Bending Barbells, Cold Brewskis and Hot Honies @ The Oregon Coast This December !

[Sean Katterle]

^^^ Rick McClung officiating at MHP’s Clash of the Titans IV in Mesquite, Texas ^^^

Sean Katterle – We’ve spoken at length about making the sport of powerlifting as fan friendly as possible. You’ve come up with some great ideas and you’ve implemented a number of them for this Pro/Am competition. What is the venue going to be offering at their Cash Bar? Who did you recruit to be your lovely card ladies? And how many people have expressed interest in your Mountain Man Beard Contest?

Rick McClung – We are trying to giving powerlifting a shot in the arm by adding a lot of entertainment. The Cash Bar will be serving beer and wine at the meet, I’m hoping that people will have a few drinks and start hooting, howling and laughing. The card girls were recruited from The Muscle Studio gym here in Newport. They are all NPC figure and bikini competitors; very pretty and very sexy, The Mountain Man Beard Contest is in line with the “beard fashion movement” that’s so prevalent out here in the rain soaked woods. I know a heck of a lot of guys will be showing up with a beards to show their support of the WCO’s “Lifting Lumberjack” image and spirit.

Sean Katterle – The Hallmark Beachfront Resort is playing host hotel for the competition and they’re also throwing an after party in the ballroom immediately following the lifting? How late will that run into the night? Will the bar stay open the whole time? And I heard you’ve got a DJ who’ll be spinning discs into the moon lit hours?

Rick McClung – The Hallmark has been a key factor in my decision to put on a meet. I have an excellent relationship with the resort and they have really rolled out the red carpet to the powerlifting community by offering highly discounted, oceanview rooms. We will be having the DJ at the meet rocking the place all day and for both of the after party nights. The post powerlifting festivities will be held in The Hallmark’s restaurant/lounge where we will have a Rolling Thunder contest, food, drink and general barbarism. http://hallmarkinns.com/index.asp?property=3&rec_id=38

Sean Katterle – I dig that it will be all classic (raw) lifting on Saturday and then APA legal shirt and suit lifting all day Sunday? How many lifters do you currently have signed up for each day? Which divisions/lifts are going to be the most contested in your opinion? And please rattle off a few of the “name” lifters who’ve officially signed up to date.

Rick McClung – I wanted to showcase each style of powerlifting without stealing the aura of either one. So I decided to segregate the raw and suited lifting into different days, So far the raw day is looking to be the most contested. There are some strong guys that will be showing up. Since this is a money meet, I’m keep the roster closed from public view until after the deadline. It’s just like the lottery –you have to enter to win!


^^^ The West Coast Open Card Ladies ^^^

Sean Katterle – When is the final deadline for signing up to compete and how can interested powerlifters get in contact with you? Email? Phone number? ******** page? Event website?

Rick McClung – The entry deadline is Thanksgiving Day (November 24th.) There is a downloadable entry form at http://themusclestudio.com Lifters can contact me at 541-961-3845 or via email at bigbearsgym@hotmail.com And I have a ******** event page at http://www.********.com/events/144146958990095

Sean Katterle – It’s my understanding that you used to train under the late, great Doyle Kenady. What are the top lessons, attitudes and impressions you took away from the time you got to spend in the gym with such a superstar? Like so many other promoters in the 1990s and early 2000s, your promotions were primarily multi ply equipment based. In your own words, what inspired you to turn at least half of your focus back to traditional, raw powerlifting?

Rick McClung – I was 13 years old when I started training at Kenady’s Gym. My parent’s home was just down the street from his Keizer, Oregon weight room. He had a team of complete freaks. Being that his gym was the only I had been too, I thought all gyms in the world must be like this. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized how lucky I was to get my start there. Doyle instilled in me the importance of performing perfect reps. He always stressed that you should practice how you want to play. Another one of his mantras was “If you can’t lift it, eat till you can.” I embraced these concepts and still teach them to competitors to this day.

Sean Katterle – Like so many other promoters in the 1990s and early 2000s, your promotions were primarily multi ply equipment based. In your own words, what inspired you to turn at least half of your focus back to traditional, raw powerlifting?

Rick McClung – When I was younger I was like so many other eager lifters in that I wanted to break records and to have my name live on through the ages. I was very hardcore and ego driven and tradition was something that I didn’t honor. To make a long story short, I ended up breaking Doyle’s bench press record of 595 pounds, which he did in a t-shirt. I did my lift of 661 in an open back, denim bench shirt. At first, I couldn’t have been more excited and proud of myself. But, as the days went by and the endorphine after glow wore off, the reality of what I had done started sinking in and so did the guilt. I had erased a legend from the record books. A legend who, in reality, was a stronger bencher than I was. It was after that that I started pushing raw powerlifting. But, like you said, I’m still supportive of raw AND suited lifting and I’m proving that by making the cash prizes equal on both events.




Sean Katterle – If you were giving a business lecture to aspiring, amateur powerlifting promoters, what would your top two promotional pointers be? And what are the two most important aspects of running a successful production on contest day?

Rick McClung – At this point in my powerlfting promoting and governing I would like to help steer other promoters into the limelight with 3 simple suggestions; Powerlifting meets need to be held somewhere other than in a gym, they have to have honorable, consistent judging and every promoter should invest in an exciting announcer. To have a successful meet takes a lot of time, so preparation is the key. After that comes customer service. One of the biggest mistakes I see young promoters make is to enter their own meet. The contest always turns out to be a bucket of stress for the director and for those around them and trying to warm-up and compete while also trying to run the show for the other competitors is not an effective strategy. Finally, take care of your stage crew as they’re crucial to your show coming off without a major hitch and they should never be treated as simply nameless volunteers.

Sean Katterle – You’ve also been involved with the sport as a competitor since the 1980s, right? What are the three greatest powerlifting feats of strength you’ve ever personally witnessed, either in the gym or on the platform?

Rick McClung – I’ve witnessed a lot of cool things. Sometimes you see freakish feats that stay in your conscious thoughts for years. Picking three of the most awe inspiring moments off the top of my head I’d say: Doyle Kenady, at 300+ pounds of bodyweight, casually walking over to the pull-up bar to perform a few ten rep sets of behind-the-head pull-ups like a giant, bearded orangutan. The next memory to jump out is Ryan Kennelly warming up on the bench, no bench shirt, no powerlifting belt and no wrist wraps, blasting out a set of 5 reps with 605 pounds. And the most amazing feat of strength I have ever witnessed was Benedikt Magnusson’s 1,015 pound, raw, competition deadlift.


^^^ From left to right: Rick McClung, NPC bodybuilder Barbara Turnage and Sean Katterle at The Ronnie Coleman Classic Expo ^^^

Sean Katterle – You’ve lived in the Newport (beach) area for over twenty years now? What are your top three tourism suggestions for powerlifting fans wanting to make an Oregon Coast weekend getaway out of this winter festival?

Rick McClung – It’s hard to believe I have been here that long. But, yes, my wife and I have lived here for two decades. Newport has a lot of things to check out. My top three picks to supplement someone’s December 10th weekend getaway are:
The Oregon Coast Aquarium

http://aquarium.org

Newport Bay Front

http://www.newportoregon.com/bayfront.htm

and Nye Beach

http://nyebeach.org

Sean Katterle – In the ten years I’ve known and worked with you, the West Coast Open has been sanctioned by the American Powerlifting Federation (APF), the International Powerlifting Association (IPA) and, as of this year, by the American Powerlifting Association (APA.) What events inspired the change(s) from one federation to another?

Rick McClung – Yes, I have changed federations a few times, I started out with the APF and I’m still a die hard APF man inside. At the time I made the switch, Ernie Frantz was in the process of handing the federation over to Kieran Kidder. During this transition, it was very hard to get any response from the APF home office. I couldn’t even get them to send me membership applications for the APF meet I was putting on. About that time, Mark Chaillet was ramping up the IPA. I felt like the IPA’s format was closely related to the APF so I switched because the IPA’s ball was rolling and the APF’s was not.
Shortly after that, the economy dropped and I had to close my gym. When the gym doors closed for the last time, I figured that closing door was signaling an end to my event promotions as well. But, I’ve teamed up with a new gym owner and I’m glad to say that we’re back in business.
The main reason I went with the APA is they allow knee wraps in their raw division. I looked into the USPA and USPF, but they seemed to have more bureaucratic red tape than I wanted to cut through. I’m a very traditionally oriented person, When records and squats where first starting to be recorded here in the NW, everyone used knee wraps, even if it was just Ace bandage wraps. So, in my mind, if you want to compare now to then, you have to re-create the same platform.

Sean Katterle – Well I’m really looking forward to getting to announce for the lifting on Saturday and we’re going to make a three day Beach Weekend out of the trip. I like to hit up the Rogue Brewery for beers and shots, the Historic Bayfront for clam chowder, the Aquarium Village for shopping, the Oregon Coast Aquarium and then The Pelican Brewery (just up the coast in Pacific City) for fish n’ chips and their treasured Kiwanda Cream Ale. Plus we upgraded to a hot tub party room at the resort.
Thanks for the interview and I hope to see a lot of northwest powerlifters in Newport on December 10th (just not in my hot tub, ha!)