Kevin Faires: The Powerful Rise of an Underdog Strongman to World-Class Competitor

From U105 world champion to World's Strongest Man finalist, Kevin Faires built an inspiring career through strength, determination, and an ability to compete against athletes much larger than himself.

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Kevin Faires is an American professional strongman known for his remarkable grip strength, powerful deadlifts, stone events, and ability to challenge some of the biggest athletes in the sport. His journey is particularly interesting because he did not begin professional strongman as a giant heavyweight. Instead, his athletic background in football and wrestling helped him develop the determination and physical strength that eventually carried him onto the world’s biggest strongman stages.

His career represents both the positive and difficult sides of professional strength sports. He achieved major victories, including U105 world titles, and reached the final of the World’s Strongest Man competition. At the same time, he has faced the natural challenges of competing against much larger athletes and maintaining a demanding career in one of the world’s most physically intense sports.

Table of Contents

Quick Bio

Category	Details
Full Name	Kevin Faires
Profession	Professional Strongman
Nationality	American
Date of Birth	February 4, 1990*
Age	36 years old as of August 2026
Birthplace	United States
Hometown/Residence	Provo, Utah
Height	Approximately 6 ft 2 in
Sport	Strongman
Known For	Grip strength, deadlifts, stone events and strongman competitions
Major Achievement	7th place at the 2020 World’s Strongest Man
U105 World Title	2016
Family	Married with three children

*Some public sources list February 2, 1990, while Strongman Archives and other sources report February 4, 1990.

Kevin Faires Early Life and Family Background

Kevin Faires grew up in Utah and developed an interest in competitive sports long before becoming a professional strongman. His early athletic experience included football, wrestling, baseball, and other sporting activities. During high school, he competed for Provo High School and was involved in football and wrestling.

Wrestling was particularly important because it taught him how to compete against opponents who could be heavier or physically stronger. That experience later became an important part of his strongman identity. Rather than depending only on body size, he learned to use technique, leverage, conditioning, and determination.

High School Sports

During his high-school years, he played football and was listed as a running back and linebacker. He also participated in wrestling, where competing against different weight classes gave him valuable experience with larger opponents.

That background helped establish a mindset that would later become one of his greatest strengths. Professional strongman frequently places athletes against enormous loads and competitors with significantly greater body mass, but his earlier sporting experiences had already taught him that size alone does not determine the outcome of a competition.

Family Life

Publicly available biographical information identifies him as a husband and father of three children. He has maintained a relatively private family life while building his public reputation primarily through strongman competition.

Specific information about his wife and children’s names has not been reliably established in the public sources used for this biography. Therefore, those details are not included.

Kevin Faires Career Beginning

Kevin Faires entered competitive strongman in 2016, and his rise was remarkably fast. Instead of spending many years working through minor competitions, he quickly demonstrated that his strength and athletic ability could compete at an international level.

His first major breakthrough came at the 2016 U105 Strongman World Championships in Kokkola, Finland. He won the competition and became a world champion in the under-105-kilogram category.

2016 U105 World Championship

Winning the U105 world title was a major turning point. The achievement proved that he could perform at an international level and gave him confidence to pursue increasingly difficult competitions.

The victory also highlighted an important characteristic of his career: he was able to produce exceptional strength despite competing at a bodyweight considerably lower than many professional strongmen.

Kevin Faires Rise to the Open Division

After succeeding in the U105 division, Faires moved toward open-class competition. This was a major challenge because the open division contains athletes who can weigh well over 150 kilograms and possess extraordinary levels of muscle and strength.

Instead of avoiding that challenge, he embraced it. His ability to remain competitive against much larger athletes became one of the most recognizable features of his career.

2017 Breakthrough

In 2017, he won the Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championships in the U105 category. He also finished second at the Official Strongman Games.

These performances helped establish him as a serious competitor beyond the U105 scene. His results demonstrated that his strength was not limited to a single event or competition format.

2018 and 2019 Progress

Faires continued his development in professional strongman during 2018. At the Giants Live North American Open, he finished third.

The following year was even more successful. He finished second at the 2019 Giants Live North American Open, a result that helped him secure an opportunity to compete at the World’s Strongest Man.

Kevin Faires at World’s Strongest Man

Reaching the World’s Strongest Man competition was one of the biggest achievements of his career. The event brings together elite athletes from around the world and tests competitors across multiple strength disciplines.

His most important WSM performance came in 2020, when he successfully reached the final and finished seventh overall.

2020 World’s Strongest Man

A seventh-place finish at the 2020 World’s Strongest Man was a major career milestone. Reaching the final itself is difficult because competitors must survive qualifying stages against some of the world’s strongest athletes.

His result was particularly impressive because he was competing against athletes who were generally much larger. The performance established him as a legitimate world-class open strongman rather than simply a successful former U105 competitor.

Kevin Faires Career Timeline

2016

Began competitive strongman.
Won the U105 Strongman World Championships.

2017

Won the Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championships U105.
Finished second at the Official Strongman Games.

2018

Finished third at the Giants Live North American Open.

2019

Finished second at the Giants Live North American Open.
Continued his progression toward the World’s Strongest Man.

2020

Reached the World’s Strongest Man final.
Finished seventh overall.

2021

Finished fourth at the Shaw Classic.

2022

Finished third at the Giants Live World Tour Finals.

2023

Set a notable replica Dinnie Stones walking record.
Continued competing at major international strength competitions.

2024

Competed at major American and international strongman events.
Finished third at America’s Strongest Man.
Won the Atlas Stones event at that competition.

2025

Continued competing in major strongman competitions, including North America’s Strongest Man.

Kevin Faires Strength and Records

One of the biggest reasons fans recognize Kevin Faires is his exceptional grip strength. Grip-intensive events require more than raw power because athletes must maintain control of extremely heavy objects while walking, carrying, or holding them under pressure.

His performance with the replica Dinnie Stones became one of his signature achievements. In 2023, he carried the combined 333-kilogram replica Dinnie Stones for 9.63 meters, producing a world-record performance.

Notable Strength Performances

His documented strength performances include a 409-kilogram maximum deadlift, a 440-kilogram 18-inch deadlift, and a 445-kilogram Hummer Tire deadlift.

He has also recorded a 191-kilogram log lift, a 167.5-kilogram axle press, and a 240-kilogram bench press. These numbers demonstrate that his ability extends well beyond grip strength.

Kevin Faires at America’s Strongest Man

The 2024 America’s Strongest Man competition provided another important moment in his career. He finished third overall with 38.5 points.

One of his best performances came in the Atlas Stones event. He loaded five stones in 31.56 seconds, finishing just ahead of Lucas Hatton. The performance reinforced his reputation as a highly capable stone-event specialist.

Career Challenges and Negative Setbacks

Professional strongman is physically demanding, and success is never guaranteed. Faires has spent much of his career competing against athletes with substantially greater body mass, which can create disadvantages in events where absolute size and leverage matter.

His career has also included competitions where he did not reach the podium. For example, his results have varied across major international events, showing that even an elite athlete cannot dominate every contest. These setbacks are an important part of understanding his career because strongman requires consistency across several completely different events.

Kevin Faires Personal Life

Away from competition, Faires is known publicly as a family man. He lives in Provo, Utah, and has three children.

He has generally kept personal matters away from the spotlight. Most publicly available information about him focuses on training, competition results, strength achievements, and his development as a professional strongman rather than his private lifestyle.

Kevin Faires Career and Professional Identity

Faires’ professional identity is closely connected to strength athletics. His career demonstrates how an athlete can use technical ability and specialized strength to compete successfully even when physical size appears to be a disadvantage.

His success in grip events, deadlifts, stone competitions, and other demanding disciplines has made him a respected figure within the strongman community. His career is also an example of how success can come through persistence rather than following a traditional path.

Why Kevin Faires Is Famous

Kevin Faires is best known for his professional strongman career and his ability to perform at an elite level despite being smaller than many of his competitors.

His U105 world championships, World’s Strongest Man final appearance, strong deadlift performances, and Dinnie Stones achievement are among the most important reasons for his reputation. His competitive career has made him particularly interesting to fans who appreciate strength, technique, grip power, and athletic determination.

Conclusion

Kevin Faires has built an impressive career by combining athletic experience, strength, determination, and competitive intelligence. From high-school football and wrestling to becoming an international strongman, his development shows how an athlete can continue improving by embracing difficult challenges.

His journey is especially inspiring because he has repeatedly competed against much larger opponents without allowing the size difference to define his limits. His U105 world titles, seventh-place World’s Strongest Man finish, major international podiums, and impressive Dinnie Stones performance have secured his place among notable American strongmen.