Galen Gough Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Galen Gough’s Beer Barrel Barbell

Posted on Friday, June 21st, 2019 by John Wood

Another look at Galen Gough’s excellent Beer Barrel Barbell. Back in the 1930’s Gough went on a beer fast — for 30 days, he ate and drank nothing else but Oertel’s beer. He ended up losing 25 pounds in the process. Also, just to show that he suffered no ill will while on his beer diet Gough also performed feats of strength daily, among them:

1. Dangling a cast iron anvil in his mouth while an assistant whacks it with a sledge hammer.
2. “Biting” an iron bar into a horse shoe.
3. Lifting a bar bell attached to a couple of beer kegs (above)
4. Holding an iron bar in his teeth while three men dangle on each end
5. Let an eight ton Oertel beer truck run over his stomach

Galen Gough – “The World’s Miracle Strongman”

Posted on Sunday, May 15th, 2016 by John Wood

Billed as “The World’s Miracle Strongman,” Galen Gough from Howard’s Grove, Kentucky certainly lived up to his title. Gough was injured while serving in World War I but built himself back to health and strength through physical training methods. His results were so dramatic that a career as a performing strongman soon followed.

Gough performed feats of strength in carnivals, fairs and vaudeville houses all over the country. In addition to “traditional” strongman feats such as The Human Link, Nail Driving, and bar bending, Gough came up with many of his own including dangling from a rope tied to an airplane by his teeth, with a 50 pound weight in each hand, biting keys in half, and juggling a 300-pound anvil!

One of his many adventures was to perform feats of strength as publicity stunts for the Louisville, Kentucky-based Oertel Brewing Company which is the origin of the ‘Barrel’ barbell pictured here.

Galen Gough

Posted on Friday, September 16th, 2011 by John Wood

Billed as “The World’s Miracle Strongman,” Galen Gough from Howard”s Grove, Kentucky certainly lived up to his title. Gough was terribly injured while serving in World War I, but built himself back to health and strength through physical training. His results were so dramatic that a career as a performing strongman soon followed.

Gough was one of the very first (if not the first) strongman to impress crowds by ripping phone books in half.