Police officer and gym owner named strongest in UK

Dougie Black, who owns The Unit Strength and Conditioning gym at Borland Farm, claimed the title at an event earlier this month, to go along with the titles he won in 2022 and 2024.

It has been a busy few weeks for the strongman, after he finished third in Britain's Strongest Master Over-40s, meaning he will also compete in the Europe's Strongest Man competition later this year.

Dougie competing. (Image: Submitted)

After putting in hours of work to get to this point, Dougie was confident he would be able to get the job done to be crowned the strongest police officer in the land.

“Once it got to the third event which was the 130kg Viking press, I knew I would win that event and it would stand me in good stead," He said.

“Because I competed the week before, I didn’t do any sort of proper training leading up to this event, it was mainly about rest and recovery, and making sure my muscles were ready for it.

“It was also about making sure I was mentally prepared, because I wanted that title back.

“On the final event which was the atlas stone, I only needed one rep which would have secured enough points for me to win, but I wanted to win that event as well and win the title in a bit of style."

His success means there's not much rest for Dougie before more competitions roll around.

He added: “Next up is the Scotland’s strongest man at the SEC in Glasgow in September and then two weeks after that I go to Europe's Strongest Man Master Over-40s.

“After my podium finish at the Britain’s Masters event in Gloucester, I got an invited to the World’s competition, which is in Florida.

“I spoke to the organisers because I can’t get the time off work this year because of my work, so they’ve been good enough to roll my World’s invite over to next year, so that will be something to really work towards."

Dougie is also looking for local businesses to sponsor him for the competitions he has coming up across the country this year and across the world.

Having been on the go for much of the year, Dougie has not had much time to reflect how far he's come in 2026, and the years prior.

But he says it's something he might look to do once the next few months have passed.

Dougie with his biggest supporter, Samantha. (Image: Submitted)

He continued: “I’m in my seventh year doing this and I look back at the times when I questioned if it was worth doing this.

“But when you start achieving things like this and experiencing things I’ve never experienced before, it all definitely feels worth it.

“The backing has been fantastic, and my other half Samantha has been my biggest supporter.

“The invites for the Europe and World’s invites came through on my birthday, so it’s all felt a bit surreal, but I’m proud of how far I’ve come.

“I’ve experienced the joy through my clients before, but doing it yourself gives you a  special feeling.

“It’ll be one big push for the next few months and then I’ll have some time t relax and reflect on the year after that."