TOLEDO, Ohio — Marcus Waugh has always been a strong guy.
He excelled in football at St. John's Jesuit before going on to play at the University of Cincinnati and briefly in the professionals as a practice squad member of the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears.
Back in his hometown, Waugh is coaching football at the high school level, and serving as a firefighter-EMT at Toledo Fire & Rescue Station 21 for the past five years.
WTOL 11 talked with Waugh during a 24-hour shift, where he goes on multiple runs a day.
"What we say is 'we risk a lot to save a lot,' so if there's a chance for us to go in and save a life, we're going to do it," Waugh said.
If that wasn't enough of a commitment for Waugh, he spends time almost every day lifting.
Not just casual weight, but hundreds of pounds.
"A friend of mine turned me on to powerlifting," he said. "It's something that's very therapeutic to go in there and throw a lot of weight around, have some fun with the guys."
Waugh would take his passion for weightlifting to the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, one of the biggest lifting events in the world.
"I competed in the Arnold in 2020. I got second in the world at pros. A couple buddies of mine from the station saw 'the world's strongest firefighter' at the Arnold, over 400 applicants," Waugh said. "16 were picked, and I was one of them."
After a series of events, Waugh would place third in the world in the strength competition for firefighters. One of the events included deadlifting 525 pounds.
Waugh was able to complete the lift.
12 times.
"Most of the time I get 'do your knees and your back hurt?' and I say 'absolutely, yes.' People don't really understand until they see it, how heavy it can be," he said.
Waugh says he consumes over 5,000 calories every day in order to gain mass. In part, he credits his wife, whom he says is a very good cook. He also says working at a firehouse is fortunate because there is always food and the upstairs weight room, which conveniently has the archetypical firehouse pole.
He says the recognition is nice, but he always makes a point to thank the people at Station 21 for the support.
"Seeing the guys from my squad out and supporting me and screaming," Waugh said. "I mean there were hundreds of people, thousands of people watching this thing. 250,000 watching the live stream, main stage at the expo. I could hear my guys over just about everybody else."