[3] Skúli grew up in Fáskrúðsfjörður as a fisherman[2] and started Olympic weightlifting as a hobby in the late 1960s.
Within a few years he broke multiple Icelandic records and won Silver in lightweight (under 75 kg) category at the 1978 IPF World Championships in Turku, Finland by totaling 722.5 kg (1,593 lb) in single ply equipment.
[4] He also won Bronze in the same weight class in 1975 and 1981 World Championships held in Birmingham and Calcutta respectively.
[2] In 2016 he was awarded the KRAFT gold medal by Icelandic Powerlifting Federation[6] and on 28 December 2017 was inducted into the ÍSÍ Hall of Fame.
[4][7] Skúli died on 9 June 2024 from heart failure at the Landspitali University Hospital, aged 75.