Bolton won his first powerlifting competition in 1991 when he was twenty-one years of age, at a local powerlifting event called the BAWLA Yorkshire Junior Championships.
[2] Bolton also holds the current WPO world records in the squat (550.5 kg/1213 lb) and was the previous holder of the deadlift (457.5 kg/1008.6 lb),[2] and was the first to demonstrate a deadlift of over a thousand pounds.
[4] Powerlifting official competition records: equipped raw Bolton is best known for being the first man to lift a 1000 lbs/453.6 kg deadlift (equipped) in a powerlifting competition.
[1] He first pulled 1003.1 lbs/455 kg at 2006 World Championships - WPO Semi-Finals, USA and then bettered it with 1008.6 lbs/457.5 kg at 2009 South East Qualifier and Novice Bash, England.
Bolton appeared in October 2010 at Elizabethtown High School at "The Night of the Living Dead" deadlift competition where he deadlifted 964.5 lbs raw in only a pair of pants and a striking pair of socks.