You know you’re not in the average librarian’s office when two Apollo brand kettlebells — one 70 pounds, the other 53 pounds –are positioned directly across the desk.
On the office floor is a sledgehammer, perched at the ready for exercises in controlled leverage to strengthen the wrists.
Josh Hanagarne, 32-year-old director of the Rose Park Library, has read more classic titles than he’s ripped phone books in half. That’s not to say those numbers might reach parity one day. “I’m actually more into bending nails,” he said.
In person, Hanagarne, at 6 feet 8 inches tall, is almost as imposing as his title of “World’s Strongest Librarian” implies. If he didn’t read so much, the man might have more time for lifting weights. Just don’t tell him the two are mutually exclusive.
One line from the article that will guarantee you click the link above: “I just love his story — the fact that he’s a librarian in Salt Lake City with Tourette’s who can tear phone books in half, and also reads storybooks to children,”
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