Category: Podcast

Vin Mangione is a US National Teams coach for the Juniors and Sub-Juniors. Vin owns Kenmore Barbell in Buffalo New York (technically it’s Kenmore New York, one of the towns that makes up the greater Buffalo area). Vin is a coach, a lifter, referee, meet director and a gym owner. He does a lot for the sport of powerlifting and he’s bringing a big squad of lifters to Powerlifting America Nationals in one week. After that he’ll be coaching the US National Teams at the North American Championships in the Cayman Islands and the Junior and Sub-junior World Championships in Romania. He talks about the qualifying criteria for those competitions, his gameday coaching strategy, how he’s built such a strong community in Buffalo, and the growing rivalry with Team France.
 
Don’t forget to tune in to the grand finale of our Powerlifting America National Championships: Sub-Junior, Junior, Masters and Equipped Nationals starting June 2. Every session is stacked with talent, starting off with a bang on Friday morning with a 4 way battle in the 63kg juniors and loaded battles and solo performances all the way through. You can find the livestream on our website here: https://powerlifting-america.com/live/
 
You can find all of the qualifying criteria and updated current standings for the Junior and Sub-Junior National teams here: https://powerlifting-america.com/nationalteams/classic-and-equipped-junior-and-sub-junior/

Thank you to our partners, SBD and Eleiko.
 
Follow Vin on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/vin.kenmorebarbell/
 
Follow Powerlifting America on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/powerlifting_america/
 
Check out all of our upcoming events on the Powerlifting America events page here:
https://powerlifting-america.com/events
 
Become a member of Powerlifting America here:
https://powerlifting-america.com/registration
 
Visit the Powerlifting America store here:
https://powerlifting-america.square.site/s/shop
 
Support Open Powerlifting here:
https://www.patreon.com/join/openpowerlifting

Preview show for the 2023 Powerlifting America Junior and Sub-Junior National Championships with experts Sam Sikora, Julia Williams and Mike Gold, giving picks and analysis for every weight class. Junior and Sub-Junior Nationals is special this year because it’s the third and final event of the year for these age classes after High School and University Nationals earlier in the year. This is where the athletes can control their own destiny and have their final say in making a bid for a coveted spot on one of the US National teams. Who will punch their ticket to the World Championships in Romania or the North American Championships in the Cayman Islands? Find out starting June 2 in Scottsdale Arizona. Watch the livestream here:
https://powerlifting-america.com/live/
 
Thank you to our partners, SBD and Eleiko.
 
Follow Sam Sikora on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/samsikk/
 
Follow Julia on instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/sleepersbd/
 
Follow Mike Gold on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/owens9397transformation/
 
Follow Powerlifting America on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/powerlifting_america/
 
Check out all of our upcoming events on the Powerlifting America events page here:
https://powerlifting-america.com/events
 
Become a member of Powerlifting America here:
https://powerlifting-america.com/registration
 
Visit the Powerlifting America store here:
https://powerlifting-america.square.site/s/shop
 
Support Open Powerlifting here:
https://www.patreon.com/join/openpowerlifting

LS McClain has won the open world championships twice, but he’s so much more than his accolades on the platform. LS always has the most fun. He’s a family man, a coach, an entrepreneur, a trail rider, sneakerhead, gamer and so much more. He’s one of the most uplifting ambassadors for the sport of powerlifting. Now he has an official role with Powerlifting America as Co-Chair of the Athlete Committee, where he will have a voting seat on the PA board. This is not an interview, it’s a conversation between two friends who are both pushing hard to elevate powerlifting and spread the love for all of the amazing people who make the sport great. LS will be defending his national title at Masters Nationals on June 3, so make sure to tune in and cheer him on! LETS EAT!
 
Thank you to our partners, SBD and Eleiko.
 
Follow LS on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/lsmcclain/
 
Follow Powerlifting America on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/powerlifting_america/
 
Check out all of our upcoming events on the Powerlifting America events page here:
https://powerlifting-america.com/events
 
Become a member of Powerlifting America here:
https://powerlifting-america.com/registration
 
Visit the Powerlifting America store here:
https://powerlifting-america.square.site/s/shop
 
Support Open Powerlifting here:
https://www.patreon.com/join/openpowerlifting

Melissa Copeland is the reigning Powerlifting America +84kg M1 National Champion and is the co-chair of the Athlete Committee on the Powerlifting America board. She took the silver medal at the IPF World Championships in 2022. She talks about powerlifting as a 40-something, her role with Powerlifting America, how she managed to finish second despite a dramatic injury during squats at the World Championships, and a whole lot more! Melissa is an amazing competitor who is very capable of winning a world championship and breaking world records in 2023. She also gives back to the sport in so many ways, from being a referee to volunteering for the Athlete Committee and more. Follow her and cheer her on at Nationals and beyond. 
 
Special thanks to the new Powerlifting America Podcast co-hosts Julia Williams and Amy Hutchinson!
 
Thank you to our partners, SBD and Eleiko.
 
Follow Melissa Copeland on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/melarmy/
 
Follow Amy Hutchinson on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/liftingonaprayer/
 
Follow Julia Williams on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/sleepersbd/
 
Follow Powerlifting America on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/powerlifting_america/
 
Check out all of our upcoming events on the Powerlifting America events page here:
https://powerlifting-america.com/events
 
Become a member of Powerlifting America here:
https://powerlifting-america.com/registration
 
Visit the Powerlifting America store here:
https://powerlifting-america.square.site/s/shop
 
Support Open Powerlifting here:
https://www.patreon.com/join/openpowerlifting

Joy Rindfleisch is the 63kg subjunior national champion who finished second at the world championships in 2022. Now she’s a junior, two weeks out from Nationals where she’ll be one of the youngest lifters in her class. Joy had a meteoric rise to fame on social media this year, gaining over a million followers on Tiktok and over 600k on Instagram! She uses her platform to inspire people and raise awareness about mental health issues like disordered eating, anxiety and depression. She also wants to inspire women to take up more space, get strong and be true to themselves. And she does all of this by creating amazing powerlifting content day in a day out, bringing our beloved sport to the masses. 
 
In this episode you’ll get to see a different side of Joy, the person behind the big social media accounts and get to know her a little better. She talks about her trials and tribulations at big powerlifting meets like nationals and worlds, her huge performance in Buffalo earlier this year, and her mindset going into Junior Nationals in two weeks. And yes, she also gives us some tips on how to grow a community on social media. She’s wise beyond her years so there’s a lot to learn and be inspired from this interview with Joy Rindfleisch.
 
Thank you to our partners, SBD and Eleiko.
 
Follow Joy on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/joyjoysfitness_/
 
Joy on Tiktok here:
https://www.tiktok.com/@joyjoysfitness_
 
Joy on Youtube here:
https://www.youtube.com/@joyjoysfitness_/
 
Follow Julia on instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/sleepersbd/
 
Follow Powerlifting America on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/powerlifting_america/
 
Check out all of our upcoming events on the Powerlifting America events page here:
https://powerlifting-america.com/events
 
Become a member of Powerlifting America here:
https://powerlifting-america.com/registration
 
Visit the Powerlifting America store here:
https://powerlifting-america.square.site/s/shop
 
Support Open Powerlifting here:
https://www.patreon.com/join/openpowerlifting

Shelly Stettner is the reigning world champion in the Masters 4, 63kg class. She also won best lifter at the world championships and walked away with all four world records in her class. She’s currently under three weeks out from defending her national title at Powerlifting America Nationals in Scottsdale. Shelly talked about her big year in 2022, how she stays motivated while being so dominant, and all of the ways that strength training has enriched her life after picking up a barbell at age 68. Shelly is a huge inspiration, showing the whole world that you can always get stronger no matter what age you are!
 
Thank you to our partners, SBD and Eleiko.
 
Follow Shelly on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/shelly_ann_28/
 
Follow Julia on instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/sleepersbd/
 
Follow Powerlifting America on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/powerlifting_america/
 
Check out all of our upcoming events on the Powerlifting America events page here:
https://powerlifting-america.com/events
 
Become a member of Powerlifting America here:
https://powerlifting-america.com/registration
 
Visit the Powerlifting America store here:
https://powerlifting-america.square.site/s/shop
 
Support Open Powerlifting here:
https://www.patreon.com/join/openpowerlifting

Quick check in with US National Team coach Austin Brown. Austin is the 105kg equipped bench press national champion and two weeks out from the Bench Press World Championships in Sun City, South Africa. He talked about his experience coaching on the biggest stages in powerlifting at the World Games and the Open World Championships in 2022. He tells his backstory, recaps some of his notable performances over the years, and gives us a mini preview show for Bench Press Worlds, where he shouts out a lot of the favorites and storylines from the US National Team. Austin is coached by James Townsend and is part of the Elite Iron crew in Georgia and he assured us that they will be bringing a formidable team to equipped nationals in Scottsdale in 3 weeks. After that, Austin will be coaching the US National Team at the North American Regional Championships in the Cayman Islands in August. Make sure to follow him @austinbrown105 and @powerlifting_america for the links to all of these upcoming competitions.
 
Thank you to our partners, SBD and Eleiko.

You can find Austin on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/austinbrown105/
 
Follow Powerlifting America on Instagram here:
https://www.instagram.com/powerlifting_america/
 
Check out all of our upcoming events on the Powerlifting America events page here:
https://powerlifting-america.com/events
 
Become a member of Powerlifting America here:
https://powerlifting-america.com/registration
 
Visit the Powerlifting America store here:
https://powerlifting-america.square.site/s/shop
 
Support Open Powerlifting here:
https://www.patreon.com/join/openpowerlifting