Today we’d like to introduce you to Stanley Murkland
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My name is Stanley Murkland I am a strength coach and owner of Sovereign Strength- a powerlifting coaching business and brand.
I originally grew up on the east coast and made my way to California for the first time in 2015 for a Summer. After falling in love with the city I decided i would come back after I graduated from college. In 2016 I graduated from Skidmore College with a degree in Exercise Physiology, and as the first person in my family to achieve a college degree.
I have always loved sports and physical culture but from age 14 onwards, I have grown obsessed with one thing – the pursuit of strength. At first it was through the lense of bodybuilding. I would spend hours training with my adjustable dumbbell set and posing in the bathroom thinking one day I would be a pro bodybuilder (glad i didn’t). It then transitioned into a fascination with human performance, rather than vanity and a few years later i started to study exercise physiology in college. This lead me down the rabbit hole that is strength sports. An esoteric world at the time, where i first discovered powerlifting, strongman, olympic lifting, highland games, and anything competitive sport related to the pursuit of strength. I knew even back than, that this obsession was going to lead me somewhere good, I wasn’t sure how but i Just knew .
As someone who grew up around many uncontrollable situations in their home life as a child, strength training was something that felt controllable in world where I otherwise often felt powerless. Ironically, it had nothing to do with getting larger or more muscular or EVEN the weights on the bar, but rather from injecting a sense of self confidence and determination into me.
Growing up in a single parent household with minimal financial resources, theres a certain financial pressure you feel – especially as the only male figure in the family . So its not a huge surprise from the ages of 15-22 I was slowly making poorer and poorer decisions, with the culmination being the arrest of a close friend and a violent wake up call to make a change or my future might not be mine to write.
Throughout all of this I was training(with the hope of one day competing) and beginning to coach a few pep[ole for free at my school. If it wasn’t for the glimmer of hope that the weights always offered me, I would have for sure succumbed to a bleak meaningless life and i highly doubt i would be writing this interview.
This was right before graduating college in 2016, and after moving home working a few odd jobs to save money, I made the plunge and made my way to back to LA in the fall of 2017. I decided that I would start my coaching career here. With seemingly no prospects and no connections i started my journey into coaching professionally. At first i was not sure if I could make it in a city with so many personal trainers and coaches, but i was determined to find my niche.
After my first job as a trainer at a “big box” gym for about a year I knew that was not the path for me. I decided to quit and commit fully to building my own coaching business.
Things were rough as I made the transition, by chance in 2018, I ended up going to very well known Powerlifting gym downtown called Barbell Brigade. I was very aware of this gyms position in the powerlifting community and knew it was the place i needed to be. After a few guest passes, I was approached by the owner to do some modeling for the gym’s brand, to which i initially said no. Things didn’t end the0re though, a few months later after becoming part of the community I was asked to join the team and work for the gym.
While this was happening I was still coaching privately now and beginning to train people for powerlifting meets online. I coached at my first meet in 2018 and knew right away- this is it. This is the thing i’m gonna do. The chaos, the intensity, seeing someone get the same sense of accomplishment i had felt so many times, it all felt so natural.
I worked very hard on the local scene the next 2 years coaching at as many meet as a I could and trying my best to bring my athletes to competition in the best shape that i could. I was also consuming massive quantities of information to improve my programing, biomechanics, and soft coaching skills . Honestly, that was always the first priority, trying to provide the best quality coaching I could. I choose to shun the sales and scammer tactics I was taught from corporate gyms. I focused more on refining the skill of my craft than just building a business. Ironically I think this approach has lead to much of my business success. My business model was this ” If I am undeniably good at my craft, you will not be able to ignore me.”
In 2021 I started my own independent coaching company Sovereign Strength. I have been fortunate enough to work with athletes of all abilities and at all levels, from local to the national level. More importantly i have been able to affect os many people and arguably change the trajectory of some of their lives, all because of this pursuit of strength.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have definitely been alot of obstacles with building my coaching career and business.
I came to LA in 2017 with a backpack, $3k cash in my pocket, and some goals. Moved into my roach infested apartment and got to work. I knew a total of 2 people in all of California let alone Los Angeles. I had a resume with basically zero experience ( was too busy doing busy doing other “things” in college to have considered a productive internship) so I wasn’t able to get any work for my first 6 months living here (and without the support of my now fiance not only during this hard time – but also throughout this journey – probably would have had to go back to the East coast and call it quits). I remember having around $200 left of that initial $3k, when i got my first training job at a commercial gym.
I didn’t realize the importance of a car in LA (because I grew up on the East Coast) , but i also couldn’t afford one so there was a lot of walking – ALOT (A light 5 Miles was my walk back and forth to work at my first job). But i would make it work, spent alot of time on the bus, and used the train to coach at Powerlifting competitions outside the city. (Actually, I did briefly have a 2000 Mustang GT – that was destroyed in a bad car accident in 2018, just 1 of 2 car accidents that year.) So many people (privileged folks mainly haha) told me it was impossible to live let alone thrive in LA without a car, but i started with business and grew it without one. I purchased my first car EVER in early 2020.
Whats funny is these experiences just helped fuel the fire within me even more. No Job? No car? No Money? Doesn’t matter. I can still reach my goals. And to be honest spending time walking the streets or LA and taking the bus i experienced and met so many people who inspired me to work even harder. Grad students on the bus, street vendors, hustlers selling whatever in the streets. If all these people are making it work so can. So i am actually extremely appreciative to those “harder” years of first starting out in a new city totally from scratch.
Regardless of the obstacles outside of me I’ve faced, the hardest struggles have always come from within myself. Tons of self doubt, years of imposter syndrome, intense anxiety and mental health issues have been continuous throughout my journey.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an independent strength coach in Los Angeles and the owner of Sovereign Strength . I primarily coach powerlifters for competitions, but i coach a diverse group of clients with goals including strongman/woman, general athletics, body composition, and general health and fitness. I coach powerlifters at all levels -from novices to national level competitors. I coach in person independently at the gym Barbell Brigade in downtown LA, as well as run an online coaching buisness and work with athletes all over the country . I also mentor other up and coming coaches looking to get into the industry and start their business’s.
I am most proud of all my clients who compete and their performances – from the first timers to the national record holders- I am truly proud of all my clients who have the courage to get on a platform or stage and compete!
I am also proud of the Sovereign Strength powerlifting team – a diverse group likeminded powerlifters dedicated to the pursuit of strength.
What separates my coaching from others is i see the athlete as a whole person rather than just a body.
While strength training is a physical pursuit -to maximize results its necessary to strive to understand an individual on a more organic level than just the physical. This leads to a more compassionate and understanding coaching model – that being said I have no issues pushing my athletes and clients to their physical limits when necessary.
In addition, I have worked with a very diverse group of individuals over the years which has given me great insight into how to train a variety of individuals making me very aware of issues other strength coaches may not be aware of. I aim to foster a safe welcoming team for all lifters regardless of their gender, sexuality, race, religious affiliation, ability, body size , or economic standing. Strength has always been and will always be for everyone and it is my goal to spread the “gospel” of strength to all.
Lastly, I am also a compeitor myself . I have competed on the national level and placed Top 10 in both Powerlifting and Strongman. Therefore I truly walk this path with my athletes, as true leadership must come form the front.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I think the most important qualities to my success have been Grit.
The author Angela Duckwroth describes grit as “passion and perseverance for long-term goals. ”
I have always been passionate and borderline obsessed with strength training. I knew early on this strength training thing was going to be my occupation- the thing I dedicate my existence too. I wasn’t sure how initially- a love for lifting metal objects doesn’t bring many career opportunities , but i always wholeheartedly knew- from the beginning – I would make it work.
Grit has allowed me to crawl back from the darkest moments of my life and continue forward toward that ultimate goal. Grit has been the driving force that makes me get up at 3:45 am to train, and the same force thats pushed me to continue coaching when I was told it wasn’t a “real” career. Grit really has been the defining characteristic of my life, the comment thread woven through all Ive done, honestly without it i don’t think i would be here.
Pricing:
- In Person Coaching: $130/hour until 2025
- Online Coaching: $225/ Monthh
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sovereignstrengthco.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sovereignstrengthco/?hl=en
- Other: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5BT2M-lmOwI&pp=ygUbc2VsZiBtYWdhemVpbmUgcG93ZXJsb2Z0ZXJz
Image Credits
Bryan Ramirez
Justin Vasuer
