Robert Oberst
Born (1984-12-20) December 20, 1984 (age 39)
Santa Cruz, California, United States[1]
Other namesObie
OccupationStrongman
Height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)[2]
WebsiteOfficial website
Competition record
Strongman
Representing  United States
World's Strongest Man
9th 2013 World's Strongest Man
Qualified 2014 World's Strongest Man
Qualified 2015 World's Strongest Man
Qualified 2016 World's Strongest Man
8th 2018 World's Strongest Man
Qualified 2019 World's Strongest Man
Qualified 2020 World's Strongest Man
Qualified 2021 World's Strongest Man
Arnold Strongman Classic
8th 2014 Arnold Strongman Classic
Arnold Pro Strongman World Series
3rd 2015 Australia
Giants Live
6th 2013 British Open
6th 2016 North American Open
6th 2017 World Tour Finals
ISF
1st 2017 ISF1
America's Strongest Man
3rd 2012 America's Strongest Man
2nd 2013 America's Strongest Man
2nd 2014 America's Strongest Man
All-American Strongman Challenge
3rd 2013
Sin City Strongman Challenge
1st 2013 Sin City IV

Robert Oberst (born December 20, 1984) is an American actor and former professional strongman competitor. He was a regular competitor of the World's Strongest Man competition and was a finalist in the 2013 and 2018 World's Strongest Man competitions ending up in 9th and 8th place respectively. He also came 8th in the 2014 Arnold Strongman Classic.[3] Oberst has competed in 15 international strongman competitions in total.[4]

Early life

Oberst was born in Santa Cruz, California. From a young age, he was considerably taller than most of his family and friends, standing at 6 ft 1 (1.85m) and weighing 220 lbs (99.8 kg) on his 12th birthday. Oberst's parents divorced when he was in high school. He was picked on as a result and thought about dropping out because of it. He attended Aptos High School in Aptos, California, where he participated in football and track and field, lettering four times in football and once in track and field. He then went on to continue playing football at the collegiate level at Western Oregon University majoring in history. Oberst graduated from Western Oregon University in 2008.[5]

After college, Oberst gave the NFL a shot, but did not make the cut so got into bouncing at nightclubs Esta Noche and El Rio. It was there that one of Oberst's friends introduced him to the world of strongman competitions and encouraged him to train for the events. Upon going to his first workout session, he unofficially broke the amateur Log Press world record, which at the time was around 150 kg, or 330 lbs. With some training, his strength grew greater, and after only four months of training, Oberst had received his Pro-Card.[6]

Oberst is known for advocating "People Shouldn’t Deadlift" on Joe Rogan’s podcast,[7] and recommends doing exercises such as cable lateral raises, dumbbell front raises and face pulls.[8]

Strongman accomplishments

Personal records

In competition

Retirement

On December 2, 2022, Oberst announced on the SHAWSTRENGTH Podcast that he is officially retired from the sport of professional strongman competitions going forward.

Acting

In 2023, Oberst made his television acting debut in the third season of HBO's The Righteous Gemstones, playing Karl Montgomery, an estranged cousin of the titular family.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Mike Interviews Robert Oberst". 70sbig.com. September 3, 2013. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  2. ^ "Robert Oberst". World's Strongest Man. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020.
  3. ^ "Which Event Really Finds The World's Top Strongman?". Christo Bland for Barbend.com. February 6, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  4. ^ "Robert Oberst". strongmanarchives.com. June 20, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  5. ^ "Robert Oberst- 2008 Football." http://www.wouwolves.com. Western Oregon University, 2008. Web. December 5, 2016.
  6. ^ "Robert Oberst". World's Strongest Man. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  7. ^ "Most People Shouldn't Deadlift, Strongman Robert Oberst Tells Joe Rogan". Celia Balf for barbend.com. September 11, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  8. ^ "Robert Oberst – Complete Profile". Matthew Magnante for fitnessvolt.com. September 8, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d "Robert's Bio | Team Oberst".
  10. ^ "Mike Burke Wins America's Strongest Man®".
  11. ^ "Sin City IV Strongman Contest".
  12. ^ a b c "Robert Oberst | Strongman Champion".
  13. ^ "World's Strongest Man 2013 Final - Results". August 23, 2013.
  14. ^ "America's Strongest Man 2013 - Results". September 30, 2013.
  15. ^ "Arnold Strongman Classic 2014 Results". March 2, 2014.
  16. ^ "Strength athletics in the United States".
  17. ^ "Arnold Strongman Classic Australia 2015 - Results". March 20, 2015.
  18. ^ "World's Strongest Man 2016 – Giants Live 3". December 23, 2016.
  19. ^ "2017 ISF1, New Braunfels, Texas, 2017-06-10". June 10, 2017.
  20. ^ "Zydrunas Savickas Wins 2017 Giants Live Finals". September 30, 2017.
  21. ^ "2018 World's Strongest Man, Manila, Philippines, 2018-04-28 to 2018-05-06". May 6, 2018.
  22. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Robert Oberst 211kg (465lb) American log press record at 2015 Arnold Classic Australia. YouTube.
  23. ^ "2015 Arnold Australia". strongmanarchives.com. March 14, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
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