A local business owner and valley native is vying to become the World's Ultimate Strongman next weekend in the Clash on the Coast Tournament from Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Boardman resident Shawn Shumaker, who owns BSS Fitness and Training Center in Boardman, is a finalist for the Clash on the Coast Strongman international tournament. 

Shumaker is no stranger to deadlifts of nearly 800 pounds and pulls of almost 900 pounds. The Boardman High School and YSU graduate finished in fourth place in a recent qualifying event, which featured 32 of the world's best "under 105-kilogram" athletes. After surviving the qualifier, Shumaker is one of 11 finalists for the tournament in Hilton Head, which will be broadcast on ESPN. He says surprisingly, Youngstown is on the "strongman" map, and this experience is a dream come true. 

"I'm really excited about it especially because growing up I used to watch World's Strongest Man that used to air on ESPN," Shumaker told 21 Sports. "I never thought that I would be one of those people on ESPN competing in the strongman competition, [but] it ended up happening. A lot of people actually knew where Youngstown was. I ran into quite a few people there. [I'm] representing the United States, I had a United States flag on my shirt, then they would ask 'where from in the US,' and a good amount of people actually knew where Youngstown, Ohio was." 

The finals will air on ESPN 2 at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 4th.