Fortress Gym

Big shoutout to Bodybuilder vs Powerlifter for coming on board as a sponsor of BENCHMANIA TWO!

Aaron and Dana have been incredible supporters of powerlifting in New Zealand, consistently giving back to the sport and helping athletes grow.

We’re stoked to have them involved with BENCHMANIA TWO as our “Grind of the Day” sponsor ⚡️

Make sure you jump over and give them a follow:

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🔥 .a.stronger.me
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Support the businesses and people who support our sport!

We’re excited to have Results Cleaning back on board for another year sponsoring Benchmania Two ⚡️

Results Cleaning are a Hamilton-based business, specialising in commercial and office cleaning and servicing businesses all around the city.

Results Cleaning are sponsoring $100 each to the Novice Male and Female who put up the “Cleanest Final Lift” of the day ⚡️⚡️

Thank you Allen and Tara! We’re always grateful for your continued support of Fortress 🙏🏽

We’re excited to announce and as sponsors for Benchmania Two ⚡️💪🏽

The team at Bridgecity Barbell have been out and about supporting powerlifting competitions and gyms around the Waikato and have generously sponsored $500 in cash prizes to this competition!

Zeroflex Industries NZ is an Auckland-based company that has been operating since 2016 and has become a leader in automotive electronics and accessories across Australasia.

Zeroflex are sponsoring a Car Audio pack valued at $700 🔥🔥

We’re incredibly grateful to partner with people who believe in backing athletes, supporting grassroots strength sports, and helping us create bigger and better opportunities for lifters who choose to take part in Fortress competitions.

Thank you to both teams for getting behind Benchmania Two ⚡️

Barbells & Baddies Results!

Open Female Overall
🥇 Renee Gillard
🥈 Eden Bates
🥉 Catherine Richards-Papesch

Novice Female Overall
🥇 Kahu Ruki
🥈 Jewel Atkins-Haddon
🥉 Carin Blacket

Open Women Push/Pull
🥇 Violet Hayes

Novice Women Push/Pull
🥇 Sarah Ellingford
🥈 Emily Ellingford

Open Women Bench Only
🥇 Jana Bell

Novice Women Bench Only
🥇 Cloey Huia-Walker

Novice Women Deadlift Only
🥇 Paige Teddy

Grind of the Day
🏆 Stef Mitchell

Congratulations to all our ladies who took the platform on Saturday!

Thank you to all our amazing sponsors who contributed prizes towards this competition, and for our amazing medals!

strengthcoach

aotearoa

⚡️ BARBELLS & BADDIES ⚡️

THANK YOU to all the strong wāhine who took on the Fortress platform on Saturday! We had 16 novice and 12 open athletes compete, and what an incredible day it was!

I am absolutely blown away by the talent, strength, and energy these women brought, and so grateful that you chose to be part of our first ever female-only competition - which is now shaping up to be our biggest 3-lift event of 2026!

B&B has been a passion project of mine since we first ran it as a “girls’ day” in October last year. The goal has always been to encourage more wāhine in our strength community to take up space, build confidence in strength sports that are often male-dominated, connect with like-minded women, and step onto the platform feeling empowered, supported, and free to just have FUN.

Thank you again for being part of it all. It was such a privilege to have you under our roof and witness the incredible show you all put on. I hope you all enjoyed the day ❤️‍🔥

- Kayla

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More from Barbells & Baddies ⚡️⚡️
Full comp day album will be sent out to athletes soon!

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First look from Barbells & Baddies ⚡️⚡️
The baddies definitely brought the HEAT to the platform 🔥

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Grind of the Day Award 😤⚡️

This one isn’t about who lifts the heaviest.

It’s for the athlete who shows unmatched grit, resilience, and heart on the platform. The one who fights skin and bone to get their rep and shows exactly what powerlifting is all about - perseverance, toughness, and refusing to quit.

Sponsored by our OG Bossman /

TAIKAHA: to be stubborn, persistent, strong, forceful, intense, determined 💪🏽