We are kicking off the 2023 Athlete Spotlights with our Fall 2022 GGC Ambassador… Richard Sponholz. Rich took home the Ambassador award for his kick in the pants around the Rogue 1000lb Club Challenge, which sparked our 999lb Club shenanigans. What you’ll learn about Richard Sponholz, is that this is just kind of who he is. A dude lifting weights, having some fun, who pokes the bear occasionally.
Get To Know Richard Sponholz
Born in Louisville, KY, but lived there less than a year. So I usually tell people I’m from Norcross, GA where I grew up, and currently live in Charlotte, NC. I have a BA In Psychology from Wake Forest University. There are 3 siblings in my family (a younger twin and a sister 6 years our junior). I am engaged (Steen) and we have an 11 year old Staffordshire Terrier mix (Kate).
I have a son from a previous marriage who primarily lives with his mom but we get to spend time with regularly.
My hobbies include disc golf, cooking, some video games occasionally…. I’m a simple man.
Do you have a background in sports?
I played baseball and football as a child, in addition to competing in karate until I went off to college. I was a multi-time Georgia State Champion in the now-defunct Georgia Karate League, a National-level AAU competitor, and an International-level USANKF competitor with decent finishes at Nationals and the Junior Olympics in Kata and Kumite.
How/when did you start lifting? Why?
This is probably the meat of the story to focus on. My impetuous to start lifting came after I started dieting and walking to lose weight after my divorce. In addition to therapy, it was something I was doing in order to try to somewhat “reset” my life. I was in a very bad spot mentally and an even worse spot physically.
I’ve struggled with Anxiety, depression, and ADHD since I was a child and it hit an all-time high in the pandemic. Additionally, quitting training for karate saw my weight balloon from 205lbs to my heaviest at 385lbs. It was the first step to sort of reclaiming my life and changing it for the better.
That started with kettlebells and initially that’s all I trained with. Slowly but surely, I started acquiring equipment for what became the SpoonerGym. Eventually, I found the sport of powerlifting and I was enthralled. That’s how I found myself where I am now with thousands of dollars invested into a top-tier home gym. After cutting down from over 360lbs in August 2020 to a lean 266lbs in April 2021, I packed on a bunch of muscle mass. I now float around 285lbs and plan to cut down to the 125kg weight class.
Any injuries or issues you have overcome?
Yes! In December 2021 I busted my left hip on a backoff set of deadlifts being stupid and not listening to my body. From then til about February 2022 I could hardly deadlift and couldn’t effectively squat at all. I started 3 months of PT with Dr Ryan from Barbell PT and he got me back sorted to where I can lift pain-free again. Actually the May 2022 GGC was my post-PT mock meet I set in order to test my progress!
Tell me about your gym…
The SpoonerGym had very humble beginnings in August of 2020: 3 kettlebells (16kg, 20kg, 24kg) and a mat in my 1200 sq ft 2 bed 2 bath apartment. I expanded my KB sets when I moved into my house in January 2021, bought a rack, bench, bar, and bumpers in April, and then it just sort of exploded as my needs changed. I now have a fully-equipped powerlifting gym in my garage, including multiple bars, specialty bars, adjustable dumbbells, belt squat, over 1500lbs of plates, GHD, deadlift jacks, lat pulldown, and more. I’m not currently eyeing anything down, but we all know its never REALLY finished!
What got you interested in the GGC?
I found out about it while I was in PT on the Massenomics discord and it became a natural capstone to the rehab process for me; it gave me a goal to work for. The chance at free stuff cuz we all like that, but the memes and the charity causes really help drive my will to not just participate but to be actively involved in the GGC community. There’s a lot of good eggs that I’ve met through the GGC. 2022 was my first year, but I plan to continue!
How did you approach the GGC each year?
In 2022 I used it for Mock Meets at the end of training programs. In May 2023 I’ll probably just hit some programmed heavy singles since it’ll be offseason; depends on what my coach has me doing and how my meets line up. I have my eyes on the platform for 2023.
What has been the key pieces to your success, in the GGC and lifting in general?
Dedication to the plan, grit, being just plan stubborn, and sometimes a little too stupid to call it quits. Lifting is hard; if everyone could do it, then everyone would be jacked. Fact of the matter is it takes dedication to succeed.
What motivates you to lift, day after day, year after year?
Hunger. I like to eat. Seriously, its because I know that I can do more, that I can be more, and I want to achieve everything that I can in life. I don’t know how to half-ass things. Long-term, however, I want to be able to maintain an active lifestyle well into my old age and every bit of scientific evidence we have suggests that resistance training is a big key to that.
What do you think of when you eye down a big lift?
The words stitched into the inside of my lifting belt: “Prove Them Wrong”
Favorite personal record song to listen to?
Oh man, I have several. Honestly depends on the mood I’m in. If I had to pick 1, and I’m going to pick 2 anyway because I can, either Sound of Truth by As I Lay Dying or Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria.
What’s the most important thing people should know about Richard Sponholz?
I like to win as much as the next person, but at the end of the day I train to beat who I was yesterday. I love to see the people I consider friends succeed and do everything in my power to help them when I can. A rising tide lifts all ships.
Thanks Richard Sponholz aka – Spooner!
For more on Rich, follow him on Instagram @The_Spoonerman
February 8, 2023 @ 3:28 am
Big Spoon! Great article! I really appreciate your story of where you have come from and your dedication to learn and grow. Sounds like you know a thing or two about how to get strong, how to stay strong, and how to use your strength!