ET:  Congrats on your win at nationals!!!
Give us a rundown of your experiences of 2007 NAS

Wheeler:  This was the first time to Las Vegas for my wife and I.  We stayed at the SouthPoint hotel and casino.  This was about 3 miles off the strip and we figured it would be nice to get away during the evenings, but still be close enough to the strip to go back and forth.  What we didn't expect was the 45 minute drive from our hotel to Circus Circus.  We couldn't believe the traffic.  The good news is that we did a test drive the night before the competition and found that getting on the highway was a much faster way to get to the casino than driving through Las Vegas blvd.  The weather couldn't have been better.  I was pretty nervous showing up to the competition.  I had no idea what to expect.  I knew there was going to be some very tough competitors.  My mind set was to go out there and do the best that I could do.  If I did that, I knew I would do pretty well.  The first event was the 700lb tire flip for 80 feet.  The tires were brand new and they were very hard to find a grip.  This was the hardest event of the day and the hardest tire I have ever flipped.  I was completely exhausted after this event.  I finished 6th overall.  The second event was the 265lb farmers walk.  The farmers felt great in my hands and I managed to walk 180 feet for the overall win.  The third event was the 700lb yoke walk.  The yoke felt great except for the fact that it slipped off my back half way through and I had to re-set.  I still managed to place 7th overall.  The 4th event was the 88lb kettlebell clean and press.  I had trained this event quite a bit and speed was the key.  I managed 22 reps in 60 seconds with the overall win.  I was in 1st place in the 231's by 4.5 points and 1st in the overall lightweight division by 2.5 points going into the last event.  The last event was the atlas stones.  The stone platforms were 52".  The stone weight was 230, 260, 300, 330, and 360.   I was last to go and managed to load all 5 stones in 39ish seconds for a 4th place finish in the stones. This gave me the overall win in the 231lb class by 2.5 points and a very close overall lightweight division win by 0.5 points.  What an awesome meet.  I got to chat with competitiors that I hadn't seen in a long time and was able to meet lots of new guys.  No matter who you compete against or where you go, the camaraderie is still the same.  This is why I love strongman so much.  I thank Willie and Dione for running a very successful national show and i'm sure next year will be just as exciting.  2007 amature strongman nationals will always be a huge highlight in my strongman career. 

ET:  What was your training like going into this
competition?  

Wheeler:  As soon as the events were posted (3 months prior to nationals), I focused my entire strongman training specifically towards the nationals events.  I dropped all other impliment training that did not pertain to nationals.  The nationals events suited speed and athleticism more so than absolute strength, so I trained the implements pretty close to the competition weight and focused on speed.  I performed strongman training once per week and continued my regular strength training routine five times a week.   

ET:  How did you get involved in Strongman competitions?

Wheeler:  Joe Chan and I used to work out at the Mizzou rec center during school (2005) and we noticed a guy who was performing various powerlifting exercises at the rec center.  We started talking to him and he eventually told us about a strongman competition that was going to be held in Columbia and said that we should try it out.  We shrugged it off for a while not too interested, but eventually decided what the heck and signed up for the competition.  I had never trained for powerlifting or strongman.  In fact, I couldn't do back squats or deadlift over 315 at that time becaue of a back injury.  All of our strength training was recreational and really deserved no purpose except for the fact that we loved to work out.  I had no idea that I would ever compete in any type of strength competition.  At the 2005 mid-mo strongman competition, we had no idea what events would be held and were there mostly out of curiosity.  At the end of the day, I won 5 ouf of the 6 events with the overall 231lb class win and overall light weight division win.  I recieved many complements on my performance and was encouraged to continue with strongman.  In addition to how much I really enjoyed competing, I think what really did it for me was the people.  I've been involved in sports/athletics my entire life and it was very rare to come across such an awesome group of guys at a competition.  The environment was awesome and as a result, I got hooked.   

ET:  What is your athletic background (starting from the
beginning)? 

Wheeler:  Going all the way back to elementary school, I set the school record in the shuttle run, push-up test, sit-up test, and pull-up test.  I performed 21 pull-ups in 5th grade.  In 9th grade, I set 2 school records for doing 80 push-ups in 60 seconds, and for performing 36 pull-ups. 
My first sport I ever played was soccer and I can't even remember my exact age because I was so young.  I played soccer all the way up to the end of my sophmore year in high school.  I played baseball and basketball for a few years and quit those sports when they started conflicting with soccer.  In 8th grade, I went out for cross country with the mid set that cross country would keep me in great shape for soccer.  I also went out for track in 8th grade.  Soccer, track  and cross country were the 3 sports that I continued with in high school.  I played soccer and ran cross country during the same fall season for 2 years and eventually quit soccer after my sophmore year to strictly focus on running.   Ironically, cross country was never my strongest sport.  I did fairly well, but I had all the genetics of a strength and speed athlete.  I can't explain why I did what I did, but I met some of my best friends still to this day and experienced a lifetimes worth.  It wasn't until my senior year in high school that I started weight training.  I signed up for weight training class to complete my physical education credits.  During my senior year in weight training, I made the "Dominator" list for being one of the top strength and fitness athletes.  Points were accumulated from an agility test, 40 yard dash, max bench press, max hang clean, and max squat.  I think at that time I was the only non-football player to ever be awarded "Dominator".  After high school, I continued my athletics by running Track.  I was a division 1 scholarship track athlete my freshman year.  I suffered a pulled hamastring and decided to end my track career.  I still had running in me and competed in a mini triathalon my junor year in college and placed first in my age group and 2nd overall.  After the triathalon, I set a goal to try to put on some muscle weight.  Because of this, I cut out my cardio and focused on weight training.  I got involved in strongman a couple of years later and am to this day pushing myself to this day to be the best strongman that I can be.  

ET:  What is your motivation to continue competing past
college sports. 

Wheeler: I wouldn't even call it a motivation.  I would say it is more like an addiction.  Sports and athletics have always been a part of my life.  I can't remember a time that I wasn't involved in something.  If I wasn't doing strongman, you bet that I would be involved in something else.  I definitely think sports makes life much more challenging once you graduate college, get married, and have a full time job, but I think that is more of an issue of time management rather than motivation to continue with athletics.  God has provided me with a passion for athletics, health, and wellness and I will continue to follow His will as long as He permits me to do so. 

ET:  What are some of your greatest athletic
accomplishments?

Wheeler:  Track and field has been a great accomplishment.  I could list an entire page of specific track accomplishments, but I will stick to a couple highlights.  Being awarded a division 1 track scholoarship and running a personal best of 47.00 seconds in the 400m, and 21.00 seconds in the 200m would have to be my greatest track accomplishments.    Strongman overall has been a great accomplishment.  It is really neat to look back and see all the improvement and payoff from all the hard work.  I would definitely put winning nationals as one of my greatest athletic accomplishments.  I feel like I've only scratched the surface with strongman and I know that I have a lot of work to do to get to where I feel like I need to be as a pro.   

ET:  What are some of your greatest accomplishments-non
athletic?  

Wheeler: Graduating on the Dean's list from the University of Missouri-Columbia.   Getting married to my lovely wife Katie Jo  

ET: What are your goals in strongman now? 

Wheeler: My goal is to continue to increase my overall strength and to improve in strongman.  I still have a lot work to do if I want to be competitive at the pro level.  

ET:  What are your non strongman related goals?

Wheeler:  To love and serve the Lord God with all that I am, to keep Him in the center of my life and to follow His will.   To start a band as the drummer and record songs.  To continue to grow in my career field.  To be the best husband I can be.

ET:  Tell us about your family.  

Wheeler:  I've been married since October of 2005.  My wife's name is Katie Jo.  We met in high school.  We dated for 6 years before we got married.   Katie graduated from Baylor Unversity in Waco, Tx.  Katie is currently a paralegal at a law firm.  She is planning on starting Law school next year.  We don't have and are not planning on having any kids until after law school.  My dad has been bodybuilding for over 35 years.  He is a health fanatic.  His passion and dedication towards health and fitness was definitely a huge influence on my life.  My mother always encouraged sports growing up.  I was a very energetic kid and would start fights and get myself in trouble all of the time because I would get bored at school, so my mom encouraged anything that would burn energy.  My sister grew up in athletics the same as I.  She participated in various sports growing up and was a 4 year collegiate scholarship soccer player.

ET:  Tell us about your training group/training
conditions. 

Wheeler:  I implement train with the Belton crew.  This is an awesome group of guys.  I couldn't ask for more.  We have an amazing training facility (thanks to Conan and his connections).  We pretty much have every piece of training equipment needed.  If not, we usually find a way to get whatever we need.  The camaraderie between all of is is great.  I have so much respect for Dave Kraft and Conan Wass for all that they have done for us.  Not only are they just awesome guys in general, they provide tons of knowledge and experience, and their commitment and investment in strongman is why we have a Belton training crew today.  We have a lot of upcoming talent and it looks like the Belton guys are going to be a big threat in the 08 season.    

ET:  Is there anything else you would like to share with the guys from KCSTRONGMAN.COM ?

Wheeler: I want to give a huge thanks to Eric Todd for kcstrongman.com and everyone who has supported this website and this sport.  You all have made a huge impact on my strongman career.  If not for you guys, there is no way I would be where I am at today. 

ET:  Thanks Justin.  Congrats on your national title, becoming an ASC Pro, and representing KCSTRONGMAN!!!