Strongman Mark pulls his weight for British pie week

The best of British beef came together at Clayton Park Bakery as strongman Mark Felix helped the Lancashire baker celebrate national pie week.

World record holder for the deadlift and former British strongman champion Mark flexed his muscles to pull two three-and-a-half tonne Clayton Park delivery vans across the company car park at Clayton le Moors, near Accrington.

The stunt helped the Rishton-based world strongman competitor warm up for the British Open Strongman Championships and the World Championships in Los Angeles later this month and earned him the reward of a tray of specially made Clayton Park steak pies.

Mark, who tips the scales at around 23 stones, consumes some 8,000 calories a day in training to maintain his strength and ‘fighting weight’ and so was only too happy to support national pie week with the help of Clayton Park.

“When I’m in full training I burn a lot of calories and I do like a proper meat pie, so this will come in handy!” said Mark, who has represented the UK eight times at the World’s Strongest Man event.

“Meat pies are a British institution and it’s nice to be helping promote a local company which makes some of the best in the country.

“Hopefully I can also mix it with the best of British at the Open Championships this weekend.”

The 47-year-old, who stands six-feet, four-inches tall and in March 2013 lifted a world-record deadweight of 1,128lb, will be in action at the Doncaster Dome on 15 March before flying out to the States.

Barry Thomas, managing director of Clayton Park Bakery, said: “Helping fuel one of the strongest men in the world – who lives just a couple of miles from our two bakeries – with one of our steak pies seemed the perfect match.

“Our pies are a big favourite all year round but we wanted to do something special to mark national pie week and Mark’s incredible show of strength has certainly allowed us to do that.

“He is more than welcome to tuck into one of our pies any time he likes and everyone at Clayton Park Bakery wishes him well in the British and World Championships this month. Let’s hope we can have some local success.” Craftsmen bakers Clayton Park supply a range of pies and savouries to football clubs across the North West, as well as to Booths, Spar and hundreds of small shops in the north of England.