About Us

North American Strongman, Inc. (NAS) was founded in the summer of 1997 by Bill Holland of Saginaw, Texas. Bill started NAS based on discussions of amateur strongman while watching the "World’s Strongest Man" on ESPN. At the time, Bill had promoted several successful power lifting contests, so he figured why not promote strongman. After phone calls and discussions with a few friends, Bill Holland and friends promoted the "Texas Strongest Man Contest" On August 31, 1997 in a hot dusty horse arena in Texas, —NAS was born.

Some very elite lifters such as Steve Goggins, Duane Hamman, Kevin McAfee, Brian Dobson, Mike Adelman, Milo and Jill Mills, Dennis Magee, Ed Cosner, Whit Baskin, and others attended the first contest. Whit Baskin won the initial contest after a very hard fought battle with Mike Adelman. Later that year, another contest was held in Wichita Falls, Texas and again Whit Baskin prevailed.

In 1998, there were six NAS sanctioned contests around the country. Stacy Green held the first Oklahoma contest, winner—Whit Baskin. Paul Armstrong put on the Iowa Extreme Strongman Contest that year and we saw the emergence of a new name, Phil Pfister. Mark Delnecki held the first New York Strongest Man Contest (sorry, I don’t have the name of the winner of that one). Chris Mavromatis held the first dual sanctioned contest, in 1998 called "The Strongest Man Alive" in which the professional Jouko Ahola won. The first NAS Championships were held in November of 1998, and this is where Bill Holland met Chad Coy who performed very well, but winning the NAS Championship was David Brown. David still competes as a professional in the Highland Games. 1998 was also the first year for the "Metroplex Strongest Man Contest" that Whit Baskin won.

In 1999, we saw the first Tennessee Strongest Man contest held in McKenzie, Tennessee and was hosted by Dwayne "Bubba" Melton. 1999 marked the beginning of growth for NAS and over the next three years champions such as Nick Osborne, Willie Wessels, and others began to emerge.

Early in 2002, Bill turned NAS over to Willie and Dione Wessels. The support and love of the sport made them a natural to continue with NAS. Bill has continued to watch NAS grow from a distance due to the promotions of Willie and Dione Wessels. Prior to February 2002, NAS had State Chairmen/women in 14 states, and 243 active competitors. Prior to 2002, there were only 11-12 competitions per year. Currently, NAS has 42 State Chairmen/women and over 1500 active competitors across the country. In the year 2002, there were over 40 sanctioned NAS contests in country. There were 61 competitions across the USA in the 2002-2003 season, and will be over 60 competitions in the 2003-2004 season.

NAS has had a number of competitors compete through the ranks and are now competing in the professional division. To name a few competitors, they are Jill Mills (WSW 2001 & 2002), Chad Smith, Brett Latta, Jared Spybrook, and many others.

NAS has, and will continue to promote quality contest throughout the country. Click here for more information on becoming a NAS member.

If anyone was not mentioned, it was not intentional because there have been many unsung persons that have helped NAS crawl before it could walk and we all appreciate each and everyone.

Train Hard and Stay Strong,

Bill Holland – Founder
Willie Wessels - President
Dione Wessels - Vice President
North American Strongman, Inc.

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