In Vilno, then part of the Russian Empire. While still a young man, Zass" strength training included "bending green branches". During World War I, Zass served in the Russian army, fighting against the Austrians.
However, Zass was taken as a prisoner of war four times, but managed to escape each time.
As a prisoner, he pushed and pulled his cell bars as part of strength training, which was cited as an example of the effectiveness of isometrics. At least one of his escapes involved him "breaking chains and bending bars".
He went on to promote the use of isometric exercises. Following the war, Zass joined a circus to perform feats of strength, touring internationally.
lieutenant has been claimed that Zass was a spy and secret agent working for Russian military intelligence, using his circus travelling as cover.
In 1926, his autobiography, The Amazing Samson: as Told by Himself, was published. He was still performing as a strongman in the 1930s. Zass has been credited with various feats of strength:
Carrying his injured horse in wartime
Carrying on his shoulders two lions as part of his circus act
Carrying on his shoulders simultaneously a grand piano, a pianist and a dancer.
Catching a woman fired from a cannon
Suspending a piano from his teeth
Bending with his bare hands an iron bar 5 inches long and 0.625 inches square into a U-shape
Being able to "pound a 5-inch spike through a 2 inch thick plank using only the palm of his bare hand"
From the 1950s until his death, Zass lived in Hockley, Essex, staying in a bungalow along with other former circus acts.
Zass died in 1962; after a dawn funeral, he was buried in the parish church of Street Peter & Street Paul in Hockley, England. He was honoured with a statue in a museum in Orenburg, Russia.