It's been several years since a WPO event has happened. Some will say when the WPO stopped that's when multiply died. Some will also say that the WPO from years back will never be duplicated ever again. The caliber of lifters that competed each year, the world records that were broken at this event and just the shear magnitude of this event in general.
I was very lucky early in my powerlifting career here in the state of North Carolina to have the opportunity to train with so many great lifters in this state. I was also very lucky to watch these legendary lifters in the state of North Carolina compete in the years of old. Travis Mash, Chris (Ox) Mason, Tony Adkins are just a few of the names of lifters that I trained with and traveled with to Columbus Ohio which seemed like every year to watch them compete at this mega meet. Every year I was back in the warm up room with my team watching Donnie Thompson, Matt K, Becca Swanson, Chuck V, Brian Schwabb, Travis Mash, and many more prepare themselves for battle at the multiply event of the year. To say I was star struck was an understatement. This is where I wanted to be, this is what I wanted to do, this is where I wanted to compete.
I have fond memories of driving to the Arnold Classic each year knowing that I was going to see history made every time this event came around. The people that I got to meet, the friendships that I forged and the things I got to learn from powerlifting giants is immeasurable. I can not explain the impact that these events had on my powerlifting career moving forward. But just like everything in life, great things must come to an end. The WPO vanished, the mega event of the year was gone and the best of the best facing each other in multiply gear whore heaven was gone and....multiply competition seemed to have vanished with it across the country.
Just like everything in life, things do come back around. In the WPO event for 2018 was resurrected from the ashes and the multiply Gods felt it was time to bring the dark side back to the masses. I was extremely excited to hear the event was announced to take place in 2018. The invitation only roster read like a who's who in the multiply powerlifting world. Invitations were sent, many lifters accepting the challenge to come to the new event and bring multiply lifting back to the for front. The resurrection of multiply had began.
About a week ago my "Sis and Teammate Shelley Yates gave me a call and said these words " Joey, let's go to the WPO and watch this event. Melissa and I need to watch these super star girls in multiply compete and be inspired like you were", I did't even bat an eye, I said yes mam, let's go. Shelley's husband Jason set up our itinerary, got our plane tickets handled, got the resort we were going to stay in reserved and off we went a few days later. We left Saturday afternoon out of Asheville, North Carolina and made the flight to Orlando Fl. The flight was only an hour and six minutes, about as long as it took for us to drive to the airport. When we arrived in Orlando I must admit that my excitement was gaining momentum. I couldn't wait to go to the event on Sunday and see old friends, meet new ones and most importantly watch a great multiply powerlifting event. Let me rephrase that The WPO!
Saturday night we got some food relaxed at the resort and got some rest. I knew tomorrow would be a big day and a long day. When we got up that next morning we went and ate breakfast at IHOP almost right beside the event location. After we got seated we had not even been there five minutes and in walked the legend, Chuck V. If you don't know who CHuck V is you need to go kill yourself and reread the history books and watch the man that ut the WPO on the map years back. Chuck was with my brother from another mother Jason Coker. Jason and I go back many years, it's always a spectacle to watch Coker compete as he is a legendary lifter himself. Just like Chuck he has gotten better with age and his ferocity on the platform is as infamous as his lifts. We ate breakfast, gave Coke some love, gave Chuck a nod and off we went.
When we arrived at the location, I made a bee line to the warm up room. I wanted to give some love, shake some hands and see some old friends before they started getting warmed up. My head was on a swivel when I walked through the door. All star multiply liters were everywhere. My adrenaline was pumping and my excitement was about to boil over. Hell I felt like I was getting ready to compete! I talked to as many people as I could, shook a ton of hands, hugged a lot of necks and wished everyone the very best.
Melissa, myself, Shelley and Jason took our seats right on the front row. The stage for the lifters looked fantastic, the lights were bright, the music was loud, the platform looked awesome and the house was packed to capacity. Everyone was waiting for the big show to begin. I believe there was 2 flights of women multiply lifting, somewhere between 15 and 20 in each flight. As the attempts progressed there were women squatting 600 lbs and 700 lbs it seemed like at every attempt. The caliber of women competing at this event was off the charts. As the squats were progressing I went into the back room to check on fellow Elite teammate Meanna and her husband Seth, they were handling a new lifter to the sport of mulitply powerlifting and also a young lady that was training with Dave Tate at Elite FTS in preparation for this event. Her name was Jessica Bowersock. I offered my assistance in any possible way needed. They seemed to have a handle on everything so I stepped back up front so I could watch Jessica squat a massive 700 plus pound squat.
After the women got through squatting, up next were the men. If I am correct there were three flights of men. I cannot remember how many in each flight but it seemed like 15 to 20 per flight. I haven't seen this many people opening with 1,000 pound squats ever in my life. It was quite a spectacle and you could feel that history was being made again. The crowd was roaring after every attempt, you could just feel the energy in the room. You just knew that something big was going to happen attempt after attempt.
After the squats were over I went back into the warm up room and checked on Jessica, Meanna and Seth. I found out that she had hurt her shoulder after the last squat. Seth and Meanna were doing everything they could to relieve the pain in her shoulder and get her ready to bench. I offered my assistance again and stepped in to help in any way that I could. This was Jessica's first full power multiply meet and I could tell that she was nervous. I could also tell that her shoulder was aggravating her. I made some adjustments to her shirt while she was warming up and we decided to keep her in the one to two board range to keep any undo pressure off her shoulder. Jessica's form on the bench was actually really good for a rookie. I gave her a few simple tips and some words of encouragement. After she smoked her opener, I increased her second attempt a modest amount to see how much it would bother her shoulder. We adjusted her shirt properly and got her ready and sat there with her to keep her nerves down as much as possible. Her second attempt went even faster that her opener. I could see in her eyes hat she was building confidence and her shoulder wasn't bothering her as much anymore. I called for a small pr on her third attempt and like a champ she smoked it too.
Jessica just went three for three on the bench in her first full power multiply meet and the deadlifts were next. Meanna and Seth sent her back to her room so she could get some rest and relax. We knew it would be a while before it was time for her to pull.
There were several lifters that bombed in the squat but it seemed like there were more that bombed in the bench. With all the lifters bombing in the squat and bench combined the numbers were dwindling and like I figured when the new deadlift flights went up the five flight went to 'four, or was it three. All I know is that there wasn't five after the bench press. The judging was consistent all day. Were there mistakes made, I am sure there was. With a fourteen hour day and eighty lifters there are going to be some oversight, its human nature. But nothing in my opinion that would change the outcome of the meet.
After watching for the first time in my life two men bench over 900 pounds in a full power meet I knew the day was becoming even more special. You could feel that something great was going to happen. The crowds energy and the excitement in the whole room was enormous. It was exciting to see so much crowd support at a powerlifting meet of this magnitude. The list of old school lifter in attendance at this meet was mind boggling. There was a hall of fame feel in attendance and with who was competing. I got word that the deadlift line ups were changing. I had my boy Dave Kirchten contact Jessica to let her know that she would be starting earlier on deadlifts. By the way Dave had a fantastic day himself. He had a huge squat and a huge bench. Dave is definitely one of the best technical lifters in our sport today and I really enjoy watching him compete.
When Jessica came down and prepared to get ready to warm up for dead lifts, I could see in her eye that something was wrong. She said yes her shoulder was bothering her really bad and she was concerned about her opener. So before it got too late to change it, we dropped her deadlift opener. I did not tell Jessica what I dropped the weight to because I felt like that was insignificant at this point. I could see the relief in her face when I told her the opener was dropped. The great thing about this is she did't even ask what it was changed to. Her warm ups were looking good but I could tell that her shoulder was bothering her. I just kept talking to her and we were giving her encouragement. When it was her time to start I told her to believe in herself. She had worked hard to be here and she deserved to be on this stage. She took her opener and handled the weight like a champ. Her second attempt was set to solidify the total that she was there to attain, which at this point was the most important thing. I knew if she could get this second attempt anything afterwards would be icing on the cake.
We made sure to keep her hydrated and remain seated to rest and give her time to get her thoughts together. When she took her second attempt it looked like she had just pulled an empty bar! I informed her that the total she wanted was in the bag and she was good. I could tell that put her at ease. I also told her that for her third attempt there was no reason to go all out, injure her shoulder any worse than it already was so we were just going to make a small jump. She agreed that was the best option. Jessica smoked her third attempt and she walked away from this meet going eight for nine, hit an pr bench and pr total and achieved the total that she wanted to hit. A very successful day for Jessica.
Throughout the years I have transitioned into being a coach just as much as being a competitor. I enjoy seeing others succeed. I enjoy seeing my lifters succeed. Watching their hard work pay off and hit new prs is always a very exciting time for them. Jessica may not be "my lifter" but I treated her like she was. Myself, Meanna, Seth and the other gentleman that was back there handling her made sure that she had everything that she needed and she stepped up like a true champion and had a great meet. What a platform to have a performance like she had.
Jess I am very proud of you and thank you for allowing me to partake in this memorable performance. I will never for get it and remember like I told you after them meet. One day roles will be reversed and it will be you helping someone you dont even know yet. Your powerlifting career is just getting stated young lady. If they didn't know who you were before they do now! Live. Learn. Pass on....
In closing the WPO was a great success in my opinion. Great venue, warm-up area, equipment, Judges, caliber of lifters competing and the resurrection of multiply lifting on full display today was amazing. Do not get it twisted, The Darkside is making a return. Now go order you some gear and be the next big thing!
Huge congratulations to Jo Jeffrey Jordan as well. Great meet my brother!
