Meet the Sunderland gym owner who's been named England's Strongest Man

Scott McGowan has lifted the title of England’s Strongest Man 2023 in the 105kg category.

The 33-year-old travelled to Doncaster last month for the national contest and proved his mettle by taking part in weightlifting including a press medley, featuring a 120kg barbell, a 130kg axle, a 140kg yoke and a 61kg dumbell, as well as farmers walks with 140kg in each hand and deadlifting the front of a van weighing 320kg – three times Scott’s weight.

The event featured strongmen from the North, Midlands and South who qualified through the regional qualifiers and now Scott has his sights set on the UK’s Strongest Man contest which takes place in August.

The dad-of-three has ramped up his weightlifting in the last five years and now juggles competing with running his PowerBar gym, which is currently based in Grindon but will be moving to new premises in Farringdon soon.

Speaking about his recent win, he said: “It’s been a long time coming. I narrowly missed out on the win last year, so to get the win this year was much needed and felt great. I’ve really stepped up to the plate this year with my fitness and nutrition.

"I felt like I was a different athlete on the day, not just physically, but mentally too.”

Scott is straight back into training for the UK finals and is replicating as many of the movements as possible in his gym in the hopes of bringing another top title back to Wearside.