Strongman Archives

Whether as the founder of the world-famous Fortissimus strongman competitions or as the author of Louis Cyr’s biography, Paul Ohl had already contributed to strength sports in many ways. This week, he is unveiling a new project, just as ambitious as his previous endeavours.

Fortissimus: La planète des surhommes (Fortissimus: The Planet of the Supermen) is a 650-page essay (published in French) detailing the history of strength culture and sports, from Mesopotamian hero Gilgamesh to today’s strength athletes.

Earlier this year, at the Canada’s Strongest Man competition, Paul Ohl told Strongman Archives that he had worked on the book, which will be published on September 28, for over two years. Ohl has been fascinated with the world of strength for decades, fondly remembering a 1987 training session with the legendary Jón Páll Sigmarsson.

Why does strength fascinate us so much? Who really is the strongest man in history? These questions and many more are behind the book’s premise. Many interviews are featured, including some with "strength world leaders from Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia, as well as legendary international athletes from weightlifting, bodybuilding, powerlifting, armwrestling and strongman", according to the book’s press release.

Ohl also touches on the many tragedies that have afflicted the strength world over the years, stating that the small population of the "planet of supermen" is willing to pay a heavy price to be the strongest.

"It is in the nature of supermen to follow one single law:Fortius Unum. There can be only one: the strongest."

Strongman Archives is proud to have contributed, in a modest but not insignificant way, to Paul Ohl’s tireless work leading up to the publication of Fortissimus: La planète des surhommes, a historic essay in more ways than one.