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Friday, April 6, 2001
Gym owner carries on power-lifting passion
Fowler outmuscles injury to become accomplished lifter
Andrea Wall
Caller-Times
ALMOST six years ago, John Fowler was forced to take medical retirement from the Ladonia Police Department in East Texas.
Fowler was chasing a suspect when he fell nine feet off scaffolding and suffered injuries to his back. He lost the ability to rotate his hips.
Shortly after the injury, he relocated to Corpus Christi so his wife, Kendra, could attend college.
Nine months into his retirement and unmotivated to do much, Fowler ballooned to more than 300 pounds.
Distraught with his weight and battling dwindling self-confidence, he decided it was time to start making changes.
"I really just laid around and got fat," Fowler said. "It was in 1997 that I finally decided to go to a gym and start trying to get some of the weight off."
He started slowly. No weight lifting - only cardiovascular machines, because he couldn't do much more.
After eight months of working out on Stairmasters and treadmills, Fowler dropped nearly 80 pounds.
Satisfied with the loss of weight, he now focused on turning his "softness" into something more solid.
Fowler chose to find motivation in his misfortune. He went from an overweight, out-of-work police officer, to a successful business owner and accomplished power lifter.
He placed fourth in his first power lifting competition in 1998 - just one year after weighing over 300 pounds.
Last December, Fowler became the World Power Lifting Champion. Most recently, he took first place in the men's 275-pound open division at the U.S.P.F Texas State Power Lifting Competition by squatting 740 pounds, bench pressing 440 and dead lifting 705.
Fowler, 33, now owns Ironhorse Gym Inc., where he trains other lifters, including King High School junior Amber Schulze.
"He is an inspiration and role model, and also a friend," Schulze said. "I watch him and how much he puts into his workouts. It encourages me to do my best. He's very dedicated, and that's what makes him a great trainer."
Using those treadmills, started years ago just to lose some weight, has turned into 740-pound squats, 440-pound bench presses and 705-pound dead lifts.
"I wanted to add some muscle, so I joined a workout group at my gym," Fowler said. "I realized I was good at power lifting and I really enjoyed it, so I started doing more and more of it."
Having found solace in a sport that can be seen as callous, Fowler now is trying to help others find success as he did - through power lifting.
Contact Andrea Wall at 886-3631 or walla@caller.com
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a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.
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