World's strongest blind man heads for Aberdeenshire’s Dinnie Stones

Blind strongman Evan Schwerbrock, who was crowned World's Strongest Disabled Man earlier this year, will travel from Waco, Texas to Aberdeenshire this August to attempt one of strongman's most famous and gruelling challenges: lifting the historic Dinnie Stones.

Evan, who has Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy and is legally blind, will attempt the feat at Donald Dinnie Day, The Gathering X, held at Potarch Green on Sunday 2 August. If successful, he will become the first blind person, and only the second disabled athlete, ever recorded lifting the stones.

The Dinnie Stones are a pair of granite boulders, originally used as counterweights during 19th-century repairs to Potarch Bridge, which together weigh over 330kg (733lbs). They take their name from Scottish strongman Donald Dinnie, who famously carried them across the width of the bridge in 1860 - a feat that went unrepeated for over a century. Today, lifting the stones is considered one of the ultimate tests of strength in the world of strongman, and athletes must prove they can lift a minimum of 300kg before they are permitted to attempt them.

Evan secured his world title at the Adaptive Strength World Championships, part of this year's Official Strongman Games, competing in events including barbell deadlifts, a timber-frame carry and log press. He achieved the win despite being unwell on the day of competition, and while managing scoliosis alongside his sight loss.

Speaking to RNIB Scotland, Evan described his training,

"I lost most of my sight in late 2014. It deepened my relationship with training because the gym became a space for me to still push my limits, get some stress relief, and develop new cues and techniques to succeed in my own training and to help others with theirs."

For the Dinnie Stones, Evan will attempt a pick and short hold, and has spent months preparing specifically for the challenge – training with replica rings and building the grip, core and leg strength, as well as the pain tolerance that the lift demands.

"It'll be an absolute honour to join the club of those who have completed this lift. It is also a great opportunity to highlight what those with disabilities, especially vision loss, can still do."

Evan won't be taking on the challenge alone. His wife Liz, who acts as his coach, has worked with him to develop audible cues and carefully rehearsed routines that allow him to compete safely and effectively – and at Potarch she will guide him to the stones themselves.

"My wife will be my guide to the stones and my favourite cheerleader. I see my lifts as a team effort with her. "

Evan runs Cane and Able Fitness, an online resource supporting blind and partially sighted people around the world to access fitness information, training and advice. After Potarch, he will turn his attention to defending his Adaptive Strength World Champion title in Coventry in November 2026, alongside a series of trips supporting other people with vision loss around the world.