Babe Ruth has been quoted, “Heroes get remembered but legends never die.”
While Tecumseh said, “When the legends die, the dreams end; there is no more greatness."
Finally, Merriam-Webster defines legend as:
- A story from the past that is believed by many people but cannot be proved to be true.
- A famous or important person who is known for doing something extremely well.
As with most things, there are many definitions, but I think when it comes to “Legend” all would agree, it is not a self-described status. It has to be earned from your peers and achievements.
Earned.
Recently I listened to a lecture that described an entire generation as the "entitlement" generation.
REALLY!? The entire generation?
I have met people from the GI Generation that sucked as team players, never fixed anything that broke, left food on their plate, and had no sense of public duty. Yet that generation is defined by those things.
I have met Mature/Silents that have lived poor their entire lives, were never loyal to their work, and rarely read. Yet, that generation is known for these things.
I have met Baby Boomers who hate rock 'n' roll, are not self centered, save their money, are totally against divorce, and are not positive toward authority. Yeah, you guessed it: these are things that their generation is known for.
I have known people in Generation X that are not and do not want to be entrepreneurial, the government and big business does matter to them, and they have no desire to learn or make a difference. They even put others before themselves. Once again, not how this generation is defined.
Now we have Generation Y who are all lazy, suffer from entitlement syndrome, don’t want to work, and have strong opinionated views.
The one thing I’ve seen from all those I have trained and spoken to (plus the reading I have done) is that EVERY one of these generations feels the one coming up behind them is lazy, lacks work ethic, and is entitled. Interesting, isn’t it?
I won’t argue that most of the stereotypes are true but I will argue that they are not true for EVERYONE and they are not true in all cases and situations.
Take a weightroom for example, specifically a private powerlifting gym. This gym can have people from all of these generations with the strongest stereotypes training under the same roof and age doesn’t matter, gender doesn’t matter, race doesn’t matter, and social class doesn’t matter. What matters is helping each other get strong.
Steve Goggins has trained and grown up in these gyms since he was a teenager. He has trained along side and coached lifters from ALL of these generations. He has made all of them better. There are only a handful of powerlifting coaches I know who have trained lifters longer than he has. If you have a weakness, he has seen it — not just once before, but hundreds if not thousands of times before. It doesn’t matter if this weakness is technical, physical or mental.
If you have ever seen Steve in the gym coaching his lifters, at a meet coaching lifters, or at one of our seminars coaching lifters you can tell VERY FAST that who he is coaching is his number one priority. Not catching up with past friends or socializing — helping others. This passion is not something you can teach. Trust me, I’ve tried. This is something that comes from years under the bar, sacrifice, adversity, success, and from the heart.
This training camp with Steve is set up with a limited attendance and a non-formal format. We designed it with this format so you can learn all you can from Steve and so that Steve can help tap into what YOU need to do to become better. This is what he excels at regardless how long you have been powerlifting.
REGISTER Steve Goggins Training Camp Sept 26th London, Ohio 10:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m.
I began this letter speaking about Legends. Most of you may not know this, but Steve Goggins has been defined in the powerlifting industry as a Legend. The reasons are many and not limited to:
- Several All-Time World Records
- First man to squat 1100 pounds
- Has deadlifted over 800 pounds for three decades
- Member of the Hall of Fame
He has also promoted dozens of competitions, judged at more competitions than I could even guess, and coached numerous world record holders. There is not a single role in the sport that Steve has not served or done.
This is why the industry defines him as a Legend. Let me tell you why I define him as one.
Steve has been a part of team elitefts for close to over over a decade. I still remember when he called. It was to ask about a deadlift suit that he intended to pay for. We knew each other by name but not very well personally at the time. Steve was not asking for any discount or free gear. We spoke for a few minutes, as I wanted to thank him for the deadlift tips he gave Chuck Vogelpohl and myself month prior when we were all at a top tier meet. His advice put 40 pounds on my deadlift and all it entailed was how I was setting my grip on the bar.
A very small thing that nobody would ever think to look at but he noticed right away. Chuck and Steve spoke more about grip strength at lockout and for the next four to five meets Chuck never lost his grip again. Steve’s lack of ego and his humility had impressed everyone. I knew on that call I had to have him on elitefts.
Unlike so many others in this industry (not just powerlifting but the entire thing) the better you get to know somebody, the less impressed you become. I suppose this is human nature. This has not been the case with Steve. The more I have gotten to know him over the years, the more impressed I have become.
I will admit that six years ago, I had no idea how good of a coach he was. I knew his lifting was great, but coaching is another thing altogether. I have had top lifters we have had to remove from coaching roles at seminars because they are great lifters but needed more work on coaching. After watching him coach, I can say with certainty he is one of the best coaches in the industry. This is based on his coaching skills and how he connects with the students and clients. It is actually amazing to watch.
I was one who saw Steve squat 1100 pounds, and it was the most impressive thing I have ever seen in the sport. That will always be the greatest memory of him, but second to that was watching him working with a seminar attendant for 40 minutes after the seminar was over because she asked if he could watch her squat again. This is after being on his feet for 10 hours. The impressive thing about this was that he was excited to do it. After 10 hours of coaching and the event had officially ended, this attendee was coached the same as the very first one of the day. He kept giving his best.
To me, this is a true legend. To me, this is why you want to come train and learn from Steve Goggins on Sept 26, 2015.
'I have been working with Steve Goggins since September 2014, since then I have added 132 lbs to my raw competition total. He corrected my squat technique so that I no longer have constant hip and back pain, and helped me break through my bench press and deadlift plateus. Steve cares about the long term result for the athlete, I have become much stronger, my body feels better, and I am still consistently hitting new personal bests on a regular basis.
Every powerlifter should take the opportunity to learn from Steve, both about lifting and life. His honesty, knowledge, and experience separate him from any other coach you will talk to.'
-Meana Franco
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