Reigning World’s Strongest Man champion Mitchell Hooper recently hosted an Instagram Q&A where he answered fan questions about the 2026 World’s Strongest Man competition. During the session, Hooper spoke about criticism surrounding his performances and PED use in strongman.
Addressing critics who questioned the legitimacy of some of his lifts, Hooper pushed back strongly against claims that his lockouts and squat depth should not have counted.
“Despite winning I think 16 professional shows, 10 major titles, the people who don’t want me to win have said that my dumbbell lockout shouldn’t count,” Hooper said. He continued by listing more complaints he has heard from critics, saying, “that my log lockout shouldn’t count, that I don’t actually squat to depth even if I’m at the bottom of the machine, that now my deadlift lockout doesn’t count.”
Hooper argued that the criticism says more about the detractors than his performances.
“At a certain point, you got to look yourself in the mirror and say, maybe I just really don’t want this guy to win, and I want to find reasons why he shouldn’t have won,” he said. “But I’m either the best strongman in the world who doesn’t know what he’s doing, or I’ve fit the criteria of whatever they’re asking me to do.”
He then added bluntly: “Maybe this is more of a bitter you problem than a me problem.”
Additionally, Hooper was asked whether it is possible to win World’s Strongest Man without using PEDs.
“I don’t believe so,” Hooper admitted. “We’re already taking the guys who have the best genetic potential in the world, then adding PEDs on top of that.”
He explained that the natural genetic gap required to overcome enhanced competitors would likely be impossible to achieve naturally.
“You would have to have genetic potential so far above what everyone else does that I just don’t think that person exists,” he said. “So I would say no.”
Hooper also revealed that he used lidocaine injections in his knees during the competition to help manage pain.
“I was injecting my knees with lidocaine to numb them, which took the edge off,” he explained. “It’s not like it was my mouth at the dentist and that’s how my knees felt, but it was definitely enough to take the edge off.”
While discussing the treatment, Hooper declined to identify the doctor who suggested it.
“I won’t reveal who suggested it,” he said. “It was a doctor who’s a friend of mine, but I don’t know how above board it was for me to get it. So I’ll leave that to secrecy for now.”
