André the Giant was mythical. Billed as 7’4″ and over 500 pounds, his strength was supposedly just as gigantic as he was. But the legendary pro wrestler and sometimes actor didn’t lift weights. He lifted his fellow wrestlers and, maybe, sometimes cars, when he wasn’t debilitated by injuries. So, where do the legends end and the truth lie? Just how strong was André the Giant? And just how strong could he have been if he’d trained for strength?
WHO WAS ANDRE THE GIANT?
André the Giant, born André René Roussimoff on May 19, 1946, in Coulommiers, France, became a legend in both professional wrestling and popular culture. Due to gigantism caused by acromegaly, André’s body produced excess growth hormone, leading to his extraordinary size. By the age of 12, he stood over 6 feet tall, and eventually, reportedly, grew to a height of 7 feet 4 inches and a weight of around 520 pounds.
André’s journey to fame began in the 1960s when he started his wrestling career in France. He moved to North America in the early 1970s, where his imposing stature and strength quickly made him a star in the wrestling world. He became a mainstay in what is today the WWE. Known as “The Eighth Wonder of the World,” André’s matches drew massive crowds, and he was a key attraction for wrestling promotions worldwide. One of his most memorable moments came at WrestleMania III in 1987, where he faced Hulk Hogan in a historic match before over 93,000 fans.
Beyond wrestling, André expanded his fame into the entertainment industry. His most notable role was as Fezzik in the 1987 movie The Princess Bride, where his gentle giant persona charmed audiences. His charisma and unique presence made him a beloved figure both on and off-screen.
André faced significant health challenges due to his giantism. He often experienced pain and mobility issues, which worsened with age. André the Giant passed away on January 27, 1993, in Paris, due to heart failure. His legacy endures, celebrated for his contributions to wrestling, his impact on popular culture, and his prodigious appetite and strength.
ANDRE THE GIANT STRENGTH LEGENDS
André the Giant’s legendary strength and appetite have become the stuff of myth, with numerous stories highlighting his larger-than-life capabilities. Here are some of the most famous legends:
Lifting a Car: It’s often said that André once lifted a car to help a friend retrieve something trapped underneath. The story goes that he lifted the car high enough for his friend to get whatever was needed and then set it back down without breaking a sweat.
Moving Objects with Ease: André reportedly could move heavy furniture by himself that would typically require multiple people to lift. His fellow wrestlers and friends often recounted how he could move pianos and large pieces of equipment with minimal effort.
Physical Feats in the Ring: During his wrestling career, André regularly demonstrated his strength by lifting and throwing opponents who weighed well over 200 pounds.
Holding Back a Mob: Another popular story is that André once held back a crowd of people by himself, using his immense size and strength to prevent them from advancing. This incident reportedly took place during a confrontation outside a bar.
ANDRE THE GIANT APPETITE LEGENDS
Drinking Record: André’s drinking feats are legendary. There are numerous accounts from fellow wrestlers and friends about his prodigious drinking abilities. Fellow wrestler Mike Graham recounted an instance where André drank 156 16-ounce cans of beers in one night, and another wrestling legend, Ric Flair, confirmed similar stories of André’s extraordinary drinking capacity.
Massive Meals: André was known to consume extraordinary amounts of food. Stories describe him eating multiple steaks and several lobsters in one meal. His caloric intake was staggering, often eating enough food for several people in one sitting.
Unusual Snacks: André’s snacking habits were also outsized. He reportedly enjoyed snacks that would be considered meals for most people, such as entire loaves of bread with a pound of butter.
HOW STRONG WAS ANDRE THE GIANT, REALLY?
In 1981, the late strength historian Terry Todd wrote a profile of André the Giant for Sports Illustrated. He quoted wrestling promoter Frank Valois, who traveled with André the Giant when the Frenchman first came to North America:
“He discovered one day in Paris that he could move a small car by himself, and for quite a while after that he amused himself by moving his friends’ cars while they were having a meal or a drink, placing them in a small space between a lamppost and a building, or turning them around to face the other way. His strength was so natural to him that he had no interest in lifting weights. He was interested in having a joke on his friends, not in showing how strong he was. I have lived among strong men all my life. I come from Quebec, the cradle of strongmen, home of Louis Cyr and the six Baillargeon brothers, but I have never seen a man with the raw strength of André.”
Todd spoke to Olympic weightlifter and pro wrestler Ken Patera about André, who wrestled against and spent much time with André. Patera was, like Todd, both a world-class lifter and a strength expert. Patera said this in 1981: “Let’s put it this way, I honestly believe that if André took a couple of years away from the game to train like the top lifters do, and if he developed a close personal relationship with his friendly neighborhood pharmacist, the world powerlifting records in both the squat and the deadlift would fall. [The squat record was then 934.5 pounds (424 kg.); the deadlift record was 886 pounds (402 kg.)] No question. Think about it. He already weighs almost 500 pounds, with no lifting and no help from steroids. Hell, he’d weigh 600 or 700 pounds and not be any fatter than he is now, and let me tell you, that’s not very damn fat. He’s a wonder of nature. I’ve seen him pick up a 250-pound guy like you’d pick up your overcoat.”
Speaking of easily picking up guys, on the Rich Eisen Show earlier this year, Arnold Schwarzenegger recounted a tale of eating a meal with André the Giant in Mexico City while filming Conan the Destroyer [1984]. Arnold said that afterwards, when both wanted to pay the bill, going back and forth, André “grabs me like this [by the waist] and he picks me up like a little kid and he puts me on top of a cabinet up there, and I’m sitting up there and he goes and pays the bill.…By the way, it shows you, his hands were like three times the size of my hands, and he just grabbed me like nothing, and while he was talking he was lifting me up. So this was a really, really powerful guy.” Arnold said he then weighed 235 pounds.
The legends about André the Giant’s strength endure. We’ll never know exactly how strong he was, because he didn’t train with weights. He didn’t need to. He was already the Eight Wonder of the World. Print the legend.
