Powerlifting is a sport that has been on the rise around the world, whether it be former athletes looking for a new hobby, someone who just decided to pick up the sport for fun, or one who has been a regular in the lifting community and is looking for others that are the same; recently, more people have continued to indulge in the world of powerlifting.
Especially at Michigan State.
The Michigan State Powerlifting Club, more commonly referred to as MSUPL, did not come easy and actually started as a project that took drive, consistency and passion from all of those who wanted the club to succeed. Building from the bottom up, current senior and club president Ali David wanted to make her dream come true while as an undergraduate.
"There wasn't (a club) when I came here, so there weren't really any fitness-related clubs at the university, and I saw that other universities had them," David said. "From an outside perspective for competitions and stuff, it's important for people who are interested in the sport to have a community to lean back into."
David said that one of the main purposes was to create a community not just for the powerlifters but also the bodybuilders, weightlifters and people interested in general fitness overall.
There were several steps of outreach that David had to take to make the dream of the club come to light, and there was no simplicity in the process either. She had to gather members, start an executive board and have someone supervise the club to make it an official Michigan State Registered Student Organization, or RSO.
David said that she emailed about "20-25 professors" to be an advisor for the club and "all of them said no, except one." From there, the club took off.
The club was promoted on Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat, as well as having a table at Sparticipation, the annual event at Michigan State where many clubs advertise themselves, which is when the club started to get names, addresses and reasons why they wanted to join the Michigan State Powerlifting Club.
Junior hospitality business major and powerlifting club member Autumn Mellino said that she joined because of her sports background and interest in lifting, prompted by a hometown gym member who encouraged her to start powerlifting.
"At Sparticipation freshman year, I was looking for the Olympic weightlifting club, and I couldn't find them," Mellino said. "But I ran into the powerlifting club first. And that's when I met Ali David. Ali is now one of my best friends and my coach."
In just four years, the club has grown from 10 people to almost 200, and it continues to gain more and more traction every year. One reason that makes the club so successful and the club meetings so special is that different speakers with a background in powerlifting will speak. One speaker is Kevin Papa, the owner of 110 Percent, a company that sells different health supplements to the powerlifting community.
The club also holds different events, such as an end-of-the-year formal and weekly group lifts at IM West.
Not only has David seen the club grow, but other members like Arianna Paa, a senior human biology student who currently sits on the executive board as the secretary, have seen the start of the club and watched it emerge into what it is now.
"I feel like the biggest way I've seen it grow is like the capacity of what we can do because we have more members," Paa said. "My first year on board, we only had three people go (to Nationals), and then this year we had eight, which doesn't sound like a whole lot, but it definitely is pretty huge. Obviously, Ali placed too, which got our name out there."
With all of the events that the team has been able to hold, eight members received an amazing opportunity in early April, as they took their talents to the Collegiate National Meet in Atlanta, Georgia, where the club was finally able to take to the podium for national records in their weight classes.
David placed nationally in the meet and came out in fourth place in her weight class with a squat at 370 pounds, a bench press at 209 and her deadlift at 441, finishing with a total of 1,120 pounds.
“It was awesome,” David said. “Powerlifting is something that I spend most of my time doing, and it was satisfying at the end of my prep cycle to end with fourth place against some of the strongest girls in the country.”
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
Not only has the club provided an environment to learn more about the sport itself, but also helps to build the confidence that meets like Collegiate Nationals can do for a young powerlifter.
“I never considered myself an athlete because I don't fit what a Nike model looks like. And so to be given a badge (at Nationals) that says ‘Athlete,’ for a competition that I had to be good enough and qualify for to go to was the coolest experience and really made me come back and feel so much better,” Mellino said. “I feel like if I can do this I can do anything.”
The powerlifting club is a place where inclusivity runs rampant, as university students of all ages are welcome to join, even if lifting may not be their strong suit; the family and the environment created in four years is where the fun lies.
“It isn’t something that should intimidate you, it’s something that should make you feel welcome and like you’re joining a family within the MSU community,” David said.
Mellino also said that all are welcome to join, regardless of your background in powerlifting and your skillset.
“It doesn’t matter what your background is, you can come and succeed at powerlifting,” Mellino said.
You can directly message the Michigan State Powerlifting Club through its Instagram, @msupowerlifting. You can also contact future president Gauge Lambeth at (810) 610-4120.
