Physio Strength Coach

1. Team NZ
2. Day 2
3. The Brew of Samoa factory tour
4. Devondale milk
5. Phat burger
6. Yeah the boys

Strongman Samoa Club always putting on a good time, plenty of fun and memories in Apia for PAC Strong 2026 😁💪

1. It’s official
2. The Brew of Samoa straight from the source
3. Before the Big Uso
4. After the Big Uso
5. Yeah the boys
6. Big Zesty Zee & Moala
7. Day 1
8. Stylish Hat vs Temu Hat
9. Frontyard Samoa
10. 150kg
11. Deadlift
12. In another world
13. Uncle Mike
14. STRONGMANRAY🇹🇴
15. Pearl 😁

Strongman Samoa Club
Iron Bros

One of the most meaningful moments from the trip was being gifted this lei by the boys in Samoa, especially the uso Papz.

I accepted it with great honour, pride, and gratitude. It means more than I can put into words, and I’ll wear it proudly.

Fa’afetai lava ❤️

Wow! what an experience. 😁

Easily the best competition I’ve ever done. Everything was run at such a high level: professional, well organised, but still relaxed and enjoyable for athletes. From the itinerary and athlete environment, to the livestream, photography, promotion, judging and standards, huge credit to Peter Anae, Ryan Walker, and the whole organising team Strongman Samoa Club Samoa Strength Federation Incorporated Outstanding event.😎

This is why I love strongman. Every event tests something different! Strength, conditioning, athleticism, pacing, and strategy. Nothing is ever in one person’s favour, and that’s what makes it special. 💪

Day 1 was a tight battle between myself, Albert Tuala Ladewig and Stephen for the top three. By Day 2, Albert looked strong enough to secure the win with his overhead and huge deadlift, but the fight for 2nd between me and Stephen stayed close right to the end.

Overhead was the one I’m most frustrated with. I’d hit those weights in training, but the heat and thick air added a factor I wasn’t properly conditioned for. That axle medley just wasn’t there on the day, I don’t even fully remember the third lift, which says a lot about how cooked I was.

Deadlift felt solid, 220kg went well. 240kg was likely a bit out of reach on the day; 230kg would’ve been a strong +5% PB, so I’m happy to finish with 220kg.

By stones I was completely gassed, nauseous, light-headed, and overheating. First time doing atlas stones in competition, so the goal was simply to get through it. In hindsight, there’s definitely time to improve there. Could’ve been faster.

That finish was wild 🤣 me and Stephen tied for 2nd, and it came down to a front hold tie-breaker. I came in at 88kg, and I’m genuinely glad it came down to an event rather than bodyweight. I wouldn’t have wanted to place higher off scales alone.

In the moment, I told myself I’d only stop when I hit the floor… and apparently I stopped being present about halfway through 😅 I fully zoned out and just kept holding even after it was over.

I’m hungrier than ever to get back into training, keep improving where it matters, and come back even better. Looking forward to 2027.

Frontyard to the WORLD! ✈️ 🌎

Lorenzo delivered his most complete performance to date, finishing 2nd in Open Men after a tough battle with Malua.

This prep really pushed him. The events were demanding from a conditioning standpoint and forced real improvements in his engine, work capacity, and overall athleticism. That work had purpose, we built it into the gym sessions, repeated it in training blocks, and often did it through the week solo or with Sita, and as a team on weekends. 😤

The result was his most consistent performance across a full competition to date. He recovered well and was back in the gym within a couple of days, showing the kind of durability we’ve been building toward. 💪

Malua brought a huge performance as well, he and Lorenzo are very closely matched athletes and continue to push each other forward.

Next up is Maxout Madness for a bit of fun, then a short break from competition to keep building conditioning, health, and long-term performance.

Frontyard to the WORLD! ✈️ 🌎

Ray placed 4th in Open Men and once again showed why he’s one of the most consistent competitors in the field.

He’s someone who loves to compete and definitely keeps me on my toes as a coach, with back-to-back comps and a constant drive to push. With him, staying healthy and injury-free is always priority one. 💪

In the final 4 weeks into this event he came down with the flu, given the nature of his work around people, it was unavoidable. We adjusted quickly, shifted the focus to recovery, and aimed to simply maintain strength and conditioning rather than build.

He still showed up and performed well on the day. We wanted a bit more on the deadlift, but given how close the illness was to comp, it was a tough ask.

Next up is Maxout Madness 2 and thankfully the deadlift is back to a barbell 😄 We’ll look to set things up properly there, and save the bigger PB pull for NZSM in September.

Frontyard to the WORLD! ✈️ 🌎

Steven placed 5th in U105 and I couldn’t be prouder of how he handled his first ever strength competition. 💪

He actually came into the team earlier this year after reaching out and offering up equipment he wasn’t using. He started training with us for Steel & Stone, and from there we basically said, come train Saturdays, give this a go.

He had no prior strength sport background, just curiosity and a willingness to try it. After Steel & Stone we encouraged him again to compete in Samoa, and he jumped in.

What stood out most was how composed he stayed under pressure, how quickly he adapted to the environment, and how well he held his own across the two days.😎

Massive first step in the sport, excited to see where he takes it from here.

Frontyard to the WORLD! ✈️ 🌎

Pacific’s Strongest U105 Man 🥇

Mike delivered a standout performance to take the title. 💪

All while building toward Natural Worlds at the end of August and NZSM in September.

What’s been most impressive is his discipline, sticking to the programme, trusting the data, and executing sessions even on the days he didn’t feel great. He committed to the process, and it showed.

He tapered well into comp, performed when it counted, recovered efficiently, and was back training just four days later as we shift focus toward Worlds.

Let’s push!

Frontyard to the WORLD! ✈️ 🌎