Born July 27, 1959 in Barberton, Ohio, the oldest of three children. I grew up in Barberton a small town in Northeastern Ohio. I was an average athlete in High School. I participated in football and wrestling. I only did limited strength training comprising just the upper body. I was able to bench 315 pounds by my senior year in High School weighing only 150 pounds. I was blessed enough to go to college at the United States Naval Academy. I participated in 150-pound football as a varsity sport during college. I was first exposed to powerlifting in the fall of 1980 during my senior year at the Naval Academy. I competed at the 165-pound weight class. Within several months of training I was able to qualify for the 1981 collegiate Nationals in Kutztown Pennsylvania. I took third place at that tournament. At that time I was squatting about 525 pounds, benching 350 pounds, and deadlifting about 540 pounds.

After graduating from the Naval Academy in spring of 1981, I began my naval career and powerlifting took a back seat. In 1983 I was transferred to Hawaii for 4 years. I made connections with some local powerlifting clubs, began training again and competing at the local level. I eventually won the Hawaii 165-pound state title in 1986. From 1987 to 1992, I was stationed in California. I began to participate at the California ADFPA meets. During this time I became friends with Dr Jerry Moylan and Alan Kirshner. Dr. Moylan first exposed me to the benefits of chiropractic care and provided my some invaluable training methods. Alan Kirshner was the California ADFPA Chairman who ran several top notch Northern California meets.

My first major win was beating Marine Corps Ausby Alexander at the 1990 United States Military Interservice Championships. Later, after winning several national and world titles, I took some time off after 1994 to concentrate on other things in my life. I was able to return at the 1988 USAPL Open National tournament and moved up to the 181-weight class.

I have lifted mostly in 165-weight class until 1994 when my bodyweight got too heavy. For a 165-weight class competition I would train between 10 to 15 pounds heavier. I would then start dropping weight 5 to 6 weeks prior to the competition by cutting my fat in-take and doing low pace aerobics 30 to 40 minutes several times a week. My training cycle is 12 weeks for squat and deadlift. The bench is a 10-week cycle.

Best lifts in a meet.

B/W	Squat	Bench	Deadlift
165	672 lb.	413 lb.	688 lb.
181	710 lb.	468 lb.	733 lb.

State Tournaments:

• 1986 Hawaii First Place -165 wt class
• 1988 California First Place -165 wt class
• 1989 California First Place -165 wt class

National Tournaments:

• 1988 ADFPA Open Second Place - 165 wt class
• 1990 Interservice Champion -165 wt class
• 1990 ADFPA Lifetime Champion - 165 wt class
• 1990 ADFPA Open Champion - 165 wt class (Best Lifter)
• 1990 USPF Seniors Second Place - 165 wt class
• 1991 ADFPA Lifetime Champion - 165 wt class
• 1991 USPF Seniors Champion -165 wt class
• 1992 USPF Seniors Champion -165 wt class
• 1993 USPF Seniors Champion -165 wt class
• 1994 USPF Seniors Second Place -165 wt class
• 1998 ADFPA Open National Champion - 181 wt class (Best Lifter)
• 1999 ADFPA Open National Champion - 181 wt class (Best Lifter)

International Powerlifting Federation Men's Tournaments:

• 1991 I.P.F Champion -165 wt class
• 1992 I.P.F Champion -165 wt class
• 1993 I.P.F Champion -165 wt class
• 1994 I.P.F Champion -165 wt class
• 1998 I.P.F Fourth Place -181 wt class
• 1999 I.P.F Champion -181 wt class

I have been in the Navy for over 18 years and I'm a Commander in the Civil Engineering Corps. I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Systems Engineering and a Masters degree in Financial Management. I am also a registered Mechanical Engineer in the State of Minnesota.

Due to my success in the sport of POWERLIFTING, I was inducted into my hometown Hall of Fame of Barberton, Ohio and the Ohio Summit County Sports Hall of fame. I was also selected as the Navy Male Athlete of the Year in 1994.

My hero growing up was my Mom and Dad who displayed a strong work ethic and taught me how to persevere through any difficulty.

As I reflect upon my 20-year career in this sport I could not imagine the amount of success I have achieved. I consider myself extremely blessed. The development of drug free lifting has provided me an opportunity to compete on an even playing field. I am a lifetime drug free athlete. I strongly believe that if you listen to your body, take the right supplements, and train smartly, your potential is unlimited. You also need to keep everything in its proper balance with your family, career, and religious faith. My continuous improvement in this sport was the result of years of consistency in training and being able to adapt to improve my training methods.

I am seriously concerned about the numerous U.S. Powerlifting organizations we have. We need to find a common ground to help unify the sport or it will suffer. The goal should be how to grow the sport in the eyes of the average lifter and provide more significance to the National Championship tournaments.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to meet a wide number of powerlifting people in this country and all over the world. There are a few people who made a positive impact on my lifting career; my wife, Julia, for her undying support for the last 20 years, my sponsors Navy Sports, (Pete Alaniz [Titan Support Systems], and George Zangas [Marathon Distribution Co] ); and super coach Airforce Lt. Col Sean Scully. My email address is ricks181@hotmail.com.