Mossel Bay's powerlifting pastry chef eyes records at world champs, appeals for support to get there

JOHANNESBURG – Stephano Reid’s powerlifting journey began in 2003 when he saw people posting videos on Instagram and Facebook about the sport.

Already going to the gym to be fit, Reid transitioned to powerlifting, falling in love with the discipline the sport demanded.

And now, years later, the athlete from Mossel Bay who competes in the under-60kg category has been selected to represent the country at the 2025 WPC World Powerlifting Championship held in Durban from 4-9 November.

"I’m hoping to compete at World Championships in November, and I'm hoping to set a world record squat, a world record bench and another world record deadlift. If I can't get a bench, then I will work harder on getting a world record total. So that is the goal, competing at World Championships, achieving another world record squad deadlift and a world record total. That is what I want to achieve," said Reid.

Powerlifting is a strength sport where competitors attempt to lift the maximum weight possible in three specific exercises: the back squat, bench press, and deadlift. 

"I want to be able to know that I can achieve a three, 3.8 times body weight, squat and a 4.2 times body weight, deadlift and a 10 times body weight total that is the goal. That is the goal to achieve this year," said Reid.

Athletes compete in different weight and age classes, receiving three attempts for each lift to accumulate their total, the sum of their heaviest successful attempts — the lifter with the highest total in their division wins.

Earlier this year, at the WPC National Championships, he shattered the deadlift record, lifting 232.5kg at only 60kg bodyweight.

The pastry chef at Café Gannet told Eyewitness News that sport had taught him discipline and time management.

"Since my first competition, I just continued powerlifting, because it keeps you from doing certain things. It makes you a lot more focused and requires a lot of discipline. So it teaches you how to manage your time, because if you have a full-time job like me, you have to manage your time between family, between your training, and between work. So that's why there is a lot of discipline," Reid said.

The 32-year-old told Eyewitness News he needed help getting to Durban to compete at the World Championships and has set a BackaBuddy page and to help raise fund to cover travel, accommodation, and training costs.

"The support that I need is help to get to the World Championships. To get to the World Championships is not easy, and it's, to be honest, it's financially high stakes. So for me to travel to the World Championships, I'm going to need all the support from South Africa because I have, like, less than two months left, and I need financial support. To book flights, accommodation, and travel. So if I can get all the support towards World Championships, it would be amazing."

In 2024, during the Metal Madness Redemption competition, Reid set a new national squat record of 170kg, a new deadlift record of 215kg and achieved a national record total of 477.5 points for his age group and in the under 60kg division.