Today we’d like to introduce you to Carina Davis.
Carina, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am a world record powerlifter. I’ve always lifted weights and worked out. I was in an abusive relationship for two years and when I left, I vowed to never be weak again. Mentally and physically. I would never allow a man to put his hands on me again. I also became a single mom to a beautiful little boy and I promised to only show him strength and courage. The same time, I left that relationship, my dad passed away after being paralyzed from the neck down for 1393 days. I started making powerlifting and competing for a huge priority in my life. I adopted the hashtag #1393 in honor of my dad.
In 2016, I got viral meningitis and almost died. The strand of the virus was known to leave people unconscious and kill them quickly, but I defied the odds and fully recovered after a month at home with an IV in my heart to administer medicine. After meningitis, it took me six months to get my immune system to recover and have an autoimmune disease for eight years, made it harder to get healthy. Once I did, I started training full force and was on the platform competing within six months. Eight months later, I broke the world record on a bench at 314. I held state and national records as well. I started coaching others online and continued competing. I broke the world record bench again in August at 341. My goal is to be number one. To keep inspiring other women to compete and to love themselves. The bad relationship and pregnancy weight and losing my dad had caused me to lose all my self-esteem. I hated my body, I tried to run and eat very little and get as small as possible. It wasn’t until I almost lost my life and got into powerlifting that I realized that I need to love my body and love what I’ve survived. I’ve put on 20 lbs. of muscle and absolutely love my body more than I ever have in my life. I just want to inspire people to love and accept their bodies and celebrate what their bodies let them do. Today, I am a top super heavyweight powerlifter and I’m still rising. I’m competing in April at the Kern US Open, a prestigious invite-only top lifter meet for money. I’m coaching more and more athletes and helping people love their bodies at all shapes and sizes.
Has it been a smooth road?
Every day is a struggle. I work full time and take care of my family. I’m tired, I’m sore, I have little time but at the end of the day, I’m chasing my dreams. I struggled with not feeling strong enough. I struggled with how my body would look in a singlet. But I set all my fears and doubts aside and reminded myself I GET to lift. I get to do this. I get to compete. And the powerlifting community has been supportive and I learned to love my body and be comfortable in my own skin. My advice to young women is to just love your body. Love one part of yourself every day and tell yourself over and over again until it becomes true and you believe it. If you want to powerlift and compete but are afraid. Get a coach or find friends to help you and just go do it. Have fun. You gotta start somewhere and you will be happy when you do it and realize you actually did it!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Quadzilla619 – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I am a powerlifting coach. I provide online programming and feedback through client videos and communication. If I am within a 2-hour drive of their meet, I am there for them on the meet day otherwise I am there via text and FaceTime the entire meet. What’s sets me apart is that I actually care about the success and self-love part of my clients. I want them to feel confident and feel happy as they get stronger and progress.
Who have you been inspired by?
Any Survivors of domestic violence who not only get away from their abusers but speak out and try to help other women. Sarah Strong is a powerlifter and survivor of domestic violence who speaks out and is. A huge voice trying to make a change. Any women who have overcome their body images and learned to love themselves. Randi Lee is a powerlifter in Hawaii who went from self-destruction to self-love!
Contact Info:
- Email: quadzilla619@gmail.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/quadzilla619
Image Credit:
@aperture_byangelica @chyna_._white
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
