An engineer crowned World’s Strongest Man has revealed he trained for 18 hours a week to clinch the title – but ate whatever his wife dished up.
Rayno Nel is still on a high from beating three-time champion Tom Stoltman in what was his debut in the competition.
He won by just half a point in a nail-biting finale against the Scotsman.
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But despite a gruelling training regime, he says he is “not fussy” when it comes to nutrition.
I’m still over the moon,” Rayno, from Krugersdorp, Gauteng, South Africa, told Need To Know.
“I train about 18 hours a week – evenings from 6pm to 9pm.
“On Saturdays I go for six hours straight.
“While other people are having a beer, I’m throwing sandbags and lifting Atlas stones.
“But I don’t follow a specific diet right now.
“I still just eat whatever my wife, Monja, cooks – it’s that simple.
“I’m not fussy.
“My body is still sore from the competition, but I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Rayno is the first newbie in nearly four decades to take the title.
He is also the first person from his home country to do so.
During the competition, which was held last month in Sacramento, California, Rayno faced a 490kg deadlift, a 350kg Hercules Hold, and he carried a 210kg Atlas stone disguised as a boulder.
The 30-year-old initially developed a passion for rugby, and played first-team for Hoërskool Duineveld when he was growing up.
He was scouted during his time at university, and secured a sports bursary to study at the Central University of Technology (CUT) in Bloemfontein, the capital of South Africa.
He studied electrical engineering and captained the university’s team from 2014 to 2018.
But it was in 2018 when everything changed and Rayno suffered a devastating cruciate ligament tear.
He said: “I didn’t think I’d ever do any sport again.
“I had to make a choice – chase rugby or start a career in engineering.
“I went the practical route.”
In 2020, he moved to Johannesburg to work as an electrical engineer.
He currently specialises in building solar energy plants.
But the itch to compete never left him.
Rayno said: “Even when I couldn’t play rugby, I needed to do something.
“I’ve always had a competitive edge.”
Now the competition is over, Rayno still works full-time and squeezes training into evenings and weekends.
He had planned to win World’s Strongest Man in 2027, so his victory has come as a huge shock.
For now, he’s taking some time to let his muscles recover and enjoy more of Monja’s cooking.
Rayno said: “I didn’t expect this.
“To go from thinking I’d never play sports again to becoming the World’s Strongest Man – it’s crazy.
“I’m at a crossroads again.
“But I like what I do, and I love the sport – so we’ll see.”
