In 1992, he carried the Latvian flag at the opening ceremony, the first person to do so since 1936 when independent Latvia last participated in a Summer Olympiad.

Bergmanis had a successful strongman career and was known for his consistency across multiple disciplines, but never managed to win many events outright.

He also competed in the Arnold's Strongest Man Contest, his best result coming in the 2003 and 2004 competitions where he placed 3rd on both occasions.

However, by coming 3rd in the Asia Stone - breaking the old world record in the process - and then winning the last two events of the final - the Deadlift and the Atlas Stones - Bergmanis managed to overhaul a deficit to reigning champion Svend Karlsen and held off strong late charges from Juha-Matti Räsänen and Johnny Perry to finish 3rd overall.

He then followed this performance by finishing 4th in 2003 and 2004, although the latter was a result of Mariusz Pudzianowski failing a drug test, meaning Bergmanis was promoted from 5th to 4th.