During my preparation for a career in education, like many in this field, I earned the requisite degrees: two Master's, two Bachelor's, and a minor pursued purely for passion. Now, with over thirty years in education, twenty-eight of them as an assistant principal, and a parallel life immersed in the world of strength and power as a powerlifter and gym owner, it is that seemingly modest minor that I find myself drawing upon most often in my life of training, coaching and running my gym.
The Unseen Power of Consistency in Life and Training
My minor was in philosophy, a field I pursued purely out of a deep passion for the subject. While my formal training in educational law, finance, teacher evaluation, personnel, and pedagogy provides the technical expertise needed to navigate the complexities of serving students and helping administer a school, it is philosophy, often underestimated by those unfamiliar with its profound impact, that has become my most reliable universal guide. It has helped hone my moral compass and served as a steadfast north star, guiding me through ethical dilemmas in a world frequently drawn to shortcuts and self-interest. These lessons serve me in my profession with students, at the gym with my strength athletes, and daily as the world is an intricacy of never-ending nuanced decisions.
Among the multitudes of notable philosophers, Socrates left one of the deepest impressions. His method of uncovering contradictions in people's thinking and leading them toward a consistent, reasoned understanding of concepts like justice, courage, and virtue still resonates deeply with me. His commitment to truth and intellectual integrity continues to inspire me in my role as an educator and in the principles I uphold in all areas of life, including my training and the gym.
The intersection of Socrates' consistency and the journey of a life-long powerlifter lies in their reliance on discipline, dedication, and self-reflection. Both pursuits, philosophy through the Socratic Method and powerlifting, demand unwavering commitment to consistency to achieve progress and mastery of those serious-minded individuals.
The Gym that Became a Classroom
With that context in mind, let me take a step back. The first powerlifter I ever met was back in 1980, at a small key-club-style gym in Southern Illinois, in a town called Marion. The gym was always open at the same times every day, including weekends, yet I never saw or met the gym owner.
In my youth, and over a short span of time, I lifted at a number of gyms in this town: Drew's Gym, Robinson's Gym, Pumping Iron Gym, and this particular gym whose name now escapes me. What stood out about these gyms was a particular life cycle: as one gym closed in town, the next would open, inheriting the same equipment, its dumbbells, barbells, weights, and benches from its predecessor gym. Each new "mom-and-pop" gym was somewhat familiar, not for the building nor the owner, but for that same 1960-1970 era equipment we all worked out on at the prior location in town.
Just like the well-worn equipment that journeyed from one gym to the next, Ivan Zwick became a familiar fixture in each new spot. I first encountered Ivan around 1980, during one of these transitions, as he too made the rounds, moving from gym to gym in the same cycle. As each new gym opened, then inevitably closed, I observed the equipment and Ivan, finding their way to the next "mom-and-pop" operation.
A Model of Consistency and Dedication
What stood out to me as a boy back then was how Ivan entered the gym with the same routine every single time I encountered him. At the mystery owner's gym, Ivan would walk in, place his duffle bag, a relic of the 1970s, beside the bench, and head directly to what I assumed was the owner's locked office. With his key, he would unlock the door and retrieve his own personal barbell from that curious room. I remember thinking, "Who owns their barbell and keeps it locked up at the gym?"
The answer: someone whose life was etched in the consistency, in the mold, of a Socratic lifestyle.
Every lifting day after school, I would show up at the gym, and without fail, Ivan would arrive soon after, likely from his workday, and always completely unaware of my presence at the gym. Later in my life, I learned Ivan was a bench-only lifter who competed primarily in the IPF.
When I first saw Ivan in 1980, he was 41 years old. To me, a kid at that time, he might as well have been 200 years old, a relic, a fossil, a dinosaur; his gray hair, and age seemed ancient to a kid. A kid whose own 1970s duffle bag hung daily from a hook in my school locker, then made the trip with me to the gym.
Ivan's Lifelong Journey
Over the years and decades, as life guided me away from that Southern Illinois town, I thought about Ivan from time to time when I would visit. I moved away to attend school, started a career in education, began competing in powerlifting, and opened my own gym… Yet whenever I returned to visit my parents, who still live there, I would often grab a day pass at the local gym. Occasionally, I would spot Ivan still lifting, still training, still benching, still consistent.
Fast forward many years to this past year, during one of my visits to Southern Illinois. While picking up groceries, I caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of my eye. It was Ivan, now some 85 years old but still remarkably familiar, as he climbed into his car in the parking lot. Something compelled me to step out of my own car, walk over, and gently tap on his window.
Consistency as a Virtue
In a quiet town like Marion, Illinois, such a gesture is hardly unusual, and Ivan stepped out without hesitation. I was struck once again; though decades older, he was instantly recognizable, as if time had only slightly weathered him since I first saw him some 44 years ago in 1980. Perhaps it was the mark of a life devoted to physicality, weight, and consistency, but that is a story for another time.
I shared this story with him, how he was the first powerlifter I had ever met, how his consistency and presence at the gym had made an impression on me as a kid, and how I, too, had gone on to compete, win a few things, coach, and open a gym of my own. Ivan listened, wearing two expressions at once: one that said, "Who is this guy, and why is he talking to me?¨ and another that lit him up like electricity when we began talking about powerlifting. It is that look all lifters share when reminiscing about their memories of strength, discipline, work ethic, and the journey that is the great sport of powerlifting.
Over his monumentally competitive career, and until our conversation, Ivan had competed across five remarkable decades: the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and the 2020s. He participated in some 15 international meets and 11 world championships, winning six world titles. His last world championship was in 2019, in Japan, at the age of 79. As we got ready to head our separate ways, I asked Ivan if I could get a selfie with him, and he was kind enough to indulge this stranger, who I am sure he felt knew way too much about him.
Ivan's Impact on His Community
As people's lives are more than the gym, Ivan's life also reflects that consistency and diversity. Over his career before retirement, Ivan owned some eight shoe stores bearing his name, four Delis. He and his wife founded The Lighthouse Shelter, a refuge for more than 6,000 men, women, and children throughout the Southern Illinois region.
I tell you this story because Ivan's life is a testament to consistency, dedication, and the pursuit of testing one's mettle against the most relentless of rivals, oneself. It is a testament to the teachings of Socrates, the Socratic Method, and the lifestyle.
This past Wednesday, I heard the news from Marion, Illinois, news that Ivan had passed away. It took me aback, not because I knew him well, but because at 85, Ivan seemed almost bulletproof to me. Bulletproof as he had been forged out of a lifelong pursuit of strength, power, and muscle. For a moment, I had a similar feeling when my mentor and dear friend Ernie Frantz, the Godfather of Powerlifting, passed. Although, to a lesser degree, it was that feeling of disbelief, of something just not right about this, something too surreal to fully digest in one sitting. It had trouble sinking in as there is a mystique that comes with the powerful, the strong, the mighty, those who live a life of consistency.
The Power of Consistency
Ivan's relentless consistency mirrored the teachings of Marcus Aurelius, who, like Socrates, viewed consistency as a cornerstone of living a virtuous and meaningful life. Aurelius' reflections in Meditations (a book I highly recommend) reveal his belief that consistent effort, grounded in reason and virtue, is essential for personal growth, ethical leadership, and harmony with the natural order of the universe.
Roosevelt said it this way in his Man in the Arena speech: "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
Embracing Consistency for Success
As we approach a new year, perhaps there is a lesson in Ivan's story of consistency and Socrates' teaching that is worthy of consideration if you are seeking continual growth. To you, I say, let consistency be one of your guiding lights as you march boldly into this new year. Seize this new year with renewed convictions for your strength and power journey. Embrace your training with the highest level of consistency, focus, and purpose beyond anything you imagined possible so that your place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
I wish you the best in your training and competitions this new year. Ever onward.
Eric Maroscher is the owner of the Monster Garage Gym. Cofounded by Phil Daniels, NFL Defensive End, Monster Garage Gym is a premier powerlifting gym in the United States. Eric is the leader of the Maroscher Powerlifting Team, a two-time WPC World Powerlifting Champion, two-time APF National Powerlifting Champion, WPC North American Powerlifting Champion, and a multi-time APF Illinois State Champion.
