Eddie Williams: How a Strongman Athlete Fuels His Training

Who is Eddie Williams?

Eddie Jo Williams, known in the sport as "Big Eddie", is a professional strongman, singer, content creator, husband and father of three based in Adelaide, South Australia (True Protein). Born in 1990, he grew up in a Sāmoan family in Māngere, Auckland, before moving to Australia to play rugby while working as a youth support worker (Wikipedia, PMN).

How did Eddie get into strongman?

Eddie found strongman while trying to get fit after his rugby days. He's said he felt out of place in a regular gym until a friend showed him the sport, where the athletes finally looked like him. He entered his first competition with no specific training and won it (PMN).

Is Eddie Williams really a singer?

Yes. Eddie is a trained singer who performed at weddings for around 10 years before committing to strength sport full time. He has sung at international strongman events, including at the Royal Albert Hall during the Giants Live Strongman Classic in London (PMN). That combination took him to Australia's Got Talent in 2019 and America's Got Talent: The Champions (Wikipedia).

What has Eddie Williams achieved in strongman?

Eddie is one of Australia's most successful strongmen: a two-time Australia's Strongest Man and a five-time World's Strongest Man competitor, with his best finish of 8th in the 2026 final (Strongman Archives). In his own words, competing at World's Strongest Man is his proudest achievement, the result of "years of sacrifice, training, setbacks, and persistence".

Sources: Wikipedia, Strongman Archives, SBS News, PMN.

What was Eddie's Hercules Hold record?

The Hercules Hold is a grip and endurance event: the athlete stands between two heavy pillars and stops them falling for as long as possible. At the 2025 World's Strongest Man, Eddie held two 159 kg pillars for 1 minute 22 seconds, a championship record (Wikipedia).

How does Eddie Williams fuel his training and recovery?

Eddie builds his nutrition around consistency: hitting his protein target every day, whether he's in the gym for several hours, travelling to a competition or juggling content shoots with family life. As he puts it, supplements are "not a replacement for hard work or good nutrition"; they make both easier to sustain.

Why does protein matter so much for strength athletes?

Resistance training creates small amounts of damage in muscle fibres. Muscle protein synthesis, the process of building new muscle protein, is how the body repairs and adapts, and it needs a steady supply of amino acids from protein. A 2018 meta-analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that protein supplementation increased gains in muscle mass and strength during resistance training, with benefits plateauing at around 1.6 g of protein per kg of body weight per day.

For an athlete who competes at around 180 kg, that daily target is large, which is why convenient options matter. WPI 90 is a whey protein isolate, meaning the whey has been filtered to remove most of the fat and lactose, leaving a concentrated protein that suits a fast post-training shake.

Why does a strongman take creatine every day?

Creatine is a compound stored in muscle as phosphocreatine, which helps regenerate ATP, the body's immediate energy source for short, maximal efforts like a deadlift or stone load. The International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand describes creatine monohydrate as the most effective nutritional supplement currently available for increasing high-intensity exercise capacity and lean body mass. Because it works by saturating muscle stores over time, daily intake matters more than timing, which is why Eddie treats it as a fixed part of his routine.

Do you need to train like a strongman to use the same products?

No. The same principles apply at any level: eat enough protein spread across the day, use convenient options when life gets busy, and stay consistent. Eddie's routine just shows how they scale when the demands are extreme. If you're not sure where to start, the Supplement Quiz matches products to your goals.

What keeps Eddie Williams motivated?

His family. Eddie wants his three children to see what hard work, discipline and persistence can achieve, and to show people more broadly that you don't have to fit into one box. In his words, "You can be a strongman, a singer, a husband, a father, and still chase your dreams."

Faith sits alongside family at the centre of his story. He credits it with carrying him through the physical and financial challenges of the sport, and he gives back by helping Strongman Sāmoa host international events so young Pacific athletes get a pathway into strongman (PMN). His advice to others: "be who you needed when you were younger."

Which True Protein values does Eddie live by?

Eddie connects most with three of True's values.

• Be You. He has built his career on being unapologetically himself, whether he's competing, performing or at home with his family. He believes people connect with authenticity.
• Be True. For Eddie this means being genuine, following through on commitments and staying true to his values, on and off camera.
• Be Better. Strongman is a sport of constant improvement. Adding kilos to a lift, recovering better, growing as a husband and father: the aim is always to be better than yesterday.