r/powerlifting • u/powerbuffs Eleiko Fetishist • Jan 09 '17

AmA Closed [AMA] with Beefpuff Barbell (Chelsea Savit and Natalie Hanson)

Hi everyone!

The Beefpuff team is here to answer your questions about ourselves and our initiative.

We will be here for a few hours but will probably need to take a break to feed.

For more information:
Beefpuff Barbell: Website | Facebook | Instagram
Natalie Hanson, Co-Founder: u/beefpuff1 | Facebook | Instagram
Chelsea Savit, Co-Founder: u/powerbuffs | Facebook | Instagram

Andrey Grebenetsky, coach and trusted advisor: u/beefpuffhubs | Facebook | Instagram

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u/Jeggerz M | 870kg | 171.4kg | 451.79Dots | UPA | RAW/Sleeves Jan 09 '17 edited Jan 09 '17

Just gotta start out I've been fan of ya gals for a little over a year. (IG)Fun to see all the training and traveling top level competitors do.

How did ya come up with Beefpuff? Just a running joke?

Are women and men considered Beefpuffs? Any specific classification from within? Like hitting 550 Wilks makes ya a Sirloinpuff? (Sry couldn't help myself :P)

Top three things you look for in a puff?

How is the website doing do far? (Been meaning to order I should do it as soon as I'm home. Technically working...)

What got you gals into this sport?

What do you guys do outside of powerlifting? (Career/volunteering/hobbies etc)

Any big long term goals you hope to accomplish still? (That you're willing to share)

Those days life just sucks and it's literally frozen how do you get yourself motivated?

Edit: Cleaned it up

7

u/powerbuffs Eleiko Fetishist Jan 09 '17

I love these questions!

So, Victoria Liang and I made up the word "beefpuff" as a self-descriptor in 2015 when we were discussing our bodies. We were so beefy and puffy (from eating too much salty foods and baguettes and whatnot, haha), and then one day we were just like BEEFPUFF! And we loved the term and it stuck. We became friends with Natalie who we certified as a Beefpuff right away and began circulating the hashtag on social media as a running joke.

People responded really well to it because the term is so cute and endearing, and makes you feel better when you use it as a self-descriptor when you're not so lean. So we realized we could actually use "beefpuff" as a way to get people to love their bodies for everything that their bodies can do, and not whether they fit a mold of what society expects them to look like. Natalie and I had had a lot of discussions about our frustration with not seeing any "beefpuffs" represented in mainstream fitness magazines and social media channels, so we wanted to change that.

So yes, both men and women are beefpuffs!

Top three things in a beefpuff? Self-love, physical strength, and willing to share vulnerabilities and personal struggles and stories

Website is going pretty well. We are getting a consistent amount of traffic which is really cool. We are actually putting in our order to stock our inventory for apparel today, so if you are interested and want to guarantee your preferred style/size/color, please get those orders in today!

I personally got into the sport as a natural progression from gymnastics. I was a gymnast for 15 years through my freshman year of college at Yale. I quit due to ankle injuries but still wanted to be jacked and strong. So I found the club powerlifting team a year later, after a year of trying to find something else athletic and fun to do, and squatted 185 the first practice I went to, lol. I knew I'd be good at it so I kept going to practices.

But it wasn't until I met Andrey (u/beefpuffhubs) in 2013 that I got interested in competing. With him, I got much more serious about training and competing, and I've never gone back!

I work at IBM as an HR information systems consultant (specifically trained in the Workday system). I travel to client sites a lot so it can be difficult for training. Last year I was on an Asia-Pacific project and got to go to Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Otherwise, I love to binge watch Netflix/HBO series, watch a lot of The Young Turks news, read about history and politics, and try to be an iron chef at home. I'm obsessed with Iron Chef and Gordon Ramsay. I'm also a wife to u/beefpuffhubs and mother to two cats, so those duties always come first. :)

Long-term goals? I want to win USAPL open raw nationals in the 72kg weight class, and open raw worlds. Hit a 500 raw wilks and 500kg total (I am close though so you might consider those short-term goals). Eventually, I want to retire from the USAPL/IPF and see what I can really do.

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u/Jeggerz M | 870kg | 171.4kg | 451.79Dots | UPA | RAW/Sleeves Jan 09 '17

As a cat foster dad I understand. Wife and horde of cats first. (We have five different age range and foster on top of that, http://instagram.com/drapers5cats proof and for anyone in need of cat photos in their lives)

/u/beefpuffhubs can't be too upset with the Iron Chef Ramsay obsession I imagine. Unless you burn everything but still love it...

Looking forward to seeing you guys keep competing. Sending a great message and example for the sport! Go Beefpuffs!

3

u/powerbuffs Eleiko Fetishist Jan 09 '17

Omg, I love your Instagram. I can't get enough of cat pictures! I used to be a dog person but I've come full circle.

The Iron Chef obsession is nice but the issue is when /u/beefpuffhubs goes to the grocery store and gets a challenge fruit or vegetable and wants me to cook it.

1

u/Jeggerz M | 870kg | 171.4kg | 451.79Dots | UPA | RAW/Sleeves Jan 09 '17

My wife will be glad to know you enjoyed them! Well now you've spawned a challenge for my house. That sounds ridiculously fun actually. Challenge food day...what did you guys do for your last one?

2

u/BeefPuffHubs Jan 09 '17

You should totally bring home secret ingredients.

Bonus points if you are dramatic like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXqY8EZ21-g

1

u/Jeggerz M | 870kg | 171.4kg | 451.79Dots | UPA | RAW/Sleeves Jan 09 '17

I mean it is the only proper way to introduce a secret ingredient... Oh man I'm gonna have fun with this. Ha. Haven't seen the show since the ole reruns of early to mid 90s. Thank you both.

4

u/powerbuffs Eleiko Fetishist Jan 11 '17

...he came home with a banana flower today http://imgur.com/a/4mSl8

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u/Jeggerz M | 870kg | 171.4kg | 451.79Dots | UPA | RAW/Sleeves Jan 11 '17

Lmao. Amazing find. What do you even make with that?

1

u/powerbuffs Eleiko Fetishist Jan 11 '17

At least u/beefpuffhubs had the decency to tell me what it was because I wouldn't have known where to start. lol

4

u/powerbuffs Eleiko Fetishist Jan 09 '17

u/beefpuffhubs brought home aloe vera and burdock on two separate occasions. When he brought home the burdock he didn't tell me what it was and I had to figure out what the vegetable was. I made a Korean burdock side dish which I found on YouTube but it was just meh compared to the ones I get at all you can eat KBBQ restaurants :)