Hafthor Bjornsson: natty or not?
Confirmed 2018 World's Strongest Man, The Mountain in Game of Thrones, 501-kg deadlift record
Short answer. Verdict: confirmed. At the peak physique on this page, Hafthor Bjornsson is 6'9" (205 cm) and 452 lbs (205 kg) at roughly 28% body fat. That works out to an FFMI of 33.6, against the ~25 mark cited as the natural ceiling.
The numbers (estimated)
| Peak physique | Strongman peak (2018-2020), around 450 lbs |
|---|---|
| Height | 6'9" (205 cm) |
| Weight | 452 lbs (205 kg) |
| Body fat | ~28% |
| FFMI | 33.6 — ~25 is the cited natural ceiling |
Era by era (estimated)
| Era | Year | Age | Weight | Evidence | Body fat | FFMI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teenage basketball prospect | 2006 | 18 | 254 lbs (115 kg) | reported | ~15% | 21.7 |
| Strongman and record peak | 2019 | 31 | 452 lbs (205 kg) | reported | ~28% | 33.6 |
| Boxing-era cut | 2021 | 33 | 342 lbs (155 kg) | reported | ~15% | 29.8 |
FFMI over time (estimated)
FFMI per era (values in the table above). Hover a point for details.
Note. Every number below is a reported figure or our own photo read, not a measurement. See the methodology page for how we judge.
Hafthor Bjornsson answered the question the way almost nobody does — directly, to ESPN, on the record: asked if he had taken steroids, “Yes, I have. When you want to be the best, you do whatever it takes.” Asked for details, “Can we just skip those questions?” Confirmed, in two sentences.
The numbers, for scale
A 6’9” (205 cm) former teenage basketball prospect who became a 450-lb (205 kg) World’s Strongest Man and pulled the 501-kg deadlift record — fat-free mass around 325 lbs (148 kg) even at soft body-fat reads, FFMI in the mid-30s despite the height normalization working overtime. Like his rival Eddie Hall, the arithmetic doubles a natural allotment; unlike almost everyone, he never made anyone do the arithmetic.
His later chapters show the same extremity in reverse: an 80-lb cut into a boxing rebuild, then a return to powerlifting records. The engine underneath — the frame, the appetite for work — is generational regardless of fuel.
Verdict
Confirmed — by the cleanest on-record admission in strength sports. “Whatever it takes” is the whole open era of strongman in four words, and this site’s easiest citation.
In their words
“Yes, I have. When you want to be the best, you do whatever it takes.”
“Can we just skip those questions?”
Common questions
Is Hafthor Bjornsson natty or on steroids?
This site rates Hafthor Bjornsson as confirmed, the only verdict here stated as fact. It takes an admission, a failed test or an official record, and the one behind this page is cited in the sources below.
Has Hafthor Bjornsson ever failed a drug test or admitted to using PEDs?
The record that settles this page is listed in the sources below and described in the article above. It is what makes the verdict confirmed rather than an opinion.
What is Hafthor Bjornsson's FFMI?
About 33.6. That comes from 6'9" (205 cm) and 452 lbs (205 kg) at roughly 28% body fat, normalized to 1.8 m. Drug-free lifters in the Kouri 1995 study topped out near 25.