Harold "Iron Bear" Collins is a former professional

strongman In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. More recently, strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, have grown in popularity. Thes ...

and world champion

Powerlifter Powerlifting is a 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 single-lift effor ...

. 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 Decembe ...

competition twice, finishing 6th in 1993 and 10th in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

. 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 in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...

gold medalist. Collins holds multiple North Carolina

Bench press The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...

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 reference book published annually, listing world ...

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 as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer 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 President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to comba ...

. 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 name Powerhouse Gym. History Powerhouse Gym was founded in 1975 by brothers William and Norman Dabish in Highland Park, Michigan Highland Park is a ...

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 2,973, at the 2010 census. The town is the seat of the state-recognized Lumbee tribe of Nor ...

. 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 weight training exercise in which a loaded barbell or bar is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting exercises, ...

References

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