Sanford resident and world champion powerlifter is not your normal weight-lifting competitor. He鈥檚 a 50-year-old used car dealer, father of two, and a former Army Ranger whose military career ended in prison. He鈥檚 a piano player and self-identified evangelist. And he鈥檚 manic depressive. In October, he鈥檚 slated to compete in the 100% Raw (meaning drug-free and without the use of belts or supports) World Championships in Las Vegas and hopes to set a Master Powerlifting Total World Record. A film production team led by his son, Nicholas Stott, is documenting the endeavor and is currently raising money on to turn their footage into a feature film.
A Master Powerlifting Total World Record, for the uninitiated, breaks down like this:
- Master is the age class that includes everyone over 40 years old.
- Powerlifting is a competition with three separate weightlifting categories: the squat, the bench press and the deadlift.
- Total means the combined weight of all three categories. Winners are declared in each of the three lifting categories, as well as the total combined weight.
- And a World Record is just that.
Greg Stott is not new to the sport. He鈥檚 been lifting since middle school. When he was 13, he took a bus 80 miles round trip to train with a mentor. Three years later, he started competing. He won the national and world championships for 100% Raw Powerlifting in 2000, and was the national champ again the year after. When he was 39, he set a world record for lifting the most for his weight class (total weight lifted in all three categories was 1780 pounds, the equivalent of a 鈥�67 Volkswagen Beetle. Stott weighed 275.). Since then, he鈥檚 competed as a strongman, a different realm of the weightlifting world that involves lifting boulders and flipping cars, among other things.
It鈥檚 been over ten years since Stott has competed as a powerlifter, but that doesn鈥檛鈥� deter him from attempting a new world record. When asked what his motivation is, he鈥檚 blunt.
鈥淎nyone who does it is pretty masochistic. There鈥檚 nothing fun about it,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 the mountain-climber aspect to it. I鈥檓 sure when the guys on Everest, when they get to the top with the wind howling, they are thinking, 鈥榯his is not fun.鈥� The same thing applies. It鈥檚 because I can. It鈥檚 fun to see that you can conquer something.鈥�
Stott鈥檚 training center is built right into his used car dealership building. The walls are lined with newspaper clippings and photographs documenting his accomplishments. His barbells and weights rest on the floor. He calls the wait room the 鈥渨eight room,鈥� for obvious reasons.
鈥淲hen I open that door, I tell people it has that feel of 鈥榗ome in to see my chocolate factory,鈥欌€� Stott says. 鈥淚 feel like Gene Wilder.鈥�
Stott weighs 255 pounds and is five foot seven. His neck measures 20 inches around, the same circumference of his arms. He says he doesn鈥檛 look like any other 50-year-old he knows, and he鈥檚 grateful for what his strength allows him to do. While other people his age might strain themselves lifting heavy boxes, .
"Anyone who does it is pretty masochistic." - Greg Stott
For next month鈥檚 competition, he says he鈥檚 going to start with a 640 lb. squat, a 420 lb. bench and a 650 lb. deadlift. Each round, he鈥檒l lift more. He says his mantra is DFD: discipline, focus and determination, something that has helped him deal with his manic depression. It hasn鈥檛 been easy, he says, and he iterates how proud he is of his two kids, who had to grow up with the 鈥渃raziness.鈥�
Stott鈥檚 colorful history is partly what inspired his son, Nicholas, and daughter-in-law, Jennifer Sanchez, to start filming him. They call themselves iXL Productions.
鈥淲e may be a little biased because we鈥檙e family, but he tells these stories that sound like they鈥檙e from a movie,鈥� says Sanchez. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very cinematic and very unreal.鈥�
Despite their relation, her assessment of Stott鈥檚 stories might be accurate. He鈥檚 lived through his share of challenges, from a mental disorder to a prison sentence (Stott says he went to prison on assault charges that resulted from his mental disorder; he was later pardoned). Sanchez says the film will explore those parts of his life, just as much as it covers the competition. And as a piano-playing, evangelistic, business-owner, husband of 30 years, Army Ranger combat veteran powerlifter hoping to set a world record, they might just have some film-worthy material.
You can watch a teaser for their film here:
http://youtu.be/aqW1gsAJsTo
UPDATE Sept. 3, : The film team decided against using Kickstarter after their initial launch and are instead using to raise money for the film.
