Wayne Smith was a strongman born in 1932. He became interested in training in early years, along with a twin brother Ward, but he actually started training after he joined the Navy. During his service in Hawaii, Wayne became a friend with Tommy Kono and below is the picture from Tommy’s gym, with Wayne performing a bent press.
Wayne Smith performing a bent press
Wayne started training seriously after he returned from the Navy and did very well in Powerlifting and Olympic lifting until 1971. He won the Missouri State Championships in 1946 in a middleweight category, but unfortunately at that time he was diagnosed with terminal lung illness and was given only a couple of years to live. Luckily, he fell into hands of Dr. Valuck who successfully treated him.
One of the really interesting facts about Wayne is that he was a chin-up specialist. He was beaten only once in numerous chin-up challenges, but he had an amazingly good one arm chin-up form.
One Arm Chin up by Wayne Smith
Moreover, he could deadlift quite a lot, considering his size and bodyweight. He was able to deadlift triple bodyweight – 460 pounds while weighing 148 lb. I am not sure about the weight in the picture below, but it looks impressive nevertheless.
Wayne Smith lifting A LOT
Volkswagon lifted in a deadlift style by Wayne Smith
Aside from weightlifting and bodyweight exercises, Wayne was into bowling where he was successful too. He also had a tree trimming business which he used to support himself. Wayne Smith died in 2012 at the age of 79.
Wayne Smith wasn’t a big man by any means, but he was incredibly strong. If you are looking to achieve the same thing, make sure to check this out.