Tom Stoltman, the 31-year-old three-time World's Strongest Man, has revealed how autism became his 'cheat code' to success. Diagnosed as a child, he was bullied at school in Invergordon for being different. 'I was really shy,' he says. 'I got bullied in school for being different.' At 16, he hit a 'crashing point', swapping football for Xbox and skipping meals for sweets.
His older brother Luke, a bodybuilder, dragged him to the gym. 'At the start I was just doing the 20kg bar and the next day I'd be so sore,' Tom recalls. But within a week, he began to enjoy it. Watching Luke compete in Scotland's Strongest Man inspired Tom to follow suit. 'Watching your brother do that, you're, like, oh, he's like a Hulk.'
Stoltman now weighs 180kg – the same as a large lion – and eats five meals a day to fuel his training. He credits his autism for his success: 'Autism became my cheat code. I could lock into routine; block out distractions.' He trains full-time, runs a gym with his brother, and uses biohacking techniques like oxygen chambers and red-light therapy.
He won his first World's Strongest Man title in 2021, defeating industry veterans, and has since won it twice more. Reflecting on his journey, Stoltman says: 'At 16, when I looked in the mirror I saw a lost kid asking, “Why am I different?” Now I see someone who turned that difference into a superpower. I can look in the mirror and smile.'
