Seven-hundred and sixty pounds. 760 pounds. No matter how you look at it, that's a lot of weight. That would be an average squat and a decent deadlift for a superheavyweight, but Jamie Harris BENCHED that weight. Jamie is one superior bench presser. Some of you might have read in some magazines that he has a "controversial" or "bad-boy" image. If you have ever spent any time with Jamie, you would see that this is completely unfounded. He is quick to help, but he is also quick to call a spade a spade.

What is really amazing about Jamie is his "rags to riches" (or at least rags to comfortable living) story. When he was an "up and comer," he lived a life very different from what he now enjoys. He worked as a High-Impact Juvenile Delinquent prison guard at the Allegheny County jail which he equated with working with "the scum of the scum." He lived in a very spartan life in a very small run-down apartment. He literally used his talents, the bench press and marketing, to work his way up to his present situation. Now, he not only is a powerful bench presser who once held the world record, but is an accomplished businessman selling supplements and powerlifting supplies. At one time, he even owned a gym. This gym, called the Monster Factory, was a "blood and guts" powerlifter's dream. Only serious powerlifters were members. There was a competition bench press, dumbbells up to 150 pounds, a platform, a squat rack, a monolift, tolerance for liberal use of chalk and talc and most importantly a great atmosphere.

What brought about Jamie's early retirement from the sport and the dissolving of his gym was a freak accident that occurred during training. One heavy bench press work out, he tore a tricep doing skull crushers. On his last training cycle before he injured himself, he was well on his way to breaking the 800 pound bench press record. He crushed a new personal best of 775 pounds. When ASL spoke to Jamie soon after it occurred Jamie's only thoughts were of his fans and how they wanted to see him break the record and of how he should not have pushed himself as hard as he did to once again hold the record. However, Jamie, true-to-form, has bounced back with plans to expand his supplement business and start to resume his professional wrestling career.

Credit: mcshane-enterprises.com