Cristian Candemir Qualifies For 'The Arnold' World Strongman Championships

By the time Cristian Candemir graduated from East Hampton High School in 2012, he seemed destined for a career in theater, at least more so than competing in Strongman contests.

Having landed leading roles in “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “Anything Goes” before he graduated, Candemir admits that if someone told him back in high school that he’d be competing at a high level in Strongman competition, he would have thought, unequivocally, they were crazy.

But, fast forward 10 years, and not only is Candemir competing in the sport made widely popular by Arnold Schwarzenegger that tests competitors’ strength in a variety of non-traditional ways, but he’s set to compete on its grandest stage.

Candemir, 28, currently residing in Montauk, placed seventh out of 20 individuals competing in the men’s 175-pound-and-under lightweight division at Strongman Corporation Nationals 2022 in Erie, Pennsylvania, on October 13, grabbing the final qualifying spot for the Arnold Strongman Classic, also known as “The Arnold,” at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio, this upcoming March 2-5.

“I broke down and cried,” Candemir said when he realized he had qualified for what is the world championship in Strongman. “I dreamed of the day that I would qualify, but I didn’t realize it would be that day. It’s one of the greatest moments of my life, a lifetime goal, and I achieved it at 28.”

Outside of being a self-proclaimed “theater kid” growing up, Candemir’s journey to qualifying for The Arnold was a long and winding one.

Not too long after graduating from East Hampton, Candemir’s grandmother died, and so by August 2013, he and his parents moved out of state to Houston, Texas, to be closer to what remaining family they had. It was there that he met his oldest cousin’s boyfriend at the time who would eventually, two years later or so, introduce him to the sport of Strongman.

“By this point, I was in a point in my life where I started to lose direction,” he said. “My Nana was my best friend, so it was really hard not having her in my life, and I wasn’t really living a healthy lifestyle. I was watching TV, just eating whatever.

“Eventually I got tired of being fat,” Candemir admitted. “I really needed to change something. I remember thinking this is getting really bleak.”

It took him a while to find the Strongman gym his cousin’s boyfriend had always told him about, but once he did, he instantly fell in love with the sport, Candemir said. He learned how to do everything, from the fitness aspect of the sport down to the nutrition and everything in between. By June 2016, Candemir was entered into his first Strongman competition. It was “disastrous” he admitted, but he had fun and each time he would get better and better.

“Ever since then, the flame was lit and I never really looked back,” he said.

By April 2018, Candemir won his first competition, the Ronnie Coleman Strongman Classic, by a single point, which qualified him for his first nationals.

“Again, I had no idea I had won. I go into competitions just looking to do the best that I can. I don’t see scores, for the most part,” he said. “But that was incredibly exciting being in my first nationals. I finished dead last. I had some painful and humbling lessons, but then I went to Nationals in Iowa in 2019 and placed fourth, so a little bit better than the year before.”

Then the pandemic hit in early 2020 and Candemir tore his groin training, which delayed things even further for him.

Training, in general, is not easy for Strongman competition, as Candemir pointed out. There are gyms specifically for Strongman, but they are few and far between. There is one, Candemir said, in East Setauket, the other in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which is where he works out when he can.

Finding a coach and trainer in the sport isn’t exactly easy either. Candemir has been through a handful of them, but has landed with one of the top coaches in the region, Kalle Beck, who he likes a lot, he said, because he more or less pioneered the lightweight divisions that are currently in the sport and that Candemir competes in. Candemir also credits his nutrition coach, Rebecca Lorch, who he’s worked with for the past two years.

Beck, who started the website, startingstrongman.com, basically a hub for people who want to get into the sport, also competed in the first two lightweight world championships in 2013 and 2014, and said qualifying for such an event is a pretty big deal.

“It was a great experience competing against a dozen other countries at the biggest fitness expo in the world,” he said. “I met Cristian about five years ago at a contest and he was very new to the sport, and to see him get to the pinnacle in that time from where he started is incredible. I would say he was an underdog on qualifying coming into nationals and he just put his head down and focused on his own performance and made it.

“I know this is a dream come true for him, but it’s only the beginning,” Beck added.

After going through a number of personal things, including moving multiple times and going through a few jobs here and there, Strongman was the one constant in Candemir’s life that he could fall back on. Things have since evened out for Candemir in his life, as he continues to work as a barista at Starbucks, which he’s done for the past seven years. But he thanks Strongman for always being there for him and he’s going to continue to give it his all in the sport, continuing to train for The Arnold in the months leading up to it at Body Tech in Montauk.

“I realized the lessons learned from competing — I’ve got a hell of a heart, determination, willpower — things I did not realize I had in me,” he said. “I believe Strongman is one of, if not the, hardest and most rewarding sports in the world. It’s an outlet that has helped teach me lessons in life from nutrition to controlling your mindset, and it really saved my life from a health standpoint. It’s helped me in numerous ways.”