With a few words of encouragement from his uncle, a 13-year-old Žydrūnas Savickas started hoisting weight in the dingy and sparse gyms scattered throughout his native Lithuania. Just nine years later, in 1998, “Big Z” won Lithuania’s Strongest Man competition - a show he would conquer 11 more times. Eventually he graduated to a grander stage, capturing eight Arnold Strongman Classic titles before peaking in 2009 when he won his first World’s Strongest Man Contest. He’d go on