TMGP Ep 42 with the African Powerlifting champion Haroun Pietersen - a world-class athlete lifting South Africa to New Heights

Woo! Another white boy with a podcast. Pronouns Jim Bro. Another white boy with a podcast. You want to see the video? It went viral. Hi gains gurus and welcome to TMGP, the muscle growth podcast, episode 42. I am your host, Rosco, and today we are welcoming Harun Peterson onto the show for part two of his two-part series. Hailing from Mitchell's Plane in Cape Town, Harun is a standout figure in South African powerlifting. Despite only beginning his competitive journey in 2023, he has rapidly ascended the ranks to become both the 2024 African Powerlifting Champion and the Commonwealth Powerlifting Champion. At 37 years old and weighing around 104 kg, Peterson has achieved remarkable lifts. A squat of 322.5 kg, a bench of 217.5 kg, and a deadlift of 285 kg. His journey from local gyms to international platforms is a testament to his dedication and resilience. Beyond his personal achievements, Peterson is passionate about uplifting his community and inspiring others through his story. He actively shares his experiences and insights on his Instagram account at Harunlifts SA. Harun Peterson stands as a rising star in South African powerlifting, making waves at the international level with impressive performances in the under 105 kg weight class. At the 2024 World Classic Championships, Peterson delivered a strong showing, posting a 707.5 kg total and setting new personal bests, showcasing not only his raw strength, but also his strategic approach to competition. His journey beginning as a firstear competitor at 37 years old highlights his dedication and rapid progress making him a notable figure in South Africa's growing powerlifting scene and a source of inspiration for aspiring athletes across the country. Additionally, Peterson was nominated for the 2025 World Games in China, a prestigious international competition often regarded as the Olympics of powerlifting, where he will compete against the world's best lifters. This nomination signals his continued presence on the global stage in 2025. Get ready to be inspired by Harun's remarkable journey, his insights on powerlifting training, and his mission to uplift others both in and out of the gym. In today's episode, we dive into a wide range of insights. Some of the topics include explanation of raw versus equip lifting lifting equipment rundown Haroon's favorite accessory lifts, leg press fun with all the plates in the gym, tips for powerlifting coaches and people wanting to powerlift, the importance of longevity in the sport, the ability for people to improve even as they age, health benefits of resistance training and strength training as one ages. the South African powerlifting scene, financial challenges for powerlifting as a sport, and other barriers to entry, and so much more. Get ready for a truly informative episode. Quick shameless selfplug, I'm uploading consistently on Reps with Rosco on YouTube and Instagram, so check that out for some epic fitness edutainment content. A little disclaimer, this show does not contain medical advice. The views and opinions expressed by guests on the Muscle Growth podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect my beliefs or the stance of the podcast. While we aim to provide valuable insights and information, it's important to approach all topics with critical thinking. I encourage you to do your own research, consider multiple perspectives, and form your own conclusions. Healthy discussion is always welcome and I'm happy to engage with listeners in the YouTube comment section to continue the conversation. Lastly, don't forget to follow us on all major social media platforms including Instagram, YouTube, Tik Tok, and X. Find us at the muscle growth podcast and myself reps with Rosco. Thank you. That was that was very thorough for the periodization and the blocks. So, thank you for that. And then I was wondering, can you please educate me and maybe some of the listeners? I've never done um any uh equipped uh training. So I don't actually know like the difference between a vest and a suit versus having a sling on the bench press. Um sleeves versus wraps. Like is when when you said for example for the bench press you have a vest, is that the same as the suit? And then do you also have a sling or is that a different competition entirely? So the slings are applied in a different federation. So the IPF uh equipped you use a deadlift suit, you get a squat suit and then a bench press vest. And they're all different. It's all single. Yes, they're all different. Buy a different one for your squat bench deadlift. That's that's correct. Yes, that's the expensive part as well because these things are not cheap and there's only uh certain uh brands that are approved by the IPF. So, you can only use approved brands in the IPF. And one of the brands that I'm I'm using at the moment is called Titan. It's an American uh brand and they are they're really good in the equipment uh that they make and it's all single ply. So, that that's also the variation. So, in the equipped in the IPF on your lot, you use single ply equipped uh equipped suits and equipped vest. So you also get multiply which is applicable in like a stronger like strong men use multiply suits for the deadlifting and then you also have the sling which is applied in different federations. They're not applicable in the IPF. Um and then you get the knee apps which is also variations of uh approved equipment that can only be used within the IPF environment. So there's only a limited amount of uh companies that make this approved equipment and that's also why it becomes so expensive because it's not readily available and it has to be approved uh and re and tested by the regulation and and meet the standards of the IPF in terms of the competition and the support that it provides the body. So yeah those three pieces of equipment are the most costly. The bench vest you're looking at about anywhere between 3,000 to 8,000 rand depending on the brand you go with. Uh a equipped squat suit uh you're looking anywhere between three and a half to about 12,000 rand depending on the brand you go with. And then similar with the deadlift suit. It's not a cheap uh acquisition. So a lot of people do the equip lifting where they actually do raw lifting instead of buying the equipment and and competing with the but that always obviously gives a different edge to an athlete who is using the the equipment because it does uh tremendously support the body as well as um protect the body during these heavy lifts because that's the one thing that it does is it creates a little bit of a a spring mechanism for you especially with the knee wraps versus the sleeves. I think that's the biggest difference is there's a recoil. So, uh, one of the things with sleeves, uh, that you won't experience with, uh, with the knee with the knee wraps is that, uh, you you you won't say that there's not enough weight on your back when you're using sleeves. With the knee wraps, there's literally a threshold that you need to hit before you can actually hit depth, which is one of the weirdest and also coolest experiences when it comes to the equip lifting is that there's so much recoil in those wraps that um you struggle to hit depth. So, for me, I think I have to be over about 300 kilos, 305 kilos, somewhere in that region for me to actually feel like I can hit depth with the wraps on. So getting used to a lighter weight and getting flexible through these blocks at the moment has been the challenge for me because the weight is technically too light for me to get down with. And that that's a little bit of a scary experience, but also I think uh sobering because you you kind of find yourself in a in a situation where you know that the only reason you're not getting to to depth is because there's not enough weight on your back. I think that's a problem that a lot of people would love to have. But uh so um what do you suggest for people that can't afford so first off the equipment like we said it's super expensive and then also maybe uh a coach or it's not logistically or feasible. Um what what do you suggest to these kind of people? So look I'm I'm fortunate. So, my coach actually has secondhand equipment that I was able to to use during my introduction to the sport. And I think that's the the most difficult part when when switching between raw and equipped or switching from raw to the equipped lifting is finding somebody who actually knows the the change over and understands the difference between the two sports. Um so coaching I I don't uh I don't really see a side step on that one. It's it becomes an expensive exercise to have a proper guideline and and it's probably and and probably to to actually have a coach that that has experience within the discipline. I think that's the most difficult part. Um but you you can go and research. There are quite a few uh reference coaches that give tips and advice on how to set up and how to get started, but you basically stepping from raw to equipped. So the raw the raw powerlifting is the baseline that you work on in the first place and then you switching to the equipped. It's a it's a matter of understanding what the equip does or what the equipment itself uh changes for the lift. So, a lot of the the challenges I would say for the bench press, if I could start there, is the vest doesn't allow you to move like you would when you're doing a normal bench press. So, because of the compression and the contraction when wearing an equipped uh vest, it it basically bruises you. And that is something that's unavoidable. Uh which is something that a lot of people wouldn't think because of the bar moving so slowly. And there's a lot of variations that come in. And also one of the the scarier parts of of the equipped vest is it can actually um can actually throw the weight which is which is one of the the the scarier things that you experience in the equipped lifting is that it it literally flings the bar at your face if you don't control it. And that's that's one of the difficult parts when it comes to lifting equipped. Uh yeah. So that that that spring mechanism that it creates when you when you were lifting the or when you're descending the weight to your chest and you apply pressure as soon as you get the start come on and you push up. It's almost like a spring lever if I could put it that way. So it creates like a lot of tension tension and then all of a sudden the tension just becomes a recoil and that's how the equip lifting and being able to control that and and not um jumping or or springing off your chest and hitting a stagnant block is is kind of what you have to learn when it comes to the the bench press especially. It's a lot of technique and a lot of um patience that comes with it though. We want to move faster sometimes that moving a little bit faster throws the whole lift off and you fail or you end up getting stuck with the weight where you maintained your angle and your drive. So there's a lot of technical angles that you work as well with the equip because the equipment uh restricts your your range of movement quite tremendously as well. So getting that line right and getting that that um that drive from the legs all the way through the chest into the into the the bench press is also a timing uh challenge that you that you receive when it comes to the the discipline of equipment. So there's a lot of different variations that come into play that your coach kind of prepares you with. But when when you're doing it yourself, a lot of people just do the raw lifting and don't put on the equipment and and compete in the in the equipped environment. But in actual fact, if if I were to put it into perspective with the raw bench this year, I did 170 and my biggest equip bench for this year was 230. So that margin of 60 kilograms is the disadvantage that you have when you're not putting on equipment in an equipped environment. So that that just goes to show how much of a difference that equipment makes in terms of your performance in sport. So going from 170 on a raw dead on a raw bench press to a 230 equipped bench press. That just shows you the difference. Um and to to put into perspective the 230 moved easier than the 170. Wow. That's that's amazing. And then um you mentioned a few things now. Um what are your top safety tips for people lifting heavy especially alone? Uh I think uh this the one of the biggest things is check your safety height in terms of your setup. So when when bench pressing heavily a lot of commercial gyms don't have safeties which is a which is a standard thing that that comes in powerlifting racks. It's a safety uh arm that's next to the bench press that you set up and you check is is it actually going to hold the or stop the bar from hitting your neck. So that's kind of how you set up in the beginning is you actually measure and see how high you need to set your safety rack in versus your bench. So if you do fail a lift, then you are able to get out from under the bar and the bar doesn't actually catch you. So in the in the powerlifting world uh the Leica racks that we use in competition uh they have settings for safety racks. They have settings for bench height and setting for squat heights. So before competition we we are actually supposed to fill out those heights into a sheet which is the safety guideline that that needs to be completed for every athlete so that they can have that information when setting up for your bench press. So, in a in a commercial gym, unfortunately, you won't have access to that. But some of the squat racks in the commercial gym have the safety uh the safety platform that you can set up when you're putting a bench there. So, I guess that would be a little bit of sack lege in a commercial gym, but it's the safest way to do a heavy lifting in a in a commercial space where you don't necessarily have somebody there to aid you and and to to spot you is to actually set up safety heights and and measure those safety heights to make sure that when you actually uh fail a lift and you are able then you are able to put the bar down onto the safeties and get out underneath the bar safely and rerrack it into a position to attempt again. It also helps with the pin press style training as well where you can use that to improve strength. But I think uh one of the the the essentials for safety uh if you don't have access to the powerlifting equipment that's actually got these features to protect you is to use a rack that has adjustable um safety safety pins that can protect you should you fail a bench press. And with a deadlift setting up the the rack so you can actually drop the bar safely into a seated position without hurting yourself or putting yourself at risk in in terms of a squat. For the deadlift, it's it's a little bit easier because you just stop pulling and you won't really have a problem. You might go back down though. Yeah, that's why they call it a deadlift. So, you you uh you might find yourself uh seeing some stars and stripes there. So that's that's the that's the fun part about the deadlift is that you you could actually find yourself uh blacking out from time to time. But that that just shows that you are really pushing your limits. But also try and have somebody around in the commercial space. If you if you know a friend that's in the same environment, tell them to just keep an eye out just as a as a safety precaution. Should you need any any attention from the from the staff in the in the immediate requirements of an emergency or ETC, then you at least have uh a a immediate backup plan should something um go wrong. We don't want anything to go wrong during training, but sometimes, you know, accidents uh tend to happen. Uh and that's the best uh the best way to take care of ourselves is to actually just have a little bit of preparedness going into it. Have you passed out a few times on heavy lifts, squats, deadlifts? Um, fortunately for myself, I haven't I have seen uh white and black spots before. That that's about as far as it went. So then going for a heavy squat and coming out and just feeling uh completely dizzy and having to hold on to my coach after a deadlift that that's happened to me before, but I haven't actually had a a a blackout or a a loss of consciousness. Thank Thank goodness so far. I think I should I need to touch some wood here somewhere just to make sure that I maintain that. But yeah, for the bench press even uh it's quite especially with the vest on it's quite a lot of cranial pressure as well. So you feel a lot of pressure in the in the head. So you you tend to get a lot of uh red eye uh activity as well as well as high blood pressure. So you have you have blood pressure in your eye vessels or not? Uh, no I haven't. But I' i've actually just got like super red eyes from from the bench press as well as the the deadlift and the and the squats when it when that pressure just gets so high and you're fighting uh a failure and you actually manage to power through it. It does get quite taxing. Um, and I think for for my sake as well, I haven't experienced any nosebleleeds. I've had a couple of our athletes that train with me where they've experienced it going working through and pressing through that failure or or refusing to fail for that matter and just forcing that rep back up. You get those pressure moments where you actually do experience nose bleeds and things like that. it's not irregular in the sport but uh yeah do do also monitor yourself and and check go for regular health checks and make sure that you're not suffering from anything like hypertension because that can also cause disy spells and and cause uh unconscious uh accidents for sure. So what are your favorite um accessory lists to the three main ones? So I think for for all in all I think my my my favorite accessory lifts are dumbbell presses and military press. So th those are my two favorites of the accessories. So I like to do the seated dumbbell. I get up to like 50 60 kg dumbbells. for the seated shoulder press. And then for the military press with the barbell, I like to use the the safety rack uh in the squat rack, which is not very uh very uh liked by a lot of people. It's quite frowned upon to do presses in the squat rack, but it's one of my favorites to do is to do the seated uh military press and a standing military press as well, just to um kind of also build the back strength when it comes to the bench press and also just build the shoulder stability when it comes to the heavy bench pressing. I think that's also one of the advantages that comes with using a vest. It protects the shoulders pretty well, so you don't feel as much shoulder pressure as you would when you when you do a normal bench. Um, and also just adapting grips, it allows you to kind of open up and widen and get used to different uh setups. And I think the other one in the the leg drive department, I like I'm I'm quite a fan of the leg press as well, though I haven't been doing it very often. So, I get I get to to have some fun there. It doesn't really count in the in the powerlifting world, but I do get well over 6 700 kilos sometimes depending on how I feel on the day. And I just do five reps at the peak uh just to feel out the weight and also to work on back strength. So just getting that drive off the and also using full range of motion when doing a leg press is quite uh fun because there's actually a stopper and it it prevents you from getting crushed and it also gives you a little bit of fun. Sometimes people frown upon it when you bounce the weight a little bit, but it's also it makes it a little bit fun to to actually do that kind of heavy leg press and just uh ripping out that that kind of weight. People also look at you like why are you taking the entire gym's weight and putting it on one machine? It's a lot of work to put all the weight on there if I'm quite honest. But it's it it's quite one of those fun exercises you get to do to kind of uh I wouldn't say flex, but it it's it's one of those things where you kind of go like okay maybe maybe I am strong and it's a lot of work to take it off as well. No, that's the fun part is that's your that's your de lo like your warm down workout after doing a leg workout. Then I also like to do a drop set on the on the leg press. So I would go up to 500, say for example 500 kilos and I drop uh two plates per set and then go till failure until the the machine is empty. So at the same time I I unrackck the entire machine as well as get a a proper leg wobble workout because when you get out of that leg press machine, you're like a newborn uh giraffe wobbling all over the place. Nothing works. I end up just actually lying on my stomach for like five minutes just so my quads can get some recovery that I'm shaking and I think that that's also part of the the fight in games is pushing yourself to failure every now and again. It's just it's different. That's hysterical that imagery for the ger. And then uh what are um so let let's first go with this one. What are your uh you're 36 right? 37. 38. 38 L. Okay. So, at 37, you're still getting stronger. What mindset keeps you pushing at a high level? And then what are your goals right now for both raw and equipped lifting? So, I think for for the getting stronger part, I think I am starting to feel that recovery taking longer. And that's the the thing that I that I need to keep and be mindful of is getting enough rest and making sure that I actually uh allow myself to recover and then still getting stronger at at this age. I think that this is uh one of those things with where it's it's that just that that peak of male um performance when it comes to sports. A lot of you'll find that from 35 to 40 a lot of the bodybuilders are also hitting like the the world peak level. Uh I think for powerlifting it just continues as long as you maintain and you and you are able to stay injuryfree up until 45 to to 50 like one of the athletes in our gym now he's he's competing in master two world champs now in October in Cape Town South Africa that's actually happening. So he's going to be competing in the masters and he's actually going to be trying to break world records at his age still. So it just goes to show that as long as you maintain and you you look after the body, you're able to create longevity within the sport instead of running that sprint every time to try and be at peak continuously. you're actually able to continuously grow on a gradual pace and and improve uh from time to time. And it also improve the the strength and stability as well as the health side of things because maintaining this uh heavy lifting, it also maintains the the body's ability to recuperate and also naturally boosts the the level of testosterone in the body that sometimes tends to die off in in males over 35 going into 45. So, it also helps your body to naturally boost itself and to to maintain its uh capability in recovery and getting stronger. So, I think I'm still going to be getting stronger for at least maybe another 20 years. I hope. Well, that's exciting. I can't can't wait to see what you're doing at 60. That's really cool. Um, are you coming down to watch the Masters? I wish I can, but I'll be traveling in August to China. So, that's kind of going to be where my resources will be tied in. But if in October I managed to find myself in in position of some air tickets, I might just come to Cape Town to come and watch. Okay, we must get a gym session in when you're down in Cape Town. Let me know. That'll be awesome, man. And then um lastly for the kind of uh main part of this episode um what final or parting words of wisdom do you have for someone who wants to start powerlifting but is maybe intimidated or afraid to do so? I think one of the the best things to do for yourself is to actually remember that it's not you versus anybody else. Don't try and measure yourself against anybody. When when starting a powerlifting journey, it's always going to be you versus you. And for for starting out, I I think for myself, I I was training in the gym, lifting heavy for quite a while, and pushing my myself and my body's limits, but without uh competing on a on a level or saying that, look, I need to go and actually see if I'm if I'm capable of doing this. But for for a lot of the new powerlters, I think just start uh start start with the basics. Don't uh don't try and do too many ego lifting uh activities when it comes to the basics. Stick to the basics. Stick to uh squatting what you're capable of. rather work a full range of motion with a lighter weight instead of trying to show off with a heavy weight and end up risking an injury or a lifelong um what's the the pro appropriate word I would say instead of risking a lifelong um injury or a lifelong recovery process that could hinder or impact your life for the rest of your life rather be safe and work within parameters and try and um if you are going to push your limits have some assistance. Get get a friend to help uh just for safety purposes because we see a lot of freak accidents in the powerlifting um environment, especially when it comes to young lifters being pushed by coaches and they're not understanding the risk that they're putting these athletes and these young lives under. I think it was a a a young Asian athlete that was uh squatting and the coach forced the young athlete to squat and ended up collapsing entire spine and passing away because of squatting a weight that she wasn't ready for in terms of a body. Uh and that is also where we need to be mindful as athletes and as coaches in the sport that we need to gradually approach the these milestones and these growth patterns when it comes to um understanding body's limitations and your body's capability and giving it time to develop and and developing yourself from a building point to being able to compete or not compete but but to to better yourself in u in stages. just try try to to give yourself that time and and give yourself the opportunity to grow uh over time and not rush into trying to be the best in the very beginning. uh a lot of the the athletes today like if you look at the Sheffield lineup this year uh the the winner of Sheffield this year, Cal uh the Belgian, I think he was he was the the typical uh time longevity spent in in the sport to to lead as an example for the rest of the the athletes to follow is that he's been doing powerlifting for 20 plus years. And after 20 plus years in the sport, he's he's actually hit his peak and he's broken the the limit when it came to um the 66 kg class in the world history, he broke the world record excessively well. And just just goes to show that after 20 years of time put in and 20 years of of training sessions and building blocks, he he found himself at the peak of his sport at his age. and he's also I think now 37 and at that age to to win a major uh competition such as Sheffield where it's based on how how much of a percentage you break the world record by in order to achieve a position within uh the rankings I think for for somebody who's supposed to be going into a mast's level now he's still showing characteristics of a young lifter and I think that's also where the longevity aspect of it comes in and giving giving yourself the time to build up to becoming the best possible athlete you can be and not worrying about other athletes and their progress and the way they train and program is just I think staying in your lane is the appropriate term to use like focus on you and and gradually you'll see you improving from where you are to where you want to be. Amazing. Thank you so much for that those final words of wisdom. Really appreciate it. And that'll conclude the main kind of core of the show. And now if you're keen, let's have a little discussion about South African powerlifting and some of the dynamics, some of the stories. Are you keen to chat just very briefly about that? Awesome. So what's um powerlifting in essay comes with a lot of costs. Uh you've already broken down some of them. Um, I know we mentioned previously uh about on a separate recording that uh South Africa doesn't actually help its athletes that much. Um, and everything's basically out of pocket. Let's briefly I'll just run over some of the points I want to talk about. Maybe you can kind of integrate them all into into one story. So the cost from South Africa points of view is one of them. Uh, the other one is uh why do you think so many talented South Africans drop out? probably again related to the the first point. Um, and you've been through the ups and downs of SA powerlifting. Any crazy or standout stories from the federation? I know we started this episode with a story right at the beginning. And then um, what's the current state of facilities and access for power lifters in South Africa? Again, probably ties into the first one. And then lastly, you've competed worldwide. What's the difference in vibe and support between South African competitions and international meets? Look, I think you're touching on some vital points when it comes to affordability in the sport. Um, one of the biggest challenges for South African athletes is to actually get something simple that which is required to compete on in an IPF standard which is the singlet. I think that that is the the most difficult thing uh when it comes to powerlifting because it has to be an IPF approved singlet that you have to use on a on a national level on a on a provincial level you can get away with uh using any any singlet uh doesn't matter the brand but on a once you hit the the national competition standard I think that's one of the most uh difficult things is is you have to be able to afford uh IPF approved equipment and which is generally your SPD product which is now one of the few products that is uh is is allowed to be used within IPF. Um so things like that. Knee sleeves is going to cost you 3,000 rand. A pair of wrist straps is going to cost you 1,500 to 2,000 rand. A a singlet is going to cost you anywhere between 1,200 to 2,500 rand. So that that is just the basics that you need to compete in a powerlifting. that that's that's not withstanding all of the the other accessories, the travel costs and the affiliation fees as well as the entry the entry fees for each competition. So it becomes a very expensive exercise. Every year you have to affiliate to the IPF and the SAPF for example that's a fee you have to pay. Uh every competition you do a provincial competition there's an entry fee. Um a national competition there's an entry fee. coaches gyms. Yeah. To first meet them. Yeah. So the coaching fees completely separate because that becomes continuous. Nutrition is one of those things that that becomes a a very expensive exercise if you can't afford to to provide for for your requirements in terms of dietary requirements, in terms of intake of calories, all of those things. um the actual facilities. Uh if you if you're unable to to pay for a gym membership, for example, if you're unable to pay for a coach who has their own gym facilities, those are all extra expenses that you that you're faced with when when you are entering this environment. Um I think that as a baseline just tells a story for a royal lifter. Then you look at different discipline which is now the equipped and then that becomes another 40,000 in hand for as an example just to be able to get the equipment to compete in this discipline and that is that's the kind of financial challenges. So you you find that underprivileged people won't be able to participate in the sport even if they were to be one of the strongest or best athletes to ever brace the sport but they won't be able to participate just by the these restrictions. So in the Western Cape, there's quite a few federations or not federations but clubs coming up now that are able to give access to youngsters and to help them actually perform and to host meets where youngsters can come and participate without the equipment and to get introduced to the environment. It's it's it's a good uh benchmark to start off with in terms of getting more people involved in the sport, more people in in the environment and more more young people coming through the ranks to to represent uh on a on a provincial, national and international level because uh one of the challenges for the sport is because of low participation. There's there's less competition and there's less development in terms of the standard across the international and national levels for our country and our continent. So I think one of the the bigger challenges is the the affordability and then also like the international standard itself it becomes an individual's responsibility. It's no longer South Africa saying okay I'm going to pay for air fee. I'm going to pay for accommodation. I'm going to pay for equipment. So even your South African tracksuit that you need to purchase on a on a national level that that comes out of your own pocket as an athlete. your South African branded bag if you want one that has South African proteier colors. It's it's an official the younger South African colors uh to be able to make this purchase, but it's it's a privilege in the sport to be able to have these things. Um I think on an international level, you then look at all of the travel expenses. So you look at your accommodation, your flights, your uh your fe your food and um and leisure during those periods of travel um visa costs all of these things become the athletes responsibility. Fortunately now because of the the magnitude of the event such as world games there because there's a a team of sports African representatives not just the powerlifting that's participating. And now we've got SASCO backing this this the particular trip where they would be able to do things such as flights accommodation and and accommodating and also doing a kit sponsor for for the South African athletes that are going to be participating in the World Games. But it's still not an equipment sponsor. It's just the South African colors kit. So things like a tracksuit, a t-shirt, a pair of shorts, a pair of shoes, that's what they what they'll kit you with. But your responsibility for equipment such as your suit and your your belts, your everything pertaining to the equip lifting, it's still it still becomes an athlete expense. It's not sponsored by the country to say, "Okay, here's here's an official kit to say here's an African branded equipment for you to go and represent the country." with like in other sports where they would have that um official branded kits for for every for every team to go and represent the country showing that they're actually representing the country. So that that's I think what where the other international uh standard athletes uh is set apart where they have sponsorship from brand houses such as SPD. They come in and they they actually kick the the entire team with branded equipment. They they sponsor them with knee sleeves, um belts, uh t-shirts, singlets, all of the the whole kit is is completely branded by country sponsorship and by brand sponsorship because they have agreements and deals with these countries where they actually sponsor the entire uh team that goes to international level competition. And I think that's where the standard differs and variates from country to country. So a country like Great Britain, they've got a full sponsor from SPD because SPD is is actually a British brand. So that's the kind of uh support that these uh international teams get in terms of the sport as well as in our sponsorship though the athletes get paid salaries from the government. Uh it's not just a matter of you going to go and represent your country and you have to foot the bill. they actually get paid for um they get paid a salary, they get paid for traveling, they get paid allowances, all of these benefits when it comes to different countries, every every federation that or rather affiliated uh country in terms of the IPF, it's entirely up to the country and how they support the athletes. So a lot of the other countries they have that packing and they have that uh platform and support from the community as well as the the governmental side of the sports and and arts and culture in their countries where they they have that backing. In South Africa unfortunately we don't have that uh packing because we're not a major or seen as a mainstream sport that's actually going to generate revenue or or create awareness around South African sports development. And that's actually just where it comes down to uh the basics of of is it going to make money or is it not going to make money. And that's that's kind of unfortunately where powerlifting falls into a category of a niche sport and it's not necessarily a commercial sport. Sure. No, like you said, if it doesn't make money, it doesn't get seen and that's uh it's a bit hectic. And then yeah lastly uh the uh any crazy stories from any of the federation sides and you've competed worldwide. What's the difference in the vibe and support between SA comps and international meets? Uh I think that the community on an international standard it just goes to show how amazing the powerlifting sport actually is. There's a lot more um togetherness, a lot more unity in terms of the international standard. You see that at the world level competitions where the support and and also the the love that it gets shown to each other in terms of the athletes in terms of the coaching and in terms of uh you know in in powerlifting we also have athletes that we see on these uh social media platforms we we have never uh met in real life and you actually get to meet these individuals. Uh I was privileged to meet um Asus Olivarez. I was privileged to meet Russell Oiri from states. So special it was which was also special for me. I got to meet um Ashton the 105 kg champion. I got to meet the the 105 uh the 105 kg world record deadlift holder from the UK. Um, and like the these are special athletes that you see and you you you kind of look up to and meeting them in person and and realizing how humble they are in terms of their mannerisms and how open they are to actually having a conversation and just taking a photograph. You know, you have those fan moments. Uh, but at the same time at later stage, you're competing against these guys in the same environment. Just that experience also, it just goes to show it doesn't matter how big a lot of the athletes are, they always maintain a humble state of nature and they always have this kindness about them. Even though they they're probably one of the strongest beings in their weight class and category in the world and some of the strongest humans in the world, but still have that kind nature and that down to earth environment that that all the powerlifting athletes seem to embody when it comes to an international level. Um and I think that also just shows um what what a good and an amazing sport it is as it doesn't matter uh by the time we we competing each other and we we actually arriving but as soon as we we out of that rival environment it becomes more uh supportive and and like um even guidance offered from different athletes and different coaches after they meet. uh they they'll actually give you some guidance and tips and tell you a few things that they picked up during your meet that they think you should pay attention to. So that that's also like kind of the heartwarming effect that comes from it. But there were a couple of uh a couple of wild stories recently. There was a resignation in the IPF ranks. uh the president of the IPF uh resigned not too long ago and there's a bit of a uh a he a he said she shed nobody kind of knows exactly what went down but apparently it happened in South Africa and there was a female involved and a pregnancy so there was a resignation from uh the IPF official because of it which was uh which was one of the wildest stories of 2024 that happened and unveiled itself in 2025. So yeah, the IPF on international standards got a new acting president until they've instated and voted in new president and then the the other wild change was the niece pan that happened. So all of the big brand houses that is ina uh Titan uh Hanu Power there's quite a few of the the stiff knee sleeves is what they call them in the powerlifting industry. uh they've been banned from using the IPF. So now people are no longer allowed to use these knee sleeves in competition. As of August 2025, you are no longer to no longer to be used in in competition. And now SPD uh is running the monopoly because they are one of the few brands that still hold accreditation within the Nissle environment. So automatically um everybody assumed and and also the the price indication of SPD all of a sudden uh putting up their the price on the knee sleeves a week after the announcement uh kind of doesn't uh sit well with all of the powerlifting community. But who are we? We don't we don't uh we don't approve uh these kinds of regulations that gets controlled by the IPF. So that's also another thing that we we kind of think there's there's a little bit of politics happening in the IPF and that's also partly why there was a resignation from the IPF president. It sounds like it's a amalgamation of a few things. Okay, cool. No, well that's that's basically the the show. So thank you so much. Really appreciate it. What a fantastic episode and I really look forward to seeing you crush it on the stage in 2025 and beyond. Sweet, man. I appreciate it. But I will also um try and share some link because there will be some footage links and then also it will be televised um but I'm not sure which broadcast channel is going to be airing the World Games in China. So yeah, I'll I'll definitely share that with you and looking forward to sharing a bit about the journey after we get back from World Games. Super excited. Hopefully in person. Let's Let's see. Of course, man. All the best. Cheers. Cheers. Thanks, Oscar. Thank you for tuning in to the Muscle Growth Podcast. If you found value in today's episode, we'd really appreciate it if you could leave us a five-star rating and a quick review. It helps us grow and reach more people just like you. Don't forget to follow us on all major social media platforms including Instagram, YouTube, Tik Tok, and X. 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