Elco: Hi Wout, let's start by telling me something about your youth.

Wout: I was born in Wolsum, Friesland. And I come from a butcher family. My father was a butcher, as was his father. My brother owns a butcher shop. My strength came naturally. When I was 18 years old, I already weighed 110 kg. My parents now live on a farm in the same town as where I live. I have two younger brothers, and they are pretty strong also.

Elco: What do you do for a living?

Wout: I am a meat inspector. This year (1998) however, I worked only half of the year. The rest I spend preparing myself for the strongmen competitions.

Elco: Do you have any hobbies?

Wout: (laughs)No! No hobbies. I only like sport. I am a good 'kaatser', which is a typical dutch sport. And I also like skating very much.

Elco: How did you start out in the strongman business?

Wout: When I was 22, someone challenged me to take part in a strongmen competition. That was the Strongest Man of Friesland 1987 (Friesland is a province of Holland). Although I had never been in a gym at that time, I became third. Untrained I could do the loglift with 120 kg. Two years later I became Strongest Man of Friesland. In 1990 I was 2nd in the Strongest Man of Holland. I thought I had made it by then, and got what I deserved. Nothing succeeded in the years after, and I even thought about stopping totally. Then I found a new trainer (Gerard Meijer), and he got me back on track again. From that moment its been uphill ever since.

Elco: What is your biggest achievement so far? The one you are the most proud of?

Wout: Well, winning the Strongest Team 1998 was great, and my 3rd place the WSM 1998 finals is also fantastic, but as far as my biggest achievement goes, I would have to say: Holding the worldrecord for Weight for Height. Definitely!!!! I really like the WSM competitions, but my heart lies with the Highland Games.

Elco: What are your measurements, and what is your best competition weight?

Wout: I am 1.97 m, and I weigh now 135 kg. During competitions, I feel the most comfortable at around 132.5 kg.

Elco: How much do you train in a week?

Wout: I work out three days in a row, and then I have a day rest. So, monday is total upper body, tuesday is total lower body, and wednesdays I do the strongest man and highland games events. Thursday is a day rest. I only do running and technique. No weights. And fridays it starts all over again. In the gym I work out with Gerard Meijer. He is my trainer, and owns a gym in Bolsward. For the strongest man events I work out with Ron van Wamel. Maybe you can recall him from the Full Strength challenge in Las Vegas last October. For the strongest man events, I have rebuilt most of the equipment in a barn on my parents farm. Here I also train. Nothing fancy, of course. If it serves the purpose, it's good enough for me.

Elco: Do you have any goals left in this field?

Wout: (laughs). Oh yes!! Next year I have already three invitations. WSM 1999, World Strongest Team 1999 (which will probably be held in China), and the Europa Championship Highland Games, which will be held on Texel, Holland. But 1999 will probably be my last year in competition.

Elco: When you stop, what will you be doing then?

Wout: Back to my job as a meat inspector, mainly. But I also want to develop myself in a coaching role on the field of strength training. I am also looking into doing security work, or handling security aspects of large festivals etc. I also do demonstrations already on public events, schools and gyms. During those demos I want to bring awareness to the audience of the importance of sport and physical excercise. I think it is so important for young people that they seize the chance to develop their talents, instead of wasting their time hanging round in bars doing nothing. And then one day they find out they have a talent, only then it's too late.

Elco: It looks like the WSM competitions are becoming more and more kind of a media-circus. What do you think of that?

Wout: Well, you must understand that if is wasn't for the media, the competitions wouldn't even been shown on TV at all. Secondly, they bring in a lot of the money necessary to organise such big events. So naturally, they get to determine a big part of how the show is recorded and even which events look the best on TV. It's a bit of a mixed feeling: Sometimes the media are a pain in the ass, but they also are a big help to promote the sport to a bigger audience, and to reach more fans worldwide.

Elco: How were the conditions in Marocco?

Wout: The hotel looked fine on the outside, but was very dirty on the inside. Also the food was bad. They wash and cook everything in water, which is filled with bacteria. So in the end, I decided not to eat vegetables anymore, but take an extra vitamin pill instead. Also I drank no water, but mostly Cola. Cola has a low acid degree, which bacteria don't like. You could say, it's a germ killer. In general, the competitors were far from pleased with this year's accomodations.

Elco: Do you have an all-time favourite?

Wout: Yes, Jon-Pall Sigmarsson was a great guy to watch in the competitions. He's my all-time favourite! But I must say: Geoff Capes holds the second place! He's a great character. A living legend in our sport!

Elco: Well, thats it. No more questions. Thanks a lot for the interview, Wout!

Wout: You're welcome!
 
 

Pictures of Wout taken during the day of the interview:

Wout working out with his trainer Gerard Meijer in the gym in Bolsward.       

Me and Wout in Gerard's gym.   

Wout in front of the barn at his parents farm, where he works out for the WSM events. 

Some of the stuff he's got there. The wheel flip, carwalk, and super yoke.     

Wout's trainer Gerard together with Arnold Schwarzenegger.