There are athletes walking around West Chester University that keep their athletic achievements hidden from view, their sport not being represented in the mainstream media. Some may compete due to family tradition, while others compete because of their pure love for competition. These athletes live an almost monastic life of going to school and training without any support from the West Chester community. While so many athletes compete for their high school and college to receive scholarships, teacher support and accolades from their school community, there are a dedicated few who spend hundreds of hours outside the limelight. These athletes don’t care about the spotlight; they feed off their inner drive for competition.
What drives someone to dedicate countless hours of practice, when the world at large pays almost no attention to their sport? This is why I talked to Eric Schwarz about his accolades in powerlifting.
In the realm of powerlifting, it may take years to see return on investment. To develop both muscular strength and motor function, it could take an athlete multiple years of consistent practice to become competitive. Powerlifting is a sport that is comprised of three lifts: the bench, squat and deadlift. During a powerlifting meet, you have three attempts in each lift to get the highest amount of weight you can, then add up the highest of your lifts for a total. With nutrition, weight management, weight training regimes and finding a good training facility and proper coaching, powerlifting is a truly life-consuming athletic venture. All of this means that Schwarz’s accomplishments in the world of powerlifting are downright astonishing.
“I would say my greatest achievement was my first International Powerlifting Association world record when I was only 15 years old. I got over a total of 1000 pounds lifted between three lifts, bench, squat and deadlift, and that is only after I began lifting at the age of 13, which was a huge accomplishment,” Schwarz said during our interview. Schwarz was competitive in powerlifting on a world level a year into his powerlifting career, and he broke a world record in two years. Schwarz was gifted with innate strength and talent for the sport that he capitalized on early in his life. He is a multiple record holder and may be one of the most accomplished athletes that walks the West Chester University campus.
‘I would say my greatest achievement was my first International Powerlifting Association world record when I was only 15 years old.’
Schwarz is a current student here at West Chester University. Schwarz, a former football player and powerlifter, no longer competes regularly. Instead he chooses to focus on school, where he is an exercise science major. His broad frame is a stark reminder of the hundreds of hours he put into the weight room. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to see that Eric is still quite the strong individual. He was at one point one of the strongest teenagers on the continent.
“When I began football and weightlifting, I gained about 100 lbs instantly. During my training, [I would be] going up to a high of 340 lbs,” Schwarz told me. Schwarz carries around his first student ID to show people what he looked like at his peak weight; he has lost a lot of weight after he stopped playing football. He looks at the ID with a sense of amusement, thinking about how crazy it was to walk around over 300 lbs at 18 years old.
During our sit-down, Schwarz was a cavern of knowledge when it came to lifting weights. His father, a personal trainer, had taught him about exercise at a young age. Weightlifting came naturally to Schwarz, and he could talk endlessly about nutrition plans and weightlifting regimes. When I asked how he was introduced to weightlifting, he smiled. “My father was a record-breaking powerlifter and bodybuilder growing up,” he said, a grin on his face. There was an obvious sense of pride radiating from Eric: being strong was a family tradition; it connected him to his father in a special way.
While Schwarz was a passionate football player, there is a special place in his heart for powerlifting. The powerlifting community is a close knit one, and many powerlifters have a deep sense of loyalty to the sport, Schwarz was no different. It has been an obsession for him since he was 13. Schwarz recalled his days in high school: “It was always a rush to see myself get stronger in the weight room and break new personal bests. I spent almost every day of the week in the weight room.” He describes what powerlifting meets were like: “It’s definitely fun to watch. All the big guys yelling, lifting heavy weights, breaking records. It’s just as time-consuming and requires equal dedication as other professional sports that get media attention.”
Powerlifting is a sport that is plagued with spotty media coverage. No powerlifting federation has consistent televised coverage currently. Would people willing to tune in to watch herculean men screaming as they try to lift the most weight possible? Schwarz and many in the powerlifting community believe so. The powerlifting community has seen a bit of a renaissance in the age of social media. The sport has become more accessible to people who don’t have access to proper coaching. Many athletes in powerlifting boast large social media and YouTube followings. For Schwarz, powerlifting was a way to improve himself and continue the tradition of strength his father started. There is a purity in the sport of powerlifting; to win all, you must do is be the strongest. It attracts people of dedication and grit. It has the same pure athletic quality that the 100-meter sprint has. Whether the sport of powerlifting ever becomes the next football, no one knows. For Eric Schwarz, he will be a dedicated fan to the sport no matter what.
John Delaney is a student at West Chester University. JD876695@wcupa.edu