Weston-super-Mare woman turns to powerlifting to beat body-image struggle

Phoebe Pothecary competes nationally in powerlifting

A Weston-super-Mare woman who struggled with her body image says powerlifting made her "proud" of her body.

Phoebe Pothecary, 20, struggled with her weight for years and tried many home workouts during the pandemic, but found nothing that worked for her.

But it was one trip to the gym in July 2021 that opened the door to her love of the "unique" sport.

Now competing nationally, Ms Pothecary says she dreams of coaching others and "helping the sport grow".

In an interview with the BBC's Extra Time programme, Ms Pothecary said the idea of going to a gym used to "terrify" her.

"I was not sporty at all," she said. "I did no exercise, I ate terribly and struggled with my weight a lot throughout secondary school and college.

"I struggled massively with my mental health, physical health as well, and in the end I was like do you know what? I just need something new."

The next day, Ms Pothecary headed to the Hutton Moore Leisure Centre in Weston-super-Mare with a friend.

"That one day, that was it," she said. "I signed up for a gym membership the week after."

Ms Pothecary hopes to become a powerlifting coach

Powerlifting athletes compete in the squat, bench press and deadlift categories, to see who can lift as much weight as possible for a single rep.

Ms Pothecary currently holds personal best records of 135kg (298lb) squat, 76kg (168lb) bench press and 150kg (330lb) deadlift.

"A lot of sport events are very competitive and quite serious, but from the events I've been to there's this other side of it, where everybody spends so much time supporting everybody else," Ms Pothecary said.

"I've cried watching other lifters get their lifts because you want everyone else to win, even though you want to win yourself.

"Being so positive about the sport is what makes it so unique."

Ms Pothecary placed first in her weight class at her last regional event

Less than a year into the sport, Ms Pothecary has qualified for the 2024 Junior British Championships, taking place at the Gymshark Lifting Club in Solihull next month.

"Don't get me wrong, there's still days when I look in the mirror and hate what I see. I think that's natural, everybody has those days," she said.

"But at the same time, after all the training you've done, how hard you work, the things you achieve, there is just no way you can't somehow be proud of that."

Ms Pothecary currently studies physiotherapy at the University of the West of England in Bristol, and has goals of becoming a powerlifting coach to help other women who may also struggle with their body image.

"Hopefully getting people into this sport and sharing these things can actually reach out to somebody, and we can tackle the 'fit equals skinny' mentality," she said.