Steve McGranahan: "The World's Strongest Redneck"

CBN.com I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A STRONG MAN

Steve grew up in the "Few Gardens," the projects in Durham, NC. One day his father went out for a loaf of bread and never came home. His mother remarried.

Steve began to party and got into drugs and alcohol by the time he went to college. One stormy night when he was 20, Steve was tired of the life he was living. He cried out to the Lord and felt the burdens lifted off of his shoulders.

“I walked outside and the sky cleared up,” says Steve. “I really felt the Lord lifted the weight off of me.” 

People back home noticed the change in Steve and persecuted him for his newfound faith. He backslid. Steve’s partying was worse than the first time.

One day, after drinking Wild Turkey with Budweiser chasers and smoking pot, Steve got in his car. He had a head-on collision and was charged with a DUI.

“It was really, really bad,” says Steve. “The driver of the other car had serious injuries and needed surgery. I just cried out to God.” 

Steve, then 36, started fasting and sought the Lord with everything he had. That’s when he felt like the Lord was changing him and asked God what He was stirring up inside of him.

ENLARGING HIS TERRITORY

Then one day Steve was watching The 700 Club with Bruce Wilkinson, author of The Prayer of Jabez. Steve bought the book and read it over and over. He started keeping a journal. Then everything broke loose.

“I always knew I was strong,” says Steve, who picked up his first car when he was 15 years old.

His wife emailed The Tonight Show.

“Basically,” she said, “I live with a freak of nature who bends horseshoes and picks up cars.” 

The Tonight Show was interested and had him on the show. The appearance gave him exposure and he started getting emails to go to different churches.

“I always wanted to be a strong man,” says Steve, now 44. “And at the age of 36, God gave me the desires of my heart.” 

He had been studying hand strength for 9 years but didn’t know what he was supposed to do with his life.

“If we can be a light to the world, then we are using the tools God gave us,” Steve said.

Steve uses comedy in his routine. In high school, Steve was the class clown. He actually had dyslexia and it helped him mask his inability to learn by traditional methods. His teachers laughed so hard they excused his behavior and passed him! 

He has run five marathons, a 50-mile ultra marathon, and placed first in the USA Men’s Indoor Masters Shot Put. He holds the world record for one-hand card ripping (11 decks in 28 seconds).

Steve demonstrates bending a 60-penny nail spike (6 inches long and 1 gauge thick), ripping a deck of cards in half with his teeth, bending a Sears crescent wrench, bending a horseshoe into a heart, and eating a light bulb.

Steve lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and dog.