Kent man lifts equivalent of a three-seater sofa using only his middle finger

A martial arts expert from Kent has set the record for the heaviest deadlift with one finger. 

Using just his middle finger, Steve Keeler lifted 129.5 kg (285.49 lb) - the equivalent of a large three-seater sofa or an American stye fridge - for eight seconds. 

In the presence of several witnesses, he lifted six iron discs at the same time: a smaller one measuring roughly 10 kg, one 20 kg, three measuring a little over 25 kg each and one measuring 26 kg. 

Steve, 48, who lives in Shepherdswell near Dover, said: "It’s incredibly painful, but my fingers are strong and I am proud of my lift."

WATCH: Steve lifts the weights using only his middle finger

He added: "My stepdad was my absolute hero and when I was a child, he came into my life and helped me with a problem I had with my bicycle.

"He brought a spanner round to get the pedal off my bike and he pushed that spanner so hard he broke it!. 

"He was into his strength training and this record would be in honour of all he taught me. He’d be absolutely chuffed to bits!" 

The record had stood for over 10 years: previous record holder, Armenian Benik Israyelyan, lifted 116.90 kg (257.72 lb) with his right middle finger in 2011 and then bettered it by lifting 121.70 kg (268.30 lb) the following year.

Steve, who is a 5th Dan black belt in Tsuyoi-Ryu Karate and a 1st Dan black belt in judo, has been strength training for the past four years and has practiced karate since he was 18, discovering his hand had excellent strength through judo grips. 

Using the middle finger is not the only way to deadlift, though: in 2013 Suren Aghabekyan from Armenia broke the record for heaviest deadlift with the little finger by lifting 110 kg (242 lb 5 oz). 

The attempt happened in Ashford, Kent in February 2022 but Steve only received his certificate from Guinness World Records this month.