From soccer to 500+ lbs of power...A look back

Current WPO Super Heavyweight contender Jeff Lewis has received quite a bit of press lately, especially after his 1,201 lb. World Record Squat. Jeff gets a lot of inquiries on his size and strength, but not many people know this quiet guy who is really a gentle giant of a man. Here's your chance to meet King Louie, Jeff Lewis.

Born July 5th, 1970 in St. Louis, MO, Jeff Lewis has lived in the Gateway City all of his life. As a kid growing up, he was thick boned, but the mastodon-like size would not come years later. Believe it or not, Lewis was agile enough to play indoor soccer, as well as baseball and basketball like every other kid. Since his high school did not have a football program he stuck with soccer as a club sport. Jeff lifted in high school, but nothing serious.

In 1991, King Louie stepped through the doors of one of St. Louis' few non-nonsense gyms - The St. Louis Weightlifting Club (SLWC). SLWC was a key club owned by local lifting fixture Joe Prusacki who goes way back in the St. Louis iron scene. Although they moved a few times, the club allowed for the type of lifting that lifters do...heavy, intense and with few distractions. It was at the SLWC where Jeff would meet the help he needed to get him started.

There are just a few people in ones life that make a huge impact, an indelible mark that stays with one no matter where they are. For Jeff, it was the fatherly Joe Scalzitti. Joe was a transplanted from Chicago around 1989 and also happened to somehow find the SLWC. The two were a great pair, with Joe giving Jeff the guidance that a young guy needs, in more areas than just the gym. Scalzitti was, and to this day even though he has moved back to Chicago, like a father to Jeff. Throw in the Anderson brothers, Pat and Mike, who were going to chiropractic school in the river city, and you have a wrecking crew in the making. Jeff's first meet was a benchpress meet in February of 1992 as a little guy, where he weighed in at a svelte 400 lbs. and benchpressed a 425 lbs. in Harrisburg, IL. This author was fortunate to meet Jeff just a few months later when he lifted in the ADFPA Ozark Benchpress Championships.

After a few local meets and quite a bit of work in the gym, Jeff won the USPF Jr. Nationals in 1993 with a total of nearly 1,900 lbs. That same year he traveled to the IPF Jr. World Championships in Ontario, Canada where he was the silver medalist. Victory was ever so close, exactly 2 inches away, when he missed a 722 deadlift by this margin for the win. Jeff did manage a Jr. World Record in the benchpress which stood for quite some time.

Welcome to the big time...

In 1994 King Louie entered what was at the time the most prestigious of Men's National Championships, the USPF Senior Nationals. Jeff finished 3rd to big name lifters Anthony Clark and Shane Hamman who would go onto make plenty of iron game history in their own way. Jeff was selected to the US National team for the IPF Worlds later year where he competed with the likes of Captain Kirk (Karwoski), Ed Coan, Gene Bell, Walter Thomas, Scott Smith, Dom Sardo, Tim Taylor and Coach Sean Scully.

In 1995 Jeff traveled to sweltering Baton Rouge, LA to again lift in the USPF Senior Nationals. Like the previous year, Lewis was close, but not close enough, as he finished runner up to the Olympic bound Shane Hamman. This would be Jeff's last meet for a while, as hard as it is to imagine, he had bigger and better things ahead of him.

1996 marked the year the King settled down. Jeff married his wife Pattie in this year, and just a few years later had a son Justin, who now plays little league football and baseball. King Louie couldn't be happier and had a great family life in place. The only thing missing was his deficiency in iron, not iron the mineral, but as in the iron you lift.

Back on the road again...

With virtually no injuries to speak of, Jeff was able to come back to lifting and put his newfound girth to use. Since the St. Louis Weightlifting Club had now banished the powerlifters and switched strictly to Olympic Weightlifting, Lewis was left needing a home. For the better part of a year he was able to get back into the swing of things at the Granite City YMCA, a 70 year old throwback facility of brick walls that stood in the shadows of the local steel mills. Like Lewis, the old Y was gritty and hardcore, and until something closer to home popped up, it was a match made in heaven. The Steel City Y was a rocking place for lifters and I'm proud to say that I trained there with Jeff, even for a short time while he was at our old YMCA.

Fast forward to 1999...Jeff Lewis would make his return to the platform in Chicago, IL at the USAPL Benchpress Nationals. Lewis was runner up to Beau Moore and notched his first 600 lb. benchpress. In 2000, the King squared of with Big Mike Hodge of Motor City Barbell, where Jeff was able to capture the National Benchpress Championships with a lift of 617 lbs. 2003 marked Jeff's return to full meet action when he lifted in the USAPL Missouri State Championships. Lewis knocked off the rust and got back into the groove of things with an 804 lb. squat, a 600 lb. benchpress and a deadlift of 716 lbs, which put him at a sum of 2,121 lbs.

Later that year Lewis made his return to the Mens Nationals where he placed 3rd to Brian Siders and Brad Gillingham at the USAPL Mens Nationals in Rapid City, SD. After a few more local meets Jeff decided to see what he could really do by putting on the mega gear that good or bad, has driven the sport's numbers onward and upward.

Did the gear help immediately as some in the sport like to believe? It helped, but Lewis will be the first to admit it takes a lot of practice with some of the extreme lifting gear. Still though, he was suited very well for all of it with his 550 lb. frame that of which resembles a small dinosaur. In 2005 King Louie threw his hat into the APF Senior Nationals in an effort to get some meet experience in his new lifting attire. Lewis did well in his first outing, finishing 2nd to none other than All-Time Total Record Holder Gary Frank. Later that same year the two would repeat the process at the WPO with the legendary Frank pulling out the win and Lewis missing by 55 lbs. with a total of 2,678. Lewis also set a new All-Time squat mark of 1,201 lbs. in the process of placing 2nd to Gary Frank, one of the sport's greatest lifters. This meet also qualified Lewis for the 2006 Arnold Classic, March 4th & 5th in Columbus, OH.

Away from the platform Jeff earns his living as a territory manager for Simplicity Vacuums, a division of Tacony Corporation. When he's not busy getting ready for another meet he enjoys coaching his son Justin's football and baseball teams. Jeff enjoys sunny days in the backyard pool and cold nights in the hot tub and will continue lifting as long as it is still fun to do. As he says "You can't let the political BS of the sport take your spirit away. We all go to the gym for the same reason, regardless of which organization we are party of: and that is to lift heavy things. So lift where you want and just have fun while doing it."

It couldn't be said any better could it? Just lift heavy thing and have fun.

Rick Fowler