Shane Nutt hadn’t initially set out to become a powerlifter; he just wanted to be the “strongest, fastest, most physical person out there” on his high school football team in Ionia, Michigan.
His coach, Mike Holes, happened to have a strong background in competitive lifting — he even coached a team at the school that placed third at high school nationals when Nutt was a senior in 2018.
Nutt “ended up not being the best player,” by his own admission, but he’s found his groove as a powerlifter. Recently relocated to Franklin alongside his girlfriend, local native Kloie Doublin, Nutt won his weight class at the Powerlifting America Junior Classic Nationals in Orlando, Florida last month to secure a berth in the IPF World Classic Junior Powerlifting Championships in Istanbul, Turkey on Sept. 3.
It’s his first appearance at the IPF worlds; Nutt had qualified as a sub-junior years ago but wound up not being able to compete due to a broken leg and a dislocated ankle. He’s been plagued by ill-timed injuries since.
“It was one of those things where I was always ranked No. 1, but then I always had some sort of roadblock,” Nutt said. “I just never could make it past the nationals, or even go to nationals.”
Those setbacks made finally getting over the hump that much sweeter for Nutt.
“Just kind of realizing that powerlifting is really about the process,” he said. “It took me this long to do it, but I’ve … enjoyed the process of just continually failing every single time. It just made me a better lifter in the end.”
Nutt met Doublin at Midland University in Nebraska, where the two were members of the perennial national champion powerlifting team. He moved to Johnson County last year to start building up his training business, Nutt Strength Systems, which he runs online and out of Warehouse Gym in Franklin.
Doublin, meanwhile, has her own international competition to gear up for — on Saturday, she’ll be trying to earn a medal in equipped powerlifting at the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama.
Lifting equipped has been a different experience for Doublin, a former raw world champion.
”There’s definitely a technique to it,” Doublin said. “If you don’t get it in the right spot, then you’re just kind of screwed.”
At last year’s world championships in Norway, for instance, Doublin says she pulled her bench press shirt down a little too far and it nearly led to disaster — “That’s the first time I’ve ever had 350 pounds coming at my face,” she recalled.
Despite the challenges that came with competing in her first international equipped meet, , Doublin finished fourth with a total of 602.5 kilograms — 507 pounds on squat, 331 on the bench and 491 on the deadlift. She’s considerably more comfortable now, noting that she benched 396 just a couple of weeks ago and hopes to crack 400 in Alabama.
Doublin plans to return to raw competition at some point, and when she does, she’ll be ready — training alongside Nutt, Doublin says she’s been hitting raw personal bests lately too. But spending the past year in Nebraska, working full time and training with some of her former Midland teammates, offered the ideal chance to try doing equipped.
Lining up perfectly with that was the fact that the World Games are being held in the United States this year; Doublin has always wanted to compete on that stage.
“I didn’t want to miss that opportunity,” she said. “World Games is the most prestigious level of the sport — they’re talking about moving it to raw eventually, but it’s still equipped and it’s always been equipped, so we’ll see. But it’s neat. I also like that this is the beginning of powerlifting history, so it’s kind of nice doing the history of powerlifting.”
In a little more than a week, Doublin will relocate to Pikeville, Kentucky, where she’s set to begin studying at Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine. She’s taking a break from competing for at least her first semester — she turned down an invitation to the IPF worlds this fall — but she’s still bringing some equipment with her and setting up a gym in her garage there.
“Knowing me, I probably won’t be able to stay away for too long,” Doublin said.
Especially since Nutt has no plans to walk away from the sport anytime soon himself. He points to numerous professional athletes who continue competing into their late 30s and even past 40 and envisions himself following a similar path.
“I think I’m going to do it until I really can’t anymore,” he said.
