Background
Shahlaei was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, the son of an Iranian father from Kermanshah and an English mother from Newcastle upon Tyne.
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Laurence Shahlaei
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Education
He attended Balcarras School, and later moved to Stroud, Gloucestershire. Shahlaei started strongman training in 2005 and entered his first novice competition that year, where he finished 8th.
Career
In that competition, he made a huge impact, making it to the final, only to tear his biceps in the tyre flip, which forced him to withdraw. This placing landed him an invite to the World"s Strongest Manitoba in 2008. His favourite strongman event is the farmer"s walk because it is a good test of natural strength, whereas his least favourite strongman event is the Atlas stones.
Shahlaei has said that he admires Bill Kazmaier and Vasyl Virastyuk for their intensity and belief in themselves, qualities he seeks to emulate, and that he believes the greatest strength athlete of all time is Zydrunas Savickas.
Bench press max: 210 kg Squat max: 380 kg Deadlift max: 435 kg (accurate as of 2014 World Deadlift Championship event).
Achievements
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Within two years, he entered his first Britain"s Strongest Manitoba ("Business Service Management"), having won the Midlands qualifier. He won the Midlands qualifier again in 2008, and once again made the final, this time finishing 4th behind Jimmy Marku, Terry Hollands, and Mark Felix. Despite his impressive win in the squat, he did not make the final. In 2009, just four years after beginning strongman, he became the UKSC Midlands Strongest Manitoba and also won the UKSC England"s Strongest Manitoba, citing this, alongside his We Shield Millions 2008 squat win, as the greatest moment of his career (the We Shield Millions qualifier titled "England"s Strongest Manitoba", which replaced the Britain"s Strongest Manitoba contest in 2009, was won by Terry Hollands and Shahlaei did not compete in that). On 19 August 2011, Shahlaei competed on Deal or Number Deal, where he won £20,000 and lifted presenter Noel Edmonds up above his head Shahlaei has a daughter named Ava, whom he once described as his greatest achievement.
