World’s Strongest Man champion Mitchell Hooper has opened up about a hidden side of his success — one that has nothing to do with his physical strength and everything to do with how his brain works.
Appearing on The Good, The Bad, and The Beast podcast with former WSM winner Eddie Hall, Hooper spoke candidly about the mental toll of competing at the top level, revealing that genetic testing helped explain why he often struggles to feel pride or satisfaction — even after reaching the very top of his sport.
“I wasn’t proud. I wasn’t satisfied. I wasn’t content.”
The conversation began as Hall asked Hooper to reflect on his 2023 World’s Strongest Man victory — a win that came in just his second appearance at the competition.
“So winning your first World’s Strongest Man in 2023, you would have been what, age?” Hall asked.
“You’re right. 27,” Hooper replied.
Hall noted that it was “a good age” to win a world title, young enough to still have plenty of years to capitalise on the success. Hooper, then explained that – although he never put pressure on himself to win the title that year – the pressure subsequently built over the course of the event.
“The pressure absolutely builds over the course of the show,” he explained. “Like, when I realised that I could fumble it — you know, you can’t fumble something you don’t have — but when you’re in the lead by five points, it’s very intense. Very intense. And probably the most stressful moments of my whole career.”
He recalled sitting in the athlete tent before the bus pull event, with memories of poor past performances weighing on him. “The last time I did a heavy Dumbbell, I came ninth out of ten. Then it was bus pull — the last time I did that, I came ninth out of ten. And the Atlas Stone series, the year before, I came eighth out of ten. So my previous results were ninth, ninth, eighth. And I turned that around to first, first, second.”
As the results came in, Hooper knew he was close to history. “The most pressure I’ve ever felt was sitting in the tent and hearing the numbers from the truck pull come through… I was the only one under 34, and I was 32-something, so I won it by a margin, which was such a good feeling.”
For a brief moment, the adrenaline and emotion broke through. “That’s the only time that I acknowledge anything to my family,” he admitted. “That’s the only time I let a bit of, you know, emotion out in terms of sentimental emotion of like, ‘I’m pretty sure this is happening.’”
But just hours later, the emotional high was gone.
“After World’s Strongest Man, life is just… it was so different,” Hooper said. “Social media exploded. Expectations every show after exploded. My living situation — very different. [I] was able to buy a beautiful home. To be clear, not because of World’s Strongest Man winnings, but because of making the most of it. And yeah, it was just a really surreal moment.
“But I got some testing done in Panama. Some genetic testing. Because ‘proud’ is not a word that I would use to describe it. I was not proud. I was not satisfied. I was not content. I was nothing past three hours after the show.”
The test results, Hooper revealed, gave him answers he hadn’t expected.
“It’s interesting,” he said. “It ties a lot into my mental health and explaining how I am. And, you know, I’ve had to learn a lot about myself over the past little while.”
“And I have a mutation to produce more dopamine than the average person. I have a mutation to produce half as much serotonin as the average person, and a mutation to break serotonin down twice as quickly as the average person. So I’m left with this really high dopamine and this really low serotonin all the time.”
The imbalance, he explained, can make life at the top feel strangely hollow.
“That combination tends to a lot of depression and anxiety,” Hooper continued. “Because dopamine is like that short-term hit. So I can get a short-term hit and feel awesome and get excited, but serotonin is the satisfaction with what you have, and a comfortability, and a sort of peace.
“So I can get that excitement, but I can never get peace or contentment or satisfaction or anything.”
Even monumental career milestones — winning the Arnold, claiming the World’s Strongest Man title — don’t always register emotionally for him.
“I struggle to feel proud of anything that I’ve done in Strongman,” Hooper admitted. “I might say it sometimes because I know it is a term that other people would use to describe what I’ve done, but I don’t sit there going like, ‘Wow, this is amazing.’
“You know, sometimes I’ll sit in my house and go like, ‘So lucky to be able to have something like this,’ but, you know, it’s never a… like, it’s never a thing.”
Hooper said he’s aware that his detached reactions can sometimes come across the wrong way. “It’s just… it’s just a thing. So the Arnold… want to say it’s… that doesn’t mean much,” Hooper said, struggling to really put his feelings into words. “I just don’t feel it. I just don’t feel it the same as other people.
“And I’m working on that because it’s a shame. Like, I wish I did.”
Hall, listening intently, responded that he could relate to that emptiness despite achieving his own sport’s highest honour.
“Yeah, I feel you in some respects,” Hall said. “Because I’ve had very similar feelings. Nothing means nothing. But winning the World’s Strongest Man meant a lot to me, but anything below that was just like a little pebble… pebble stone in the journey, you know?”
For Hooper, the challenge now isn’t pulling a bus or lifting Atlas Stones — it’s learning to feel proud, even when his brain chemistry makes it harder than most.
Check out the full conversation below:
His honesty struck a chord with fans online, many praising his openness about the biological and mental side of success.
Hooper may have conquered Strongman’s biggest stages, but as his story shows, the toughest battles are often fought within.
Featured image credit: Instagram/mitchellhooper/goodbadbeast (screenshot)
