By the time Barbara chalks her hands and steps onto the platform, the work’s already been done. The glitter, the glam, the head-to-toe coordination—it’s not extra. It’s part of how she gets ready. For her, lifting has always been about more than just numbers.
Since 2013, Barbara has been a force in powerlifting. She’s stacked more than 40 first-place finishes in meets across the U.S. and overseas, including a standout performance in Greece. Her most recent milestone—a 570kg total (1,256 pounds)—didn’t surprise those who know her. It’s the result of years of consistency and an eye for detail.
“She’s a technician,” one referee said. “There’s a sharpness to the way she lifts. You can see the discipline in every lift.”
That attention to detail doesn’t stop at her programming. Before she ever touches a barbell, there’s music. Always. It sets the mood, locks her in, and gives her the rhythm she needs to lift with control and confidence. By the time she walks out, everything’s intentional: the focus, the look, the lift.
And that look? It’s become part of her presence—sparkling singlets, flawless lashes, sneakers that tie it all together. “Look good, lift good,” she says—and she means it. Her meet-day style isn’t for anyone else. It’s how she gets in the zone.
Barbara—known on Instagram as @msbarbellbarbie—brings that same discipline and energy to the rest of her life. As a coach and meet director with Relentless Power Systems, she’s helping build lifters from the ground up. And now, as the newly appointed USPA Executive Committee Region 3 Representative and certified meet director, she’s helping shape the future of the sport from the inside.
Ask her what she’d tell herself before her very first meet, and she doesn’t hesitate: “Have fun! Open light to account for the nerves and read the rulebook.” She laughs now, but it comes from real experience. “I bombed out of my first meet for not doing any of these things.”
But the moment that shaped her most wasn’t on the platform. It came during a major life shift. “Leaving an abusive relationship—thinking my lifting would suffer—only to come back stronger, smarter, and healthier than before.” That time taught her something she carries with her now: “I’ve learned to give myself credit for how much I’ve grown and accomplished in this sport. Yes, a strong support system helps, but it needs to be healthy. If it isn’t, I promise you will be okay if you leave. Have faith and trust in yourself. You put in the work… not your coach or anyone else.”
Barbara speaks from experience—on both sides of the barbell. As a lifter and now a USPA-certified meet director, she sees how much the sport depends on people doing things right. “We need appreciation from both sides. One can’t exist without the other. Be good to each other.”
And if there’s one thing she’d like to see more of in the sport, it’s not flash—it’s consistency. “I hate how many different federations have popped up. We need meet directors who stand behind what they’re offering. That’s been a big issue, and lifters end up blaming the federation instead of the person.”
Still, she’s not one to dwell on the negatives. Barbara’s focus is forward. She’s building, guiding, lifting—and doing it all with her own signature mix of grit and style.
She started as a lifter who bombed her first meet. Now she’s helping shape how the sport runs. That’s full-circle powerlifting.
