OAKLEAF - Oakleaf Crossfit gym owner Shannon Willitz invited about a dozen of his athletic friends to his garage for a little lifting and wound up staging one world record during his Static Monster Worldwide Championship on Sat. Oct. 24.

“There are about 75 events like this around the country where competitors lift in the Log Lift and Axle Deadlift and then we compile all the lift totals and determine a top 10 list for the Static Monster World Championships next summer in Ohio,” said Willitz, a frequent World Strongman master’s competitor who just returned from an event in Australia. “We have some competitors going for world records including our only female competitor, Melisa Meyers, out of Miami.”

The Static Monsters World Championships is scheduled for July 24, 2021 in Obetz, Ohio. Willitz’ event came by way of the World Strongman Competition being cancelled due to COVID and competitors wanting to give their extensive training some competition on the world stage.

The most exciting lift of the day belonged to Jacksonville-based Navy guy Richie Stout, who popped off two world records in the Axle Deadlift to earn the Mens Under 90 Kilogram (200 lbs.) world title.

In an article on Barbend.com by Roger Lockridge, Stout, a multiple national and world games competitor, was touted as the best in the world after the worldwide qualifiers with his 791.67 pound lift on his third try at Oakleaf.

At the Oakleaf event, Stout, 34, a former lacrosse athlete, “warmed up” with a 685 pound attempt the opened with a 730 pound total that got him amped up to go after the 761 world record.

With his second lift at 765, Stout easily (pun) and with a smilish grin as he stood holding the massive weight for longer than the competition standard, dropped the bar and insisted on more weight.

“I was feeling good at 730 and thought the 760 would go right up,” said Stout, a Florida Game and Fish officer. “From there, I had one more lift into unknown territory.”

With the bar now loaded to an incredible 791 pounds, Stout readied for the lift with quiet confidence before blasting the weight off the floor amidst a standing ovation from the 50-strong gathering of fellow competitors.

“It was my third and final lift of the day and I think I want to go for the 800 at the world championships in July,” said Stout.

For perspective, the established world Men’s Open champion, Zydrunas Savickas of Lithuania, won his fourth world title with lifts of 429.9 pounds for the Log Lift and an astounding 912.7 pounds for the Axle Deadlift.

For the lone female competitor, Melissa Meyers, 35, of Fort Lauderdale, who came in as a former Texas high school wrestler, a female fitness competitor after a broken foot curtailed her running ambitions all the while being a secretary as a job.

“I’ve lifted a few trucks in the parking lot, but not over my head,” said Meyers, a stout 135 pound competitor with muscle-laden legs and arms. “I broke my foot, starting lifting, went to powerlifting and ended up in the Strongman events. These are my people; big giant guys.”

Meyers, number one ranked in the Under 62.5Kg (137.5 pounds) division, has top lifts of 81.81 Kg (180.36 lbs.) for the Log Lift and 229.55 Kg (506.07 lbs.) for the Axle Deadlift.

The Static Monsters Worldwide championship event, an online event since 2015, featured 985 athletes; 761 men and 224 women from more than 20 countries, who recorded lift totals that were eventually sent to Queensland, Australia, the Static Monster organizers, where overall winners were determined.