Tom Stoltman used autism and family to become the strongest man in the world

The Scot Tom Stoltman should repeat his success from last year crowned the strongest man in the world for the second year in a row, but while this giant certainly has the world at his feet, many will be surprised to learn that the 6-foot-8-inch, 385-pound warrior faced mental challenges in addition to the obvious physical challenges. In an exclusive interview with M&F, Stoltman boldly shares his origins in sports, family bonds, his experiences with autism, coping strategies and offers valuable advice to anyone who needs to hear it.

For Tom Stoltman, an avid soccer player and avid Rangers FC fan, the journey to becoming a strongman was a path first paved by his big brother. “My first strongman memories were Luke and becoming Scotland’s Strongest Man,” recalls Stoltman. "When I saw him win it was like 'Wow, my brother is Scotland's strongest man', so it's pretty cool to have a strong brother, you know?" When Tom started harboring dreams take up the sport For himself, Luke took time for his little brother. "At the time, when I was 17, he was 27, so he was still new to the sport, but I think him taking me under his wing and helping me progress as much as I did really helped him too because it pushed me and it pushed him. I pretty much caught up to him in the first year or two in the gym and I think that made him hungrier too. But it was good to get in his ankles early on bite, you know?”

Family is everything to Tom, and so his competitive rivalry with Luke is a friendly one that brings out the best in the siblings, often referred to as "the strongest brothers in the world."

The Stoltmans give each other strength

“We are competitive, but we want to do well for each other,” shares Stoltman. "I think everyone sees that we are always together and cheering each other on when we appear on World's Strongest Man on TV, Giants Live or whatever competition. As long as me or Luke wins the competition, we don't care which one it is. We travel the world together and not many brothers have experienced what we have experienced in the last 10 years."

Stoltman's rise to becoming the strongest man in the world was nothing short of epic. After qualifying for the first time in 2017, he finished fifth in 2019. By 2020, Stoltman was second, and if there hadn't been a low-scoring round in the Hercules Hold, he could have taken first place. “Looking back [2020], when I came in second, I said to myself in my head as I walked away from that competition that I am the strongest man in the world,” he says. "I just lost because of a mistake on my part, so the journey sort of began. I went back to my trainer and I [hired] a nutritionist."

Tom Stoltman channels autism as his superpower

Stoltman also continues to work the mental side of competition with the appointment of a clinical psychologist. “Because that was my weakness,” Stoltman says. "Having the psychologist feels like a betrayal to me, you know? I think my mindset is the most unbreakable. No one can break it." It's a mindset Stoltman developed through understanding his childhood diagnosis of autism and figuring out how to use his inner dialogue to master the physical world.

When a school teacher told Stoltman that he would never amount to anything, it was a devastating blow that could have completely derailed the future champion, but luckily there was light at the end of the tunnel. Years later and a far cry from the opinions of a former teacher; Stoltman says he knew he would become World's Strongest Man 2021 before he even stepped on stage. The miner has learned that autism has its challenges, but it also lends itself to many of its successes train and score goals.

Every evening before WSM 2022, Tom Stoltman wrote “World’s Strongest Man” ten times on a whiteboard. “To win the title of World’s Strongest Man, you have to be consistent,” Stoltman says. “You have to keep going until the end and not give up, because World’s Strongest Man is such a brutal event that one mistake can change the whole course of things.” The tall Scot likes to follow set routines and it causes him great emotional stress when plans are broken or schedules changed, but autism also helps with his drive and focus when it comes to being present at every training session. “For me, I like to stay in a routine 365 days a year,” shares Stoltman. “For me with autism, routine is the most important thing and not having a routine is really, really hard.” After his win at WSM 2022, Stoltman says he is more stressed than during the competition because he is in greater demand than ever from the media and is also traveling for public appearances. "The advantage for myself is that I have OCD with routine, so a lot of strong men will say, 'Oh, I train on Monday at 10 o'clock, and next Monday I train at 12,' or they'll miss a meal, but for me, I train at the same time every day. I never miss a meal, and being a professional athlete, being the best in the world at sports [requires that]."

Tom Stoltman says a support system is essential for people with autism

Stoltman is passionate about making others with autism aware that their potential should only be determined by them. “People with autism are afraid because they might think their friends will laugh at them [if they come out of their comfort zone],” says Stoltmann. "I always used to think that way, but I got a few friends that I could trust and I had my family and once I had the right circle around me, I opened up about autism. If people have autism and are reading this, get a support system from a young age in school, trust them and open up early, then people will understand your life a little better. If you hide it, people will always ask you questions like, "Why are you doing this? and 'why are you doing that?', 'why are you lowering your head?' These questions, when asked, just keep going through your mind, while if you understand it, you might say, 'Let's help him'. So autism is not something to be ashamed of, it is something you live with for the rest of your life, so I try to make autism known as much as possible.”

At 28 years old, many observers believe that this hero has many more strongman accolades ahead. “I enjoyed it more this year and training for it,” he says. "Because I was able to get my wife involved (who didn't get to see him win in 2021). Sometimes you can overthink things or get a little stressed, so having Sinead there was so much easier than it was in 2021. She was my cook, my assistant, my stress reliever, everything, you know?" laughs

the big man. After 10 years of marriage to Sinead, Stoltman's main priority is now going on holiday with his wife. "I'll be at World's Strongest Man in 2023, but in between I want to relax and enjoy my life as much as possible. I'd like to go on a cruise across the Mediterranean, something like that. Chill out, not think about the world and have a few drinks on the beach under the sun."

World's Strongest Man 2022 premieres July 16 on CBS. You can catch full coverage of the contest throughout the summer on CBS and CBS Sports Network.