Mount Olive Man Sets State Powerlifting Record

By Steve Sears

On July 11, Mount Olive’s Robert Parisi set the state powerlifting squat record for his 120-kilogram (264.5 pound) weight class at the USA Powerlifting New Jersey State Championships held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Berkeley Heights.

Parisi, who lifted 666.9 pounds and broke the old record by five pounds, is no stranger to lofty attainment in his sport. His latest conquest comes on the heels of a prior record setting accomplishment. “I used to compete in super heavyweight,” he explains, “and when I was a super heavyweight - you're talking 300 plus pounds - I set the highest all-time squat in the state of New Jersey, 804.7 pounds.” His record in that weight class still stands.

The USA Powerlifting New Jersey State Chair is John Dalessio.

Prior to the state meet, Parisi had lost 87 pounds while battling various health conditions, so he and his coach since 2018, Wilson Martinez, were forced to gauge where Parisi was strength-wise, and they had a written plan in place. “I wasn't really nervous,” Parisi says of the moments before walking out on stage for his winning lift. “I treated it like I would any other meet that I'd competed in before. The hope was that I was going to get this (the record), and obviously, when you're kind of walking up there, you go in there with a blank slate. You try not to think about it. And I can tell you, the end result was just utter elation, because that was really almost a full year of extremely difficult work - me getting myself back into tip top shape.”

Parisi’s next goal is to hopefully qualify for the USA Powerlifting Raw Nationals. “In order to qualify at 120 kilograms, you have to total a collective 1,741 pounds, and that's between the squat, the bench press and the deadlift,” says the full powerlifter, who takes part in all three while competing. In addition to the 666.9-pound squat lift, Parisi also tallied highs of 370 in the bench press and deadlifted 628 in the state competition.

Parisi, a 2012 Mount Olive High School graduate, is a lifelong township resident. He briefly recalls his school days. “I was a member of the football team, and I was also a thrower on the track team, where I threw the shotput. Athletically, my career carried over into college. I went to Montclair State, where I was a hammer thrower.” Parisi, who initially trained with coach Larry Melillo, was 20 years old when he received from a friend a link to a powerlifting meet. He weighed 242 pounds at the time, and entered the junior division competition, where he tasted his initial success in the realm. “I wound up placing first. So, I've been competing ever since then, for seven years now.”

Parisi, whose training spot the past two years has been Topshelf Fitness Center in Rockaway, which is owned by Tommy Trilivas and his fiancé, Liana Martinez, credits his current coach with much of his success. “I've been training with Wilson (Martinez) ever since I got started, so it kind of made sense, obviously, to get coached by someone that you train with on a daily basis. In terms of where he took me from in powerlifting, when I started with him, I was squatting 700 pounds, and he got me up over the 800 pounds; I was benching probably around 330 to 340, and Wilson got me up over 380. And then in terms of my deadlift, my deadlift improved a lot. I was pulling in a low from maybe the mid-500s, and Wilson got me to around 650, 660 pounds. I improved a lot under him.”

And then there’s more – beyond the barbells. “And then, as a person, he's really like a second father to me. And I can't say enough good things about him, how he’s helped develop me, and not just in powerlifting, but in life as well.”