Harold "Iron Bear" Collins is a former professional

strongman Strongman is a competitive strength sport which tests athletes' physical strength and endurance through a variety of heavy lifts and events. Strongman competitions are known for their intensity, pushing athletes to their physical and mental limit ...

and world champion

Powerlifter Powerlifting is a competitive strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight singl ...

. Collins is a member of the Tuskarora Nation of Moratoc Indians in North Carolina, and calls himself the "World's Strongest Native American".

Strongman/Powerlifting

Collins competed in the finals of the

World's Strongest Man The World's Strongest Man is an international strongman competition held every year. Organized by American event management company IMG, a subsidiary of Endeavor, it is broadcast in the US during summers and in the UK around the end of Decemb ...

competition twice, finishing 6th in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

and 10th in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

. Collins is a 2 time USPF National Powerlifting champion, and is a 2 time IPF World Championships

bench press The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...

gold medalist. Collins holds multiple North Carolina

Bench press The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...

records, including the North Carolina State Bench press record in the 275 lb. class with 601 lbs. which he pressed 6 times. He also holds the North Carolina State Bench press record in the Superheavyweight Division with a 633 lb. Bench press.

Guinness World Records

Collins has set a total of 6

Guinness world record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

s during his lifetime. His first world record was set in October 1994 by pulling 7 semi-trucks weighing a combined total of . In 1994, Collins set a world record by pulling 5 tractor-trailer cabs weighing a combined total of for 51 feet. In 1999 Collins set his third Guinness world record by pulling a

semi-truck A semi-trailer truck (also known by a wide variety of other terms – see below) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer attaches to the tractor with a type of hitch called a ...

and flatbed trailer weighing a combined total of 160 feet in 44 seconds. The event was broadcast nationally in the US on the television show

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. In 2001, Collins set a world record by tossing a 32 pound beer keg 21 feet in the air over a wall. Collins set a fifth Guinness world record in 2001 by restraining 2

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motorcycles for over 20 seconds. Collins' sixth Guinness world record was set in 2002 by restraining 2

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

V8 pickup trucks at 4,500 RPM for 27 seconds.

Personal life

Now retired from strength competitions, Collins raises money for charities like the

March of Dimes March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to co ...

. Collins once owned and operated the

Powerhouse Gym Powerhouse Gym is made up of more than 200 fitness center owners who are licensed to use the Powerhouse Gym format. History Powerhouse Gym was founded in 1974 by brothers William and Norman Dabish in Highland Park, Michigan. The gym started out as ...

Pembroke, North Carolina Pembroke is a town in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States. It is about 90 miles inland and northwest from the Atlantic Coast. The population was 2,823 at the 2020 census. The town is the seat of the state-recognized Lumbee Tribe of ...

. Collins runs his own website, IRON BEAR VISIONS, as well as organizing his own strongman contest, Iron Bear Strength Challenge which he created in 2009.

Personal Records

* Squat – *

– *

Deadlift The deadlift is a strength training exercise in which a weight-loaded barbell is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, with the torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting ...

– *Leviathan Press (incline log press) – x 20 reps (1993 World's Strongest Man) (World Record)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Harold American strength athletes American powerlifters Living people American philanthropists 1957 births