Eric Spoto

Eric D. Spoto (born October 22, 1976) is an American arm-wrestler and powerlifter, who specializes in the bench press. He previously held world record in the raw (unequipped) bench press with 722 lb (327.5 kg) achieved on May 19, 2013.

Eric Spoto
Born (1976-10-22) October 22, 1976
Long Island, New York
NationalityAmerican
Other names"Vanilla Gorilla"
OccupationPowerlifting (bench press), Arm wrestling
EmployerSuper Training Gym (ST)
Known forRaw (unequipped) bench press world record
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Websitehttps://ericspoto.com/
Competition record
Powerlifting - Bench Press
Representing  United States
Kings Of The Bench VIII (Hardcore Powerlifting)
1st 2012 +140kg
2012 SPF Mens Fall Open[1]
Disqualified 2012 +140kg
SPF California State Championship 2013[2]
1st 2013 +140kg

Early life

Eric Spoto was born and raised in Long Island, New York.[3] He was interested in strength sports and powerlifting from early on. In the 90s he moved to Las Vegas with his family. While having never competed in a powerlifting meet he started competing in armwrestling occasionally and had unofficial practice match victories against arm wrestling champions including Allen Fisher,[4] Michael Todd, Dave Randall and Travis Bagent.[5][6]

Powerlifting career

Having previously trained with bench press world record-holder Scot Mendelson in Los Angeles, Spoto realized his potential of breaking Mendelson's raw bench press world record of 715 pounds (324 kg). He decided to pause his arm wrestling career to start training specifically for the bench press in pursuit of that record. While training at Super Training Gym in Sacramento, California, owned by Mark Bell, lifting with Stan Efferding and Creed Childress, Spoto became popular in the powerlifting scene for posting bench press videos on YouTube, showing him pressing in excess of 600 pounds (270 kg) for multiple repetitions.

Eric entered his first official competition weighing 321 pounds (146 kg) on October 20, 2012 at Boad's Kings Of The Bench VII in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he bench pressed 660 pounds (300 kg) on his first and 700 pounds (320 kg) on his second attempt, becoming one of only three men in history to ever bench press 700 lb raw in an official competition and winning the prize money for the "Biggest Benchpress of the Show".[7] Spoto also won the "500 Pound Strict-Bench-For-Reps Challenge" of the competition by pressing the 500 lb raw easily for ten repetitions with plenty more in the tank,[8] outclassing the runner-up Al Davis by 3 reps.

In his second competition on November 3, 2012 at the 2012 SPF Mens Fall Open, titled "Backyard Meet of The Century", competing on the raw bench-only flight, Eric Spoto was expected to break the 715.0 lb raw record, but failed three times at attempting 716 pounds (325 kg).[9]

At the 2013 Southern Powerlifting Federation (SPF) California State Powerlifting Meet in Sacramento, California on May 19, 2013 Spoto competed again and finally broke the record. Eric successfully bench pressed 661 pounds (300 kg) on his first, 716 lb on his second and 722 pounds (327.5 kg) on his third attempt wearing only a singlet, belt and wrist wraps.[10] By pressing 722 lb raw Eric Spoto achieved the highest bench press ever performed without the aid of a bench shirt, surpassing the previous mark of 715 lb, set by Scot Mendelson 8 years before in 2005.[11] Eric Spoto is currently the #3 ranked raw bench presser in the world as of March 2020, when Julius Maddox set the American and world bench press record at 770 pounds 350 kg at the Arnold Sports Classic in Columbus.

Personal records

Powerlifting competition records:

done in official powerlifting meets

  • Raw Bench press – 722.0 lb (327.5 kg) @ 315.5 lb (SHW)[2] raw with only wrist wraps and belt (May 19, 2013 SPF)

Powerlifting gym records (unofficial):

done in the gym (based on video footage)

  • Raw Bench press – 315 lb (143 kg) for 45 reps[12]
  • Raw Bench press – 405 lb (184 kg) for 26 reps[13]
  • Raw Bench press – 500 lb (230 kg) for 17 reps[14]
  • Raw Bench press – 605 lb (274 kg) for 8 reps[14]
  • Raw Bench press – 645 lb (293 kg) for 4 reps[15]
  • Raw Bench press – 675 lb (306 kg) for 3 reps[16]
  • Raw Bench press – 735 lb (333 kg) for 2 reps[17] 3 board press
  • Bench press – 725 lb (329 kg) for 2 reps[18] with slingshot
  • Bench press – 765 lb (347 kg) for 1 rep[19] with slingshot
  • Raw Bench Press Video Compilation http://ericspoto.com/videos/

Personal life

Born on October 22, 1976, Eric Spoto grew up in Nesconset, New York. He was the second of three children born to Danny and Pauline Spoto. He has two sisters – Stephanie and Gary. Today, he lives in Henderson, Nevada in the Las Vegas Valley.

See also

References
  1. "2012 SPF Mens Fall Open-Lb Results" (PDF). Southern Powerlifting Federation. SuperTrainingGym.com.
  2. "SPF California State Championship Results (May 19, 2013)". Southern Powerlifting Federation. SPF. Archived from the original on 2015-12-10.
  3. "Eric Spoto: The Man Behind the Bench Press World Record". LIFT.net. LIFT.net.
  4. Eric Spoto practicing against Fischer in a surprise press
  5. Eric Spoto in practice against fischer....caught
  6. Devon Larratt about Eric Spoto
  7. "Eric Spoto Raw Benches 700 Pounds at BOADApparel.com's Kings of the Bench VIII". HardcorePowerlifting.com. YouTube.com.
  8. "video: Eric Spoto 500 lbs for 10 easy reps". YouTube.com.
  9. "Eric Spoto World Record Raw Bench Attempts - Backyard Meet of the Century". SuperTraining.TV. YouTube.com.
  10. "video: Eric Spoto Raw Bench Press World Record - All 3 Lifts (Mark Bell Commentary)". SuperTraining.TV. YouTube.com.
  11. "video: Eric Spoto 722 lb World Record Raw Bench Press - Official Video". SuperTraining.TV. YouTube.com.
  12. video: Eric Spoto SMASHES 315 x 45 bench press!!
  13. video: Bench Press 405 20+ reps
  14. video: Eric Spoto and Stan Efferding benching
  15. video: Eric Spoto 645 for 4 Raw
  16. video: Eric Spoto 675 x 3 raw bench press
  17. video: Eric Spoto Board Presses 705 and 735
  18. video: Eric Spoto 725 Sling Shot Bench
  19. video: Eric Spoto 765 Maddog Bench
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