Doing It For Joby: More Power Behind Powerlifting

By Staff Report
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Updated: September 2, 2015

By Zack Cantrell – Recently I competed in the 5th Annual Dave Clement Memorial Powerlifting Meet. This meet meant a lot more than any meet I’ve had in the past since I dedicated it to a very strong kid in my local area named Joby Hawthorne who is currently battling cancer. I was lucky enough to be able to wear my Joby “Brave Never Stops Winning” shirt today as I took first place.

Seeing how strong Joby is battling every day and coming out on top really gave me some extra motivation for this meet. As I got under that bar, I was thinking about how tough of a person Joby is and it gave me motivation to lift more than I ever have. Today I hit 360 pounds on the bench press, which is 50 pounds more than I’ve ever done before. I weighed in at only 150 pounds, which is very light for me.

It’s awesome to see people like Joby who have such strong will power and it truly inspires me. I will be paying Joby a visit soon and dropping him off some things, along with the first place trophy I earned today. If it weren’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have lifted the weight I did. Seeing what this kid is going through at such a young age is a huge eye opener. People like Joby are what makes me wake up every day and want to get things done! Joby is a true inspiration and I hope I am able to inspire him as much as he inspires me!

My name is Zack Cantrell. I am a bodybuilder/powerlifter & sponsored by Rich Piana’s 5% Nutrition. I currently hold various National (USA) & State (Ohio) records in powerlifting. Outside of my own training I do in person/online training for various people in my community & around the U.S. Im also currently wrapping up my bachelors in Health Sciences, which I owe much of what I’ve learned to. My mission is to inspire & show the world that there are great strengths & capabilities within each & every one of us. Anything is possible!

You can follow me on my social media sites at:

Instagram.com/ZackCantrellFitness

Facebook.com/Zackary.Cantrell

Twitter.com/ZCantrell1