Putnam Rotarians hear from world title winner.

May 6, 2008

In a test of power, Dr. Melissa Pratt (right) "subdues" the World's Strongest Man in an arm-wrestling contest.

The West Virginia native claimed the title two years ago. "It was a very spiritual journey for me," he told Putnam Rotarians today.

"You get close to God when you're flipping cars, trying to pull trucks, lifting boulders and thousand-pound tires," he said. "Psychologically it's a very challenging pursuit. Certainly it's very demanding physically, but before you can make those demands on your body, you have to have great psychological motivation. You have to deal with fear and anxiety. You have to be able to conceptualize what it is you're trying to do technically.

"This sport consists of close to two dozen different displays" he told the group. "And each of those is like its own sport with its own variations.

"Several times in my career I thought I was really close to being the best athlete in terms of my conditioning and preparation, and then something would happen."

He claimed the world title in 2006 after five years as runner-up.

"It is not enough to be strong and have the potential and capability," Pfister said. "You not only have to be able to keep it together physically and mentally, you have to have the wind blowing the right way and the stars line up. You have to have God smiling on you, and then have a little bit of luck -- and maybe your competitor is not having as much luck as you're having. All those things have to come together."

How does one become a world title holder? "I've spent a lot of time doing a lot of hard work", he said. "As a kid I always played outside. I've always been strong. I think genetics are a big part of it.

"Nutrition plays a role: I think it's over-emphasized with a lot of marketing that is big business. I don't use a lot of nutritional supplements. I like to eat well. I think the dietary stuff is really over-emphasized. Of course it makes a difference, but really it comes down to hard work."

The most difficult events for him are the "dead lift for maximum" and the "dead lift for repetition." Nearly two dozen feats of strength are included in a contest spread over several days of trials.

Pfister dislikes the absences from home - up to 18 days in the world competition -- and he says that his favorite event is "the last event," whatever it happens to be.

He works with a trainer in Columbus two days each week.

"I try to tell everyone - whether it's Phil Pfister, strong man, or Tiger Woods in golfing, or Bill Gates in finance -- the best people are those who are learning every day. And those who are the best are never satisfied. They're always improving, always learning. They're always self-examining, analyzing how they can improve.

"I tell the kids that you may not use your history when you grow up and have a job, or your mathematics, or whatever it is you're struggling with in school, but school is a place where you learn how to learn. And school is a place where you learn how to play by the rules and how to get along with other people. And no matter who you are in life, to be your best, you constantly have to learn and self-examine."

Pfister recently spent several days in Oklahoma. "They estimate the size of their future prison population by measuring the literacy level in the fourth grade.

"Now, as a nation, we're starting to learn how important an investment in early childhood development is. We're realizing it from a business sense: If you raise good, healthy, functional kids, the result will be healthy functional adults. And they're going to be able to contribute to society rather than drag it down through prison or drug dealing or crime.

"If we have a place to take our children to play, they will learn to socialize on the playground, they will get their exercise on the playground, and you have somewhere to take them without spending ten, twenty, thirty bucks that you don't have.

"We are in a paradise here in West Virginia, but we need more playgrounds so our kids can get out and play in this paradise and appreciate it."

Several state and local officials are involved in a plan to use Philip Pfister's fame and connections to focus world attention on his West Virginia paradise. Formal media announcements are still in the future, however.

In the meantime, the World's Strongest Man continues to serve as Corporate Development Coordinator for Chesapeake Energy where he works through community outreach to make the world a better place.