Depression had a way of making time feel thick. ADHD pulled his thoughts in a hundred directions at once, none of them landing anywhere useful, until he found powerlifting.
After being influenced by a man named Howard Huffman in the town of Lincoln, Nebraska Tim found what he was looking for.
Howard ran the group that welcomed him into the sport, and coached him through his first meet. More than that, Howard taught Tim how to be selfless and generous through powerlifting. He did everything because he loved the sport and wanted to give back. Bringing the sport to people with no agenda.
The weight didn’t care about his past failures or his spiraling thoughts. It either moved or it didn’t. There was no overthinking a barbell.
“I started with a Xanax prescription for anxiety in 2010. By 2012 I was taking Xanax and Ambien all day long. My wife didn’t know until I fell asleep at the wheel one day about noon headed home from a shopping trip. Shortly after that I came close to overdosing, had a psychotic break at the end of 2012 and ended up at inpatient drug rehab in Norton, Kansas. I was diagnosed with bipolar 2 upon graduating. I needed something to focus on, and that something was powerlifting.”
“I currently manage my bipolar 2 and AuDHD (autism/ADHD), but do so very successfully.”
The gym didn’t fix his ADHD. It didn’t erase his depression. But it taught him that his mind, like his body, was trainable.
At the age of 50 now, Tim was able to retire from his job in the Oil and Gas field last October. Tim has been married for 19 years and is a father of 4 and a grandfather of 2.
“I want to see more women and younger athletes realize what they’re capable of, and see that powerlifting is a sport for EVERYONE.”
After 25 years Tim was able to help bring USPA back to Nebraska with the help of meet director Logan Durham, they were able to sanction the Corn and Kilos Powerlifting Meet in Scottsbluff, Nebraska this July 2026.
