Man mountain Mark Felix said he has ‘as good a chance as anyone’ as he prepares to jet out for the World’s Strongest Man contest.

Felix, from Rishton, and weighs 22 stone, is set to compete in his 10th Strongest Man event and is aiming to trump his best previous finish of sixth place in 2006.

The World’s Strongest Man competition is being held in Malaysia and will see Felix tested to the phyical and mental limit as he takes on 12 different events.

These include the signature ‘Atlas stones’, the ‘Farmers walk’, giant dumbbell press, fridge carry and giant log lift.

Other events include the ‘carry and drag’, ‘fingal’s finers’ and the block/kegg toss inpired by the Highland games.

Felix, 48, said his preparation has gone ‘really well’ and is eating around 7,500 calories a day – three times the daily amount of the average adult – to keep his strength up.

He said: “Everything is going good and I’ve been training hard, eating right and making sure I get enough sleep. I’m fit and ready to go.

“I’m eating lots of corn, tuna, chicken, rice, pasta, fruit and veg and liquids.

“I’m always training and keeping my fitness, strength and heart-rate up as I compete throughout the year in different competitions.

“I want to get through the qualification rounds and into the final and hopefully win it. I want to be up there and I think I have got as good a chance as anybody.

“The biggest obstacle will be the qualifiers but if I can get through those without injury then why not?”

Father-of-three Felix is set to fly out to Putrajaya, Malaysia on Wednesday, April 15 ahead of the start of the week-long tournament on April 19.

He said: “I know what to expect as I’ve been doing it for a long time. I will be up against the top guys in the world and I know what I’m going at and where my strengths and weaknesses are.

“I have never been to Malaysia before. It’s going to be hot over there but I’m used to the heat and should be fine as long as I stay hydrated.

“I’m very excited. There are some ‘banker’ events that I’m good at like the stone lifting and I’d like to get a personal best in that. I just want to give it 100 per cent.

“I’m going on my own as the kids will be back in school and we don’t want them to miss that. I will be keeping them updated every day.”