Westside Pro Invitational Powered by Rogue

Westside Pro Invitational Powered by Rogue
Letter from Donnie Thompson-Event Promoter
WOW! I can say “3005 great things” about the Westside Pro Invitational
Powered by Rogue, but I will just stick to several points that were a
breakthrough for the sport of Powerlifting. This epic event was on Saturday,
August 17th 2013, at the historical York Barbell’s Weightlifting Hall of Fame.
We had 26 lifters on the docket for the day. The meet started promptly at
9:00 am. There was six divisions to lift in. This was a combination of
weight classes for Women and Men. Two divisions for women; Lightweight
(148 & down) and Heavyweight (165 & up). Four divisions for the men,
Lightweight(165 & down), Middleweight(181-220’s), Heavyweight(242’s275’s) and Super Heavyweights(308’s & SHW).
There are 5 things we accomplished outside of the normal powerlifting meet
expectations. It was very important to me that we accomplish these for the
sport of Powerlifting to move out of the dark ages.
1. We classified a “Pro-only” multiply meet. It was not in conjunction
with an amateur meet or anyone else. Louie Simmons set the Pro
total qualifications for each weight class and we went with that. We
did not want the worlds best geared lifters to have to share the stage
with anyone but their equals. You don’t invite high school football
players to play on the same field with the NFL players, so it
shouldn’t happen on the platform either. There has not been a Proonly meet since the 2007 Arnold.
2. This is the first major meet that Women lifters were treated
EQUALLY across the board!!! From prize money to the awards,
there was no greater than or less than treatment. What a
monumental breakthrough in our sport. Of course, if this was going
to be done, it took a Westside man by the name of Louie Simmons to
make it happen.
3. The talk in powerlifting seems to be unification. We put that to the
test. We asked the owner and head of the IPA, Mark Chaillet, to
work with and judge with the owner and head of the SPF, Jesse
Rodgers. Also our platform Judge was Clay Brandenburg, former
APF National judge and meet promoter in Michigan. So
technically, we had representatives with backgrounds in or formally
from 3 federations. And none of them got in a fight! Miracle.
4. As far back as the 1980’s, there has not been a major industry that
sponsored powerlifting. I know that Budweiser sponsored some big
meets back in the day, but not in the last 25 years. On this day,
ROGUE FITNESS, the biggest name in fitness and CrossFit,
headline sponsored the Westside Pro Invitational. What an
incredible advancement this is for our sport!!! I noticed other meets
in Texas and Ohio that run annual “big time” meets and they have
very small commitments from small companies at best. Every year
they have to solicit and grovel new merchants for sponsorship that
may or may not be related for the strongest sport of all time,
Powerlifiting! Rogue is HUGE! Just like the lifts at Westside
Barbell. They love our concept and this is just the beginning of a
great relationship with Powerlifting and the largest equipment
manufacturer of all-time!
5. The Westside Pro Invitational Powered by Rogue(WPI) accepted Pro
totals from every federation. We decided not to bottleneck the WPI
with one fed. This will be our policy to get into the Semi-finals. The
WPI will follow the rules of the now defunct WPO and there will be
no card fee. Plus Division winners will not have to pay an entry fee
for the following finals and Semi-finals.
This is geared lifting. Multiply! It is our world. Many of you do not even
care about gear and feel its a joke! So critique and stay in your realm. Mine
is and always will be gear! It was the biggest challenge to me so I chased the
big numbers as a multiply lifter. I left the platform after I totaled 3000lbs.
Since then, my dream has been to bring powerlifting a venue that rivals and
surpasses that of our Glory days in the late 1970’s to mid-late 1980’s! With
the advancement in training methods, equipment and instant access media,
Powerlifting needed a home. Working with Louie Simmons of Westside, I
knew I couldn’t lure the great lifters if the Westside brand was not involved.
Secondly, I needed a venue that reflected the attitude of the past. It was
hands down York Barbell and Louie agreed. Mark and Ellen helped me
secure the place and now it is in the record book…literally. Third, we
needed a sponsor that we felt would believe in what we want to accomplish
and want to be a major part in not only conception, but its future. Rogue, for
those of us about to try, we salute you!
We had great lifters come to the meet. We had the top lifters of the females
and males but needed more of the upper middle Pro’s. As to be expected,
Laura Phelps-Sweatt and David Hoff both lifted like the champions they are.
However, there were a few surprises. Shawna Mendelson came out of
retirement to pull third attempts out of her behind! She was second in the
Heavy’s. Nickie Anderson is so in shape that you can see her abs through her
canvas suit when she pulls the top women’s deadlift of the meet. Big Burley
Hawk is 24 years old and weighed in at 399.3 pounds. He wanted to get a
2400 total. In only his second meet, his attempts fell just shy with a 2320
aggregate. His attempts were so easy I actually had to laugh at the
effortlessness of his brute strength. Then we had a very lovely 148 lady
grace the platform from San Diego, CA. She earned her second place
Lightweight earnings with a 1190 day. Maybe next year some of the Pro’s
from CA will venture east and take time from the strongest training facilities
of the West coast to challenge the Westside gang at their own game. Also, I
know for a fact there is some very Elite lifters that stayed home in Ohio.
They will want to be a part of this great meet next year and showcase their
lifting powers. I am sure they will.
Then there was HOFF! He squatted 1210 that went viral! (to say the least)
Did a text book all-time three lift meet bench of 975 on his third attempt and
Pulled an easy 820 for the kill. And now there is two! Well it didn’t end
there. Jake Anderson decided to pull an 875 deadlift!! Who does that
now??? Not to be outdone, the farmboy from Ohio, Josh Conley, upped the
aggregate to 900 pounds. He ended the Pro meet with that. It was Nuclear.
I couldn’t take any more. Way too much excitement for one day. I had three
major goals I wanted promoting my first Pro meet. Treat the lifter great, treat
the lifter greater than great and when I think I did my best treating them
great, try even harder to treat them better. Their reputation and most of all
their health is on the line pushing weights beyond the limits of man. All for
very little in return. Its not their hobby, its their life!
“Rise of the Legends” is and always will be our theme and credo. I had
banners made and got sponsors to buy them for the meet that honored past
great lifters. When the audience and lifter come into that auditorium, they
will be brainwashed with the heroes of yesterday, men long gone and
forgotten. However, we will always remember. My goal is to include the
old Legends in our meets so we can honor our past as we strive forward.
What is old is new again. In the end, all the lifter in any level wants is to be
recognized for all of the sacrifice they have made to lift big and their efforts
were never in vain.
There are many more stories like a young lady that put off shoulder surgery
to lift in the lightweights after a major car wreck. She won first place. Shane
Hammock pulled over 800 to make that five deads over 800 pounds! The
Pitbull, Jason Coker, a 220 squatted 950 and benched 850. When I placed a
mic in front of him he spit on it. Super Ninja, Marc Tejero from Detroit,
flies in late Friday night and wins the lightweights with a 1785 total at 165.
Hoff squats then pukes. Benches then pukes. Deadlifts and pukes. I have
never seen a blatant display of wasting food in my life!!
Sponsors like Louie Simmons contributing nearly $10,000 of his own money
to make sure the best lifters could afford to be there. Chris Mason of
AtLarge contributing one of the overall Belts and the 3 coefficient lifts at a
$1000 a piece. Mark and Ellen Chaillet securing York Barbell and helping
run a smooth meet. John Inzer of Inzer Advanced Designs, sending us meet
t-shirts and supplying the best gear in the world. Bill and Caity Henniger,
owners of Rogue Fitness for believing in us and giving us the prize money
for the athletes not in just a few divisions, but all six divisions!!!
Thank you to all of them.
There has been a lot of talk on the internet about the judging and in
particular, Hoff’s squat. One question, were you there? I happened to film
Hoff’s 1210 squat from the scorers table. I will post it with his interview.
When you watch it, you will see that he cracks parallel. He did not sink it to
his ankles, but he did just enough to convince the side judges that the crease
of his hips had a negative value when measured to the top of his knees. You
may not want to see that but it is what it is. Facts; Hoff’s squat looks above
parallel on the vids posted by the audience on YouTube. Fact; most of you
judged him based on cell phone video’s. Called him names, belittled him,
trashed the meet and ranted how your legit and Hoff and company is not.
Truth; the side judges, Mark Chaillet and Jay Picarillo had their face
plastered on Hoff’s hips. They saw the dip and judged convincingly so.
They will stand by that call whether you like it or not.
Those that were at the meet never questioned his attempt. Not until the meet
was over and done, back at the hotel, did we know that the internet made a
big deal out of the cell phone filming. I invited all of you to come. All of
you! You were too busy and it cost too much to leave your home and
witness one of the greatest meets of all time! There were a few calls that
were questionable, but I have to say that Hoff’s squat lost to the facts and
won with the truth.
It is hard to remember all my meets, but I recall everyone bashing the WPO
for its judging. The 18 year old teen who beat Mark Henry’s long standing
Texas High School Powerlifting Record this year just pulled 705 to the
deafening roar of the people there. Goes home and the internet demons were
criticizing him, denying his lifts and saying he was not legit, he is a joke and
his records do not count. Sound familiar? Defending Mark Henry the two
meet wonder?
When meets like this take place, I encourage you to come to the meet and
witness it for yourself. Then go to other top meets and watch the lifters
being judged. But really, you can hardly compare lifters to Hoff’s five plus
over 2900 totals for 3 different feds and now his 3K. Do you honestly think
that Hoff won’t repeat this time and time again? He is only 25 and no
injuries.
For the ones who run their own organizations, it’s easy to be Vague and
Kattercritical from your computer. There is always an agenda for these
types. I challenge you to take the hard road. Train hard, move to Columbus
OH, and if your good enough, train at Westside. If you survive that, compete
with the very men and women you feel you’re better than. Qualify at the
Westside Pro Invitational Powered by Rogue this spring at the Semi-Finals
in Columbus. We are only taking 45 lifters for the finals and about 10 slots
are already full.
A guy from Finland tried to beat my total a few months after me. He
squatted 1267 and hurt himself and has never lifted again. I wasn’t even sore
after my big totals and I was an old man when I did them. Sometimes the
sacrifice is more than the reward. The Finnish guy learned that. My point is,
before you pass conclusive judgment on this our first meet, give the lifters
the benefit. If you are a fan of geared lifting, this is our first and the
beginning of years to come. We are here to stay. So judge on a series of
meets in time. That’s reasonable.
Today’s powerlifting world is one big rotten framework and all you have to
do is kick the door in for the whole lousy structure to collapse in on itself. I
am no longer going to sit here and watch this. Other meet promoters will
now learn this; I am a small time promoter just getting started. I don’t think
like you, I don’t act like you, my intentions are 180 degrees from yours and I
do not need to make a name for myself. I am not controlled by feds. Money
does not motivate me. I relate to the lifter much more than you ever could
because I am one. I will always be a leader and act like one. My goal is to
grow this sport, have a home for Pro lifters and give them a platform that the
rest of the world can watch in awe! I am copying the WPO verbatim minus
the poor leadership! And Hoff, remember, “They hated me before they hated
you.”
Love SuperD