Canadian Strongman Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Hercules Dansereau

Posted on Monday, November 11th, 2019 by John Wood

There’s no shortage of strongmen in Canada, some you know well and some you do not. Here’s a fellow you haven’t heard of: Hercules Dansereau. He was a circus strongman for a number of years but later quit that life to become a street car conductor in Montreal. Here he is bending a steel bar in his teeth around 1929.

Eugene Caouette

Posted on Friday, April 20th, 2018 by John Wood

Eugene Caouette is another name in the great Quebec Strongman Tradition. The giant French Canadian stood well over six feet and tipped the scales at 460 pounds! His best lifts were a Crucifix with a pair of 76-pound dumbbells, a Kennedy Lift with 1354 pounds, one-arm snatch 173-3/4 pounds (with either hand) and a one-arm clean and jerk of 213 pounds.

The Strongest Man in The World: Louis Cyr

Posted on Sunday, April 8th, 2018 by John Wood

Louis Cyr passed on over a hundred years ago but his legacy is still as strong as ever. In fact, people are still writing books about him today. Case in point: The Strongest Man in The World: Louis Cyr, a children’s book written in 2007 by Nicolas Debon. This book won an award from the Boston book club and the artwork is superb as you’ll see if you get a chance to grab a copy.

Doug Hepburn

Posted on Saturday, December 30th, 2017 by John Wood

The great Canadian lifter, Doug Hepburn is shown here in what probably could be called his signature pose. If the issues of Strength and Health on the wall are current, this picture dates to early 1947. — Although I suspect this was taken later than that. Don’t know if you realized this but growing up, Doug was of very average height and build.

At 17 years old, Doug was 5’8″ and weighed only 145 pounds. It was around that age that he discovered weight lifting… and the rest is history. To give you an idea of Doug’s immense power, his best 2-arm overhead barbell press was 335 pounds for 10 reps!

Jean Louis Auger

Posted on Wednesday, February 4th, 2015 by John Wood

Canada has long been a hotbed of impressive strength athletes. You can add this stout fellow to the list: Weider-trained man Jean Louis Auger, who could reportedly harness-deadlift 2500 pounds! Actually we have no idea what a “harness-deadlift” is but Auger tipped the scales at 380 lbs. which is also impressive in its own right.

Dandurand’s 16-inch Forearm

Posted on Tuesday, November 11th, 2014 by John Wood

Arthur Dandurand was yet another great Canadian Strongman.

It was said that he had a 16-inch forearm at a bodyweight of only 185 pounds and it certainly looks that way in this classic shot.

Dandurand was often called the “Canadian Sandow” and some of his best lifts were as follows:

* One-Arm Press: 115 Pounds
* Two-Arm Press: 220 Pounds
* One-Hand Deadlift: 550 Pounds
* Reverse Curl: 177 Pounds
* Kennedy Lift: 1100 Pounds

In addition to these feats, Dandurand was very good at juggling and bent-pressing human weights. He also could shoulder a 406 Pound truck engine and at a contest in 1908, Dandurand pushed a wheelbarrow loaded to 4300 Pounds for a distance of 23 feet.

Gaston Heon

Posted on Tuesday, October 14th, 2014 by John Wood

There has been a long tradition of Canadian Strongmen, one that you probably haven’t heard of is Gaston Heon of Quebec. Heon performed standard feats such as phone book tearing, the human link and having a large rock broken on his chest with a sledge hammer… but he also performed several unusual — and somewhat dangerous — feats, such as allowing himself to be run over by a car traveling 40 miles per hour(!) and this backlift/support of a 3000 pound automobile.

Arthur Dandurand

Posted on Tuesday, August 19th, 2014 by John Wood

To say that the French Canadian Strongman Arthur Dandurand was gifted in the forearm department would be an understatement. He not only was able to deadlift over 550 pounds with one arm but also achieved a rectangular fix with 177½ pounds – an all-time record! Keep in mind that Dandurand only weighed about 180 pounds.

Hector Decarie

Posted on Wednesday, August 13th, 2014 by John Wood

Hector Decarie first started raising eyebrows in 1904 when he Bent-pressed 317 pounds. A few years later he met Louis Cyr in a famous challenge match. Despite the fact that they tied in the contest, Cyr passed on his title of “World’s Strongest Man” to his young challenger. It was a fitting mantle since Decarie ended up surpassing several of Cyr’s feats. Interestingly, Decarie is not as big as you would think based on the pictures of him. He stood 5’7″ and weighed only around 191 lbs.

Victor DeLamarre

Posted on Wednesday, January 1st, 2014 by John Wood

Victor DeLamarre was another great name in the long line of Canadian Strongmen. He was one of thirteen children and built the foundation for his great strength at a young age by farming and working as a lumberjack.

When he was 14 years old, DeLamarre studied the exploits of Louis Cyr and declared that he would one day break Cyr’s records — a rather bold statement for someone who weighed all of 110 pounds at the time. Amazingly, this would come to pass on April 2nd, 1914, when, at age 25, DeLamarre bent-pressed 309-1/2 lbs at the Arcade theater of Montreal.