Club members
Get to know our talented Gateshead Stadium Powersports Club team. We are made up of a group of talented, hard working and determined lifters who always put in maximum effort every time they walk through the gym door.
Shaun Kelly
Chairman
Club chairman and previous International Powerlifter for Great Britain. My aim is to work as hard as possible to ensure Gateashead Powersports is right at the top of the Yorkshire North East Division with regards to producing new talent as well as reviving old school lifters & dragging our club into the 21st Century
Glen Blacklock
Club Secretary
Multiple caps for Great Britain Powerlifting & has been competing in the sport since the 1980's, so he knows his stuff! Multiple record holder throughout the years, Glen still trains & competes regularly and has decided to undertake the role as club secretary upon our re-formation. He is responsible for administration tasks.
Steve Gott
Club Treasurer
Like Glen, a multiple time lifter for Great Britain & has been competing since the 80's, known for his financial savviness & innovation, he was an obvious choice for club treasurer where his role is to administer the bank account & produce accurate accounts/forecast out turns.
Paul Bennett
Club Member since 2011
A member for 6 years now, Paul has developed into a top quality lifter, taking multiple British and regional titles along the way.
Andrew Forbes
Club Member since 2014
Andrew or Drew has been lifting at GPSC since 2014 after a brief spell lifting at Northumbria Uni. He has quickly became one of the top squatters at the club, but that 260kg squat still eludes him in competition, he's hoping to turn that around soon.
Erik Spink
Club Member since 2016
Erik is possibly our "Rookie of the year" ever since he came to our club he has done nothing but improve, consistantly putting in quality training sessions, he has gone on to do very well as a number of regional events and is looking to qualify for this years National championships in October.
Stephen Armstrong
Motivational speaker & Lifter since 2015
Passionate, funny and crazy, but a damn good lifter too, Stephens presence is always a welcome one at the club, boosting morale whenever he is in the gym, he is looking to compete on a more regular basis this year after some bad inuries have kept him quiet recently.
Shak Attack
Olympic Weightlifting Head Coach
Head coach of our Olympic Weightlifting Branch, Shak attack, heads up a group of highly motivated individuals who not only compete in Olympic weightlifting but use this style of training to develop their abilities in their other chosen sports. Shak has previously lifted at regional and national level in Weightlifting & has broken national records in the Clean & Jerk
Dorothy Shaw
Club Legend and first GPSC Hall Of Famer
Words can’t describe how much of a miss Dorothy’s presence is at GPSC, she was quite simply put, the best Female Powerlifter in British History, breaking world records left right & centre, all after she broke BOTH of her knees in a horrific accident in the late 90’s. She personified determination, respect & commitment, and above all was a terrific human being & our friend. Her memory will indeed live forever at GPSC. Dorothy said it best, “Only the Strong Survive, and legends never die”. R.I.P Friend.
Mark Andrew
Olympic Weightlifting Member since 2017
Mark has been lifting for the Olympic Weightlifting team at GPSC since 2017 – while he is yet to compete, Mark is consistently turning up to sessions and giving absolutely 100% effort, and we can’t really ask for much more. Keep it up Uncle Phil.
Susie Butler
Member since 2017
Susie enjoyed a very successful lifting spell whilst lifting for the well renowned Bournemouth Barbell, lifting for GB at 3 International contests & then for England at the Commonwealth Championships 2015 – where she won Gold in all 3 disciplines and obviously overall. She is looking to regain her mojo after she moved to Gateshead to be with quite possible the best looking man in history.
Pardeep Singh
Club Member since 2013
Pardeep took up Powerlifting at age 40 and hasn’t looked back, and has competed well over 6 times in his 4 years at the club, at regional and National level, the big 6ft 5 deadlift machine from Punjab is a proud Sikh and is always educating us on his culture which is always cool to hear about. He’s a great guy to have around the gym and an inspiring lifter.
Jonathan Edwards
Olympic Triple Jumper & club Alumni
Jonathan Edwards, Olympic Gold, Silver, 2 World Titles and still holds the world record for the Triple Jump (the record has now stood for 21 years!) and it all began at GPSC - he enlisted the help of Norman, to develop his strength & mindset, he incorporated olympic weightlifting & powerlifting into his training and transformed himself from a competitor into the greatest of all time. He is now a BBC pundit travelling to every Olympics and world games, a real testament as to what people can achieve at GPSC
Norman Anderson
Club Alumni
Norman has been competing in Powerlifting since the 1950's - although retired now, he was once the most well renowned physio in the country, working with the England rugby team, and olympians alike, but it was his performances on the platform himself that really impressed us, at the age of 72 Norman was still benching 140kg and turning up to sessions week in week out, he still gets in touch & is one of our crowning jewels (without Norman, there's no Jonathan Edwards!)