Record-setting 31-year-old Filipino powerlifter Regie Ramirez is casually confident about every competition he steps into

Regie Ramirez has just set a new record.

To be clear: It’s the Asian and National Open record for an equipped deadlift in his weight class (59 kg)—he lifted 265.5 kg. Equipped powerlifting simply means he was wearing special equipment, such as a deadlift singlet.

The world record was actually 275 kg, and he’s already lifted that much in his training, but he casually claims that that day, May 6, 2024, was just not his day. So he settled for the Asian record and a gold medal. Oh, and a bronze and a National Open record in the squat with 242.5 kg, and bronze in the bench with 145 kg.

The 31-year-old champion powerlifter, proud coach, powerlifting referee, former PE teacher, and former ballet dancer from Ormoc, Leyte says he didn’t feel any surprise or shock in shattering the record

“I’m not looking for reasons or bringing out alibis, but I think it was the travel,” Ramirez explains to me at the therapy room at Pace Prehab and Recovery in BGC. “Two days before the competition, our flight was canceled, and we had to go back home. Then we got moved to a later date, then we arrived in Hong Kong and only got to rest at midnight.”

Anyone who goes to the gym knows that you may not be able to move your heaviest weight all the time. A lot of factors go into how you feel and how strong you are on a certain day—energy, sleep, food, hydration, the vibes—and when they’re off, they’re just off. And off for a powerlifter means you simply can’t hit the technique and move the weight on cue like you’re supposed to.

But the records and the medals? Just another day on the stage for a low-key powerhouse in Ramirez.

He tells me, when I ask how confident he was about hitting the goal he set and breaking the record he sought to break, that he knew he was going to nail it.

The 31-year-old champion powerlifter, proud coach, powerlifting referee, former PE teacher, and former ballet dancer from Ormoc, Leyte says he didn’t feel any surprise or shock in shattering the record. Because in his head, it was already done. The achievement was already earned. It just had to unfold in reality, away from his imagination, at a later point in time, the Asian Men’s Equipped Powerlifting Championships.

“You can be so focused, but don’t let your guard down. If anything, don’t be cocky because confidence is different from being cocky”

“It’s nothing. I feel nothing. Every day, I knew it. I felt it every time I woke up. Not to brag, but in my mind, ganito talaga siya—I can always do it anytime, anywhere,” Ramirez says. “I’m happy and I’m supposed to be thankful, because you should be thankful. But personally, if you ask me now, I’m only in it for the world record.”

He knows how that comes off, so he’s quick to explain himself further.

“If you say, ‘Ah, that’s a bad mindset,’ it’s not a bad mindset. Because you have to aim high. It’s not like you’re being overconfident. You can fail, and everybody can say bad things about you—I was overconfident about this and that. But only you know and understand what you really want. Do not be derailed and be distracted by what you hear. You only have to focus on the people who help you and what you really want to do. I think that’s what separates you from good and great. And I wanna be great.”

It helps that Ramirez isn’t competitive with anyone but himself. It’s just him and his goals on the same road, and only the preparation is standing in the way, the obstacles in front of the finish line. There are targets he needs to hit in his training, and the wins mean he manages to hit all of them, all of which keeps him confident.

“My confidence comes from the preparation. I tried so hard, I even hit it in my training. Na-lift ko talaga siya”

“My confidence comes from the preparation. I tried so hard, I even hit it in my training. Na-lift ko talaga siya.” he says. “If I went 10 tries, I hit the lift once in 10 tries, I only need one and I’ll forever say ‘I did it, I did it.’ Then you think that I’ll stop there? I’m not stopping there. I go more and more and more.

Again, he knows how this sounds, and is quick to distinguish his mindset. “You can be so focused, but don’t let your guard down. If anything, don’t be cocky because confidence is different from being cocky.” Simply put: Confidence is doing all the work.

So now that he’s set a new Asian record, what’s next for Regie Ramirez?

Well, the answer is simple—in fact, it was in front of me this whole time: The world record he didn’t get to hit in Hong Kong, 275 kg. Like he said, if he’s hit it once, then the moment’s forever immortalized. And with Ramirez, because it’s already happened before, it’s as good as done; it just needs to happen when it finally counts.