Coach Wade Johnson

I am Wade Johnson and I am here to introduce myself and explain perhaps what I can add to the Team Rohr community. I am a 3 strength sport athlete, coach and owner of the Ogre Compound in Mt Juliet TN which is a private strength gym that trains Powerlifting, strongman and Olympic weightlifting, as well as strength and conditioning for other athletes. We train as a group and team both mornings and evenings and come together as we can on Saturdays. The Ogre Compound is also home to JP Weightlifting with coach Jennifer Perrier who is a perennial world class Olympic lifter. We are proud to have her and her team and all of Team Ogre at home and abroad.  

A little about my competing. I have a top total of 2,400 lbs in a powerlifting meet with personal bests at 1,040 squat, 700 bench press and 700 deadlift. My most recent meet was 2019 IPF Masters equipped worlds in South Africa where I was fortunate enough to win gold overall. I have been blessed enough to win national and world meets in the USA Powerlifting, IPF, NASA, SPF, WPA-APA, WNPF with a few best lifters sprinkled in there.  In 2018 I was able to win USS Strongman masters nationals and in previous years won a USAW masters nationals and IWF World cup in Olympic Weightlifting.  I am also a member of the strength and power Hall of Fame. It’s been a great ride as a competitor but equally so as a coach. The greatest moments in these sports have come not from lifting but coaching others.  To have coached lifters to national and world championships is quite a highlight and I’m more than blessed and fortunate to continue to do so.  

I have been a state and regional chairman for the APA/WPA and was the meet director for 2005 WPA worlds in Nashville held at Opryland Hotel. I served as the chairman of the board for the SPF until 2017. Currently, I co-promote meets for USA Powerlifting Tennessee with 2 time USA Powerlifting national champ and 2 time IPF world champion, Jennifer Millican, Wes Woodhull USPA bench press national champion and Missy Brown, my significant other who has medaled nationally and internationally in Olympic weightlifting, podiumed in strongman nationals twice and has totaled elite in Powerlifting, along with an IPL world championship.  I also promote the Just Be A Strong Ogre strongman competition and co-promote with JP Weightlifting.

Currently, I am the International Committee Chairman for USA Powerlifting and involved in many things promoting drug free and drug tested powerlifting across the planet. We currently have meets running in four countries outside of the United States. Australia, South Korea, Hong Kong and China. Australia will be directing the national/international powerlifting meet under the USA Powerlifting banner. The international committee is currently working on several projects that include the pro circuit, masters international and many other things. We look collectively to see more countries launch near the end of this year and early next year.