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Otto Acron (born 12 May 1935) is an Australian
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 ...
.


Early life

Otto Acron was born 12 May 1935 as Alexander James Alsop in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
to Lilly Elizabeth and James Gess Alsop. He had two brothers, Ken his older and Ian his younger brother. His father worked on the railways as a boilermaker. Otto recalls him being a "very big man, not all muscle, but with very impressive big arms". Otto liked to read
Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
and Captain Marvel comics and was interested in the feats of strongmen and wrestlers from an early age. When he was 14 he suffered a severe injury during a friendly boxing match which damaged his brain and took years to heal. He became determined during recovery to train himself to be able to perform extraordinary physical feats.


Career as a circus strongman

In 1955 he worked as a circus strongman on fairgrounds throughout
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
bending iron bars, breaking chains, getting run over by cars. He also worked in Roy Bell's, Jimmy Sharman's and Les McNabb's boxing tents taking on all comers. In 1959 he approached Bullens Circus to work as a strongman. To get the job he had to carry a 1,000 lb (450 kg) horse up a 14 ft (4.3 m) ladder (a feat performed earlier by
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
n strongman William Pagel). This became one of his signature stunts, performed over 2,000 times in his career. He also became known for holding at bay two lorries, one with each arm and for having two elephants attempting to move him from the centre of the ring. In 1961 he joined Boswell Brother's Circus in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. In December 1962 he wrestled for Dale Martin Promotions, wrestling all over
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. In the summer of 1962 he worked for Circus Arnardo in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
and returned to England, where he wrestled during the winter season. In the summer of 1963 he went and worked for Circus Toni Boltini in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. He was married there and continued working in the Netherlands,
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, and
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
.


Career as a modern strongman

In August 1971 Otto Acron took on two aeroplanes in a
tug of war Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport in which two teams compete by pulling on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal of bringing the rope a certain distance in one direction against ...
at
Rotterdam Airport Rotterdam The Hague Airport (formerly ''Rotterdam Airport'', ''Vliegveld Zestienhoven'' in Dutch), is a minor international airport serving Rotterdam, the Netherlands' second largest city, and The Hague, its administrative and royal capital. It ...
. This was the first time he had performed this stunt that he would later perform with increasingly strong planes. In 1984 he entered many physique competitions, winning the masters: Mr. Sydney, Mr. Australia., Mr. Oceania, Mr. Southern Hemisphere. In 1984 and 1985, he entered power lifting competitions in the masters division, and became state champion and Australian champion for the 82.5 kg class. In 1992 he came seventh in the world
power lifting Powerlifting is a competitive strength athletics, strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: Squat (exercise), squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athle ...
contest.


Later career

In 1995 he left Sydney and took his family to
Hervey Bay Hervey Bay () is a city on the coast of the Fraser Coast Region of Queensland, Australia. The city is situated approximately or 3½ hours' highway drive north of the state capital, Brisbane. It is located on the bay of the same name open to ...
in
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
where he started a gym called Otto's Fitness World. In 2005, at the age of seventy he did 1125 push ups in half an hour to raise money for a young boy who needed a motorised wheel chair. On 14 November 2000, he was awarded the
Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, off ...
.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Acron, Otto Australian male bodybuilders 1935 births Living people Australian circus performers Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Australian strength athletes 20th-century Australian sportsmen