About World's Strongest Hands®

The Sport of Grip Strength®

World's Strongest Hands® is a family-friendly grip strength competition founded in 1991 by Chris Garnett of Salinas, California. What began as a hobby grew into a recognized sports entertainment event, featured by local California TV stations and newspapers from the early 1990s through today.

The Idea

Most sports favor a narrow group — the tallest, the fastest, the most coordinated. Chris saw it differently. Approximately 75% of the world's population — nearly 6 billion people — has two working hands. Why not build a sport around something nearly everyone shares?

That simple insight became World's Strongest Hands® — a low-impact, accessible competition where kids, teens, adults, and seniors can all compete fairly, in categories built around age, weight, and gender.

The Vision

Chris's vision is to grow World's Strongest Hands® into a global event — a sport that brings communities together across cities, states, and countries. From local fairgrounds to international stages, the goal is the same: competition, community, and the simple thrill of testing your grip.

The Founder

Chris Garnett — Watsonville High graduate,
Salinas resident, and inventor of the custom grip-strength
device that powers the competition — has been
building this sport one event at a time for over three decades.