Lloyd Davies is relishing the prospect of competing in the invitational only Arnold Sports Festival which will be held in Columbus, Ohio, USA on the weekend of March 7 and 8.

The Tenby man and former Greenhill pupil who is registered blind has featured in several disability strongman events in the UK where he has placed well, Lloyd was thrilled when he received his exclusive invitation to compete in the Arnold Sports Festival which was set up by the world famous Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

Excited Lloyd will compete in the Arnold Disability Strongman competition.

The 26-year-old regularly trains hard in the Dungeon Gym, Tenby, and in preparation for his USA trip he has been putting in plenty of extra sessions.

 “I can’t wait to compete now,” said Lloyd. “This is a massive opportunity for me to pitch myself against the best on the biggest stage.

“There will be a huge crowd and for me this is the pinnacle.”

Joining Lloyd on the trip will be his good friend and trainer Loui Fecci who will act as his eyes during the competition.

“When I compete in the Yoke Run (carrying a heavy mettle bar on his back) I have to run and rely on Loui guiding me.” 

In his younger days Lloyd enjoyed playing rugby, but when his eyesight deteriorated in 2014 due an inherited vision loss condition known as LHON (leber hereditary optic neuropathy) he sadly had to stop playing.

So that’s when he started to enjoy weight training and using the Dungeon Gym which he described as “Old School” place to work out as a hobby.

But when the 19 stone strong man attended a seminar held by the then World Strongest Man Eddie Hall, he left feeling inspired to push himself and start competing.

At that same seminar he also met Tony Butcher, of Essex, a disabled strongman competitor who gave some good advice and encouraged him to get involved in the sport.

He has competed in numerous strongman events in England and Pembrokeshire. And after competing in USA next month he has already lined up further competitions in UK in May, Iceland in June, and back to USA in July to take part in the Static Monsters.

Lloyd is grateful to Gofer Jones, general manager of Tenby Tourers and owner Ryan Ennis, who are proud to be Lloyd’s main sponsor which has allowed him to follow his dream in strongman events up and down the country. He would also like to thank The Cove Restaurant for their support and to local company JPI Apparel who have kindly supplied him with all his gym wear.

“I’ve known Lloyd for 12 years and seen what he has achieved,” said Gofer Jones. “I think he will do Pembrokeshire proud and hopefully inspire lots of other people with any disability that if you want something bad enough then it’s achievable.”

Anyone interested in following Lloyd’s progress during the competition in Columbus, Ohio, can visit his Instagram account on @blindlloydstrongman.