SAN ANTONIO – To become one of the strongest men in the world, you must have a drive and passion for pushing your body to extreme lengths daily.
For San Antonio native Austin Andrade, that passion comes from the beginning of his athletic career. Andrade played football and wrestled while splitting time between his dad’s house in San Antonio and his mom’s in Tucson, Arizona.
After a successful high school career in both sports, Andrade chose a university that would allow him to play football and wrestle.
Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado, was a big shift from the life he knew in two southern cities that define the feeling of your hair being on fire while going for a midday walk.
When Adrade and his wife returned to San Antonio, he still had a drive to compete in some way athletically. That’s when he found heavy metal fitness and, as he describes it, a new home for his physical happiness.
“I actually walked in, and I met Tim Ingram here at the door, the owner of heavy metal (fitness), and he welcomed me with open arms, and he said, ‘Let’s lift, let’s have some fun,’” Andrade said. “I started noticing everyone around here was doing some kind of show, and I was like, I need to be a part of this. So I hopped into one of those shows and ended up winning it, and then the next one ended up winning it, and everything kind of snowball effect into, oh, maybe this is more than just a hobby.”
The change in Andrade’s mindset to taking his new sport more seriously turned into a life he never would have expected. He won the 2023 World’s Strongest Latino competition in Portugal and placed seventh in the World’s Strongest Man competition earlier this month.
As Austin continues to improve his technique and strength through competitions the rest of this year, he has his sights set on one day becoming the strongest man in the world.