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'I trained to lose weight, now I compete for England'

Connor Bennett & Alice Cunningham
BBC News, Suffolk
Jamie Niblock/BBC Archie Cleverley looking sideways at the camera while standing with a barbell behind his shoulders with red weights on either end. He looks to his left at the camera. He wears a blue top.Jamie Niblock/BBC
Archie Cleverley initially joined the gym to lose weight, but found he had a talent for powerlifting

The scientific formula for power is energy over time - and one young powerlifter has been putting in both to pave the way for his success.

Archie Cleverley, 23, from Ipswich, initially joined a gym to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle.

Fast forward a couple years and he is now a junior Commonwealth Powerlifting Federation champion.

As he eyes up competing for England again in a few weeks, he praised his employer which has sponsored him.

Cleverley said he "jokingly" tried a powerlifting competition in 2022 and quickly realised he enjoyed it before "it all took off" last year.

"When I joined the gym we had the old lot here that used to lift. I was thinking I'm never going to get anywhere near them," he said.

"A few of them took me under their wing, trained me up and got me to know the basics and here we are."

Archie Cleverley Cleverley smiles and looks away from the camera. He has two medals around his neck and he wears a red jacket with England written on one arm. Underneath he wears a white top. Archie Cleverley
Cleverley said he would not be where he was today without the support of the powerlifting community behind him

He travelled to South Africa for the Commonwealth Games and won his category.

Impressively he now can squat 300kg (47st) and he will compete for England in the Small Nations competition in Luxembourg at the end of the month.

"I'll be competing as my first category for the senior men's and I'm predicted second already so I just need to hold that and hopefully if I could get first it would be great," he said.

"But second is just as amazing, as going from a junior to a senior is a big jump and being the youngest there by a few years you'll definitely notice it when you're there."

Jamie Niblock/BBC Cleverley smiles at the camera. His brown hair rests over his forehead. He wears a black hoodie with a blue top underneath.Jamie Niblock/BBC
Cleverley said he lost seven stone when he joined the gym and got into weights

Cleverley fits his training around his job as a lorry technician at Chassis Cab.

"I wouldn't have been able to go to the Commonwealths without them," he said of his employer, which is also supporting him at the Small Nations competition.

"It's means everything. When they said they would sponsor me I was thrilled because it's having that behind me."

Cleverley admits he is a "nervous person", but encouraged anyone thinking of trying powerlifting to "just do it".

LISTEN: The Suffolk powerlifter who embraced his size

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