Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Virnig.
Hi Joe, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Ive been competitively powerlifting for 2 years and recently set state records for squat bench and deadlift, and currently working with Bucked Up! I got here by getting started wanting to put size on for Football in highschool. I immediately fell in love with training and weightlifting. I played football through my sophomore year of college and after leaving Football to focus on academics I wanted to remain active so I kept training in the gym discovering powerlifting, continuing to get stronger and fellow gym members continuing to encourage me to compete I decided to put my strength to the test and the rest is history!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Theres been all sorts of highs and lows. In the beginning I actually fractured a vertabrae playing football in highschool. I was told I shouldnt play football anymore and avoid intense weight training. This absolutely left me heartbroken and refused to accept that. Through a long year of intense research and physical therapy I was able to play my senior season of football and become stronger than I ever had been in the weight room. After that things, fortunately, went pretty smoothly, I continued to get stronger in the gym and grow my hunger to succeed. This would continue for the next 4 years until my first powerlifting competition where I actually ended up bombing out funny enough. This left me devastated as I put blood sweat and tears into this competition only to come up short and empty handed. I took the next year to really floss and clean up my technique for all lifts and with enough dedication took 1st place in my weight and age class as well as state records for all three lifts. The road has not been smooth but the bumps and low points are just as important and critical as the achievements and highs are to getting me where I am today
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a small fitness/powerlifting creator with a following of around ~3,000 combined followers across YouTube and Instagram. I post training footage of my gym sessions creating a small, niche community around strength training and bodybuilding
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Hopefully the powerlifting community grows more as it becomes more mainstream and wide spread. Its awesome to see all the new comers to the strength community and breaking standards otherwise thought impossible almost every day
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joe.virnig?utm_source=qr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@joevirnig?si=CnFIGfK0i0O0DB51
