Through the years, I’ve had the privilege of coaching many skilled athletes and lifters, from casual trainees to the very top of the world’s elite. Along the way, there have been numerous records and medals won, both nationally and internationally. Here are a few of the athletes I’ve coached who stand out a little extra.
Vilma Olsson
I met Vilma Olsson in the spring of 2016 and have more or less coached her ever since. She competed in her first powerlifting meet in March 2017 and has since accumulated an impressive list of achievements. During our collaboration, she has set world records in the squat for sub-juniors, juniors, and the open category. She has also won world and European championships in both powerlifting and bench press across all age divisions. I do not have an exact count of all the national and international records or medals Vilma has earned over the years, but the number is undeniably high.
Karolina Arvidsson
I met Karolina Arvidsson in 2010. Over the years, we trained together and competed for the same club. Karolina was already a successful bench presser and powerlifter, but she had not yet claimed a world title. In 2016, she placed second at the World Championships, and in 2017 and 2018 she won the World Championship in bench press. Throughout our collaboration, Karolina consistently reached the podium at international events. She also won a national powerlifting title during these years and collected a total of eight medals from European and World Championships in bench press, both classic and equipped.
Jonathan Henningsson
I began coaching Jonathan Henningsson on January 1, 2020. As a junior, he became extremely successful, winning both European and World Championships and setting world records in the junior categories of 83 kg / 183 lbs, 93 kg / 205 lbs, and 105 kg / 231 lbs within just 15 months. Jonathan competed for gold at the 2025 Open World Championships in his first year as an open lifter. He received a 2-1 decision against one of his lifts, which was a gold-medal attempt.
Axel Samuelsson
I first met Axel Samuelsson at the Swedish Open Nationals in 2019. He placed third in the 74 kg / 163 lbs open category as a sub-junior. He bench pressed 157.5 kg / 347 lbs, a personal record improvement of 12.5 kg / 28 lbs after completing the 10×10 program by J.E. This also set a Swedish sub-junior record in the bench press. Since then, we have worked together and Axel has gone on to win national, European, and World Championships as a junior. He also had a strong attempt at the world record in the 93 kg / 205 lbs class, aiming to surpass Jonathan Henningsson, but he needed to secure the gold with 217.5 kg / 480 lbs.
Steven Örenerstedt
I first met Steven Örenerstedt, also known as “Big S,” during a training session in Norrköping, Sweden, in the fall of 2017. At the time, he was a sub-junior in the 120 kg / 265 lbs class. We began working together in 2018, and since then he has performed well as a powerlifter, but has particularly dominated in bench press.
As a junior, he won national championships, Nordic championships, European championships, and World Championships in the 120 kg / 265 lbs class. When he moved into the open category, he decided to cut down to 105 kg / 231 lbs. He had a few challenging years but has successfully returned to similar weights as in the heavier class, now bench pressing 220 kg / 485 lbs and reaching the podium at the European Championships.
Livia Blomqvist
In the fall of 2022 I met Livia Blomqvist when she joined a strength training project I was running. The project later became known as the Barbell Built program. She had just started competing in powerlifting and was eager to improve in the sport. After the project I began coaching her, and she has achieved some great results. She has won medals at the senior national championships in both powerlifting and bench press, as well as winning the Nordic Junior Championships in powerlifting.
In bench press she has had remarkable success, winning both the European and World Championships. She competes in both classic and equipped bench press. At the Junior European Championships she won both her classes, classic and equipped, and was also awarded Best Junior Lifter by points.
Neo Yngström
One day in the summer of 2022 my neighbor came over with his 17-year-old son Neo Yngström. He had been training a bit at the gym and wanted to learn more about bench pressing. Neo is what I would call a good soldier; he follows instructions and is not afraid to do what it takes if he knows it will make him better. His progress came quickly.
Since then my neighbor’s son Neo has gone on to win national championships as both a junior and a senior. He has also competed at the European and World Championships as a junior, where he won the Junior World Championship in bench press. After competing his first seasons in the 66 kg / 146 lbs class he has now moved up to 74 kg / 163 lbs. Neo might become the first athlete I coach from a sub 100 kg / 220 lbs bench press to a 200 kg / 441 lbs bench press.
Emil Lundgren
If I have ever had a fan it was a young Emil Lundgren. Like Neo he was a very talented lifter who responded strongly to training. I had some early contact with him when he was still learning, but after a while he trained on his own. With the help of the 10×10 program he increased his bench press from 140 kg / 308 lbs to 150 kg / 331 lbs. Later, with the guidance of another coach, he achieved great success as a youth and continued to progress as a junior.
After a period of stagnation I took over his training again. The result was a junior world record in the 83 kg / 183 lbs class at the 2025 World Championships.
Marcus Yngvesson
Over the years I have been involved in many strength related sports. I first met Marcus Yngvesson through strongman in 2017 when he competed in his first Swedens Strongest Man final. Before the 2021 final he had finished seventh two years in a row and reached out to me for training advice. I ended up taking over his full training program, and fourteen weeks later he won Swedens Strongest Man.
He did not just win the title, he also won the final event, the Atlas Stones. That was the same event that had previously been one of his weakest and had cost him valuable points. For me it was proof that the same philosophy and methods I use in powerlifting and bench press can be successfully applied to strongman as well.
For training program and instruction videos, get the Built Strong App
