Display of Power 

OKALOOSA ISLAND – For most people, Saturday morning began with a bowl of Cheerios.

For Andy Bowen, the morning hadn’t officially gotten underway until he had completed a squat of 800 pounds.

“I always make the first one look hard,” Bowen said.

Bowen was one of many on hand for the Emerald Coast Power Expo inside the Emerald Coast Conference Center on Saturday, an event that showcased local and surrounding area talent in events ranging from wrestling, grappling,  power lifting, arm wrestling and sport model competition. For Bowen, a power lifter who made the trek down from Greenville, Ala., where he works at Alabama Christian Academy in Montgomery as – what else? – the school’s strength and conditioning coach, Saturday’s event offered just the latest opportunity to quench a competitive thirst.

CLICK TO VIEW A PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE EXPO

“All my life I’ve been fascinated with strength,” Bowen said. “Since I can remember, I’ve been compelled to lift and try to get strong. I’m not built for it, I don’t have a genetic gift at all, but I just always thought it was neat.

“It’s almost an obsession man,” Bowen said. “You’re always thinking about that next meet, the next weight. You’re never satisfied, there’s always five pounds more, ten pounds more, whatever.”

Following squats, Bowen, on his first bench press of the day, pushed 550 pounds off of his chest with the same sort of ease most display when channel surfing.

 When Garrett Griffin, who weighed in prior to the meet at 198 pounds, bench pressed 580 pounds – shattering his previous personal-best by nearly 30 pounds - one spectator laughed and told a friend, ‘Remind me not to bump into that dude,’ while another simply turned around stunned, his expression screaming ‘Did you just see that?’ despite the fact that no sound made its way from his lips.

In the back corner, tucked behind what would later serve as the stage for the sport modeling competition, rows of mats served as the home for the Second Annual NWF Grappling Tournament where entrants from various age and weight classes competed. And in what was otherwise a scene of constant motion, for a moment, the floor seemed to belong solely to one six-year-old Alyssa Silva.

Silva, the daughter of Daniel Silva, a black belt himself, captured the crowd as she registered take down after take down against her male opponent in the 45-pound division. When it was Silva’s hand that was raised in victory, the crowd roared with approval. Asked later about her favorite part of grappling, she shyly replied, ‘Having fun.’

Power Expo promoter Russ Mesey pointed to such contrasting scenes as Griffin’s and Silva’s when explaining how the event had been able to grow from a small gathering of weight lifters at Uptown Station three years ago to a more wide-ranging sport showcase.

“What this all breaks down to is these are all gym folks,” Mesey said. “They’re into physical fitness. They have a passion to watch people push themselves.”