I’ve seen the sign, Frantz Gym, on the downtown Aurora building for years. But I never met the legend behind the name until this week, when he was preparing for a party to celebrate 80 years on this earth.
“You’ve got to write something about Ernie,” retired police officer Ed Beale told me. “The man is an icon in powerlifting … and one of Aurora’s most colorful figures.”
A little research convinced me that Ernie Frantz is, indeed, the “Godfather of Powerlifting.” And even now, 10 years after his last competition – yes, he lifted more than 600 pounds at age 70 – the man still presents a powerful image — with thick, muscular arms and legs; not to mention hands that look as if they could grasp the front end of a school bus and pull it a few miles.
Helping family and friends set up for the party held Friday night at the Kane County Sheriff’s Lodge in Sugar Grove, Frantz pulls out posters of himself that depict a real life Incredible Hulk in his prime.
“I’m embarrassed by what I can do now,” said the multiple world champ. “I watch girls bench press over 200 and I know that girls can beat me now. So I don’t even try it.”
Frantz, who lived on the far West Side of Chicago before moving to Oswego at age 13, describes himself as a “short scrawny kid” who grew up so poor “I’d dive for pennies in swimming pools”; and so desperate to prove his manhood, he’d get into fights in school.
“From the time I was 5, I’d look at pictures of Superman and want to be as strong as he was,” Frantz told me with a wide smile. “I was a little guy, but inside I had big ideas, big ambitions.”
Frantz dropped out of school at 16 to fight in Korea; but said he made a promise to God that if “I came home again I’d help other kids” stay on the right path.
So he quit smoking and began working out at the Aurora YWCA, crediting former Bears player and Kane County law enforcement patriarch Pete Perez with getting him started in powerlifting; and eventually becoming a mentor and friend.
“Pete looked at me, a dumb kid, and told me if I could overhead press my body weight — about 145 pounds — then that was good. Then he turned around and put 300 pounds over his head and held it there.”
Frantz was hooked. He entered the Junior Mr. America contest in 1955 and came in third. He continued to lift and compete, but after his wife of eight years died of cancer in 1962, “I did not want to live anymore,” he said. “I quit everything I was doing and started smoking and drinking again ... until my dad told me if you are going to kill yourself, then go stand in front of a truck.”
From then on, Frantz said he dedicated himself to weight training, even while carving out a career in construction and as a corrections officer. Eventually, he helped set up weight rooms in detention centers, working first with juvenile offenders and then adult prisoners across the state.
He opened his own gym in 1964 and it quickly became a popular hangout for police officers, (including brother Victor, the Kendall County sheriff), firefighters and downtown businessmen. That same year he won the Mr. USA bodybuilding title, which was only the beginning of dozens of world records and trophies, including his first powerlifting world championship in 1974.
Also in 1974, Frantz, who competed in weight classes from 165-220 pounds, formed the American Powerlifting Federation, which he says was the first America-run group of its kind. A fire in his downtown gym in 2011 forced him to close it down.
He traveled internationally as a competitor and trainer. And rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names in the sport, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Clint Eastwood.
Frantz also became known for the merchandise he designed, as well as a book he wrote, “The Ten Commandments of Powerlifting,” which was re-released in an updated version in March.
A YouTube posting (The Legend Ernie Frantz Squats 516lbs! - YouTube ) shows Franz at 76 squatting 516 pounds.
“Frantz’s accomplishments over the years have been amazing,” Beale told me. “I can’t even imagine the number of people he’s trained; including so many world champions.”
Add to that list second wife Diane — they’ve been married 37 years *— who captured 20 world titles and was the first woman in her 114-pound division to deadlift 400 pounds.
Frantz is equally proud of his work with at-risk children, especially the not for profit KREDO (Kids Respect Education Discipline Opportunity) he formed with the help of federal grant money through former House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
“All my life I have tried to tell gyms across the country to make money on sponsors, but not on the kids,” he insists.
Powerlifting icon Ernie Frantz still pulling his own weight at age 80 - Aurora Beacon News
“You’ve got to write something about Ernie,” retired police officer Ed Beale told me. “The man is an icon in powerlifting … and one of Aurora’s most colorful figures.”
A little research convinced me that Ernie Frantz is, indeed, the “Godfather of Powerlifting.” And even now, 10 years after his last competition – yes, he lifted more than 600 pounds at age 70 – the man still presents a powerful image — with thick, muscular arms and legs; not to mention hands that look as if they could grasp the front end of a school bus and pull it a few miles.
Helping family and friends set up for the party held Friday night at the Kane County Sheriff’s Lodge in Sugar Grove, Frantz pulls out posters of himself that depict a real life Incredible Hulk in his prime.
“I’m embarrassed by what I can do now,” said the multiple world champ. “I watch girls bench press over 200 and I know that girls can beat me now. So I don’t even try it.”
Frantz, who lived on the far West Side of Chicago before moving to Oswego at age 13, describes himself as a “short scrawny kid” who grew up so poor “I’d dive for pennies in swimming pools”; and so desperate to prove his manhood, he’d get into fights in school.
“From the time I was 5, I’d look at pictures of Superman and want to be as strong as he was,” Frantz told me with a wide smile. “I was a little guy, but inside I had big ideas, big ambitions.”
Frantz dropped out of school at 16 to fight in Korea; but said he made a promise to God that if “I came home again I’d help other kids” stay on the right path.
So he quit smoking and began working out at the Aurora YWCA, crediting former Bears player and Kane County law enforcement patriarch Pete Perez with getting him started in powerlifting; and eventually becoming a mentor and friend.
“Pete looked at me, a dumb kid, and told me if I could overhead press my body weight — about 145 pounds — then that was good. Then he turned around and put 300 pounds over his head and held it there.”
Frantz was hooked. He entered the Junior Mr. America contest in 1955 and came in third. He continued to lift and compete, but after his wife of eight years died of cancer in 1962, “I did not want to live anymore,” he said. “I quit everything I was doing and started smoking and drinking again ... until my dad told me if you are going to kill yourself, then go stand in front of a truck.”
From then on, Frantz said he dedicated himself to weight training, even while carving out a career in construction and as a corrections officer. Eventually, he helped set up weight rooms in detention centers, working first with juvenile offenders and then adult prisoners across the state.
He opened his own gym in 1964 and it quickly became a popular hangout for police officers, (including brother Victor, the Kendall County sheriff), firefighters and downtown businessmen. That same year he won the Mr. USA bodybuilding title, which was only the beginning of dozens of world records and trophies, including his first powerlifting world championship in 1974.
Also in 1974, Frantz, who competed in weight classes from 165-220 pounds, formed the American Powerlifting Federation, which he says was the first America-run group of its kind. A fire in his downtown gym in 2011 forced him to close it down.
He traveled internationally as a competitor and trainer. And rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names in the sport, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Clint Eastwood.
Frantz also became known for the merchandise he designed, as well as a book he wrote, “The Ten Commandments of Powerlifting,” which was re-released in an updated version in March.
A YouTube posting (The Legend Ernie Frantz Squats 516lbs! - YouTube ) shows Franz at 76 squatting 516 pounds.
“Frantz’s accomplishments over the years have been amazing,” Beale told me. “I can’t even imagine the number of people he’s trained; including so many world champions.”
Add to that list second wife Diane — they’ve been married 37 years *— who captured 20 world titles and was the first woman in her 114-pound division to deadlift 400 pounds.
Frantz is equally proud of his work with at-risk children, especially the not for profit KREDO (Kids Respect Education Discipline Opportunity) he formed with the help of federal grant money through former House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
“All my life I have tried to tell gyms across the country to make money on sponsors, but not on the kids,” he insists.
Powerlifting icon Ernie Frantz still pulling his own weight at age 80 - Aurora Beacon News