I was bullied in school for being different. At 16, I hit a crashing point': the awkward kid who became the world's strongest man

"Tom Stoltman was a skinny kid: 90kg, 6ft 8in, with glasses and stickingout teeth. Diagnosed with autism as a young child, he felt he didn't fit in. I was really shy, he says. I got bullied in school for being different. Back then, the boy from Invergordon didn't like what he saw in the mirror. He lived in baggy hoodies. Hood up. That was my comfort."

"At the start I was just doing the 20kg bar and the next day I'd be so sore, he says. But after a week he started to enjoy it. Luke wasn't just into bodybuilding; by 21 he had become a strongman competitor. Tom remembers watching Luke's first competition, Scotland's Strongest Man, where he lifted and towed huge, heavy objects such as cars, logs and atlas stones. Watching your brother do that, you're, like, oh, he's like a Hulk. Tom wanted in."

"Now 31, he weighs 180kg the same as a large lion. It took 10 years to double his weight. He eats five times a day to fuel training: eight boiled eggs with cheese and mayonnaise on sourdough for breakfast, then two meals of spicy mince and rice before training at 12.30pm. These days he's a strongman full-time running a gym with his brother near his home, where he lives"

Tom Stoltman grew up tall and thin at 90kg and 6ft 8in, wearing glasses and feeling out of place after an autism diagnosis. Bullying and insecurity led him to hide in baggy hoodies and withdraw into Xbox and sweets by age 16. His older brother Luke introduced him to weightlifting and strongman training, teaching free weights and inspiring him after competing. Stoltman embraced strict routines, disciplined eating and focused training, increasing his weight to 180kg over ten years. He now eats five meals daily to fuel workouts, competes as a professional strongman, and co-runs a gym with his brother.

Read at www.theguardian.com