Martins Licis (, ; born September 28, 1990) is an American 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 ...

, notable for winning the 2019 World's Strongest Man, the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic, and the 2021

Rogue Invitational The Rogue Invitational is an annual sporting event that includes a CrossFit competition and a Strongman competition. The event, organized by Rogue, started in 2019 as a CrossFit sanctioned competition, but has since become a major competition ...

strongman championships. He's the fourth strongman out of five in history to win both World's Strongest Man and Arnold Strongman Classic competitions with Žydrūnas Savickas, Brian Shaw,

Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (; transliterated as Hafthor in English; born 26 November 1988) is an Icelandic professional strongman who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all time. He is the first and only person t ...

and Mitchell Hooper also achieving this. Licis is the current world record holder of the Steinborn squat, Thor's Hammer one arm grip lift, Inver Stones loading (hitching post setup), Rogue-a-Coaster and Conan's Wheel of Pain strongman events.

Early life

Licis was born in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

on September 28, 1990. He holds dual citizenship with Latvia and the United States, and speaks Latvian fluently. He represents the United States in competition, having moved there with his family at the age of four. He grew up in

Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst () is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. Amherst has a council–manager form of government, and is considered a city under Massachusetts state law. Amherst is one of several Massach ...

. During summers, he visited his grandparents' farm in Latvia, where he was first introduced to

stone lifting Lifting stones are heavy natural stones which people are challenged to lift, proving their strength. They are common throughout Northern Europe, particularly Iceland (where they are referred to as ''steintökin''), Scotland, Ireland, Basque Count ...

by his grandfather Imants Līcis, a sculptor who formerly competed in Olympic weightlifting. After being bullied at age 12, he turned to weight-training to, as he said, become “outrageously strong so that nobody can touch me.” Licis wrestled in high school and began competing in strongman contests while still a teenager. In 2010, Licis moved to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

together with his friend Mikel Monleon. Licis eventually found a job as a personal trainer in West Hollywood, and later found out about the Odd Haugen All-American Strength Classic. Through this, Haugen invited Licis to train at his gym, but only let him compete in the Strength Classic three years later in 2015.

Career

In 2015, Licis placed first in the Odd Haugen All-American Strength Classic. In 2016, Licis reached the World's Strongest Man finals for the first time and placed sixth. He placed fourth in the World's Strongest Man finals in 2017 and 2018. Besides Strongman, Licis also competes in mas-wrestling, a variation of stick wrestling. He won gold in the 2016 MAS Wrestling Open World Championships in Columbus Ohio, beating out previous champion Viktor Kolibabchuk. Licis' first pro triumph came in 2017 at the Ultimate Strongman Summermania, winning the competition representing his home country

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. In 2019, Licis came in second during the

Arnold Strongman Classic The Arnold Strongman Classic is an annual competition featuring strength athletes from all over the world, determining who is the Strongest Man in the World. Created by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Lorimer and Terry Todd, it is an offshoot of t ...

, behind

. In June later that year, however, he won his first

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 ...

title, beating out defending champion Hafþór, who finished in third after suffering a torn plantar fascia in his left foot during the heats that significantly hampered him in the final. Licis also placed ahead of Mateusz Kieliszkowski who placed second, and 4-time

winner Brian Shaw who placed sixth, still recovering from a hamstring injury sustained in the

earlier in March of the same year. Licis dominated the final, finishing in the top three in all five events, and winning two events outright. On January 18, 2020, Licis won the Arnold Strongman Santa Monica Qualifier, beating out Brian Shaw by 1 point. This earned him a spot to compete at the Arnold Strongman Classic in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

on March 8. At the

, Licis finished 3rd, behind the winner Hafþór and the second place Kieliszkowski. Licis spent most of the 2020 and 2021 strongman season in recovery, with his ultimate comeback taking place in the inaugural

Strongman competition in 2021, which boasted the biggest prize purse in the history of strongman competition with four WSM champions competing. Licis beat

Tom Stoltman Tom Ryan Stoltman (born 30 May 1994) is a British professional strongman competitor, from Invergordon, Scotland. He is a three time winner of the World's Strongest Man in 2021, 2022, and 2024. He also won the national title of Britain's Strongest ...

and Oleksii Novikov to win the competition and a top prize of $133,685. The next day he set a new record in Thor's Hammer Lift by lifting a 136-kilogram (300-pound) hammer. In March 2022, at the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic, Licis performed consistently well in all five events, with first, second, or third finishes in all but one event. His win in the last event Stone-to-Shoulder for Reps secured him the title of the

for the first time, after finishing runner-up and third place in 2019 and 2020. In May 2022, Licis returned to World's Strongest Man for the first time since winning the 2019 contest. He finished 2nd, behind the winner

and beating Oleksii Novikov on a tie breaker. In November 2022, Licis competed at the 2022

looking to defend the title he won the year before. He picked up a bicep injury midway through the competition and finished 4th. In March 2024, Licis competed at the 2024 Arnold Strongman Classic, but finished in a disappointing 8th place. In April 2024, Licis withdrew from the 2024 World's Strongest Man competition due to sciatica in his right leg, and stated that he would take eight months off from strongman competitions to recover.

Strength Unknown

In 2022, Licis and his friend Romark Weiss initiated the 'Strength Unknown' YouTube series where they explore hidden strength cultures around the world. The franchise has released 37 episodes covering Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Basque county in Spain, Georgia, China including Tibet, Mongolia, Japan, Polynesian islands, Pakistan, Greece and Burkina Faso.

Personal records

* Rogue

Elephant bar The elephant bar is a barbell developed by Rogue Fitness which is specifically used for the strongman raw deadlift. It was first created in 2016 by Terry Todd, the director of the Arnold Strongman Classic. The bar is known for being long and ma ...

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 ...

– (Raw with straps) (

2019 Arnold Strongman Classic The 2019 Arnold Strongman Classic was a strongman contest that took place in Ohio, Columbus from 1–2 March 2019 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The Arnold Strongman Classic is the finale of the Arnold Strongman Tour and is seen as ...

) *

IronMind IronMind Enterprises, Inc. is an American niche market business based in Nevada City, California, that specializes in "tools of the trade for serious strength athletes." Though many of its products include strength-training equipment and acces ...

S-Cubed bar Deadlift – (with deadlift suit and straps) ( 2017 World's Strongest Man) *Axle bar Deadlift with wheels (for reps) (with deadlift suit and straps) – x 8 reps (2018 Giants Live World Tour Finals) ''(Joint-World Record)'' * Barrel Deadlift – x 7 reps in 47.00 seconds ( 2018 World's Strongest Man - Group 4) * Deadlift Static Hold – for 41.25 seconds ( 2019 World's Strongest Man) * Silver Dollar Deadlift – (2018

World's Ultimate Strongman World's Ultimate Strongman was an annual strongman competition which was held from 2018 to 2021 with the participation of top strongmen from all over the world, determining who is the strongest man in the world. The event was noted for its brut ...

) * Sorinex Saxon bar Deadlift – (2024 LA FIT Expo - Grip Contest) ''(Former World Record)'' *

Rolling Thunder – (2016 Visegrip Viking) *

Little Big Horn – (2012 Visegrip Viking, San Jose) * Double overhand Axle Deadlift – (2016 Visegrip Viking) * Double T Squat (with suit) – ( 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic) * Giant Barbell Squat (for reps) – x 9 reps (single-ply suit w/ wraps) ( 2019 World's Strongest Man) * Giant Barbell Squat (for reps) – × 13 reps (single-ply suit w/ wraps) ( 2017 World's Strongest Man) * Steinborn Squat – (

) ''(World Record)'' * Flintstone barbell split jerk (behind the neck) – ( 2022 World's Strongest Man) * Log press – ( 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic) * Axle press – ( 2018 World's Strongest Man) * Cyr Dumbbell press – ( 2020 Arnold Strongman Classic) * Giant Dumbbell press – x 3 reps ( 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic) * Bale Tote – for 3.78 meters (2017

) * Timber carry – (10 meter ramp) in 10.03 seconds (Raw grip) ( 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic) * Hercules hold ( in each hand) – 50.94 seconds (2019 Giants Live Wembley) * Thor's Hammer one arm grip lift – (2021

) ''(World Record)'' * Atlas Stones – 5 Stones weighing in 20.37 seconds (2019 Giants Live Wembley) * Atlas Stones – 5 Stones weighing in 18.73 seconds (2018 Giants Live World Tour Finals) * Inver Stones over hitching post – 5 Stones weighing in 23.53 seconds (2021

) ''(World Record)'' * Inver Stone press – (2020 Arnold Strongman Classic) ''(Joint-World Record)'' *

Húsafell Stone The Húsafell Stone is a legendary lifting stone weighing 186 kg (410 lb) located in a west country farming estate in Húsafell, Iceland about northeast of Reykjavík. The slightly triangular, slab shaped stone is kept at a Pen (enclos ...

carry – for (

) * Odd Haugen tombstone to shoulder - x 2 reps (

) * Sandbag over bar – over 4.57 metres (15 ft 0 in) ( 2020 Arnold Strongman Classic) * Bankier sack carry – for (2019 Arnold USA) ''(Joint-World Record)'' * Rogue-a-Coaster (arm over arm pull) - over a 54 ft inclined ramp in 33.83 seconds (2022

) ''(World Record)'' * Conan's Wheel of Pain – 36.50 meters (119 3/4 feet) (

) ''(World Record)'' * Truck pull – 25 meters 'uphill' in 37.84 seconds (2015 Giants Live Viking Challenge) (World Record)

Competitive record

Winning percentage: 33.33%
Podium percentage: 70.83%

Submission grappling

Licis made his submission grappling debut in the beginner over 100 kg division at the ADCC San Diego Open on January 18, 2025 and submitted both of his opponents to win a gold medal. He was then promoted to blue belt in jiu-jitsu by his coach Thiago Rodrigues on March 6, 2025.

Filmography

Television

Media appearances

In May 2020, Licis appeared on ''Game On!'' as an obstacle, engaging contestants in a strength contest. In August 2020, Licis appeared on an episode of ''To Tell The Truth'' with two other people all of them claiming to be the reigning World's Strongest Man. In March 2021, Licis appeared in a

Geico The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO ) is an American vehicle insurance company headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland. In addition to auto insurance, GEICO provides motorcycle, ATV, RV, boat, snowmobile, travel, pet, event, hom ...

commercial titled "Worlds Strongest Man Takes On The Recycling".

References

External links

Profile on Ultimate StrongmanYouTube channelInstagram profileTwitch Channel
*
Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Licis, Martins 1990 births American sportsmen American strength athletes Latvian strength athletes Living people Latvian emigrants to the United States Sportspeople from Amherst, Massachusetts American Twitch (service) streamers Sportspeople from Riga 21st-century American sportsmen