Meet the UK's toughest prison officer - England’s second strongest man

A prison officer has revealed the benefits of being one of the UK’s strongest men in a professional environment in which he is surrounded by some of the most dangerous people  - but it is not what you would expect. Sam Duthie, 33, described himself as a “gentle giant” in an interview with the Mirror and claimed that after competing in the UK Strongest Man, he was “treated like Messi or Ronaldo” by the inmates of HMP Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, who had watched him compete on Channel 5, where the events had been aired. 

In 2021, Sam was crowned the second strongest man in England, which qualified him to compete for the UK title, so he's kept up his training and is in the best shape of his life, and could soon be crowned the champion. 

But alongside this pursuit, he has been holding down a job as a prison officer for six years. 

Initially, he feared that he would become a target for prisoners looking to pick a fight with the biggest officer in Aylesbury. But he revealed that his notoriety as a strongman has had the complete opposite effect. 

He said: “[The prisoners] are fully aware of [my competing]. Last year I competed for the UK’s Strongest Man, which was on Channel 5, and since then they all know what I do.

“The prisoners were all very excited about it - they treated me like Messi or Ronaldo when I came into work after the competition.

“Initially I thought it would be an issue, but it hasn't been at all. Although I am big, once the prisoners get to know me, they realise that I am just a friendly giant.I am a very calm and very level-headed person, and I think that is what wins prisoners' respect.”

He added: “When it comes to being a good prison officer, it doesn't matter if you are big or small. 

“The best people I have seen in the role have great communication skills. If you can talk to and read people, it doesn’t matter what size you are.”

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For Sam, competing was something he dreamed of doing as a child when he would watch the strongest man contests on television.

“I said to mum, 'that's what I want to do when I get older' and she thought it was a pipedream that would pass. But all I could think about in school was lifting cars and pulling lorries,” he continued.

“So when I was at the right age to do so, at the age of 18, I entered my first competition and haven't looked back.Thankfully I don't have any war stories like some of the athletes who have literally broken their back or limbs. From my perspective, the challenge is trying to balance my life at work and competing.”

Indeed, training for a strongman is serious business, which he describes as being more like having a “second job” than a hobby.

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“I've got to constantly consider eating my meals, calorie intake, water intake and I've got to train when I don't want to train,” he added.

“There are similarities (between work and competing). For example, I need to be very disciplined with my training and also disciplined as a prison officer to keep people safe and help the prisoners to turn their lives around.”

Sam said that, akin to his lifelong passion for strongmans, he had always wanted to work in the prison service, and would recommend it to anyone as no two days are the same.

He said: “Every day in the prison is completely different. You will always be busy - it's impossible to be bored. The job helps to keep me fit and healthy with the amount of steps I do. I also really enjoy the camaraderie with colleagues and the professional relationship with the prisoners – that’s what keeps you going.”