsea and got knocked out of the champions league
A lot of people would bash Thor in your situation as a marketing ploy. Respect to you for focusing on other things than money and attention. Lift heavy be kind, props to you man. 💯
I believe at the time he did that powerlifting meet if he had been given that squat he would have had the biggest total of all time.
I Agree Squat > bench press
Theirs a tone of great power lifters and olympic lifters out their but im just a strongman fan and the G.O.A.T of strongman are Capes, Kaz, Pudzinowski, ver Magnuson maybey even Sigmerson, but Bjornson is write up their with Shaw and Zaviscas for me they are the big 3. Tom Stolman is very big strong and young with 2 titles already deffo a future G.O.A.T
2018 Prime Thor is the strongest athlete to EVER live.
We will never know. Over 100 billion people have walked this earth before us.
@@askalds Strongest man in recorded History then. At the forefront of genetic evolution of our species. With abundant food, quality food, and performance enhancing drugs.
So it's a safe bet to say he is.
He Was Stronger In 2020 Than In 2018
@@TheVanillatech I agree with that.
@@TheVanillatechconsidering he was neck at neck at all his competitions, it’s not comfortable at all to say so. I can easily argue that big z, Shaw, Eddie’s static lifts in 2016-17… all are more impressive strength wise then Thor. No disrespect to Thor, but he has some more to prove before he can say he was the strongest to walk the earth
I've been a huge fan of Thor since volunteering with him at the Arnold's in Melbourne 2014. He was here in Victoria, BC at my home this past April while here for Fancon. He's a genuine and sincere human plus he's the strongest man of all time! I have to have love for Hooper not only being Canadian but also from my hometown Barrie, Ontario. Love your videos and all you put into your training Mitch!
I appreciate your honesty. Huge respect to you and to Thor.
Real recognize real! Awesome to see!
Great means something more than what he is. Everyone makes mistakes. But others have carried themselves better more consistently, even on the 'stuff'.
I'd say Shaw and Hooper both preset a more consistent kindness and maturity despite being on the same 'stuff'.
It looks like he shows growth; but that still puts him at best 3rd if I otherwise find him competitive for that title.
Not meant as disrespect; I'm a nobody, my opinion doesn't matter ... but my comment increases channel engagement and helps the algorithm :)
I thought you were going to say it was The Ultimate Warrior
Andre > Warrior
@@TheVanillatechBoth Are Great
Its great to hear how Mitchell has so much respect for Thor , you wont get many strong man talkimg up another strongman
Brian Shaw
MH is at true gentleman and this vid is a sign of great sportsmanship👍respect🏆
Without his injury, he would have won world strongest man 2019.
I Agree But Martins Licis Is Insane As Well So It's Hard To Say
@@DavidVirtanen Licis is not insane, he's not really the best at anything, just consistent.
@@tinymahutaBruh Come On He Won The World's Strongest Man, The Arnold Classic And The Rogue Invitational How The Hell He's Not Insane?
@@DavidVirtanen Of course Licis was strong at this time but before the injury, you just wondered who would come second because Hafthor was so ahead.
@@tinymahutathat's what makes you a successful strongman
There is no doubt about his strength, he was and is again an incredible athlete!
So modest... can watch mitch all day long.. super nice man
so glad youre enjoying the lore with us mortals!
The strongest man to ever live. I have to agree. 2018 was the peak Thor, until his torn plantar fascia at the WSM 2019. Of course, that is different to the greatest strongman to ever live, which includes more longevity.
Thor Himself Said He Was Stronger In 2020 Than In 2018 He Just Won Everything In 2018 Because He Quit Before Doing WSM And ESM In 2020
@@DavidVirtanen He could well have been stronger in 2020 but results matter so it is hard to say. The one caviat in 2020 was Kieliszkowski performance at the Arnolds. Whilst, Thor won the whole event, Kieliszkowski won 4 of the events, but as always was let down by his deadlift. Which shows that consistancy is key.
In many ways Kieliszkowski is very similar to Thor 2024, in that he was amazing in most events but let down in a couple.
Whether Thor will ever get back to 2018 levels, it will be hard to say. He is coming back from a big injury and he is 35 years old. So stands more chance of getting injured and in some ways harder to recover from a serious injury, and as 'Strongest Man on Earth' proves consistancy is key and having a single big weakness can make a big difference between 1st and 2nd.
In 2018 Thor beat Brian by what, 5 points? In 2017 Eddie, Thor, and Brian were all within what, four points. In 2016 Brian won and Thor and Eddie were close. In 2015 Brian won and Z and Thor were close. From 2015-2018 Brian won two, came or came in third. 2018 Thor was still two years away from the 501kg. It’s a toss up, 2016 Shaw, 2017 Hall, 2018 Thor are all debatably the strongest person to have lived by total strength. The fact that Shaw won 2015 and 2016 beating Thor, Eddie in their primes and Z at the end of his prime is more impressive than Thor beating no prime Eddie and Brian at the end of his prime in 2018.
Shaw and Z are called legends for a reason, only they could tame Thor consistently
i suspect Hafthor will overtake you soon, however, due to the massive age difference you will likely attain #1 again, since you still have a long way to go and your strength increases don't seem to be dropping, if you continue to get stronger at this rate I cans ee you as the best ever to do it, thats if you don't plateau or experience any major injuries.
I’ll throw my hat in the ring for 2015 Brian Shaw. Love watching Shaw and HJB compete.
Mark Henry mentioned let's gooooooooooooooooooooooo
Micht:"You don't have to opportunity in every single contest to be seting new PRs to getting WR"
also Mitch on SC2024:"winning show by setting two and equaling one WR"
Ed Coan basically handled the same weights as Thor at about half his body weight. Ed coan: 1,018 squat and 2,463 total at 242, 901 deadlift on a stiff bar no straps and 2,402 total at 220. Thor: 1,014 squat, 551 bench, 904 powerlifting deadlift and missed 948. No one can deadlift 1,100 under powerlifting rules! Lol! Ed Coan's bench was around the same as Thor's, maybe a little better. Thor weight was close to double what Ed Coan's was! In 1998 Ed Coan posted the highest powerlifting total of all time at 2,463 in the 242 class. Soon after Gary Frank broke it at heavy weight. There is another contender for the strongest man ever, Gary Frank but none of you young guys have even heard of him. Lol
Losing in 2017 really made him evolve
Colin? IS THAT YOU, COLIN???
@@TheVanillatech what are you on man? Laughable
@@TheVanillatech it's an opinion not a dick, don't take it so hard.
@@TheVanillatech just an opinion, don't take it so hard.
Yeah Same Happened With Brian After He Lost To Big Z In WSM 2010 He Dominated In 2011
Mitch, are you ever going to compete at the Canadian strongest man comp? I think that you would do great
Humble Mitch ....makes you even more impressive
Definition of humble
But seriously. If we are talking powerlifting prime eddie hall wouldve given prime thor a run for his money or even had an edge. Deadlift equal. Squat about equal. Eddies bench crushes thor.
can i get some more info about Eddie's squats
@@high-captain-BaLrog he repped 375 for 8 no wraps its on youtube
@@high-captain-BaLrog But according to Eddie, he has squatted 405 kg at most. Haftor have 460kg.
@@jebudylajtwejt8051 damn
Andre the giant deadlifted 2000 pounds i think he was big foot ngl
I think Thor and Shaw were absolutely the two best I have ever seen. Shaw was probably more tactical and played the points game better such as yourself. But in overall raw strength I believe your assessment is spot on. I have no doubt at the end of the day you will be considered one of the strongman GOATS as well!
I know I am, thanks for the compliment Hooper 🙂↕️🤚
Good video. What's also impressive is that you've beaten men who weigh around 50 KGs more than you. That's almost an entire person more.
If you like getting into the history of strength, check out Angus MacAskill, a compatriot of yours that may have been one of if not the strongest man to ever live in any time.
To say the era doesn't matter is ridiculous.. the weights go up every year and guys get stronger.. it doesnt mean guys in the past werent strong or can't be the greatest because they did what they needed to do at the time. Thor when he broke the deadlift world record was absolutely pushing the limits with certain things and its not a knock on him at all but its why he retired in the first place because he knew his body was taking a hit. I think guys from the past would have pushed more too if they had to. You're gonna see it the more stuff gets heavier and heavier. Eddie Hall is another good example of pushing the upper limits, he always looked like he was gonna explode. He had to retire or he could have given himself an early exit in life.
Hell Yeah Well Said 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻
Prime Thor was unstoppable
Thor is No1 in my opinion too
Mitch loves the stats.
2018 Thor was the STRONGEST. No doubt. Greatest? Mariusz Pudzianowski. No one dominated the way he did. Z second. You and Brian and Thor can fight for third.
Mariusz has my vote and I love Thor
Mitch, did you sign your own shirt? Lol
That is some high-tier glazing, but well-deserved for Thor. I still think you are the smarter strength athlete, which can be the edge in complex competitions.
Yup! Mitch does have the higher IQ advantage over probably every Strongman that ever lived. But Hafthor is no slouch either. He used to be the one to talk about when it came to training/competing smart, until Mitchel came. hafthor does have a speech impediment, which may make people think he is dumber than he is. But i do think he in fact is quite smart.
@@palmarolavlklingholm9684 It's Bell's palsy as opposed to a speech impediment.
@@JeffO- He has stutters, which he has overcome quite well given how severe it was early in his career.
Plus English is not his native language
@@palmarolavlklingholm9684 Yes I never implied that Thor is not smart. Mitch is just the first strongman that has somewhat of a scientific background, which shows. He isn't just saying that his secret to strength is drinking 1l of cranberry juice a day (Eddie please don't hurt me).
Love the t-shirt :)
Whenever you retire from strongman, you are gonna have a banger of a fitness influencer career. You’re very intelligent and keep things interesting
I don’t see 2018 being statically stronger than 2017 Eddie… I think depending on the events either one would be considered the strongest. I think a static event 2017 wins 9 out of 10 times.
And if strength was just static you might have a point but it isn't. Dynamic strength and power is a huge aspect in strongman and Thor excels at both.
Thing is Eddie trained multiples lifts one at a time to set massive PRs. Guys like Haftor and Brian always trained for full competitions. Eddie was never at a single point in time able to replicate all his personal bests, and that's where people are confused. 2018 Haftor was both the strongest static lifter in strongman history has a behemouth 200kg bodyweight. And still able to beat the likes of Kieliskowsky in dynamic events. This version of him was simply out of reach for any man in this world as of now.
@@J.c410 I think everybody is discounting 2017 Eddie a lot here with how good he was. People forget he did the 2nd highest Deadlift at the time during WSM 2017 as one of the final events? He won all the static event, came a close second on a plane pull and lost in tire flip and stones. Im not disputing Thor being number 1, my argument is that 2017 Eddie would Rival 2018 Thor depending on the events. So if the event has Throwing, moving and loading event, with 2 static events Thor would win every day. But visa versa if the events where 3 static events and 2 dynamic, I think Eddie win. A guy pulling 472.5kg Deadift on a 5th event at WSM and after multiple days of competing is absurdly strong and I think it’s highly likely 2017 Eddie when he was ready for WSM could of likely pulled 510-520kg
Add to that, the huge range of motion a 6'9" man's deadlift needs to negotiate.
No difference thats an illusion the person has bigger frame so he should lift more
Keep training smart and hard....and keep your streak going as long as you can! Then you can shut up the naysayers!
@@SeanPittaway-lb9bg hate comments are all he knows