How much ya bench? Every one of us has either asked that question or had others ask us. As bodybuilders, we get that question fairly often from regular folks who have no idea we focus more on the development of our physiques than the amount of weight we can lift. Yet even among our own, there has always been a fascination with that most basic of upper body lifts. We even tend to follow current world records. That s why I was happy to speak recently with Kentucky s Julius Maddox, who for the past several years has been the strongest raw bench presser alive. He had quite a story to tell, as Julius turned his life around from being a drug addict and prison inmate to one of the strongest human beings on earth. We spoke about his troubled past, how he accidentally discovered his talent, the raw vs. equipped debate, and more.