Brady Stewart Illinois Strength and Power HoF inductee 2021

By Strength and Power Hall of Fame

Personal history:
Hometown: Lebanon, IL
Current Residence: Carterville, IL
I married the love of my life, Beth Stewart in 2007. Together, we have 2 amazing and bright children. My hope for my children is that they grow up loving God, beating the odds, working hard, being kind, and live a full life!

I competed in powerlifting and bench pressing for 20 years. During that time, I was able to accomplish things I never imagined and meet new friends from all over the world. I've competed on 4 continents, several countries, and almost half of the states in the USA.  

God created in me a curiosity to see how far I could take my strength. That coupled with my faith in Him took me to places I previously only dreamed about traveling to and pushing weights that went beyond what I thought I would ever press. I've been very blessed in my pursuit of strength. My faith in our Lord God and Jesus Christ has been my foundation. Regardless of records broken or championships won, God is my strength.  

Jesus Saves.

What lead you to your sport:
I always had the interest in becoming strong, even at a very young age. I started lifting at the age of 13. At the age of 15, I started working out at McKendree University's fitness center. I loved to lift heavy. Basically, I was powerlifting before I knew it was a sport. Around the age of 17, I found a Powerlifting USA magazine at a bookstore. Then I was able to learn about the sport and found where there were meets nearby. At 18, I competed at the Illinois State Games in bench pressing. The following year I was fortunate enough to have met Dana Rosenzweig, operator of the Belleville Weightlifting Club, where previous Olympic Weightlifters had trained. The BWC is the home of Derrick Crass, Tom Stock, and Ted Frank. We had a great culture of strength at the BWC. Dana immediately started mentoring me and training me for competitions and to push my limits. The old school mentality of hard work and intensity was engrained in my DNA there. 

Achievements in your sport:
IPF World Bench Press Championship Team - TEAM USA 2009 (Hamm, Luxembourg)
2016 IPF World Bench Press Championships - Silver Medal (Rødby, Denmark)
2017 IPF World Bench Press Championships - Bronze Medal (Kaunas, Lithuania)
2019 IPF World Bench Press Championships - Bronze Medal (Tokyo, Japan)
2019 Arnold Sports Pro Bench Press Championships - Overall Champion
3 time North American OPEN Bench Press Champion
6 time USAPL OPEN National Bench Press Champion (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
US OPEN National BP Championships Medal Count - 6 Gold, 2 Silver, 3 Bronze
2017 USAPL OPEN National Bench Press Championships - Best Lifter
2 time US Junior National Bench Press Champion and Best Lifter (2004 and 2005)
2008 Arnold Sports Raw Powerlifting Championships - 110kg Champion

State, National and World records. ( Using bullet form)
12 US American Records in Bench Pressing
20 Illinois State Records in Powerlifting and Bench Press - Raw and Single Ply
372.5kg (821lbs) Bench Press at 125kg (SHW) - All Time World Record Drug Tested with 2 hour weigh in.
356.5kg (785.9lbs) Bench Press at 120kg(264lbs) - Current American Bench Press Record
Broken the 120kg American Bench Press Record 7 times

Accomplishments.
In 2018, I was inducted into the McKendree University Sports Hall of Fame as a Sports Professional. This was especially great for me because I grew up in Lebanon, IL and McKendree University was just a block a way from my childhood home. I am very proud to be recognized among many incredible athletes.

Activities within the sport i.e. Judge, meet director, trainer, demonstrations, community actvities etc.
Illinois State USAPL Judge
Head Coach - Southern Illinois Carbondale Powerlifting
Zion Barbell - Coach and Owner
Have coached several USAPL athletes to 600+ bench presses
Fellowship of Christian Athletes - Speaker
Playing for Eternity - Documentary - Featured Athlete

Author: By Strength and Power Hall of Fame Completed: yes Created: Sun Jul 04 19:10:15 UTC 2021 | Last Updated: Fri Dec 22 04:19:34 UTC 2023