AS PRINTED BY THE NORTHERN STAR : ON any given day you can see semi-trailers chugging along the main drag in Lismore.
Today, you can watch an amazing feat of strength as monolithic men drag 25-tonne trucks through Keen Street as part of Australia’s Strongest Man.
The favourite for the event, Derek Boyer, has held the title as Australia’s Strongest Man for 13 years – and he isn’t about to give it up.
Boyer, 40, has a simple philosophy on life and strength.
“When you die you will have no strength at all, you will just fade away; when you are close to death you will have little strength to use, so it stands to reason that when you are at your strongest and most capable, that’s when you will be most alive,” Boyer said.
As part of Lismore’s Festival of Fitness, Boyer and a collection of the strongest men in the country will dead-lift stones, bench press logs and toss lumps of steel weighing hundreds of kilograms.
Boyer will be at the front of the field doing what he does best.
“Ever since I was a boy I have wanted to be the world’s strongest man,” he said.
“At any given time there are only a handful of people in the world that stand between me and that goal.”
Boyer is larger than life and you could say he has lived many lives in one.
A stint on the hit TV show Gladiator, roles in feature films, and a touring job as security to American rock star Pink.
But the big Fijian-born Aussie has one hard-to-fathom goal still to achieve.
“When I’m 50 I want to be bigger and stronger than ever,” he said.
Good luck Derek, you won’t hear us betting against you.
The strongman competition begins in Keen Street at 11am before moving to Oakes Oval for the rest of the day. 5/6/10
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