The power neighborhood misplaced a brother with the passing of California powerlifting legend Richard Schoenberger on July 20. Affectionately nicknamed “Huge Daddy,” he was 57 years outdated.
Schoenberger was identified in native lifting circles for his prodigious, unenhanced power. He was a drug-free lifter and achieved his private information “uncooked” (no help from lifting shirts or different implements). His greatest uncooked bench press in a contest was 612 kilos, and he as soon as benched 625 throughout a exercise—on the time a world document within the American Novice Athletic Union. Schoenberger was as constant as he was dominant, posting a outstanding 13-year undefeated streak in bench press competitions by the Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s. His different PRs included a 525-pound standing army press, 850 kilos for 10 reps on field squats, and a 425-pound bench press at age 16.
Schoenberger was a longtime coaching associate of well-known powerlifter, bodybuilder, and actor C.T. Fletcher. The 2 had been so shut that Fletcher always referred to Schoenberger as “my brother.”
A GoFundMe Web page has been created in honor of the late powerlifting icon. Based on his son, Josh Schoenberger, The Richard “Huge Daddy” Schoenberger Legacy Basis was set as much as assist youthful athletes be taught correct lifting method—the type Huge Daddy would usually preach—in a “constructive surroundings.”
Sturdy and Drug Free
“So far as the numbers and competitions, you must have in mind that he was a 100% lifetime drug-free athlete,” Fletcher as soon as stated of Schoenberger’s powerlifting information. “There are solely a handful of men in historical past which might be drug-free guys, lifting in a T-shirt, who [bench-pressed] over 600 kilos. And also you’re one [in Richard Schoenberger]. It’s a giant f–-ing deal.”
Schoenberger’s feats of power went past the burden room, into true strongman territory. In a 2019 interview, he advised a narrative of when he as soon as actually picked up a automobile – a Volkswagen that his father was engaged on within the household’s yard. He lifted the automobile from the aspect and rolled it over, a lot to the shock (and delight) of his dad, an extremely sturdy man in his personal proper.
Initially from Lakewood, CA, Schoenberger performed school soccer as a linebacker and nostril guard at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo for 2 years (1987 and 1988) following a stint at Cerritos Junior School and Lakewood Excessive Faculty earlier than that.
Exterior of powerlifting, Schoenberger was a loyal household man, survived by his spouse Leslee and sons Josh and Zach. Professionally, he was an completed engineer and loved a profitable profession as a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) agent.
“He was precisely what the world must be,” Josh advised M&F days after his father’s passing. “To know him was to like him. He was a real-life tremendous hero. He made you a greater particular person by simply being in his presence.”
An enormous, sturdy man, weighing as a lot as 350 kilos throughout his powerlifting profession, Schoenberger was by all accounts a mild big—an affable, down-to-earth kind that others flocked to. In case you knew Huge Daddy, you appreciated him.
No Greater Fan than His Household
Of all his admirers worldwide, Richard Schoenberger had no larger fan than his son, Josh. As a 12-year-old, Josh remembers one impactful second a father and son outing—on the fitness center, in fact—that modified him ceaselessly.
After years of being taught the bench press fundamentals at house, the 12-year-old shares the story of receiving his first weightlifting take a look at when his father lastly introduced him to a neighborhood 24-Hour Health for a exercise.
The outing started with a small warmup and a few fatherly method ideas, then it was time to raise.
It was bench press day, and Huge Daddy began off with a forty five on all sides for a fast warmup. “I bear in mind he stored saying it was an off day,” Josh remembers. Quickly after, 135 went to 225, then got here one other pair of 45s. After ending a set of 315, Josh says his father turning to him and casually asks, “Ought to I hold going?” “I’m like, yeah, hold going.” Josh stated.
There was a terrifying catch, Josh says: “My father goes, ‘Okay, however you’re gonna spot me.’ I used to be like, I don’t know, it’s actually heavy. I don’t know if I can. And he goes, ‘NO, you bought this.’ It simply gave me this confidence. when he advised me I had it, I actually had it.”
And now with about 40 gymgoers gathering across the space, Huge Daddy proceeded, banging out what Josh says was about 20 reps. On the ultimate rep, Josh stated his father “struggled”—leaving it as much as his him to complete the job. Josh used all his preteen would possibly to get the bar again onto the rack safely onto the rack. Your complete fitness center cheered, after which Richard turned to his son, and confidently stated that it was his recognizing assist that helped him get by the set.
“You and I each know now {that a} 12-year-old ain’t bought an opportunity pulling that weight up,” Josh remembers. “however that was the kind of confidence that he gave to everybody that he met. It was unbelievable.”
Tributes for ‘Huge Daddy’ Schoenberger
“The mightiest man to stroll the face of the Earth,” Fletcher stated of Schoenberger within the days after his passing. “It isn’t his 13 world drug-free titles, his 600+ bench press, his 1,000+ squat, and even his 525-pound strict army press that made him the mightiest. It’s the truth that he all the time had a phrase of encouragement for everybody he encountered. This was my brother. We educated collectively for 35 years, we reigned collectively as champions, and we grew outdated collectively. And once I was nearly lifeless, my brother held me up! He by no means acquired the accolades a champion of his stature ought to have, possibly due to his refusal to ever take any kind of enhancing medicine, or possibly it was as a result of he was actually one of many nicest folks you’ve ever met, with the most important coronary heart you’ve ever seen. His spouse and two sons had been his life. A devoted father, loving husband, brother, and my brother. Now he’s in heaven warming up the bench for us so we will proceed our set – Richard ‘Huge Daddy’ Schoenberger.”
Jeff Tomko contributed to this text.
