Of Mountains and Men

Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, the Icelander who portrayed Gregor Clegane, a.k.a. “the Mountain,” in HBO series Game of Thrones, owns and operates a gym in Kópavogur, Iceland. It’s called Thor’s Power Gym, which, admittedly, has an ever-so-slightly masculine ring to it. It’s there where Hafþór and other might-minded individuals convene to train for, among other things, the sport of strongman. Called aflraunir in Icelandic, the competition involves a potpourri of premodern feats of strength (with a few modern twists) often named for mythological heroes: the Atlas Stones, the Hercules Hold, Conan’s Wheel, Fingal’s Finger. In strongman, there are no points for subtlety.

 

In Episode 15 of Deep North, we take a look inside the like of strong men in Iceland, and ask: is there something in the water?