Paul Roberts is the driving force behind Pro Fitness Supplies who grew up on a farm and initially entered the Fitness Industry in 1995 by training as a Fitness Instructor in Litton Lane in Dublin with a Certificate in Exercise and Fitness.
Paul got interested in Strength Training while at School in the CBS Secondary in New Ross in 6th Year and trained in the Riverside Leisure Centre in New Ross from 1993 onwards.
Paul went to London for the summer of 1994 and the Isle of Man in 1995 and worked in Hotels however it was during this period that he decided to pick up on his interest in training in the Gym’s with Weights and Machines that this was the industry that he would pursue as a career. Paul trained for the Gladiators on British TV from starting out in 1993 as it was a very popular program and was an interesting project to train for. Unfortunately, when Paul was ready to compete when he achieved a bodyweight of over 15st, the program was cut from TV Channels.
In 1996 Paul trained and competed in Tug o War with the Boley Team based in Co. Wexford and competed in Jersey and Switzerland for Ireland and the Boley Team. In 1999 Paul was training hard and still gaining weight. He had been watching World’s Strongest Man on TV since 1994 and his attention shifted to this Sport with the intention of getting involved somehow. In 2001 he was in contact with Glenn Ross via a local contact in his native town and ran the First Rep of Ireland’s Strongest Man during the JFK Dunbrody Festival in July of that year.
Paul got involved in selling Gym Equipment all over Ireland via a Company in Northern Ireland at this time also while pursuing his interest in the Strongman Sport. Paul started competing in the Rep of Ireland’s Strongest Man in 2002 and came Second that year with 12 Competitors from all over Ireland. Paul won his first ‘Rep of Ireland Strongest Man’ title in 2004 while the event was held in Thurles in Co Tipperary and came second again in 2005. During this period from 2001 and 2006 Paul worked for the same company until changing to another more local Fitness Company based in the South East of Ireland selling Domestic Equipment in Cardio and Strength lines.
Paul was the main driving force behind the ‘World Strongman Event held on the Quay in Wexford Town in 2005 which can be seen on Youtube (Wexford Strongman) which was screened by Euro Sport. He competed in ‘UK’s Strongest Man in 2005 and placed 5th that year. From 2006 until 2010 Paul and some other competitors ran independent events in Ireland one of which was ‘Emerald Isle Strongest Man’ which had competitors from Ireland Poland and New Zealand participating, Paul took this title which was held in Carlow Town plus another called ‘The Chris Cook Trophy’ which again had athletes competing from all over Ireland and Poland that year based in Tipperary. He also competed in ‘Britain’s Strongest Man in 2007 and 2008 which was screened on UK television.
Paul went on to compete for Ireland from 2011 after overcoming an injury in 2010 at the ‘Arnold Classic in Ohio in the USA in March 2011. He competed in many other events in Northern Ireland and in the UK’s Strongest Man again in 2011, and a number of other years and won the ‘Rep of Ireland’s Strongest Man in 2013 for a second time and coming 2nd in ‘Ireland’s Strongest Man also.
Paul’s last International Event was in Uzbekistan in 2013, he retired from competing in 2014 with an injury however he has been involved in organizing events to a small degree since retiring.
Marian Roberts studied in WIT in Waterford and has a BA in Hotel and Hospitality Management. Marian was always interested in fitness and from 2011 Marian started to train with Kettlebells. She competed nationally in the under and over 67kg category winning several National Titles. Marian also competed in Russia in her first International Competition in 2014 coming 2nd from a field of 12 competitors. Marian has been a great support to Paul from 2004 when they first met, they married in 2009 and have 2 children who are also interested in sports.