Matthew 28:18-20  Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Rick Balbo, Founder

SONS OF THUNDER ABOUT My name is Rick Balbo and I am the founder of Sons of Thunder Powerlifting.  Sons of Thunder Powerlifting is a nondenominational Christian-based sports ministry that conducts powerlifting meets for teenagers mainly in the Pittsburgh area.  At all meets there is a brief Christian message for the lifters prior to the competition.   If you are a teenager interested in the sport of powerlifting, Sons of Thunder Powerlifting is the place for you.  We offer well organized meets along with great awards. I have an extensive background in bodybuilding, but started off as a powerlifter.  I competed in powerlifting for the first time at age 16 at the Kittanning YMCA Bench Press meet in 1979.  In 1980 I joined the Golden Triangle Health Club in Tarentum, PA.  The Golden Triangle

was loaded with competitive bodybuilders and powerlifters and known for promoting the AK-Valley Interscholastic Bodybuilding Championships.  This was a very popular high school bodybuilding contest for students in the surrounding fifteen or so high schools.  Bodybuilding in 1980 was still in its ‘Golden Era’.Arnold Schwarzenegger won his last Mr. Olympia title in 1980.  I was encouraged by Cam Sciotti one of the Golden Triangle owners to give the AK-Valley Interscholastic Bodybuilding contest a shot which I did and ended up winning the overall title!  After that I went on to win five teenage bodybuilding titles including the 1982 NPC Teenage Pittsburgh Bodybuilding Championships.  In 1999 I started competing with the North American Bodybuilding Federation (NABF).  The NABF was a bodybuilding federation that drug tested all of their contests.  In 1999, I was the middleweight winner of the NABF Ohio Championships and the overall winner of the NABF Mason-Dixon Championships.  However, the biggest title I won that year was the NABF’s National title.  I became a promoter of NABF bodybuilding contests in 2000 and promoted the popular Steel City Classic for three years.  I competed a few more times in the previous decade with my last contest being in 2010 at the age of 47. I started Sons of Thunder Powerlifting as a way to utilize my background in bodybuilding and powerlifting to bring honor and glory to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  We held our first meet in the spring of 2011. My wife, Debbie, and I live in the North Hills area of Pittsburgh.