Local powerlifter Lawrence Brimfield breaks NFL Combine record on bench press
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
Seven weeks after One Life Fitness (1LF)–Sandhills hosted its first-ever 1,000-pound club powerlifting event in northeast Columbia, one of that gym’s sister facilities, 1LF-Forest Acres held its also-first Fall4All event with the same big-three powerlifting events (bench, squat, deadlift) with an additional BENCH-OR-DIE feature added into the mix.
Fall4All was held, Saturday, Sept. 26.
Like the highly successful Aug. 8 1LF-Sandhills event, the September 26 Fall4All was designed to elevate their top participating “gymbros” and “gymgals” to a “Wall of Fame” by calculating the athletes’ numbers combined from all three traditional powerlifting events with a goal of being included in either a 1,000-pound club or a 500-pound club.
Bench-or-Die was an added feature with a true record-setting result.
Midlands-area powerlifting champion Lawrence Brimfield, who bench-pressed 505 lbs., Saturday, also benched an “astounding” 225 lbs. for 50 repetitions beating the National Football League’s modern-era 225-bench record of 225 for 49 reps set in 2011 by former NFL defensive tackle Stephen Paea. The all-time NFL Combine record was 51 reps set by former defensive tackle Justin Ernest in 1999. Brimfield’s 2026 record is only one rep shy of Ernest’s all-time NFL Combine record.
Joey V. Brown, a strength and conditioning coach at 1LF-Forest Acres, conceived and facilitated Fall4All.
“I’m grateful we were able to put together an event for the folks to come enjoy and not only compete, but fellowship,” said Brown. “Our competitors were so supportive of each other, encouraging each other to be great throughout and for me that is what is most important in our community.”
Brown, himself a bench press champion, was the reining rep-champion during the Richland County Sheriff’s Department’s 250 Bench Press Challenge held in early July. On July 2, Brown bench-pressed 250 lbs. for 32 reps. Brimfield benched 250 for 31 reps. Brimfield also benched his signature 505 lbs.
Other notable athletes at Saturday’s Fall4All were Isaiah McCray, D.J. Phelps, Ambrose Jenkins, Levi Long Jr., and Quashawn Felder, each of whom achieved well over 1,000 lbs. in their individual combined numbers from bench, squat, and deadlift.
McCray hit 1,260 lbs. total.
In the 500-pound club, notable athletes were 48-year-old Angie Faison, the oldest participating lifter who’s combined numbers were 865 lbs. Christopher Majure, the youngest lifter at age 16, cracked into the 500-pound club with a 615 combined score.
The female with the most bench-press reps was Noreena Taylor with 18 reps of 135 lbs. Taylor also benched 205 lbs. for one rep.
“Events like these are fantastic community bridge-building initiatives and great for advancing strength sports here in the Palmetto State,” said S.C. Black Belt Hall of Famer Bruce Brutschy, who at age 74 was the oldest bench press champion during RCSD’s 250 Bench Press Challenge in July. “Hats off to strength coach Joey Brown at 1LF-Forest Acres and General Manager Brandon Mohtassem at 1LF-Sandhills who were responsible for both the August and September strength-and- power events; also to Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott whose RCSD conceived, organized, and led the enormously successful 250 Bench Press Challenge in July.”
[Pictured are bench-press champions Joey V. Brown and Lawrence Brimfield, Saturday, Sept. 26.]
– W. Thomas Smith Jr., a veteran U.S. Marine Infantry leader and New York Times bestselling editor, is himself an amateur strength athlete who at age 67 bench-presses a verified 315 lbs. and who holds an age-specific state record 863-lbs. “raw” leg press at all 1LF facilities in South Carolina. He is a S.C. Military Veterans Hall of Fame inductee (Class of 2025).
