Who’s the most powerful man on the Big Island?
On Saturday at Waiakea High School, Bronson Tiwanak made a strong case.
He more than pulled his own weight. Try 16,000 pounds and then some.
Hearkening back to his days in the trenches, Tiwanak claimed a strongman competition at the Big Island Substance Abuse Council’s Summer Jam.
The former University of Hawaii football player didn’t learn about the event until Wednesday.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” said the 26-year-old rookie of the Honolulu Police Department. “Trying to pull (the semi-truck) in the hot sun is what I would expect hell would feel like.
“There is nothing good about it. Once you hit a certain point, it’s like trying to pull a wall.”
Still, he reached 35 feet, 8 inches.
What made the last of seven events even more difficult was the pull was held going up a slight incline. There was no trailer, but there was the added weight of a driver in the cab to apply the brakes.
“The truck is 16,300 pounds I saw, but with a little bit of an incline, in my opinion, it feels like 22 to 25,000 pounds,” said Kamuela Wassman, who finished runner-up.
Hilo’s Paul Abiley, who won the inaugural event last year, was third.
Both Tiwanak and Wassman, a Honolulu security guard, were inspired by watching World’s Strongest Man competitions on TV.
While Abiley battled injury and looked like he was trying to break his body in half during the truck pull, Wassman made it look relatively easy, reaching 37 feet.
“A lot of brutal practice in the sun,” he said. “You watch the show and take notes on exactly which form is perfect. You pull until you can barely pull anymore.”
At the start of the day, Tiwanak was 6-foot-3, 305 pounds.
“I think I’m down to about 300,” he said.
Tiwanak said he tries to lift three times a week, but he doesn’t consider himself a weight freak.
“I don’t know how you can train for something like this,” he said. “I guess I credit football. Football has a lot to do with the athleticism and it carried me through this.”
Tiwanak played at Fresno City College after graduating from Damien High on Oahu, then he walked on at UH.
He and Wassman, who was competing in his third strongman and repeated his runner-up finish from a year ago, combined to win all seven events.
Tiwanak captured atlas stones — his favorite — press medley, tire flip and a tug-of-war event in which he went 3-0.
“Something about picking up those big, old boulders was pretty fun,” he said.
Besides the truck pull, Wassman also prevailed in farmer’s walk — fastest time carrying heavy objects in each hand— and load medley.
“I’ve got the strongest hands,” he said.
Beyond his victory, Tiwanak’s biggest surprise?
“The support,” he said. “Before this I didn’t realize they held competitions in Hawaii. I came here and am surprised how many people were watching and supporting.”
Organizers are hopeful the event can become big enough to gain ESPN’s attention.
“It’s only going to get bigger and better,” BISAC CEO Dr. Hannah Preston-Pita told the crowd.