I'm and 80-year-old strongman and lifting weights but I won't go to a gym or see a doctor!
“I decided to come back to it and I enjoy it. I know I’ll get there, I can feel it.
Harry Kay used to lift weights with one finger, twice making it into the Guinness Book of Records.
He was the Fylde Coast’s own strongman, competing locally, vigorously training and he raised money for muscular dystrophy along the way.
And he is best known for lifting an eye-watering 56lb weight off the floor with, wait for it - his little finger!
Now at the grand age of 80, he has long put those heavy weights down but is still actively training in his small, home gym in Preesall. Whilst he’s not aiming for the strength of his old days, he has adopted a never say never attitude.
Harry still has all the original BBC letters, Guinness correspondence, newspaper clippings, charity certificates, and photos and is proud of hi achievements.
“I made a life long hobby from weight training, broke a couple of records and I’m known really lifting a 56lb weight off the floor with my little finger and hoisting it 40 consecutive times which is the record, there’s no doubt about that.
“I’ve had long breaks, I don’t do as much and I do it when I want to.
“I don’t go to gyms either. The thing is, people go and pay their money and they feel they need to get as much out of it as they can.
“So they go three hours a night, three times a week and it’s too much.”
Harry’s approach is more liberal. He watches TV in the lounge and when the ads come on he lifts.
All the latest news and top stories from across Blackpool and the Fylde coast directly to your phone
Never miss a thing. Click here to join
“I run in here and do 40 reps on the bench or my legs, or whatever - and that’s the way to do it.
“That way you are not straining yourself, you’re enjoying it and it’s a good feeling when you’ve finished, especially at my age!
“I’m not here to prove anything, it’s just what I do.”
Harry, who used to work at ICI paid tribute to his weightlifting partners from back in the day, Oscar who is sadly no longer here and Alan Bullock who he hasn’t seen for years.
He says age has never bothered him. Even when he was 70, he didn’t think anything about it but when 80 hit, it felt different.
“I decided to come back to it and I enjoy it. I know I’ll get there, I can feel it.
“My doctor doesn’t know, I don’t tell him anything,” he quipped, “I don’t go unless I have to!
“I have got a prolapsed disc in my spine though from dead lifting - that’s when you lift weights from the floor - it finished my career.
When asked if he had any advice for someone of his age trying exercise, he said: “Take it easy, do what you want and enjoy it.
“Just get on with it, light weights, plenty of reps and keeps you right in your head, that’s the main thing.”
Alongside his group Strength Incorporated, he raised thousands for charity across Lancashire, performing clean, natural strength exhibitions at local venues.
Harry still has all the original BBC letters, Guinness correspondence, newspaper clippings, charity certificates, and photos from his younger days. Today, at 80, he continues to train lightly in his home gym and is considering a safe, age appropriate version of his old feat as a personal milestone. He hasn’t got family but has a partner, hedgehogs and cats.