Mark Smith

Strength has always been something that inspires me. To build mental strength is just as hard and takes just as long as building physical strength and when watching disabled athletes compete, I always wonder what mental and physical journeys they have been on to get where they are today. Strength can come easier to some than most, but for Mark Smith, he admits that he never thought of himself as ‘strong’. Yet, I would argue that Smith is the definition of strength; both physically and mentally. Being shot seven times would be enough for anyone to call it a day but not for this former 1st Battalion Grenadier Guard, as he has worked to become one of Britain's most successful disabled bodybuilders and an outstanding amputee footballer. Jessica from Why Can’t We caught up with Mark to discuss his achievements, training and journey to success ahead of the new season:

1. Tell us about yourself and how you got into Strongman.

I had been serving in the Armed Forces, with the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards for ten years. I had served on operations in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Jamaica, Kenya, the Falkland Islands and Canada. I loved the career and it was all I wanted to do growing up, but in 2011, whilst on a live firing range in Canada, I was unfortunately shot several times through a wooden wall, taking rounds to my leg and my shoulder. This resulted in the loss of my right leg above the knee and subsequently, the end of my career. I had always enjoyed watching Strongman growing up, but never thought it was something I was capable of doing myself, but losing a leg motivated me to want to push my boundaries and a sport like Strongman seemed like the biggest test of what I could do as an amputee.

2. For those that don’t know, what is Strongman and what are the classifications for disabled athletes?

Strongman is renowned for two iconic events, in particular, the truck pull and the atlas stones. A Strongman competition will often include five separate events, including truck pulling and atlas stones, as well as pressing logs overhead, dead-lifting, which will sometimes involve dead-lifting cars, as well as endurance holds, testing grip strength. The events will normally be timed, with potentially increasing weights or lifting for repetitions during a set time. In Disabled Strongman, we have two classifications: seated and standing. Seated will predominately include athletes with lower limb impairments, including paralysis, amputations, spina bifida and cerebral palsy. All events for this class will be adapted to be done sat down, either on the floor, on a bench or in a wheelchair. The standing class can include athletes with visual impairments, arm amputations and lower limb amputations, often below the knee.

3. What challenges did you experience when you first started and how have you worked to overcome these?

My biggest setback in strongman isn’t my leg, but from the gunshot I took to my shoulder. This caused me to lose my anterior deltoid, which plays a big role in overhead pressing events and endurance holds. In Disabled Strongman, we all have something that holds us back to some extent, so it’s a case of doing our best in our weaker events and concentrating on the positive events that we know we can do well in.

4. Being ex-military, how did your injuries impact your mental health/mindset?

For a long time, as recently as 2018, I missed the Army; the job, the sense of humour, the sense of purpose and belonging. The setbacks with my leg or in sport would often lead me to just wanting my leg back so that I could live that life again, but having finally accepted counselling, I have been a lot happier and have a lot more gratitude for all I have and those I have around me.

5. You were crowned Britain’s Strongest Disabled Man in 2016 and 2017, what did your training for this involve?

To win those titles, I dedicated every waking moment to give me the best possible chance of succeeding. I looked a lot into my nutrition, rest, recovery, I trained five days a week and included lots of event-specific training, often training above the weights that I would need to lift on the day, as to make the competition as comfortable as I could. I believed that what I put in, I would get out, so every ounce of my effort in the months leading up to those competitions was geared towards doing well.

6. You also play amputee football, how did you get into this?

Football was always my first love growing up. I would spend every free moment playing football, in school, out of school, at weekends. It was the thing that came to mind first when I was told that my leg needed to be amputated, I was upset as I thought I would never get to play football again. Having realised during counselling in 2018 that I missed being a part of a group, as much as I enjoyed strongman, it is for the majority of the time, a very individual sport and with all the food preparation and training and physio, it takes up a large part of each day, so I found that I wasn’t socialising much. Finding out that I could play football with other amputees and to be a part of that match-day changing room atmosphere again, I jumped at the chance.

7. What are the rules of amputee football and are there any classifications?

Amputee football is seven aside, with the goalkeepers being single-arm amputees, who are unable to use their amputated arm to handle the ball. The six outfield players are on crutches and are single-leg amputees, without a prosthetic leg on and are unable to touch the ball with their crutches. There is no offside and throw-ins are kicked in instead, but other than that, it’s just as physical and fast-paced and competitive as mainstream football.

8. What team do you play for and in what position? Tell us more about your experience with amputee football.

This will be my third season in amputee football and it has been an amazing experience so far. It has ticked all the boxes I had hoped it would. I spent my first season with Peterborough United, winning the national league in my first season with them and also being voted player of the year, which meant the world to me to know I had earned the respect of my teammates. Wanting more football in my second season, I played for Peterborough and also went on loan to Arsenal in the league below, just wanting to play as much football as I could! For both Peterborough and Arsenal, I have played as a centre half, but next season, I have opted for a new challenge, joining West Bromwich Albion and playing slightly further forward in midfield.

9. Do you have a favourite sport out of the two? If so, why?

Without any hesitation, football! Strongman is something I am very proud to do, but I still have to pinch myself that I get to play football again, despite missing a leg. Mentally, doing something I spent days in hospital feeling upset about potentially never getting to play again, I savour every moment that I am fortunate to be on a pitch. I treat every game like it’s the last time I’ll ever get to play football.

You can find out more about Mark and follow his journey via his Instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/marksmith_amputee.footballer/?hl=en) and on Facebook (https://m.facebook.com/pg/Marksmithamputeefootballer/photos/?ref=page_internal&mt_nav=0)