I was very fortunate at this meet to have had excellent help at this meet. Dear friends helped manage the meet, wrapped my knees, called my depth, and gave me coaching advice and lifting cues.

I think a lot of people who’ve never used anything like these in training have a negative perception of people who use gear. It’s easy to think it’s cheating since you can lift a bunch more with gear or that it makes the lifts easier. But these are misconceptions, and they’re gravely wrong.

If you’re competing raw but want to use briefs or a shirt in training, there’s one rule you need to follow.

Two things piss him off. Lifters that hate gear and people that call him "Shirello."