If you're ever pinned beneath a boulder, or perhaps squished up against a wall behind a dump truck, you better hope that Chris Davies is around.
The six-foot-one, 310 pound North Vancouver resident, who grew up in Tsawwassen, is one of the few humans on earth who could single-handedly get you out of those predicaments, an ability he ably demonstrated earlier this month when he won his second consecutive B.C.'s Strongest Man competition.
The event in Kamloops included tasks such as pulling a 13,600-kilogram (30,000-pound) dump truck, flipping 375-kg tires, and lifting 160-kg Atlas stones onto a chest-high platform.
With the win Davies defended the title he won last year in Hope in a competition that included what he calls the hardest task he's ever attempted: pulling one of the monster tow trucks that was featured on the reality TV show Highway Thru Hell. The trucks weigh in at nearly 40,000 kilograms (86,000 pounds) and are normally used to drag semi trailers out of the ditch on the treacherous Coquihalla Highway.
"It feels like your entire body is about to explode," Davies said about slipping on the harness and getting the massive truck moving. He managed to move the truck more than 30 metres in less than two minutes.
The 33-year-old did, however, have enough left in the tank after each of the wins to hoist the championship trophy, which itself is no simple task.
"Yup, even the trophies are heavy," said Davies, adding that the B.C. hardware tips the scales at around 60 pounds.
Davies, who left Tsawwassen right before high school, grew up as a huge fan of the World's Strongest Man competitions that were shown on TV.
A skateboarder and snowboarder, he got into bodybuilding, powerlifting and, eventually, strongman competitions in his mid-20s. At his first competition - a local event in Port Moody - he finished third. He hasn't stopped competing since, fitting in events around his two day jobs as a construction safety officer and working part time at Rogers Arena. Strongman has taken him to competitions all over Canada, the Pacific Northwest and even farther afield to places like Orlando, Reno and Salt Lake City. At one stop he met his inspirations in the sport, the great Magnus Ver Magnusson, the Iceland native who holds four World's Strongest Man titles.
"It was one of the best moments of my life," said Davies. "I always watched him as a kid. Meeting him was one of those childhood dreams. Some people dream of meeting Michael Jordan, I dreamed of meeting him."
Davies now has his sights set on following Ver Magnusson's massive footsteps and making it onto the stage himself for the World's Strongest Man competition. He's already taken a couple of cracks at qualifying. In 2008 he finished 18th out of a field of more than 60 at the U.S. Nationals, a good result but not good enough to qualify. He tried again in 2010 but was derailed when he partially tore his triceps tendon and muscle.
Those looking to check out the scene will have a chance to do when the Pacific Coast Strongman competition comes to North Vancouver's Shipbuilder's Square Sept. 7. That will likely be the next competition on his calendar, said Davies.
