The 30-year-old can lift up to 400kg (almost half a tonne) across the back of his shoulders and walk five metres.

"I am hoping to walk 20 metres by the end of the year," Marc said.

The Strongman Competition is an extreme and highly entertaining form of weightlifting, with contestants required to lift, carry, walk and/or race with monster weights, logs, huge stone balls or car bodies.

Marc became interested in Strongman competitions after he took part in a pub competition where he was asked to hold a bag of 1000 $1 coins for the longest time possible.

"I held it out to the side with one hand for one minute and 20 seconds, winning the competition, and from that moment I went on the internet to find out more about Strongman, before I started training at the gym."

The Australia and New Zealand Strongman titles will be held at Springwood at the end of this month.

"If I win this one I will be the strongest man in Australia," Marc said.

The National Strongman Championships will be held at Chandler on December 4.

"The winner gets to go onto a professional level of Strongman, meaning they will be able to get paid to compete and they also get to travel to the USA and compete in the Arnold Schwarzenegger on March 2010 for the World Amateur Championships."

Strongman competition details can be found on the website at www.ozstrongman.c om.au

The Strongman sport is said to have dated back to the medieval era and according to Marc is really starting to become popular in Australia.

Marc said he has only had one injury since practising the sport - a back strain while attempting a yolk walk (where he holds the weight across the back of his shoulders).