A Deep Dive Into Vietnam's Powerlifting

#36 - Powergrifters - Episode 5 (Part 2): Gaston[e] With the Wind

Estimated read time: 1:20

Summary

In episode 36 of The Squat Plug, hosts Julie and the team engage in a conversation with guests Mang and Sunno, co-chairs of USAPL Vietnam, to unpack the complex dynamics of powerlifting in Vietnam. The discussion highlights the inception of USAPL Vietnam amidst challenges with the existing IPF-affiliated federation, issues of corruption, and the difficulties of establishing a credible powerlifting scene in a country where doping is prevalent. The episode underscores the commitment of Sunno and Mang to creating a fair sporting environment and their aspirations to uplift the powerlifting community in Vietnam. With anecdotes from their personal journeys and previous experiences, the duo sheds light on the potential of USAPL Vietnam to foster a more authentic and inclusive powerlifting culture.

Highlights

The episode dives into the unsavory side of the IPF and its affiliates in Vietnam, highlighting issues such as corruption and nepotism. 🚨
A key focus was on the mock meets and how Mang and Sunno built USAPL Vietnam amidst adversities. 🏆
Discussion also covered the broader issue of doping in powerlifting, with ethics and integrity at the core. 🌍
Mang and Sunno are committed to challenging the status quo, aiming to build a fair powerlifting federation in Vietnam. 🤜🤛
The journey of creating USAPL Vietnam is depicted as a battle against the odds, striving for authenticity in sport. ⚔️

Key Takeaways

USAPL Vietnam is tackling corruption and power abuse in powerlifting, striving for transparency. 🛡
Corruption and misconduct are rampant in IPF Vietnam, affecting the integrity of the sport. 🤯
Building a credible powerlifting community involves overcoming significant organizational and cultural hurdles. 🏋️‍♂️
Mang and Sunno are dedicated to fostering an honest and fair environment in Vietnamese powerlifting. 🤝
The discussion sheds light on the challenges and triumphs of establishing USAPL Vietnam in a developing sports scene. 🌟

Overview

In this riveting episode of The Squat Plug, the hosts sit down with Mang and Sunno from USAPL Vietnam to explore the rocky terrain of powerlifting federations in Vietnam. It’s a tale of ambition and resilience, where Mang and Sunno describe their efforts to establish a fair and transparent powerlifting association. The duo recount the various administrative and ethical challenges they’ve faced, including issues related to corruption and favoritism within the existing IPF-affiliated federation in Vietnam.

As Mang and Sunno narrate their journey, they paint a picture of a sports landscape riddled with obstacles— from fake federations failing to uphold international standards, to a community where doping is prevalent due to lack of robust checks. But amidst this, their commitment to nurturing an honest powerlifting environment is unwavering. The episode highlights how they’re working towards nurturing talent based on merit and hard work, rather than shortcuts and unethical practices.

This candid discussion not only lays bare the gritty realities of powerlifting in Vietnam but also opens up a broader dialogue on the need for integrity and reform in international sports federations. Mang and Sunno’s experiences provide valuable insights into the efforts required to cultivate a genuine sporting ethos in developing sports communities worldwide. Through their candid storytelling, the duo encourage listeners to become advocates for fairness and transparency in sports.

Chapters

00:00 - 03:00: Introduction and Guest Introduction The chapter introduces the podcast episode, welcoming listeners and introducing the guests, Son and Min, from USAPL Vietnam. It hints at discussions about experiences and activities related to the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) in Vietnam. The hosts also encourage audience engagement through likes, comments, and shares.
03:00 - 07:30: Son's Background and Powerlifting Journey This chapter introduces Son, who is a co-chair of USAPL (USA Powerlifting) in Vietnam. The conversation opens with a light-hearted mention of who has the 'higher dots', a term likely related to powerlifting rankings or scores. Son introduces himself to the audience.
07:30 - 13:00: Ming's Introduction and Initial Involvement The chapter introduces Ming, who is the current country chair for USAPL Vietnam. Ming provides a brief background about himself, mentioning that he is in his late 20s or early 30s, and hails from Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. He reveals that he began powerlifting in 2017, adopting the sport as initially a casual endeavor rather than a competitive pursuit.
13:00 - 18:45: Issues with IPF and Vietnam Powerlifting The chapter discusses the transition of an individual into a coaching role, managing a roster of elite powerlifters in Vietnam, particularly known for their bench strength. The person also shares a bit of personal history, mentioning time spent overseas, including high school in Singapore on a government scholarship and a math degree pursued in a small town.
18:45 - 25:00: Formation of USAPL Vietnam The chapter discusses the early involvement in the organization side of powerlifting, specifically highlighting the establishment of the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) in Vietnam around 2018-2019.
25:00 - 35:00: Fraud and Corruption within Vietnamese Powerlifting Federation This chapter delves into the issues of fraud and corruption within the Vietnamese Powerlifting Federation. The speaker, identified as 'M', shares their introduction to powerlifting, which began in 2001 at an event hosted by the Georgia Tech Marell Club. Although born in Hanoi, M mentions growing up in Fanta, highlighting a personal background that intersects with the broader context of corruption in sports federations in Vietnam.
35:00 - 40:00: Communication Attempts with IPF The chapter titled "Communication Attempts with IPF" discusses the author's initial exposure to a sport at The Citadel nutrition headquarters, where they first encountered mock meat. This introduction sparked an interest that persisted, leading them to continue training sporadically. Upon arriving in Vietnam, the author's training continued inconsistently until they eventually met th and other members associated with the sport.
40:00 - 47:30: USAPL Vietnam's Current Situation and Future Plans The chapter discusses the challenges faced by the USAPL Vietnam as an affiliate of the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF). It highlights initial cooperation that later turned into a need to part ways due to persistent issues within the IPF such as corruption and nepotism, which appear to be prevalent problems across various regions. Despite understanding that every federation has its challenges, these particular issues seem inherent to the IPF.
47:30 - 54:00: Challenges with Drug Testing and Steroid Use in Vietnam The chapter delves into issues related to favoritism and corruption in drug testing and the abuse of power, particularly in Vietnam's context. It highlights gender-based misconduct and systemic misuse of authority, drawing parallels with global instances like the IPF's similar challenges. Additionally, it touches on controversies like the USAPL's handling of transgender issues, particularly the debates arising in Minnesota, emphasizing the widespread nature of these problems.
54:00 - 65:00: USAPL Expansion and IPF Criticism The chapter discusses the financial implications of pursuing legal action in court, suggesting that funds could be better utilized elsewhere. In comparison, the chapter highlights serious allegations concerning the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF), including potential rape allegations involving top-level officials. These allegations are not new, with certain negative behavioral patterns being present for years. A particular individual has been in a leadership position within the IPF for 17 years, and the gravity of these issues is only now coming to light.
65:00 - 80:20: Discussion on Global Drug Testing Issues The chapter focuses on the unique issues related to global drug testing in sports, particularly within the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF). It opens with a reflection on longstanding issues that have surfaced over the years regarding drug testing within federations like the IPF. The conversation hints at complexity and the significant impact these issues have when they arise. The speaker acknowledges the rapid shift in the discussion topic but emphasizes the importance of understanding what makes the drug testing processes and problems in these settings distinct.
80:20 - 90:00: Coaches' Concerns about Steroids and Growth of Powerlifting The chapter discusses the increased interest and participation in powerlifting in Vietnam and the role of the USAP organization. The speakers describe their gradual involvement in the sport and organization, indicating a strategic buildup before diving entirely into the scene. The narrative includes a reference to a timeline, mentioning the year 20122 as a significant period, though this appears to be a typographical error. Overall, the focus is on how powerlifting has developed in Vietnam and the organizational efforts to support its growth.
90:00 - 94:30: Conclusion and Future Outlook The chapter discusses the impact of a governmental lockdown on gyms and personal training during an unspecified crisis. It also highlights a personal transition where the narrator ends a partnership with the Vietnam Powerlifting Federation (VPF) and relocates to Saigon, a city in the south of Vietnam.
94:30 - 97:30: Guest Social Media and Contact Information The chapter discusses the resumption of activities by the VPF, with efforts to organize meets. As a coach, the speaker participates by sending lifters to these events, despite not having a strong relationship with the BPF at the time.

#36 - Powergrifters - Episode 5 (Part 2): Gaston[e] With the Wind Transcription

00:00 - 00:30 welcome to the squad plug this is uh Julie uh join us for episode 36 where we're joined by son and Min out of usapl Vietnam who have their own stories to tell about uh about the ipf out in Vietnam and the shenanigans that they're up to um like subscribe comment share and enjoy the show what's up guys welcome to the squat plug episode 36 I am joined by mang and sunno of uh Vietnam they're involved in um uh or
00:30 - 01:00 they are the co-chairs of uh usapl Vietnam so welcome to the show fellas I don't know uh who wants to start here um maybe who's got the higher dots who's got the higher dots I think that would be me um technically me but uh you can start okay uh um so hello everyone I'm uh son no uh I'm the
01:00 - 01:30 current uh country chair for usapl Vietnam uh I'm I'm a 20 30 something uh I was born in Hanoi which is like the capital city of of Vietnam I started powerlifting very late actually I I started in like 2017 and I was uh I never really competed I was more of a uh like casual lifter who is essentially a like
01:30 - 02:00 transition to becoming a coach so I do have like uh a roster of quite Elite lifters like people call us the uh the bench team in Vietnam not because we were yeah oh very cool I I spent some time overseas so I went to high school in Singapore uh so it was like four years under government scholarship and then I did a math degree in uh in college in a small town in
02:00 - 02:30 Illinois uh yeah and I I was uh I was more involved in the I would say the the organization side of of powerlifting very early on because uh I I was also with the group who was uh starting the ipf Federation in Vietnam in like 2018 2019 yeah um maybe Ming can can like
02:30 - 03:00 right so um my name is m and um I got my first introduction to power thing in 201 I believe it was that a uh hosted by the Georgia Tech Marell Club so um I was also born in Hanoi but I grew up at at Fanta right and um yeah I I that was the mock meat the
03:00 - 03:30 mock meat was a The Citadel nutrition headquarter and that was where I I got my first introduction to the sport and ever since then I just kind of been training on and off so when I got to Vietnam I was still training on and off and eventually you know I met th and what would be other members of you know
03:30 - 04:00 what would be the ipf Vietnam affiliate and then um yeah eventually you know we all get along initially but eventually we just have to part ways due to some of their practices yeah from what we understand I guess the ipf has some issues pretty much everywhere it's at you know um I understand every Federation has its own problems and whatnot it just there seems to be I want to see this particular cter of problems which seem to follow the ipf everywhere you know like things like coruption things like nepotism
04:00 - 04:30 favoritism things of that nature whatnot you know like grease palms and so on and so forth and some very nasty Behavior you know uh from men towards women is what I what seems to be part for the course you know just like absolutely it's basically text a textbook of use of power you know um and it seems to be everywhere that I hear stories about the ipf okay so um usapl has its own issues and whatnot through the the whole transgender debacle in Minnesota which is just it's I I personally think it's unnecessary you know when it comes down to stuff like that you don't spend
04:30 - 05:00 hundreds of thousands of dollars pursuing things in court and whatnot I don't think it's the answer like that money could be better directed towards other things what I feel but that pales in comparison to the other stuff we're hearing coming out of the ipf you know like what happened last episode you know hearing talks of potential rape and that rape allegations that kind of stuff and it's not just taking place I guess like at a lower level it's at the very top of the ipf and there certain behavioral patterns which have been there for like for years and years and years you know this person's been in charge for what like 17 years or something like that you know and we're only now just finding out
05:00 - 05:30 about these things that have taken place which like happened years and years ago so there's something unique about the ipf as far as federations go and the problems that they have you the problems that they exhibit and whatnot the things that uh that take place wherever they take Route you know so I'm actually we're curious here to hear exactly what those issues happen to be bro went from zero to 100 real quick I guess we're just diving right in uh I would like to not dive in real quick on that but it looks like uh we we set us up set ourselves upward with that said let's roll back little right we actually just
05:30 - 06:00 like dive entirely in you know we're up to the our ankles right now to our knees should I say let's roll back in and get ready to dive but um let's build it up so um okay so you guys like you're you're running uh the usap out Vietnam when did that begin oh I think maybe I'm better equipped to answer this uh so I think the year was uh 20122 um this was like right after um co co uh and and like so so in Vietnam we
06:00 - 06:30 had like a total lockdown and and the government just basically like stopped everyone from going out and that definitely hurt like gyms and and and pting meats so uh right after that was uh uh I already like partnered ways with the with the vpf so the ipf group in Vietnam um to to move to Saigon which is where I'm located now uh which it's a city in the South
06:30 - 07:00 and um I think after that the so the vpf like started again and they they try to like organize meets and I naturally because I'm a coach I also I also send like a lot of lifters to to these meets and I I just uh it wasn't like I wasn't like on very good terms with the BPF people at the time but I was not like big Le or
07:00 - 07:30 anything and I sent them if I if I may ask uh like what what took place I guess like to make you on not so good terms with them like was there something they did you just like not like the way they operate so we we started a business together right it's like a gym and I I left them um like around 2021 I would say personal reasons but there's also quite a lot of like just realizing that I we don't share the same um values so I just like left
07:30 - 08:00 it was not it was somewhat amicable yeah understandable so so I sent like these two lifter to to their first meet that you know started after Co and one of them this there was like this girl who who basically wrote like a block review of the meat you know she was like pointing out how like all this little things like they they allow people using socks to put on knee sleeves and everything and immediately they sent out
08:00 - 08:30 like I mean it wasn't it wasn't like directly from them but it's like these people who were friendly with them they went in and like criticized her and basically made it a whole like a cyber bullying thing and it was that point that I I I realized that there was like a it was not a friendly environment for for me to as a coach to send lifters too like you you have to like uh basically pray some every step
08:30 - 09:00 of the way kiss their ass and or you're like you know just out of everything and I realized uh this was not very good and I wanted to I I suppose at that point was like the the point I I I decided that maybe we should start something else over here uh so so we we got in talks with with like usapl uh I I was like emailing with John Thomson as early as
09:00 - 09:30 2022 um but I didn't have like a team behind me and it took like 2 years for for like you know I I started coaching more in in the South I started like uh maybe like getting to know the community around here a bit more and and and we yeah cuz what people don't realize is it takes a while for you I get to actually get that Network set up you can't just start a Federation over expect this to
09:30 - 10:00 work out you've got to get referees you've got to get people get to be spotters and loaders and that kind of stuff you have to have a large enough interest I guess to generate whatnot to have all those people show up it's not it's not that quick it's not that easy so kudos to you that's that's a that's a ly process you know so uh yeah um we onboarded Ming along the way uh Ming was actually one of the biggest patrons for vpf as well uh because he uh he basically lent out his his like Lao
10:00 - 10:30 equipment to to BPF uh for for all of their meets uh and and yeah that's that we uh we did some mock meets uh last year like two of them and then and then we just went full-blown with the usap this year uh nice congratulations uh so how many people did you have uh show up to your first meet it was uh 80 people but actually it's because um we uh we limited the the the sign up capacity CU
10:30 - 11:00 we didn't want to overload our crew initially uh but but the signups were filling up very fast it was like in two days and we had to like open 10 more spots yeah W uh I've got a question though like go going back to the vpf and whatnot um has uh Vietnam ever fielded uh lifters uh what call it in uh in the ipf like ipf worlds anything at that level uh so they did send lifters to APF
11:00 - 11:30 and ipf but it's it's funny thing is these people were not like from Vietnam they're they're like you know uh not Vietnamese Nationals they they live in the UK or you know they so so it was like they would fly to Vietnam like a tourist and they take the they do one of their qualifying meets and they get like added to the roster and then they just go on the are they are are they
11:30 - 12:00 Vietnamese in origin at least or just like like random people like you know is John Smith flying to Vietnam to represent Vietnam no the they enemies so um okay I was about to say uh so in 2023 I believe they did send do Vietnamese National but they but it was you know Malaysia for the Asia classic yeah right but for IP worlds I don't think so though at least there's one International meet where they did
12:00 - 12:30 technically send them so they really they've been around for how long if I may ask since 29th so so six years and they have one one uh like one occasion where they went outside of the country itself interesting and what makes them do something like like why why pick lifters that don't live don't reside in Vietnam oh because they're well uh I would say it has to do with u one not having competitive enough
12:30 - 13:00 blitzers and two they just can't afford it so yeah fair enough cuz you know like the the per capita income in in Vietnam is quite low and every trip to the ipf like ipf world is like what UK um yeah yeah it's not cheap does the uh does the the government of Vietnam at all Finance uh uh the powering Federation out of there at all or not so much because I know with some of these other countries the government actually involves a in the process I think in
13:00 - 13:30 Poland for example so the the funny the funny thing is uh I don't see them getting any sponsorship uh in the foreseeable future because the powerlifting Federation in Vietnam under the ipf is not a governmental organization they has they have no recognition from the government and they are currently filing as an LLC so for the last six years not even a nonprofit an
13:30 - 14:00 LLC yeah if if memory serves the ipf requires you to be at least a nonprofit correct yes uh so as a provisional member you're supposed to be either be a nonprofit or a government recognized Sports Federation uh they are neither so it's an LLC it's not even nonprofit and it's still uh like a conducting business as the official uh ipf affiliate within uh
14:00 - 14:30 Vietnam interesting you know we see these exceptions these weird things taking place all all the time just like the last conversation we had with Danny we're looking at uh us uh sorry ipf Korea uh Whatchamacallit I forget what it was the kpf and whatnot not even having a charter not even having its Constitution whatnot and them being okay with it them him being gasted about whether or not it actually existed and finding out it didn't exist and what what allows them to get away with that I I don't know man like uh based on I'm sorry go ahead so I mean I was uh I'm
14:30 - 15:00 probably quite equipped to answer this just because I was directly involved with their application to the ipf process um basically I was I saw all the file links so uh I mean the the the Crux office is just very poor oversight so the ipf would like just as long as they you get like your footing in like a small country and and you pay the your dues every year you're fine they they
15:00 - 15:30 don't check anything they don't ask you to produce or they don't you know they don't check whether so as long as as long as the ipf is getting paid then they can pretty much do whatever they want um I I and and how much is the ipf being paid how much are the dues if I'm ask for Vietnam if if you know I I believe it's 4 400 for per year for for the ipf and 200 to the APF so 600 bucks
15:30 - 16:00 in total or is it Euros I don't remember but it was around that ballart yeah probably Euros probably Euros yeah not too big a difference Tim um so $400 to $600 to run your a mock or like TR I say like a like a like a scam Federation in your country doesn't even abide by the rules doesn't like you like actually like you know work off of like you know the basic tenants where they need need to be not for profit what other issues did you notice I mean were they at least
16:00 - 16:30 abiding by the rules when it came down to running their meats uh so the meats are the thing is because it's a sham Federation they they don't have any sort of like so they're referees they're not trained you know they don't get any certification um so like there is a lot of inconsistency within the organization of the meets you know like overruled lifts are common you know uh people getting Mis depth when they you know
16:30 - 17:00 squat ass to grass is it's very common uh and like very long pauses in the bench and that sort of thing uh because they have no quality control they have no training for the referees yeah uh that's just that's absolutely wild to be like knowing how I guess strict uh you know usapl and even power LIF America to be honest like how strict
17:00 - 17:30 they are with those type of rules the referees have to be um you know they have to take the the testing and you know you go through different levels and like it's just wild to me that the the ipf allowed vpf excuse me uh VPS to just kind of run a muck you know and not and not have to follow any of those rules I mean this is more or less what we're hearing bro I mean look at Korea look at Tobago and whatnot you know like uh like it's instant after instant of this taking place what now where they basically just turn a blind eye over
17:30 - 18:00 there whenever and whenever somebody raises these issues and says hey how about we do a little bit better they Gaslight they they they hem they haul they stall they do everything they can to prevent anything from taking place over here it just like you know like it's systemic you know it's not just like a one-off instant here and if I may ask uh before we get on to the other things what not uh when it comes out so we talked about like the depth calls and that kind ofing all over the place um or is the equipment check I guess even consistent are they sticking to like you know the ipf guidelines the ipf approval so so no they they do have like a ipf uh
18:00 - 18:30 they follow ipf approval list but they also have their own list of approved equipment so personal parel um I I talk to you guys about this prior to this uh you know they they vpf this Federation is basically working directly uh with this equipment M manufacturer seller uh called Pigman and
18:30 - 19:00 they they have their own approved list of like Vietnamese made equipment Vietnamese you know Distributors who pretty much got items from from from China and like like cheaper factories and they sell it and they uh they collect a fee just like the ipf but it's like their own like vpf approved list of equipment uh and uh so it's it's an alternate approved list that has nothing to do well that has a little bit to do with the ipf list and just adding things
19:00 - 19:30 there without having paid the ipf to have those things on the list the one of the funny I think incidents was when uh I think the the the vpf president she was Banning ipf approv equipment because she didn't know it was on the list and then they she allowed yeah and she allowed her own like yeah approved equipment for vpf so yeah of course yeah dude talk about corruption is [ __ ] hilarious holy
19:30 - 20:00 ohd you can't you can't wear that here I never heard about I think it was I think it was or or A7 uh yeah that's fun yeah it's part for the course man you just hear this all the time um but at least I guess like you know like they have like their well not at least because this is pretty pretty terrible but at the very least you know like uh they're not you know like selling knockoff equipment you know like from SPD or something like that now they uh well actually oh
20:00 - 20:30 man do do you want to talk about this m or uh well I well basically um I was a little bit uh I went away from the paltin community but I um I read the thread on a the Facebook group and basically what happened was they claim to be a distributor of SBD correct
20:30 - 21:00 however they couldn't provide you know like um any receipts of them purchasing the equipment from SBD all therefore the patron of vpf yeah so one of our part wow the plot thickens yeah so one of our partner in usapl Vietnam pretty much just asked him a simple question like hey um if you
21:00 - 21:30 guys are a distributor of SBD can you provide you know like proof of purchase from the company and they couldn't provide it which led us to believe that they probably just bought a bunch of knockoffs in China and then reso it as the actual SBD at a much higher markup so for the audience out there um wondering how this is possible it is very easy to do this um if you
21:30 - 22:00 reach out to the manufacturers because it's they all operate under one like umbrella they it's like there's a one little cluster out in China that produces everything for everybody A7 stoic SPD my our brand whiteo it's all produced in the same location now if you're an unethical piece of [ __ ] what you could do is actually request that they produce your stuff for you with the Brand's name on there like actual SPD A7 yada yada and this is what it sounds like is taking place here but now so this is this is just an accusation over here well not accusation but it sounds
22:00 - 22:30 like basically you know like this is a concern of yours and they didn't have anything to to prove otherwise now the next step here of course would be to reach out to SBD and to find out whether or not that's the case did anybody try to reach out to SBD to figure out whether or not are these people authorize or not and did you get a response yeah so I I actually did and actually at that point which was in 2022 they even made like a Instagram so it was like SBD Vietnam so I just so I just sent them that and I was like hey do you guys actually have like
22:30 - 23:00 a official distributor in Vietnam and they were like so there was I still have like the Instagram like conversation on my phone uh and they were like they had no idea this happened and I think at that point they sent Pigman like a cease and deas so uh so like they they deleted all of this stuff and they basically just quietly move the part where they say you
23:00 - 23:30 know we're the distributor on their website oh man that's rich is the Instagram account down as well is it's not there anymore oh my God guilty as charged oh my God bro and oh man so this is taking place now this is all happening this like and this is ridiculous stuff honestly if this happened here in in America usap I think even power lifting America whatnot where whichever entity had done this would would be like expelled you right you have a what
23:30 - 24:00 called like like I don't know like usap New York do something like this it be it be a rap for them now this is taking place has anybody brought this uh to the attention of the ipf leadership uh I think multiple email threats has been sent um I also like sent them repeatedly maybe like a lot of maybe like 10 times in different parts of the the the timeline as well uh and and who did
24:00 - 24:30 you get in touch with like some lowly ipf Clerk or something like that I mean surely didn't get in touch with like a the oh man the I definitely email I try to email uh Gaston par and Robert Keller and yeah they would give me like very cryptic responses but it's like very different for for each of them so so I think the official policy is like to bu you know like say we're yes we're on it
24:30 - 25:00 yes we're going to check with uh Lao we're going to check with spds and then nothing uh interesting so we're looking at at actual fraud here and these people are still doing business with them when did you send those emails if I if I may ask was it recently was it a couple years ago a couple months ago yeah I I the last one I I sent was probably like a year ago or two years ago and
25:00 - 25:30 nothing's happened yet wow because it's it's not just SPD that they they were faking they um so if you if you if you are in the scene uh you know that they have like a full set of Lao equipment uh on all of their competitions uh the the combo rack and the bar we know were leged because the the combo rack was actually Ming and he uh he first land out to them and then he
25:30 - 26:00 sold them for cheap um but the calibrated plates are not illegal they're basically just like knockoffs and you you can sort of tell because of the of just how fast that they wore out and and the yeah and the fact that they got this Lao calibrate plates brand new in 2022 but the model was uh discontinued at that point so there was like a older version of La it sounds about right uh I
26:00 - 26:30 actually reached out to Alibaba like what call back in 2020 during lockdowns what not here in U in America and I was trying to get my own uh run of plates done and whatnot and I found out very quickly that uh many of these Brands cuz I end up buying them from Rogue and from what call from Ghost and these other guys were actually sourcing them from the same place that I was ordering them from that they were actually being made in China I'm not sure that that applies to Leo I honestly don't know but I do know for rogue and for ghost uh the vast majority if not all their
26:30 - 27:00 plates and whatnot are produced in China I think ELO so that would explain the old I thinko does it in house but it's not very hard to you know just have the shape of Elo and yeah it's not the same paint interesting interesting so we have these things taking place over here and whatnot um I don't know it's uh some serious issues here you guys reached out to the ipf and that takes place so what are what's what's currently going on out there right now with the usapl in Vietnam are you guys being bothered by the ipf whatnot or they try to you know
27:00 - 27:30 Gunk up the works what's taking place what's the dynamic out there right now what's the on ground presence out there experience hold on before we before we get to that did anything ever happen with the the knockoff Alo plates they're still yelding it they're still in use I think I think they sent them for like a repaint job because I don't see them on premise anymore one of my lifter live at their gym so this is just so crazy to me that they allowed to just get away with all this and the ipf is not doing
27:30 - 28:00 anything we poke them a lot of times they just don't care that's so crazy and like and and the ipf has been notified of all this and still yeah yeah so that's just I think they're very aware I mean we see just not doing anything I mean yeah like maybe they think that uh it if they do kind of uh I guess come in and tell these guys they can't do the things that they're doing that maybe they'll cease to be paid
28:00 - 28:30 their yearly due I you think that's what it is um I mean it's not even a lot of money it's just yeah it's not that's what that's another thing that's surprising to me it's like I don't know you just think that um uh an organization that feigns such Integrity would care more about what Affiliated organizations are doing you know what I mean it sounds like it's such an utterly
28:30 - 29:00 chaotically run Federation not even like you know to to to to those Spears in Direction barbers in Direction but it's legitimately what we're seeing over here like the it is poorly administered poorly run you know like these issues over here for $600 a year and whatnot I mean like just to sell to tell people no whatnot you know and you're selling your integrity out for 600 bucks like whose decision is this like who's okay in this well that's the thing right it's like it's supposed to be the top Federation for at least raw drug-free powerlifting you know and it's just I the fact that they just they have no
29:00 - 29:30 oversight into these you know Affiliates you know all across the globe and that that they just don't I don't know that's just it's just wild to me I mean because it's wild I I know it just it pisses annoys me you know the same thing here it's like weaponized [ __ ] I don't know like [ __ ] like incompetence you know like it's it's like to the nth degree like however they can [ __ ] up on they're doing so they going oh you know what's a big deal just going about we're
29:30 - 30:00 doing our best pretty much it's once you get a stamp of approval it's you know law of the Jungle here well it's also wild to me too because of of um how on top of the usapl they were you know they'll let all these other federations and these other countries do whatever they want but usapl wants to do uh you know testing at local levels and use you know their non-w compliant testing but they're still using local
30:00 - 30:30 Laboratories and you know it's it's they're still getting testing done you know at at a level where testing usually isn't done and the idea is like okay maybe we can catch some people before they get to higher level competitions and things like that and you know ipf said oh well if you're not going to do lot of compliant testing then see you later but it's like so you're going to hold us to that standard but you're not going to hold anybody else to that same standard and and I hear people like the the the ipf stands and the power America fans what not talking about how oh
30:30 - 31:00 there's more to it than that and I I wait for the more to it than that and there is no more to my with the usap ipf uh beef it was more you know um we test they tested a bunch of people usapl tested a bunch of people they came up positive and then ipf says that because these tests were not water uh you're going to revert all of them and allow all those people back in yeah yes yeah but it it goes back T you know like
31:00 - 31:30 tting Notting that's what beef Cent itself around but yes you're absolutely correct though that did indeed take place some local tests had people pop positive and then the whatam call ipf said no no we can't do this yada yada and so you're going to have to reverse this and from what I understand the the the the Crux of the argument centers around uh now we're going to have to force these smaller countries to do so as well and it's expensive and I get it it is expensive but nobody's expecting small countries out there like you know like like Vietnam whatnot to be to be forced to do this kind of stuff if they have the ability to do so they can like you like add a fee that makes it
31:30 - 32:00 permissible doable whatnot that I we get it but the US has the ability to do this usapl chose to do this like you know the brother Bennett's message in the usapl here uh and why the ipf Affiliated itself with the usapl was to test people uh uh like U stringently and to to weed out as many fake NES as possible because you know they want to keep the sport fair you know so like you know the argument falls apart it seems you know like you call yourself a drug test of federation when you see but technically we can't do it to other people that but how does that make it wrong for these
32:00 - 32:30 people who can do it to do it you know yeah my my experience with usapl has been quite Pleasant because uh they have all the rules and and and like a system that we could just like tap into and uh everyone has been very supportive you know with uh very responsive maybe because we were like the new Federation or something um but I've not heard any like
32:30 - 33:00 problems with like the other mid directors have which is a nice thing no but that's that's great though I'm I'm very excited that usapl has gone International and I'm hoping that they can grow you know the uh uh the international body IDP IDPA yeah I'm just hoping they they can grow that to rival the ipf um i' hope so as well not for that else I mean the the usapl does indeed
33:00 - 33:30 have the more competent leadership I mean it's like patently and like so very obviously like you know better the people I speak to also the usap Affiliates and what not like the the few who I've spoken to also seem to be a lot more invested in the process itself and just have a better understanding how things work out they do better jobs of enforcing rules so on so forth that much more protesting so you you get you get that you get that vibe from them compared to like the other place I guess we should discuss one the ipf Affiliates that's patently not the case so I would like to see the the usap become the international body whatnot it just is
33:30 - 34:00 very tough right now with just how ingrain the ipf is and with the sheff field and this that and the other thing but now you start to wonder and you start to think the Sheffield is run by SPD right the SPD is now putting money behind a federation which has brushed under the rug allegations of rape which has uh Whatchamacallit allowed for people to copy their their brand and to sell it as though they were like you like whatam call producers of the brand itself or like they're or they're certified sellers you know
34:00 - 34:30 nothing's been done about this so the SPD SPD is doing a whole lot for ipf right now I don't think the ipf is doing [ __ ] for them I mean right now we're looking at these big companies what not their their reputations are being affected by this for anybody who who gives a [ __ ] or listens whatnot you know so I I I don't know what's going to happen in the future but I I I don't think it bolds well for the ipf this is some Reckless Behavior on their end you know like objectively like like how dare you do this you know while having these other companies when not thrusting their their images their brand behind you whatnot you know just it's it it blows
34:30 - 35:00 my mind and and like the craziest part about this is just how quiet the whole par Community happens to be I know there a couple of people out there right now like you know stirring the pot and like you know saying oh hold on a second that's USA usap what about what about you know the little chees yes whataboutism whatnot I'm not going to name names uh there's one person particularly in Northeast you know who does a whole lot of this but it's just crazy you know what happened to like people's outrage and whatnot usapl does anything whatsoever and whatnot like everybody's out there with the pitch forks ready like you know like to to come at whoever a literal rap rape
35:00 - 35:30 allegation was dropped here and nothing [ __ ] nothing it just blows my mind so I I hope the usapl ends up winning out over here not for else but like legitimately they they seem out of two federations to actually give a [ __ ] about lifters to take this stuff seriously and take the the sanctity the support seriously and to actually uh make themselves as close as possible or you know as humanly possible an actual drug tested Federation a drug- free Federation I don't see that happen to the ipf whatsoever I don't see them like giving a [ __ ] about enforcing and standardizing the sport for fliers at all you know and
35:30 - 36:00 I'm sorry that in Vietnam that's the case do you guys deal with that uh with with the ipf or sure say like the uh Vietnamese P Federation out they doing what it does but it sounds like you guys may have the start of something really good going on right now and if you have 80 people at a cap meet and this your first year out there I think the future is indeed very bright for usapl Vietnam one thing I want to add why we want to do drug test and why it's necessary is because um seems like in Vietnam if you don't drug tests then it's just kind of like well you know it's not technically
36:00 - 36:30 against the rule they don't find out right whereas you know like I guess in places like Singapore or the US the populace they have more sense as to like you know well why would I use drugs for recreational sport whereas you know here they just they think this it's like well let just use it anyway right well honestly
36:30 - 37:00 uh uh Vietnam is not the only country to have that and contr contrary to the opinion you may have it's a it's very common in the US as well there there are quite a few people over here who pop positive and there are many uh there quite a few people I know uh who have been untested and have gone over the par America I think with with Vietnam we don't want to have a lot of uh steroid usage is because if you think about like the demographic of people who who do
37:00 - 37:30 powerlifting in Vietnam it's it's a lot of beginners and and beginners tend to like they want more results and you know the the coaching level expertise or like just the depth of coaching is not on par so so the the very quick solution is to know you see like lifters in the world stage and just do steroids um but it ultimately I think the problem is it it kind of degrades
37:30 - 38:00 like the growth of both lifters and coaches because you haven't done the like the due diligence to you know to learn programming to learn like all the biome mechanical like issues with like each of the lifts and you just like pop off and and and that ultimately yeah it destroys retention it destroys basically the future of of of the power liting community because you know nobody learns anything and it's just like a quick fix
38:00 - 38:30 to to your plateaus right and it probably destroys the individual using too you know and and it saddens me yeah I I call I call these coaches it saddens me that that some of the biggest name coaches in Vietnam are just using a lot of like steroid lifters to promote the image and and it's it doesn't sit well with me basically so Vietnam is also a very small community a relative like gu like the p commun whatnot I can imagine I guess you guys are very in tune with
38:30 - 39:00 what's actually taking place behind the scenes the conversations are flowing the Discord chats the group chats and that kind of stuff the screenshots are moving from one person to the other it sounds to me like the there may actually be like you know some something taking place underneath the service over there to to Really promote the use of steroids and tested feds because we we we do have traditional bodybuilding and we don't have you know like natural bodybuilding yet not to the extent that it's like a like a community so so it's it's all like connected right
39:00 - 39:30 the the bodybuilding people try to sell more steroids and and these like coaches they just like you know give out very high volume programs very high volume high intensity stuff that ultimately forc the lifter to like okay maybe we're just going to take this to to to do the program better um and yeah so so ultimately I think the problem is uh for smaller federations for smaller countries like
39:30 - 40:00 ours doing a lot of steroids just degrades the growth of the sport because you you take shortcuts and you don't learn you don't you know you don't learn your rpes you don't learn how to like you know structure your blocks that kind of stuff that's interesting perspective there you know because we deal with an tested over here as well I mean here we do have the abilities I guess like to have people I guess like which I'm called very well coached and many good coaches still uh you know coach people who are on on SAU all together it's like a different
40:00 - 40:30 set of problems that seems to be ongo right now in Vietnam you know it's it's a unique problem to want to see one of the newer federations do you guys have any untested federations over there uh we do we have like a wrpf affiliate are those are okay so are those much more popular uh they're not they're gaining a lot of attaction for for their summer meat equally as popular then
40:30 - 41:00 uh it's the the thing with with with untested is the the retention is not very high because once you get on gear you know you you get very strong for a year and then you you know things fizzle out because you you plateau again or you know you run out of money to pay for all that drugs there's a conversation me and mor had with somebody very recent yeah so uh but but let's not go there but they do get a lot of attaction because I heard John hack is coming to
41:00 - 41:30 Vietnam in July so yeah okay to I guess a show of strength uh they probably paid him to to do that okay yeah sound that sounds very John hack yeah you just show up and pull 9905 and show off my muscles I mean I might come just to to see him
41:30 - 42:00 I mean it is John hack you know what I mean it is I mean I would probably go too let's be honest I'm playing out I booked a ticket to Vietnam as we speak um was it the whole month of July you said so you got you guys have a meet though coming up right it's in May um the the second meet it's it's going to be fun uh we uh we have a sort for the price cuz it's like lot of the Rings themed yeah your Instagram handle is Tom Bombadil yeah so I can imagine it's not
42:00 - 42:30 a coincidence I I should get around to so how many people do you go first uh no go ahead I I was just going to ask how many people do you have signed up for the meet so far uh so right now we have like about 40 people uh and I I don't think it's going to increase by a lot but it's uh it's probably going to be good for us as well because it's faster like I'm I'm
42:30 - 43:00 learning and where are these meets and and where is this meet being held it's but we do have like a schedule for the year is like five Ms and the the the other two is going to be like in different cities so one in the middle of Vietnam and one in the north so that will be fun as well awesome awesome okay cool okay well well good luck with that where and where can you find that um list is it on can you can you find you
43:00 - 43:30 guys through the usapl website or so all the sanctioned meets are on the website because as long as we get yes on the calendar calendar just just search for uh for Vietnam I guess vnm I'm actually Che so now we uh I think we have we actually we have we have we have a lifter in Vietnam I'm not I'm not I'm not sure where she's located but you mean like the lips 2 I know I talked to him uh Derek Derek it's
43:30 - 44:00 actually Derek's girlfriend yeah Derek was talking to me about his uh his girlfriend competing um and he yeah she's uh Sophia is actually my my uh my partner Sophia is actually coaching her right now yeah he was actually looking for a coach in Vietnam as well and he kept switching because uh her her previous coach was also like a steroid using
44:00 - 44:30 coach fair enough fair enough uh but yeah he's over in Australia I I've been trying to get him to compete um I I think I think um usapl got rid of usapl Australia though correct yeah I think so um I I don't see it I heard that yeah because he was doing um he did APF Nationals and uh but it they haven't we've been
44:30 - 45:00 waiting like nine months for them or like eight months for them to post something about this year's Nationals and they still haven't posted anything so I'm like yeah we need to find you a better fed but based on everything you're saying about the ipf Affiliates I'm like I want to steer them towards usapl if it's an option yeah I I think Australia is such a in such a weird situation with the yeah I know is on its own and it's
45:00 - 45:30 crazy yeah I know so I don't know we'll see what happens in the future but he's got some uh he's got some potential that guy is strong squatter very strong squatter he's so funny he's so like just casual about it too and he'll like he'll send me voice memos he'll be like it was so funny like he was like oh my God you're going to clown me for this so hard but
45:30 - 46:00 uh I squatted 250 for four at rp7 and it was just kind of it was kind of meh I'm like dude that's a huge PR like he's just so funny the way he talks about training thing is femur is like half mine the the length build for squats bill for squats the man is build for squats you know who always responds when he uh when he tags me in a squat video you know who always responds y Shady coping like a
46:00 - 46:30 [ __ ] I said to him once I go dude he's squatting your deadlift for reps at sub six 40b later you hear that shady we are totally not bullying our own client we're not this is not happening we're just joking no we are but we we're it's all it's all in good fun I know Derek is is going to listen to this like I'm I'm so excited yeah oh he definitely will he was expecting me
46:30 - 47:00 to expose all the the steroid using well feel free to the floor is yours I do have a lot of of screenshots and evidence but I I just haven't got around to compiling them yet so well once once you do we can have you back on the Pod and talk about it yeah I mean it's uh it's everywhere my us out over there you know uh Greece you know [ __ ] it's it's bro it's like it's it's a huge
47:00 - 47:30 problem I mean people talking about like uh what called ipf being the eventual uh like Olympic uh Whatchamacallit the I want to say like a a gateway to to you know to power for powerlifting I just don't see it happening man you know like how many people I guess pop positive and how how few tests take place and just like you know all the exceptions and that kind of stuff that happen weightlifting is being discussed as like potentially being removed from the Olympics for Christ sake you know you know and and their problems are nearly as bad as like you know with power what not based of the what what I've known what I know over the past over a decade
47:30 - 48:00 now you know it's just I I don't see it ever happening I think it's just a pipe dream uh I do think that if it was somebody uh if we ever did make it into the uh into the Olympics it would be through a better conduit who actually does testing and I just don't see the ipf being that cond with you know like they they talk do a whole lot of talk about like you know how they want to be in the what call the Olympics and so so forth everything suited towards that but meantime they do the most basic [ __ ] which is [ __ ] testing and it's the one barrier to entry that they they have them right they have for themselves right now just like weightlifting yeah
48:00 - 48:30 it just makes no sense yeah there's a lot of problems with even the you know just the globalist agenda of just talking about like the the testing with water you know um there's so many problems with with just this like national uh anti-doping uh like agencies so I I think it's they're going to have to have like a revamp on on like everything
48:30 - 49:00 before before you talk about like just having consistent D testing and like a globalized sort of of sport Federation um do a more centralized uh like a Administration which is never going to happen by the way you know like uh they just turn their back on everybody it's like you know like you you exist they good luck like that's it if anybody about you guys just going to plug up our ears and hope for the best I mean I I
49:00 - 49:30 know that it's ridiculous I mean that's yeah I know that even with the so like the Vada um so there's like Vada right in in each country there like their own like testing agency there's a lot of problem with with Vada in itself you know like the they're not having enough like funds they're not having enough like dcos who are trained and it's it's also a very easily compromised process because that that you know that agency
49:30 - 50:00 is also like under government oversight so there is also interest to sort of like you know just promote certain Sports and not other sports so mhm uh yeah so so it's it's I think in some way having independent testing is it's also like sort of lip service you know because uh then you just pay more to to to do the same thing all over again it's better to
50:00 - 50:30 take some of it inhouse and just sort of try to maintain you know quality control and and at least we sign an agreement right all of our dcos um doping Control Officers and and at least we we try to maintain the Integrity of of that process yeah uh I mean like you you have some standardization there you have some act like in like a an actual process you know and you en forcing which is which is important um but yeah man it's just
50:30 - 51:00 uh it's it's it's good to hear that I guess you guys are doing your own thing out there um ipf is going to ipf everywhere it goes uh just it's basically it's entrenched it's like in its DNA you know if we looking at a new Federation starting out in Vietnam which is on the like you know opposite end of the world and it just started very recently it has the exact same problems that we see in South Korea which is a little bit an older Federation we see the exact same problems we've seen elsewhere in the European federations and in the Whatchamacallit like the uh what you call the more Eastern federations like Russia Kazakhstan these
51:00 - 51:30 other places whatnot it just it shows that whoever's at the top just doesn't give a [ __ ] about dealing with these problems so I would I would tell people out there to basically look for Alternatives honestly you know I get it for some countries what not like ipf does run well and does its job and so on so I think Germany's one of them um I think maybe in the UK you're looking at that as well but for those other countries well you have other Alternatives and I'd say speak to the you know to to members of usapl to to start a process for for Federation actually gives a [ __ ] about Pro provid a standardized testing environment and whatnot you know standardized Sport and whatnot like which basically you know
51:30 - 52:00 gives you I guess the experience you're trying to get instead of just settling for like you like ipf to just basically be be [ __ ] neglected eventually I mean I definitely think the uh the IDPA has the potential to do that I agree the leadership like like you know like it begets that possibility you know that there people out there who know their stuff in the idfp and they care about the sport yep I agree you know um but yeah so out in Vietnam um you lived out uh in Chicago for a little while whatnot um I don't know um
52:00 - 52:30 try trying to see where to go with this yeah let me think um trying to find a nice little outro for us so if I may ask what you what do you do out uh in Vietnam right now besides uh whatam call the the whole me directing thing uh so I'm just an office worker I I actually left uh Hanoi my hometown to do do a masters uh that's in public policy but
52:30 - 53:00 that's going to wrap up soon and now I'm just like you know going to work and I also have like a part-time job as a coach so I have a roster of like 15 people 10 of them are in Vietnam and then five of them are elsewhere but it's it's yeah um do they compete in uh mostly usapl or usapl Affiliates or do they do you have any athletes that do ipf currently so I do have people who um like they switch
53:00 - 53:30 around between vpf and usapl right um which is probably only doable in Vietnam because they don't really enforce art 14 uh other than calling people to uh to threaten them very professional yeah that definitely wouldn't work here in the states yeah um so most of them are doing usapl because uh now that usap is here uh but before that it was vpf and
53:30 - 54:00 uh so my vpf clippers did not have a good experience so so that's also one of the reasons why we we try to start this yeah makes sense men what do you do out there man I I see you talk about stocks a lot trading that kind of stuff I think you're Finance I used to be in education but then uh I I now work for myself and the focus is on finance wow very cool awesome when when are you making the comeback to powerlifting um
54:00 - 54:30 so ironically the thing about um the gym ecosystem in Saigon is um it's not difficult to do powerlifting but it's it just it's just a bit inconvenient because I want you to think about it it's like if I do the main lift at one gym I need the equipment for that but then if I need to do accessory I to like go to another gym that's the that's the
54:30 - 55:00 New York experience by the way it is yeah so just just do just do what I do and not do accessories just do [ __ ] the back just just do an just do an extra couple sets of bench press and squats you'll be fine you might be right but yeah it just kind of put me in this situation where um tring for power lifting it's costing more time than just regular hypertrophy training but there's like a new gym opening up where it's supposed to be more well equipped so let's just see
55:00 - 55:30 what that looks like so maybe this year I'll make a comeback yeah okay we love to maybe like in a few months or something I think there's a I think there's a meet in May in Saigon yeah I I heard eight weeks out heard Ming is like a a gym Nomad he uh I see him in different gyms every other week I love it he's trying to find the one one
55:30 - 56:00 place to call home you know the place that has the capabilities of SBD andal accessories never let them know your next move you know there is technically one but I'm but I'm not going that far fair enough yeah um gentlemen uh thank you guys so much for joining us uh phenomenal episode I appreciate all the Insight um it's crazy just to see I guess how how consistent these stories are the ipf and the stuff that they do you know it what call trago be it in Korea be it out here in Vietnam it's just like you know the
56:00 - 56:30 exact same [ __ ] happening everywhere just it's different people involved you know um I hope they get their stuff together people I guess have the impression that we're just out here to roast the ipf but it's literally it's we're just trying to do a service here for the lifters because you know there's so many people who indeed are covered by the umbrella of the ipf and we just see them not doing anything to make it better for them you know and everywhere that's here in the states that's here which we call it in Korea that's here that's out there in Vietnam and you you like pretty much every country that part what not just there's so many different things that they could do a whole lot better to make things better for people
56:30 - 57:00 and it's very easy to do and it just it's not taking place you know I'm I'm glad you guys found I guess like a better uh uh uh Federation to be part of through the usapl which seems to be I guess recurring Trend and uh we wish you guys the best of luck there um where can we reach you guys at uh like on social media oh so for me is underscore 154 15 15 is the number and then four is uh just f underline 15 F15 or you can just like follow usapl
57:00 - 57:30 Vietnam cuz I think that's that's the more fun one okay I followed I followed yesterday I saw um yeah but um Min were can people reach out to you um my tag on instagram is uh mdore after d that's that's a mysterious one mysterious it up what is what do 15 for 15 mean um
57:30 - 58:00 it's because I used to do weightlifting for as well so so the so the dream was to uh to do super toal training and have like two Meats where it's like six six attempts on weightlifting and nine attempts on powerlifting so that's 15 for 15 yep gotcha gotcha okay very cool have you yet to do that haven't haven't done the super total but I I've done like a weightlifting meet last year so
58:00 - 58:30 I'm hoping to to to get that okay eventually yeah awesome awesome very cool cool all right well uh wish you good luck with that hope it happens uh sooner rather than later again guys thank you guys for taking the time of joining us over here um again to everybody listening what not feel free to reach out to these guys ask questions that kind of stuff follow them um if you're out in Vietnam you need coaching reach out to son man knows what he's doing doing and whatnot uh pleasure having you on board and with that I wish
58:30 - 59:00 you [Music] all you wish you wish us a do you do I guess thank you for uh for giving us exposure all right thank you for listening to our stories pleasure man thank you yeah yeah for sure it's very interesting I I I like meeting with International people and hearing their stories because it's just it's it's I mean even though we hear similar stories and there's like similar themes it seemingly anyways uh you know every
59:00 - 59:30 experience is unique so it's cool to hear and it's much different than from ours over here in the state so yes it is it's always a fresh perspective yeah right thank you guys and uh look forward to having you guys on on the podcast sometime soon thank you thank you have good night night