Biography - Lifting
Steve Mann began lifting for High School
Football in the 8th grade. He was lucky enough
to go to Abington Heights in Clarks Summit,
Pennsylvania where he was coached by Claude
Welcome. Claude a certified weight lifting
coach encouraged Steve to compete in his
first Squat and Bench Press competition in
March of 1991. He was in the 148 weight class
and did a 335 LB Squat and 160 LB Bench Press.
From there Steve continued to cross train
for Football and Powerlifting, with one season
as a sprinter on the track team. In Football,
he was a full back
and strong
side linebacker (pictured right
#50) a majority of the time. Steve’s ran
a 4.7 in the 40 yard dash, while squatting
565 LBs and bench 335 lbs in High School.
Senior year after football was completed;
Steve focused purely on Powerlifting and
was able to win all of High School events
including the PSCPA High School Championships.
This event was held at Glen Mills High School,
which is a reform school that has won over
10 High School National Championships. Although
Steve never left the state of Pennsylvania
during High School for the sport of Powerlifting,
he competed against National Champions.