The premise of powerlifting is not hard to understand. It’s a sport of pushing the human body as far as possible to lift heavier and heavier weight.
But for former LSU powerlifter Garrett “Bottesy” Bailey, the weight is not just what’s wrapped around the bar, but the one deep inside that nearly destroyed his life.
In August 2005, Bailey, now a kinesiology senior, started eighth grade at Thurgood Marshall Middle School in New Orleans. But like so many others that month, his world was taken from him as Hurricane Katrina destroyed his home and took the lives of his friends. 
“At first [the evacuation] just felt like a vacation,” Bailey said “It never really hit me at the time that I’m never going back home.”
Bailey’s family relocated to Baton Rouge, where he attended Southern Lab and eventually Baton Rouge High School. He longed for the friends who died or lost contact and Bailey said he fell into a funk he could not shake.
“When he develops friendships, they’re pretty much for life,” said Will Bailey, Garrett’s father. “Losing these friends was like losing a part of his family.”
By his sophomore year, Garrett Bailey had ballooned to 250 pounds, was diagnosed as pre-diabetic and started to develop depression. But while a freak Category 3 hurricane appeared to have destroyed his life, an unlikely sport was about to help save it.
A suggestion from a classmate led to Garrett Bailey joining the BRHS wrestling team. He developed a new interest, and before long, the interest became an obsession.
“He just locked into the thing, he was almost possessed,” Will Bailey said. “When we saw him commit to wrestling is when we saw a difference in his self.”
Once at LSU, which does not have a wrestling team, Garrett Bailey realized he needed a new sport that could fill the void wrestling did in high school. He chose powerlifting, and his potential in the sport quickly became clear.
He surprised many in his freshman season by not only qualifying for USA Powerlifting Nationals, but placing 11th in the 100 kilogram weight class. He would take third in the 90 kilogram class his sophomore season and second in the 93 kilogram as a junior.
Garrett Bailey possessed the ability to not only break records, but shatter them. In July 2011, he broke the Raw American deadlift record in the 100 kilogram class with a 650 pound lift. He proceeded to break his own record three more times, most recently lifting 699 pounds in the 93 kilogram class on July 21.  
“What stands out about Garrett is his motivation and his will … and it comes from a place of irrationality,” said Garrett’s brother, Brandon Bailey. “He has an irrational disregard for the likely.”
For Garrett Bailey, this irrational motivation for pushing himself comes from an unlikely source.
“Growing up, my favorite TV show was Dragon Ball Z and my favorite character was Goku,” Garrett said. “He trained his best all the time not just to fight the bad guy, but to be the best that he could.” 
His biggest success came in the 2013 IPF RAW Classics Powerlifting World Championship in Suzdal, Russia. Competing against the world’s best, Garrett took the bronze medal after lifting nearly 1600 total pounds in the bench, squat and deadlift combined.
Garrett Bailey left LSU’s team this year due to time constraints, but plans to continue competing on his own. He also wants to wait until 2015 to compete for nationals in his last year of eligibility.
He expressed hope of becoming a powerlifting or wrestling coach. He currently works out with local kids at a gym called Fletcher’s House of Power, encouraging them to join the sports that became his refuge.
Now, Will Bailey and his wife, Timotea, feel mesmerized by the accolades Garrett continues to receive. But the two are most happy to know their son is safe. 
“Everybody doesn’t go through something where they lose their home,” Will Bailey said. “The best part is to say, ‘You know what? Garrett is really going to be all right.’ That’s all you want for your children. To just know they’ll be all right.”