#348 The 1207lb Setup That Changed Everything | Tony Carlino
Dave Tate's Table Talk
Dave Tate
4.9 • 586 Ratings
🗓️ 20 May 2025
⏱️ 114 minutes
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Summary
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We welcome Tony Carlino to this episode of Dave Tate's Table Talk Podcast!
Tony Carlino is a powerhouse in the world of bench pressing, holding five all-time world records and commanding respect across the strength community. At 37 years old, Tony lives in Deltona, Florida with his fiancée Shelly Cannon. Together, they are the founders and owners of EverStrong, a company rooted in their shared passion for strength, resilience, and helping others build their best selves.
Tony's bench press numbers are in a league of their own. His career-best lifts include an astonishing 1,207-pound bench in the unlimited division, a 900-pound single-ply bench, and what he considers his most meaningful achievement: a 1,036-pound bench in multi-ply gear. That last lift stands as a testament to his relentless work ethic, technical mastery, and sheer grit—traits that define not just his lifting, but his life and business.
Tony's IG: https://www.instagram.com/sirbenchalot1k/
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | They had to temporarily paralyze me, had to relearn how to walk, was sold out never power lift again, walk back in the gym. |
| 0:05.0 | I was like, yeah, I'm coming back. At least I'm going to try. The first doctor she went to was like, you're going to have maybe two years live. There's nothing we can really do. Just to get comfortable. She did everything she could just to prove them wrong and to, no, that's not acceptable. We're going to beat this thing and beat it. Don't rely on boards in your training. |
| 0:20.9 | That is huge for me. |
| 0:22.5 | I just think they hold you back. |
| 0:23.9 | No matter how experience you are. this thing and beat it. Don't rely on boards in your training. That is huge for me. I just think |
| 0:23.0 | they hold you back. No matter how experience you are. It's time to sit down, keep it real, |
| 0:37.2 | and cut the bullshit. |
| 0:38.5 | Welcome to Table Talk. |
| 0:40.7 | All right, guys, we're back with another episode of Table Talk. |
| 0:42.9 | Today, my guest is Tony Carlino. |
| 0:46.6 | Let's just say a bench press specialist, been competing for close to 15 years. |
| 0:51.8 | Started in the 220s, what may have even started earlier. We'll talk about that, |
| 0:55.8 | because sometimes open powerlifting doesn't catch everything, especially in the beginning. |
| 1:00.3 | 1207, bench unlimited, 1036, multi-ply, 900 in single ply, and the co-founder of Everstrong, |
| 1:10.1 | which will actually tell me about that first. So let's |
| 1:13.3 | just jump into that because what I got is honoring and supporting athletes who overcome significant |
| 1:19.0 | challenges. Right. Yes. So Everstrong is my fiance and Shelley and I kind of wanted to come up |
| 1:27.4 | with something that represented kind of what we both overcame. |
| 1:33.7 | She has beaten breast cancer twice now. |
| 1:37.6 | And I, we can talk about it later, but I was in a hospital for a while and didn't have a very big percent chance to live came out of that |
| 1:48.2 | well thankfully um so um i want to come up with a brand that wasn't just for strength just for one of |
| 1:59.0 | um i i totally forgot well as you're looking that up i don't want to gloss over |
... |
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