Strongman Jerry Pritchett’s son, Bubba Pritchett, recaps winning the strongman Teen Nationals competition at 11 years old and expresses his aspirations to become the youngest ever World’s Strongest Man champion. 

Bubba Pritchett, the world’s strongest teen while only 11 years old, will give you newfound motivation and aspirations to build a strong physique and start aiming for your goals. You may have heard of Jerry Pritchett if you’re a strongman fan. He’s one of the top strongman and powerlifters. But his son Bubba Pritchett may be able to accomplish more than filling his father’s shoes. In our latest episode of the Legends Of Iron podcast, Bubba Pritchett details how he beat out a 16-year-old to win the teenager strongman’s national title and expresses his aspirations to become the World’s Strongest Man at 17 years old.

Bubba Pritchett is the son of Jerry Pritchett, one of the top strongman and powerlifters. Jerry Pritchett is an American strongman from Phoenix, Arizona. Jerry Pritchett was the 2017 America’s Strongest Man, and he’s a World’s Strongest Man Finalist. 

The Legends Of Iron Podcast hosts (Jon Anderson, Nick Best, and Akim Williams) sat with Bubba and Jerry Pritchett to interview Bubba about his diet and training. In addition, Bubba reflected on winning the teen’s world’s strongest man championship, where he was beating teenagers–technically, Bubba doesn’t qualify for the strongman Teen Nationals being a couple of years shy of being a teenager.

Teen Nationals 

Jon Anderson asked Bubba to reflect on winning Teen Nationals to start the podcast. First, Bubba went into detail about the national strongman competition he won. Bubba Pritchett said there were five events, with the log event being the first. Bubba said he trained with the 13-14-year-old weights since that’s the class he entered. But Bubba lifted weights the 16-year-olds were using at the show. His dad noted that he didn’t have to go until failure to beat out the other kid in the sandbag and Conan’s Wheel (a heavy weight that pivots around a fixed point) portion of the competition. Bubba also said he deadlifted a golf cart for 24 reps. 

Even though Bubba Pritchett crushed the older competition, he admitted he was sore the next day and knows he’s got a “target on his back” now after dominating the older kids. Bubba Pritchett had only competed in one competition before winning the nationals. 

Although Bubba Pritchett gets ample support from his dad and other great strongman coaches and competitors, Jerry Pritchett acknowledges that his son’s aspirations and work ethic are the most significant factors in his achievements. 

Favorite Strongman

Bubba Prichett says his favorite strongman of all time is O.D. Wilson, since he’s the strongest man to never win the World’s Strongest Man, with his current favorite being Brian Shaw (besides his dad, of course) and his second favorite being Luke Stoltman. He said he likes Brian Shaw because he would watch videos of him lifting after school before doing workouts.

Bubba Pritchett’s Stats, Training, and Nutrition 

Bubba Pritchett weighs 195 pounds already. And the doctor pegs him to be 6’6”-6’7” when he’s fully grown. Jerry Pritchett stands 6’4” tall and weighs 360 lbs, and he said his son is much bigger than he was at that age. Bubba Pritchett started lifting at five years old. But the first year was only to learn the technique. At 11 years old, Bubba Pritchett says he could already deadlift 305 pounds–no surprise after watching his dad deadlift 1105 lbs from blocks–and log press 135 pounds.

Below is a clip from Bubba Pritchett’s Instagram of him log pressing 133 pounds.

Bubba Pritchett was asked what he plans to do as a career and his future. And Bubba said that if he got injured and couldn’t compete in strongman, he would go into metal fabricating, which his dad does. And on top of his intense training, starting from a young age and having a strongman dad, being in the metal fabricating shop with his dad has further aided his training. However, Bubba Pritchett wants to become the youngest World’s Strongest Man. And he hopes to accomplish this by age 17 years old.

Outside of training, Bubba Pritchett said he spends time on YouTube. Bubba used to play football and basketball, but now he focuses on strongman only sport-wise.

His diet consists of many steaks, which he says is his favorite food. Bubba Pritchett says his favorite strongman event is log press and deadlifts. Below is Bubba Pritchett’s typical workout schedule: 

Training Schedule 

  • Monday – Deadlifts
  • Tuesday – Shoulders and Upper body
  • Wednesday – Squats and Legs
  • Thursday – Makeup/Bench day
  • Friday – Rest
  • Saturday – Big Event Day
  • Sunday – Rest

Bubba and Jerry Pritchett have said that strongman training has increased Bubba’s confidence and has helped him make friends in school. He joked that kids didn’t believe he did strongman, but after looking him up on the internet and learning about his dad and his success, all the kids wanted to be his friends. 

To close the Legends Of Iron podcast, Bubba Pritchett advises other kids on training to “learn the technique first.” For all six years of Bubba Pritchett’s training, he said strongman lifts had been part of them. Bubba Pritchett stated:

“At five, when I seriously started training, learning the actual technique and stuff, the first thing I touched was a log.” 

Bubba’s success comes from many things. Jon Anderson points out that he’s already gotten years of training experience under his belt compared to other kid strongman competitors. He also started strongman training at a very young age. And, of course, he gets to be around other elite professional strongman competitors like his dad. But ultimately, Bubba’s success comes from his determination and sheer work ethic. Not only does he put in the work physically. But he also studies the craft and has studied the history of strongman. 

Wrap Up

Bubba Pritchett has already accomplished a lot in the teenage strongman division. And he’s a strongman to keep an eye on for the years to come. Bubba has a good head on his shoulders and good self-awareness for an 11-year-old. In addition, his motivation, goals, and work ethic is incredible. And he, no doubt, is already following in his father’s footsteps. And he’s headed down the right path to dominate the World’s Strongest Man as a teenager and, hopefully, professionally.

The Legends Of Iron podcast has a fun and playful interview with Bubba Pritchett and his dad Jerry Pritchett. Watch this inspirational podcast episode above for a full recap of Bubba Pritchett’s interview. Then, check back every other Thursday for new episodes on the Generation Iron Fitness Network or wherever podcasts are downloaded.

Terry Ramos
As a personal trainer and writer, Terry loves changing lives through coaching and the written word. Terry has a B.S. in Kinesiology and is an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer and ISSA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. He enjoys playing music, reading, and watching films when he's not writing or training.