The sight of a pair of man mountains lifting heavier than anyone else on the planet is, in most cases, enough to make most people turn on their heel and flee from any gym.
Except these two man mountains are the Stoltman brothers. And the gym in which they’re regularly found inhabiting is their own, the newly-opened Stoltman Strength Centre.
The Stoltman brothers are two of the most physically intimidating individuals on earth yet from their appearance, their personalities couldn’t contrast more.
Tom, the younger brother, and his elder sibling, Luke Stoltman are the most gentle giants you could ever encounter. And while one of the purposes of their gym was to build a base in their hometown of Invergordon at which they can continue their pursuit of being two of the strongest men in the world, the duel purpose was to open a facility at which everyone is welcome.
In the same way that they’ve achieved almost every one of their personal goals in their sport of strongman, they’ve achieved their objective in their gym, too.
The Stoltman Strength Centre, which opened in Invergordon last month, replaces their previous gym, with their new facility geared towards developing the next generation of strongmen, as well as catering for people who may not have the target of pulling monster trucks and lifting hundreds of kilos worth of Atlas stones.
“An old fire station in Invergordon had been lying empty for a while and we transformed it,” says three-time World’s Strongest Man winner, 31-year-old Tom.
We've got the gym, a cardio room, a recovery centre, a sauna, a hyperbaric chamber - we’ve got everything that anybody could ask for. And the main thing is we've got all our strongman stuff under one roof, so me and Luke can train there too.
“Our main goal was to open a gym that was accessible for not just myself and Luke, but for everyone that does bodybuilding, powerlifting, strongman, or people who just wanted to keep fit. And we're very proud of what we’ve got here.”
“The stereotypical view of a gym like ours is that there’d be big strongmen walking around with stones. But we've got such a diverse membership,” adds 41-year-old Luke.
“We've got an older chap who's about 65 who comes in, there’s a younger group of people aged 15 and 16 who come in and there’s everyone in between
“There's so much scientific proof that strength and resistance training helps with longevity of life so it's really inclusive.”
Both Tom and Luke are acutely aware of the benefits of strength training and physical activity, whether it be with the aim of winning international trophies or purely to aide their mental and physical health.
With Tom having been diagnosed with autism aged five and having struggled with the challenges that came with his condition, it was ultimately following his elder brother, Luke, into the gym that proved to be his salvation.
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With both brothers having experienced first-hand the benefits of exercise - neither of the duo began at the gym with the expectations or aspirations of becoming champions or global icons - they want to give as many people as possible access to these benefits.
“With having autism and my mental health challenges, I didn't know what I wanted to do in life. And then I found strongman,” says Tom.
“I followed Luke into the gym then into strongman and it's changed both of our lives and we both want to help it change other people's lives, too,” says Tom.
“Ten years ago, I would never have believed we’d be in this position but now, we do want to leave a legacy. In the Highlands, there's so many great athletes in all sports and we want to make a facility to be proud of.”
The brothers may have spent considerable time and energy on the opening of their new gym in recent months, but the pair haven’t taken their eye off the ball when it comes to their own training.
In two weeks, the Stoltmans will be battling to become Britain’s Strongest Man at the event in Sheffield, with Luke defending the title he won last year.
Tom, a three-time World’s Strongest Man winner, heads south of the border as favourite for the title but his elder brother is, despite the trauma of losing one of their closest friends, quietly confident that he may be in good enough shape to retain his title.
“It's been a tough time recently as we lost one of our good friends, Pa O'Dwyer, who recently passed away,” says Luke.
"He was a brilliant strongman and his death has taken its toll on the community so it's been a tough mental battle but we have to keep pushing on.
“Mentally, it's been tough but physically, I'm starting to feel really good and Tom and I push each other every day training. I'm buzzing that Tom is back competing this year and all the guys at Britain's Strongest Man are incredible, so it's going to be a huge battle. But I’m vowing to retain my title.”
For Tom, his target s to ensure the pair occupy the top two steps of the podium and as much as he’d love to add to the three Britain’s Strongest Man titles he’s already won, his priority is ensuring the trophy remains in the family. “The goal is a Stoltman 1-2,” he says.
“I'm not disrespecting anyone else but if I'm at 100 percent and Luke is at 100 percent, I really think it could be us coming first and second.
“We’ve competed against each other a lot and I actually seem to struggle more when Luke is not there. When we're together, it gives us both an extra power and this year, we want to use that to keep the title in the family.”
For Tom, the younger Stoltman, he has particular motivation to make 2026 a successful one. Having seen his World’s Strongest Man title prised out of his hands last summer after a surprise defeat to South African Rayno Nel, Tom realised he’d taken his foot off the gas somewhat. There’s no place for laziness in strongman but that’s exactly the trait that had crept into Tom.
However, the past three months have seen him rediscover his vigour and that will, he’s confident, shine through at both Britain’s Strongest Man and World’s Strongest Man 2026 this summer, where he’ll be going for his fourth global title.
“In 2025, I was taking a few things for granted. I thought I didn't need to change things and I got lazy with things like my diet. I didn't listen to people around me and I fell out of love with the sport,” he says.
“But then at the end of last year, I gave myself a talking-to because I knew that's not the athlete I want to be.
“Now, I’ve got renewed motivation and it's incredible to have that mindset back again. I took accountability, changed my diet entirely and I want to make 2026 a massive year for myself.
“I want to prove that I'm still the best in the world and I want to begin by marking my territory at Britain's Strongest Man.
“Last year, I made excuses but this year, there’ll be none of that.”
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