The 2025 World’s Strongest Man
In a stunning and unprecedented turn of events, Rayno Nel has taken the strength world by storm, capturing the 2025 World’s Strongest Man title in his debut appearance at the competition. While fans expected a fierce battle between seasoned legends and perennial contenders, few anticipated that a relatively unknown South African strongman — who works full-time as an electrical engineer — would emerge as this year’s undisputed champion.
Generation Iron sat down with Rayno for an exclusive, in-depth interview to uncover how a man with no professional background in strength sports rose to the very top of the mountain in record time.
The Rise of a Dark Horse Champion
Hailing from Pretoria, South Africa, 32-year-old Rayno Nel is not your typical World’s Strongest Man competitor. Unlike his rivals, many of whom dedicate their entire lives to the sport, Nel balances his strength training with a demanding career in electrical engineering, working full-time while preparing for the most grueling strength competition in the world.
Nel’s introduction to strongman came just three years ago. Having played competitive rugby and wanting the spirit of competition yet again he was drawn to strongman for its unpredictability and all-around brutality.
From Amateur to World’s Strongest
Nel began training with a small group of local lifters and soon started making waves in South African amateur competitions. Within two years, he had qualified for the Africa’s Strongest Man title, which he won handily. That win put him on the radar of the global strongman scene, eventually earning him an invite to the 2025 WSM qualifiers.
Through events like the Car Walk, Max Deadlift, and Keg Toss, Nel showed not just raw power, but remarkable conditioning and composure under pressure. By the time the finals came around, Nel was neck-and-neck with some of the sport’s biggest names — and stunned everyone with a flawless performance in the Atlas Stones to secure the overall win.
Balancing Engineering and Elite Athletics
The most astonishing aspect of Nel’s journey is not just that he won — but how he got there. Unlike most professional athletes who dedicate every waking hour to training and recovery, Nel juggles a career in engineering, clocking in over 40 hours a week at a high-demand job.
Nel credits his engineering mindset for giving him an edge in preparation and strategy. He also emphasized the importance of recovery. With such a tight schedule, he relies on mobility work, strict sleep hygiene, and soft tissue therapy to keep his body functioning at the highest level.
Advice to Amateur Strongmen
Having risen from amateur ranks to World’s Strongest Man in just a few short years, Nel is in a unique position to speak to the next generation of lifters.
His advice is refreshingly practical:
- Train for events — not just lifts. Strongman isn’t about your bench press. It’s about awkward objects, carrying, loading, and grinding under fatigue.
- Compete often. Amateurs need experience more than perfect lifts. Get on a platform, make mistakes, and learn from them. Rayno Nel himself has about 6 competitions lined up for this year.
- Stay humble. Don’t compare yourself to social media lifters. Your only competition is yesterday’s version of you.
What Comes Next?
With the title of World’s Strongest Man now secured, Rayno Nel has officially arrived — and the strongman world is paying attention. But he isn’t letting the fame go to his head. He also plans to remain grounded, continuing to work in engineering — at least for now.
Final Thoughts
Rayno Nel is a new kind of champion — one who blends brawn with brains, balancing a full-time engineering career with world-class strength. His journey is not only inspirational; it’s transformational for what the sport of strongman can represent.
In a world where excuses are easy and distractions are everywhere, Nel proves that with focus, humility, and relentless drive, anyone — even a full-time engineer from Pretoria — can become the World’s Strongest Man.
Check out the full interview here:
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