PHOTO STORY | Beasts in the East
Every day, five friends meet in a underground powerlifting room dubbed "Beast Coast" beneath the East Coast Health and Fitness Center at Hamilton Square in State College, Pa. Tied together by a goal of peak physical performance, these tattooed lifters work toward competitions, company endorsements and personal goals among the iron and sweat within the basement gym.
The following collection of images trails members of the Beast Coast powerlifting community through four weeks of training in March and April of 2022.
Lace Up and Get Those Stretches In
After finishing their classes for the day, second year student Connor Pierce and third year student Kez Holden change into their workout gear and Converse shoes before an afternoon lifting session in the underground powerlifting room, "Beast Coast". Lifters wear Converse for their flat bottoms providing greater stability during exercise. Both Pierce and Holden focus on compound movements such as deadlifts, squats, and barbell bench press
It's not a Gym, It's a Community
Third year student Kez Holden plants her feet into the shallow groves of the wooden deadlifting pad as she lifts 185lbs for eight repetitions. Holden, a tattoo artist by trade designs tattoos for several friends and members of the Beast Coast power lifting community featured throughout this story.
Discussion, Training, and Improvement
Lock Haven student Tyler Marlow discusses his girlfriend, Kez Holden's deadlift form with her after a lift. Marlow, who is in preparation to become a trainer at school and home gym, PWRBLD Gym in King of Prussia, drives 40 minutes from the Lock Haven community every day to lift with Holden and their friends in Beast Coast.
A Space Lifters Call Home
As third year student Kez Holden removes the weights from her deadlifting bar, Lock Haven student Tyler Marlow reviews lifting videos with fourth year student Lila Donnelley, a competition lifter and physique showwomen. The Beast Coast powerlifting room houses two bench presses, two deadlifting pads, two squat racks, and other compound movement focused machines for members to use.
Perfect Form for a Perfect Competition
Fourth year student Lila Donnelly lifts the bar above her chest line for a barbell bench press. Donnelly a NQ NPC Bikini competitor and 69kg powerlifter is in preparation for a competition at Brown's Gym in Clarks Summit PA on Sunday, April 23, 2022. Donnelly achieved success in the competition with 310kg/683.6lbs across compound movements and received a gold medal in competition. Holden, Marlow, and Pierce all came to support Donnelly in her competition
The Rest Needed Before Competition
As to not injure herself before her competition, Donnelly takes the three days before her competition to observe other lifters and provide support to her friends as they continue to lift in Beast Coast. Lifters will often reserve the days before a competition to rest or perform light weight auxiliary exercises to conserve as much energy as possible in days leading up.
Barbell Squat, a Staple in Competitions
United States Army Veteran and fourth year student Austin Towle squats 365lbs for repetitions. He trains in his singlet and USA Powerlifting shirt used specifically for competitions. Towle who works out with Marlow, Holden, Pierce, and Donnelly are part of an emerging pre-workout and supplements company "Nordic Labs" focused on giving lifters the energy to "Go Barbaric!".
Growing a Company and Personal Brands
Accompanied by Pierce, Towle films lifting his sessions in Beast Coast on a tripod and iPhone to use on his social media accounts and for promotional material on Nordic Labs. Towle, Donnelley, Holden, Marlow, and Pierce make social media content focused on personal lifting records and training for thousands of Instagram followers daily.
Failure During Exercises is Part of the Training
As part of his weekly routine, Towle trains until failure with 315lbs on the barbell bench press. Towle trains with Pierce who spots and assists Towle by lifting the bar back onto the rack after he can no longer push the weight. In order to rise in competitions lifters must train to the highest weight they can in order to place.
The Rest After The Lift
Towle pauses to rest after the barbell bench press. His first competition in January concluded with him lifting 1,373 pounds across the compound movements. During his college career Towle focused on growing the powerlifting and body building community at Penn State as a member in the Penn State Powerlifting Club
