GATESVILLE, Texas (KXXV) — If you hear the sounds of weights slamming on the ground, it's probably because of Jade Dickens.
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Jade has been a powerlifter for 25 years and it all started not in the weight room, but by watching T.V.
"Back in the early 2000s, they had the women's version of it on television. They televised it as well and I saw a lady that was from San Antonio. I emailed her and she emailed me back and it was kind of history from there," Dickens said.
Jade recently took home the crown in the United States Strongman National Championship in Iowa in the 50-plus lightweight category.
"As we age, you know, that kind of thing, those doubts creep into our mind. I recently had a knee replacement surgery a year and a half ago. You think of a major surgery like that, it's just going to take you out, but it also shows you that it didn't, and it's actually even made me better," she said.
"Everybody asks what's the biggest piece of advice that you could give? And it's always, stop stopping. I just slack off for a month or two and then I'd lose all my progression, and then I get back into it, and then I finally had to really tell myself, you have to stop stopping," Dickens said.
Her passion in the weight room spills over into the community as Jade hosts her own lifting meets for kids and adults. This gateway for Gatesville and other neighborhoods is one way she shows appreciation.
"This is home. People will ask me, where are you from? Immediately it's Gatesville. It's not anywhere else, you know, it's not where I grew up. It's where I have planted roots, where my kids grew up. This is a wonderful community, and they've just been just as loving back, and I appreciate it so much," she said.
Jade's next adventure will be in Norway for a lifting meet.
