Kyle Mahoney helps bring strongman worlds to NL, answers 20 questions

When athletes from Finland, Ireland and Great Britain travelled to Paradise for the World Heavy Events Association (WHEA) World Championships, Kyle Mahoney had reason to feel proud.

For the St. John’s strength coach, the competition was the culmination of years spent helping build opportunities for strongman athletes in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the sport remains relatively small.

About 37 athletes competed at the championships, which Mahoney helped organize.

He said the visiting athletes spoke highly of the province and the volunteers who brought the event together.

The federation has expressed interest in returning to Newfoundland and Labrador in 2029.

Mahoney, Canada’s representative for the WHEA, said seeing the event come together was among his proudest moments as an organizer.

“It wasn’t just my success,” he said. “It was everybody’s success.”

Mahoney grew up in Harbour Main where his uncle Don, a fisherman and bricklayer, helped shape his early understanding of strength.

A father figure to Mahoney, his uncle was known for his physical strength, and Mahoney remembers hearing stories about his abilities as a child.

Although he experimented with weight training as a teenager, he didn’t begin taking it seriously until his early 20s.

“I needed a reason to get away from partying, and to get my life on track,” he said.

He began training more seriously in 2014, took up strongman in 2017 and started coaching in 2019.

Mahoney has been sober for around 12 years.

Today, he runs Stronglikecaveman, a part-time coaching service, alongside his full-time job as an electrician with health services.

He coaches at True Strength Inc. in Paradise, working with athletes at different levels of experience.

Mahoney is a founding member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Strength Records Committee, a volunteer group established to bring greater transparency to competitions and keep track of provincial records.

With a small pool of athletes and organizers, the local scene needed a way to ensure decisions about provincial championships were not left to one person, he said.

His work with the WHEA has also helped provide additional competition opportunities for athletes, including women and those in lighter weight classes.

Mahoney has competed at world championships in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Finland, finishing sixth in his class at both.

He has also coached athletes at international competitions, sometimes balancing his own events with coaching and organizing responsibilities.

Events can be particularly demanding when he is trying to prepare for his own competition while answering questions from athletes and helping organize the day.

While giving up on competing would break his heart, Mahoney said coaching offers a different kind of fulfilment.

“If somebody came to me tomorrow and said, ‘You can only compete and you can’t coach anymore,’ I think I’d have a harder time with that,” he said.

Putting hundreds of pounds on his back takes a certain mindset, he said, but helping someone who is struggling with a lift comes naturally to him.

The sport still faces challenges, particularly the cost and availability of specialist equipment. But Mahoney believes introducing more people to strongman is key to its future.

At the recent world championships in Paradise, he watched young spectators cheer competitors lifting hundreds of pounds.

“That’s awesome,” he said. “I definitely think that’s the type of thing that will help the sport grow in the long run.”

Q. What is your full name?

A. Kyle Mahoney

Q. Where and when were you born, and where do you live today?

A. I was born in St. John’s, NL. I am from Harbour Main but currently live in St. John’s.

Q. What is one thing you would like people to know about you?

A. I care a lot about others and love animals.

Q. Is there something people might assume about you that isn’t quite true?

A. I think people view my integrity or boldness/willingness to have hard conversations with being arrogant.

Q. What is the hardest thing you have ever done?

A. Losing my first dog, Sasha, in 2018. She was my best friend for the hardest years of my life. She helped me stop drinking and helped me find purpose, and as soon as I did, I lost her.

Q. What is one experience that changed your life?

A. Stopping drinking in 2015. I was a typical Newfoundland millennial where my teenage years and young adult years were fueled by alcohol and partying. Years later, I realized it was just a way of coping with trauma and anxiety, and I needed to stop. I had to do what was best for my family and I.

Q. What is your greatest indulgence?

A. Food. I love going out to eat with my wife and friends. My go-to meal would be steak, twice-baked potato and garlic cheese toast from the keg. Because it’s good for recovery and tastes good.

Q. What is your favourite book right now?

A. I haven’t read as much as I’d like to lately, but some recent books I’ve finished which I really enjoyed were “The Iron Samurai: The True Story of Westside Barbell,” “Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind & Defy the Odds”, and Mark Hunt’s autobiography “Born to Fight.” The reason I liked these books is because they were real, about real people, real times and building character.

Q. What is your favourite movie?

A. Any of the Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, Lord of the Rings or Hobbit movies. I’ve always had a passion for dinosaurs and adventure. These movies allow me to disconnect from the reality of life today.

Q. What music do you like to listen to?

A. Everything. Primarily rap, but my Spotify playlist has everything from local/underground hip-hop to movie scores and every genre in between. My favourite rap artist is Eminem because I can relate to him, and we have a very similar story.

Q. How do you like to relax?

A. I’m extremely busy between working, training and coaching. So any time I can relax on the couch or in bed with my wife and dogs and watch a show or movie without being bothered is paramount for me. Sometimes just knowing everybody is at peace in the house is enough.

Q. What is something you could talk about for hours?

A. How to prepare for a zombie apocalypse. I just really enjoyed The Walking Dead series and could see myself doing alright in that kind of world. Less modern-day problems and fuss; the only real goal every day would be to stay alive, eat, train and sleep. No modern-day problems or politics!

Q. What is your greatest fear?

A. Losing what means most: my wife, family, friends, dogs.

Q. What is your greatest joy?

A. Marrying my wife. She was my high school sweetheart, and despite all the hard times, she stuck by me. She always believed in me, and no matter how hard I may have made things in our younger years, she stayed. She was the constant. She was my main motivation for sobriety and change. So marrying her seven years after stopping drinking was a very proud moment for me.

Q. What is your most treasured possession?

A. My childhood Yu-Gi-Oh card collection. They aren’t worth a whole lot today, but they carry a lot of meaning. We never had a lot of money growing up, and I remember how proud my mom was to see me open those at Christmas as a kid, and I remember how excited I was. I’ll keep them forever.

Q. What is the best advice you have ever received from a parent or mentor?

A. Try not to make decisions when you’re emotional. My mother and wife would tell me this. Because more often than not, I’ll find myself explaining a situation to them and how I plan to react, and they always say, ‘Wait until you’ve calmed down.’ Nine chances out of 10, they’re usually right.

Q. What would you say is your best quality, and what would you say is your worst?

A. I believe my ability to understand and feel where people are coming from is strong and enables me to have a good bond with the athletes I coach. On the flip side, I would say I trust people too easily. Sometimes choosing to see the good in people can blind you from the dangers.

Q. Where is your favourite place in the world?

A. So far, Edinburgh, Scotland. It was my first international competition. I knew nothing about the place, my wife came with me and handled me during the contest, and afterwards we explored. The architecture, the people, the scenery, the history. It’s a place I could see us living.

Q. What is one thing you couldn’t live without?

A. Dogs. I got my first dog in 2014 when I was trying to make positive life changes, and that dog taught me so much about responsibility, accountability, loyalty and love. I had this little being whose life depended solely on me and who showed an unwavering dedication to me. I never had that before: this little animal who just loved me unconditionally, no matter what, and was never mad or upset with me. I think I always wanted that as a little boy, we just couldn’t afford it, so now in my adult years we have these little creatures who we love and who love us and depend on us. It’s a symbiotic relationship; we care for and protect each other. They truly are man/woman’s best friend. Our dogs help us through so much.

Q. Which three people would you invite to your dream dinner party?

A. Eminem, Louie Simmons, Brock Lesnar. Eminem because he’s one of my greatest influences as a musician. I used to make hip hop in my younger years and his story was extremely relatable for me. Louie Simmons because of his contribution to strength sports as a coach and the fact I really understood him. Just this grumpy, old, tough-as-nails, strong dude with a ton of life experience and wisdom. And Brock Lesnar, for the simple fact prior to strongman, I thought he was “as big” or “as strong” as a human could get. I really enjoyed him in wrestling and fighting, and in my earlier years in the gym I always wanted to train like him.

Answers may have been edited for length and clarity.