LegendaryLife Profile: Bill Kazmaier
In the world of strongmen, the legend of Bill Kazmaier lives on due to his incredible super human strength and his ability to get a crowd hyped up as he impressed them with his raw power.
Bill Kazmaier’s early years
Bill Kazmaier was born in Burlington, Wisconsin on December 30th, 1953. He played football for the University of Wisconsin-Madison during the 1973 season but then left for the pursuit of powerlifting.
Bill Kazmaier’s brute strength achievements
To say that he was a powerful man is an understatement, he was known to have dumbbell curled 100 pounds 41 times in a row with one arm, curling 315 pounds 15 times and even became the first man to ever do all of MacGlashen stones! Here are more impressive numbers, he was able to do a 925 pound squat with an injury and performed a 907 pound deadlift! He also performed regularly as part of his training 900 pound triple squats and 633 pound triple bench presses! At this time, there where no bench shirts or suits that are used by many powerlifters today, this was just raw power.
A few years later, in 1979, he won both the American Powerlifting Championship and IPF (International Powerlifting Federation) championship. Bill Kazmaier’s incredible strength blew away the competition when he was the first person to ever bench press over 300kg (661 pounds) in competition and achieved an incredible career best of 1 100kg (2 425 pounds) in raw powerlifting without the use of a powerlifting shirt.
Following this success, Bill Kazmaier was invited to compete in the Worlds Strongest Man competition, which he won 3 times in a row (1980, 1981, 1982). He so much dominated the field that he wasn’t invited back until several years later where he placed a respectable 2nd (1988) and 4rd (1989). He had suffered a major pectoral tear that required him to retire away from strength based competition for a few years.
Bill Kazmaier: later in life
Bill Kazmaier later dabbed in the world of wrestling who, like Andre the Giant, could have easily torn his competitors to shreds but decided instead to play the game, never winning a championship and loosing several times. This is a testament to his ability to not take himself too seriously. He even played briefly for the Green Bay Packers and opened a gym which closed in 2005.
Bill Kazmaier Trivia
He was known for his varacious apetite, at over 300 pounds, he could eat just about anybody under the table, nowhere was this more impressive then his ability to consume a thousand goldfish in one shot in which he would simply drink out an aquarium.
Bill Kazmaier Multimedia Tribute
The Bottom Line
Bill Kazmaier was to powerlifting what Arnold Schwarzenegger was to bodybuilding, both giants in their respective fields.
Buzvia: Bill Kazmaier profile on bodybuildingdotcom and Bill Kazmaier on Wikipedia
See also: LegendaryLife Profile: Sergio “The Myth” Oliva and LegendaryLife Profile: Mariusz Pudzianowski
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Mr. Kazmaier i’m a great fan of yours and the Met-Rx World’s Strongman competitions. I would love to see an event, I live in New York City. Can you please share with me how I can find out when there’s an Strongman competition coming up near me. I thank you so much for all you’ve done for the sport and your great knowledge and comments during the shows.
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I am a fan of him as well, I wished I had the build and passion that he and other strongmen have for their sport… but my purpose on this Earth is meant for other things… he is an incredible guy no matter how you look at it and a great inspiration to me as well.
bloody stunning, what a man, He was the man the myth the legend, great vid!!!!
The reference to Kazmaier’s wrestling that he ‘could have easily torn his competitors to shreds but decided instead to play the game, never winning a championship and loosing several times’ is fantasy. The best Olympic Freestyle & Greco-Roman wrestlers have more than strength.
Remember when Kazmaier was flattened by the American Footballers in the old World’s Strongest Man competition. If Kazmaier had devoted his life to wrestling who knows???
I had the great pleasure to meet Bill Kazmaier at the 2008 WSM in Charleston, WV, my home town. He is a pure gentleman, through and through. He did all the comentary for the events, but he always had time to say hello, sign an autograph, or have a picture made with him. He never said, no. I lifted a lot in college and used his Kaz Quest programs. I followed his career and records back then. Little did I know that some 25 years later I would get to meet and talk to him. He has a great sense of humor, suggesting to me and some others that we skip work and come to all the events for the WSM. And, I did just that. I only missed one.
Bill kazmaier is the real deal.
kaz was from wiconsin payed football first the moved to powerlifting . he gained 40 pounds from 1978 to 1979.
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40lbs is A LOT of weight to gain over the course of a year, even with 100% perfect training/diet so he was either under-weight relative to his genetic potential at the time of had “help”. Either way, he is still an incredibly impressive man by any standard!
-Jon
Gilbert:
40 lbs. is NOT an unthinkable amount of weight to gain over the course of a year. It would take Bill (or anyone) eating about 400 excess calories a day over the course of a year to do it. Please spend a few minutes learning about nutrition before you make accusations and assumptions.
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40lbs of fat is EASY in a year but 40lbs of muscle is incredibly difficult. It isn’t about just eating excess calories, it’s converting it into muscle that is the hard part. Most natural bodybuilders following a strict diet and regimen are LUCKY if they are able to add a net 5 pounds of muscle per year once they approach their genetic potential. If you aren’t anywhere near this potential, gaining 10-20 pounds of muscle is do-able in a year but still incredibly difficult. Regardless, the man is a legend no matter how he reached is goal.
i saw a professional athlete in 1967 in june weighed 218 in october 285 he played for the vikings when he left the vikings to play in chicago for a swan song , he got back down to 220 after his wife told him to ditch the weight and run a marathon as she was a marathon runner; there were rumors of football players being ordered to take drugs in the 60′s as part of their contract. one first round draft choice never played, as his father was a doctor and told him not to take what he was ordered to take. he never played in the nfl and a law suit quietly resolved the dispute in sandiego
well i did not accuse anyone . the kazmaier we have known is the superheavy weight who became dominant in 1979 . before that he was a 275 pound lifter .
how tall is kaz ?
Even if he was 10ft tall, his legendary feats of strength will always overshadow his physical structure.
Jon
i wonder if mr kazmeier would comment on the use of steroids in body building and if he thought there was some other way to bulk up without potentially dangerous drugs. as we find more drug usage in sports from humans to horses in the olympics, i wonder if he has any thoughts on what effect drugs have played in his sport. weight lifting has been a part of my athletic training for 50 yrs. most people think i am 50 not 64 and i attribute my success in sports and life to weight lifting
That’s a mine field Michael, he is smart to not say much of anything… he can’t win. Regarding looking younger, my own father is in his 60s and he has a body that puts most people half his age to shame, he, like me, has been exercising most of his life and it really shows as you get older. Congrats on achieving your fitness goals! Keep-up the great work at the gym!
Jon
Joshua: I wouldn’t call 5 pounds of muscle in a year to be “LUCKY.” 5 pounds is really quite achievable, especially for a bodybuilder.
Gretar: 6ft 3inches/191 cm.
Actually Dan, that reply to his comment was made by me before wordpress had a reply option.
It depends on how much beyond your genetic potential you are, most bodybuilders are way above their natural limit (hence the need for drugs) even with their mass, as such, adding an additional 5 pounds is very difficult to maintain.
Jon
His triceps was a monster one.
His arms were bigger than most people’s legs!
Jon
I met Bill once and he was a true gentleman, he had time for everyone,
regardless of whether he took steroids or not he was the strongest man alive.
Millions of people take steroids and cannot even lift half of what Bill could.
tremendous man
kazmaier is 6 fot 2 inches tall born in 1953.
kaz is 6 feet two inches tall . was born in 1953. the most athletic built ever see on a SHW. MARIUS PUDZ DOESNT HAVE THE LARGE STRUCTURE OF KAZMAIER.
Bill Kazmaier,
Height 6 feet 3 inches tall.
Weight 335 pounds.
Chest 56 inches.
Biceps 23 inches.
For arms 17 inches.
Neck 18 inches.
Massive proportions for an impressive man!
Jon
kazmaier neck was over 20 inches not 18 inches . great traps great deltoids . could barbell curl 180 kilos. press 450 pounds three reps seated . deadlifted 903 in exhibition and won many strongman events .