Julius Maddox


Julius Maddox is an American powerlifter who is the current world record holder in the raw bench press.

Records

On August 31, 2019 Julius Maddox pressed with wrist wraps and without a belt, surpassing the 738.5 lb record of Kirill Sarychev.
On November 17, 2019, Maddox pressed with wrist wraps and without a belt, beating his own world record.
In March 2020, Maddox set the American and world bench press record at at the Arnold Sports Classic in Columbus, Ohio besting his own previous record of 723.1 lb that he set at an event in Corpus Christi, Texas in June of 2019. The record prior to that was 722 pounds by Eric Spoto, set in 2013.
Maddox competes at a weight of around 450 pounds.

Gym lifts

In February 2020 Maddox benched in the gym, sharing it in a post on Instagram. His previous best lift in the gym was 755 lb, done in January 2020.
Maddox also holds multiple unofficial repetition World Records on the bench press, including pounds for 3 reps, and for 7 reps.

Personal life

Maddox was born and raised in Owensboro, KY, where he still lives today with his wife Heaven and their four children. In high school, Maddox was recruited for football by several top Division-1 programs, but faced troubles with drug addiction, depression, and jail time. Because of this, Maddox eventually faced a choice between two 5-year prison sentences or entering a recovery program. Maddox entered the recovery program, where he found a set of weights and began his powerlifting journey.
Maddox had been lifting for around seven years at the time he set the world bench press record. Maddox credits lifting weights to helping him overcome his addictions and problems.
Maddox has stated that one of his personal inspirations is C.T. Fletcher. His progressive goal is to bench press 800 pounds.