Photo provided by the Arnold Classic
March 13, 2023
By Theresa Garee
Pickerington resident Matt Garee finished seventh in his class at the Arnold Amateur Strongman event on March 3.
Garee started in the sport of strongman in 2010. He attended an event hosted by Steve Slater of Slater’s Hardware in Lancaster, Ohio and realized the sport was something he wanted to try.
Garee works full time as an electrical engineer for M Engineering based out of Westerville. He puts in an average of 50 hours a week and still makes time for the gym four times a week.
Unlike other events at the Arnold, you cannot sign up for the Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championship event, you must go through Strongman Corporations Nationals and place top 10-percent to get an invite. At age 40, this is no easy feat!
On top of his 9-5 and gym time, he volunteers as Ohio’s Strongman Corporation State Chair, a position he has held since 2017. In this role he is required to host at least one contest a year and grow the sport throughout the state. He and his wife brought the first strongman event to Pickerington on July 28, 2018, an event that raised funds for a local boy fighting cancer, Deany
Bandavanis. (#deanystrong).
Photo by Theresa Garee
Garee also was the first to organize and hold Arnold’s Strongest Teen at the Arnold in 2020. It was the only event held in the kids arena that year. Garee hopes that the Arnold will grow large enough to bring this event back.
He’s won titles like Indiana’s Strongest and invitations to the Official Strongman Games, but all athletes want to see themselves up on that Arnold stage. After so many years, Garee had just that opportunity.
He said, “I vow to never zero an overhead event again.”
And so, the motivation continues as his next event will be qualifying for the Official Strongman Games.
To find more information on the event visit the Facebook page.
What is the Official Strongman Games? www.officialstrongman.com
Contact Matt at 503-415-9520 or email matt.garee@gmail.com
Pictured: Matt Garee pulls rope for athlete at the first Arnold’s Strongest Teen event that took place during the Arnold in 2020.
