Svend is one of the biggest legends in the sport, and also a very funny guy.

I met Svend probably 9-10 years ago in Australia. He was super lovely and we had a good chat about classical music and the great composers. A fine experience I often look back on fondly!

Sad to hear about Svends kidney. I hope he’s able to get a donor and get back to some sort of strength soon.

Very few conquer Strongman after conquering every other "gym rat" avenue. Bodybuilder, powerlifter, Strongman and true Viking. I remember watching him as a kid and begging my mum (who's German) to find out if we had any Scandinavian in our ancestry lol.

Svend is also 3x Norways strongest man, 1x Europe strongest man and 1x Nordic Strongest man 💪

Svend is changed a lot, i hope he is doing well so glad to see him ❤

Really good interview. Hope he gets his health sorted out and is able to get into the gym again. Would love to see a healthy Svend Karlsen refereeing or commentating at Strongman events in the future.

Absolute legend wishing Svend a speedy full recovery 🙏

Hoping for a full recovery for you soon, Svend.

I got to talk with Svend while he and Eddy Coan were reading Eddy’s book waaaaaay back at one of the Arnold Classics. It was surreal!! I only wish the BEST for Svend!!

Svend never really had a weak event and was always great fun to watch. People like him gave more to the sport than they ever took. A legend.

To this day, the greatest moment in strongman history is: Svend Karlsen: finishes event Colin Bryce: "it's quite a close race after 3 (I think?) events". Svend: "what's everybody's score?" Colin: "I have bo idea." Both: *hysterical laugh*

Svend Karlsen, the legend, used to love watching him because he was so animated, and hungry for it! I really hope he gets better soon aswell. I can’t see anyone disliking Svend, such a nice bloke👍🏻

Svend, you're a legend! You were the first person since Jon Pall Sigmarsson to bring LIFE and ENERGY and CHARISMA to strongman. Good luck in getting your new kidney.

Love Svend and great memories of him competing. Him and Magnus in Worlds Strongest Arms is still in my DVD collection. Best wishes to him with his kidney condition x

I'm so glad you had svend on. He is one of my favourite strongmen and loved him growing up. Started watching strongman in 1997 and karlsen was probably the biggest character in late 90s. Was so glad he won it in 2001, I'm sure he has all 3worlds 1st second third. Nice one loz, hope he gets the kidney sorted soon.

Svend was my Hero and Idol when I started hitting the gym. I guess he still is, it is just that both me and him have gotten older, I really hope he will get well again.

My favourite Strongman ever..love him in the late 90s...met him once in Kuala Lumpur in 2002, Superb bloke!

great interview, one of the more colorful personalities in strongman back in the day. Hoping you get on Jouko Ahola in the future!

A true legend. You only have to read through the comments section to see how respected, and loved this guy is.

Wasn't expecting a Mount & Blade image in the thumbnail.

Thanks so much Loz ! Been waiting for this one. Svend was was and is a huge inspiration to me all these years; an amazing athlete and a great character both in strongman and life in general. Hope he gets his health sorted out real soon, best wishes Svend

Hilarious to hear Big Z described as a thorn in your side, lol 😂

Thanks loz for getting viking power on ,saw him in competition at glenarm castle,co down in 2001,he was wsm that year,he was squating a Mitsubishi jeep on a frame ,think he got over twenty reps,brilliant, hope he gets sorted with a kidney ,first class video and thanks again

Awesome, maybe we'll see a Johannes Årsjö interview in the future?

Another episode of The Big Loz Strongman Experience Podcast. Im enjoying these chats.

What a lovely guy and a huge character of the sport in his day. Wishing him all the very best health-wise. Seems strange all these years later to hear of his kidney issues because when he competed I always used to comment that he looked terribly jaundiced.

That's a nice video. Svend Karlson seems to be a very authentic person. When I was watching old videos I always thought he has a very strong charisma and a strong character. It's very interesting to hear that he is interested in UFOs. Me as well I'm fascinated by this topic, I know there is far more out there than most people would imagine. What he told about crafts that could bend space time, the same was explained by a guy that has actually seen a real UFO from inside and tried to understand its propulsion system, back in 1989, Bob Lazar.

I was going to send you a PM suggesting Svend. So happy for this!

I didn't see you had uploaded this he is such a legend he was the best entertainer in strongman sad to hear he is not in the best of health

Great to see Svend interviewed, love these interviews with the legends of strongman!!

2 true legends!! Amazing!! Big fan of both of you!!

Loz the sign of a great interviewer is that his guests feel so comfortable and at ease that they are free to open up and share themselves you have that rare skill another fantastic interview well done Matec keep up the great work 👍😉

great so see Svend on here ive been waiting for this one. one of the greatest anyone who hasn't should go watch the old worlds strongest man contests on here and watch him and guys like jouko and Magnus. I hope he gets his new kidney soon and hopefully we get too see bit more of him.

On viking power dvd he did 370kgx3 on deadlift and did farmers walk outside on snow , that was cool back in the day

One of my favorites growing up. That’s for the great interview.

So nice to hear and see the Viking again.

You legend ! Thank you

Lovely to hear from Svend again! So happy you had him on Laurence! Thank you so much👍

So is Svend Technically the strongest IFBB pro of all time?

VIKING POWER!!!!!

Great interview with Svend, hope he gets well soon

One of the legends I grew up watching.

Loz, your interview skills are on point. I would seriously watch you talk even to non-strongmen

Great interview Loz! Svend is one of my all time favourite strongmen!💪😎 All the best Svend!🙌

Hi big loz so sorry to hear sven and ill health... was a massive fan of sven and his viking power ... followed him for years . Hope he get well quick... he was in amazing shape for strength and bodybuilding

Everyone loves Svend! 3rd, then 2nd, then 1st at WSM! BITD when Svend had his Viking Power website I send him a email to congratulate him on his win to my surprise, he emailed me back great Guy he's welcome to have one of my kidneys. Thanks for the interview Loz!

Thank you so much for this Mr. Shahlaei. Viking power Mr. Karlsen.

God bless you, buddy. Hope you get your health fixed up. Loved watching you dominate back in the day. 💪🏼

Thanks for this interview Laurence! I met Svend in Drammen in 2019, but I didn't recognize him until hours later.. (I my defence he had gotten older and it was at a commercial gym that I'd never expect to see him) But here you asked all the questions I'd have if I got to sit down and talk with him. I'm impressed with how well you know the athletes you're interviewing and how much you respect them.

Nice one Loz! My favourite of that era. Viking Power 💪🏼🇳🇴👍🏽

Been waiting for this one. True legend of the sport with not only immense strength but up there with Jon pall as possibly the strongman with the greatest charisma. Top entertainment

Svend is one of my favorite strongmen of all time. I was really looking forward to this interview. :D

Thank you for another wonderful interview Loz. Without a doubt, Svend was one of the most charismatic strongmen we have ever seen and a credit to the sport of strongman. In his day he was immense, and it’s hard to believe he only won Worlds once. Good health Svend. Stay strong.

That was a great interview, always loved watching Svend, what a shame to see him in poor health, hopefully he will get a donor. Puts things in perspective. Wishing Svend well. Thanks for the interview. On a different note, it would be nice to see you interviewed, you give a lot of time to others, would be nice to hear your story.

Love seeing Svends watch him for long time. Hope he gets his Kidney soon. Hoping to see Jouko Ahola on here in the future lol

A truly memorable and magnificent competitor. His squat at the 2002 WSM finals in Malaysia was unforgettable. He's still only fifty, and I hope he regains his health as soon as possible, gets that new kidney, and can take part in the strongman scene again. Laurence, at this juncture, I ask you whether you have any interest in addressing the elephant in the room of strongman. Svend has kidney issues. Darren Sadler had kidney issues. Andy Bolton has had kidney issues. We know why. On Joe Rogan's podcast, Mark Bell candidly admitted that steroids were part of the sport of strongman. In a famous longform article on Brian Shaw, it was acknowledged that steroids were part of the sport of strongman. ("You don't take a knife to a gunfight.") If everyone uses them, then it's a level playing field in that respect. Would you care to talk about steroids vis-a-vis strongman in a video...?

Viking power, legend of the sport.

Love hearing from these legends! Keep it up Loz!

great channel love these interviews with the legends.

Thank you for the upload Loz. Can’t believe I missed this one!

Another great one, Loz!!🥰 Good to "hear" from a fellow Norwegian!!🥰🥰

Love you Sven, praying for you!

Been making my way through the interviews slowly during some slow nights...Svend was another of my favorites, was so happy to see him win in 2001. Hope he's gotten that kidney, or at least gotten closer to getting it. Thanks again for these tremendous interviews Mr. Shahlaei! Viking power forever!

Please bring Sven back to talk about science and space👍 great to see him hope he gets healthy soon

I love Svend, the guy had such a, "Go for it", attitude, a Viking attitude. Very inspiring. I also think he could have won the Aplon Wheels at the Arnold #2, if he wasn't injured, or at least tied with Big Z. He actually moved the weight faster...a very explosive athlete. Probably would have been a great Olympic weightlifter, or Greco-Roman wrestler as well. I hope you get that Kidney Viking 💪...or take one! 💪

That was great. We all loved Svend.

Thank you! Probably the most enjoyable episode you have produced thus far. Felt like it could have lasted twice as long. Svend is such a simple, yet interesting character. Can we have Arild Haugen, and Odd Haugen next please?

Svend is a true legend of strongman. I remember the cheek and fun he brought to the sport. Loved watching him. Hope we see him again soon, within the sport, in a different role. ❤️

Best Strongman content for months running!!

Another peach Loz it's a great community of athletes. Thanks it's good to see. 👍 Doochie

Fantastic interview/casual talk. Subscribed!

Best interview u done.... Ita all about fun... And svern is fun.... Good gift to have....

Used to love watching Svend in Strongman. He was awesome. He made it look fun and he was such a cheeky chappy. Hope his health improves and he gets the treatment he needs. ❤️

Legends Never Die!

Hope you get well soon Svend!

I watched "Viking Power" as I started my health journey years ago and it has always inspired me in the gym. I am nowhere near where I need to be, but always trying to do better. Thanks for this video; if you talk to Sven again, please let him know how inspirational he is to so many people!

I've been waiting for this :-) Glad to hear from Svend again. Such a shame to hear of another Kidney issue.

Legends never die..true legend

My all-time favorite funny Svend moment (of which there are many!) was from the 2004 Strongman Super Series Grand Prix in Sweden (same event where Virastyuk dislocated his finger). Colin asks Svend if he's surprised to have finished in third place and Svend says 'yeah, because I've been doing all my training at MacDonald's.' Then he pauses for a moment, like he's thinking about it, then says 'Ronnie MacDonald is the best coach in the world! YEAH, MACDONALD'S!'

Great stuff Loz. Hes funny. All the best for him.

Hey Loz, thank you for all the enterview's with the greats and the future prodigies. I've always wanted to know so much about these monsters there stories and who they are. Thank you very much. VIKING4POWER 😁👍👍

Loved watching Sven 💪

So sad that he did not win the arnolds. 3 times 2nd place..

WIKING POWAAA

Great channel

Yooo, I trained in the warehouse where his clothes (in this video) came from :D That brand has founded a local powerlifting club and put a gym next to where they work.

Hope he’s doing better since this video heart breaking to hear his ill health absolute legend

Remember him competing in WSM great guy and very strong, would not recognize him now at all

Wow his appearence changed a lot.

Svend was always a character when he competed, sad to hear about his health issues☹️, hope he gets the help he needs and gets better 👍

Him and Magnus Samuelson were my favorites from that era.

A Legend always a happy guy 👌

I miss watching svend, what a great guy

Such a unique guy, legend

I would also like interviews with some lesser known guys, Paul Smith comes to mind. Or guys like Badger Brunning or Aaron Page.

What an amazing man.

insane to be 14 and bench 100kg almost immediately. i dont think a lot of elite athletes realise just how incredible their genetic advantages are... it took me like 2 years to get to a 100kg bench as a man in his 20s and i'm 6'2 so i'm not a small guy, and i don't even have "bad" genetics

I still have the email reply Svend sent me when I was 15 and told him my best lifts and for asked for advice. That was 19 years ago!

loved that, Sven we love you bro hope you get sorted soon, if your interested you might like richard l thomson- alien identities