Erik Dreesen

Erik Dreesen (born March 23, 1971 in Aurich ; † June 26, 2013 in Nuremberg ) was a German bodybuilder and strength athlete . He was the German bench press champion in 1994 .

Life

Erik Dreesen began weight training and bodybuilding at the age of 18, after having been rather unsportsmanlike and plump. Unable to afford training in a gym before, he had attempted to lose weight through radical dieting , which was detrimental to his health. When he was able to earn a little money on the side through his skills as a software developer , he began to train in a studio at the end of March 1989, which his parents did not initially like. However, they let him go when they saw his successes. At the beginning of the spring of 1989 he managed to squat 50 kilograms for one repetition and pressed 45 kilograms on the bench, after a year and a half he already managed 130 kilograms for six repetitions in the bend and 100 kilograms for five repetitions in the bench press. At the same time, his body weight had increased from 70 to 92 kilograms during this time.

After graduating from high school in 1990 at the Ulricianum Gymnasium in Aurich, Dreesen initially studied at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg until 1996 and intensified his training during these years. He benefited from the fact that Bavaria was a stronghold in weight training and bodybuilding at the time, so that he quickly got to know other successful athletes and made corresponding progress. In 1992 Dreesen took part in competitions for the first time and became the German bench press champion in 1994. In addition, he also took part in various smaller bodybuilding championships between 1992 and 1994 to gain stage experience. Here, however, it lasted until 1998 when he had his first major success at the Bavarian Championship and achieved a 3rd place. The following year he became Bavarian champion in his weight class (over 90 kg). In 2003 he won the West German Championship.

With a height of 1.88 meters, his competition weight in 2006 was 115 kilograms (offseason: 131 kilograms). Dreesen gave the following weights as his personal best in the powerlifting discipline: squat 280 kg, bench press 270 kg and deadlift 350 kg.

After completing his university studies, Dreesen began further studies in 1996 at the University of Applied Sciences for Public Administration and Justice in Bavaria , which he completed in 2000 with a degree in administrative management (FH) . Until his death he was a member of the Germania Erlangen fraternity .

Dreesen most recently worked as a nutrition and sports advisor and personal trainer. He regularly published specialist articles in the magazines Body-Attack-Magazin , BMS-Magazin and LOOX ; as well as earlier in the Sportrevue . Since 2001 he has also been running the BamBam's Corner website, named after his sporting nickname .

After several injuries - including a torn pectoral muscle tendon - he worked on his competitive comeback. Erik Dreesen, who viewed the developments in bodybuilding rather critically, saw his athletic role models in bodybuilders of the 1980s , such as Berry de Mey . Dreesen lived and trained in Nuremberg.

Sporting successes

Bench press

• 1992 - Upper Palatinate master in bench press ( IPF )
• 1994 - German bench press champion (IPF)

Bodybuilding

• 1998 - Bavarian Championship ( IFBB ), 3rd place (class over 90 kg)
• 1999 - International Bavarian Championship (IFBB), 1st place (class over 90 kg)
• 2003 - International West German Championship ( NAC ), 1st place in men's class I.
• 2004 - International German Championship (NAC), 4th place in men's class I.

literature

• Martin Schneider: Erik Dreesen. From computer freak to 110 kg competitive athlete . In: BMS-Magazin , issue 4, pp. 50–57 ( article as PDF file )

Web links

• Own web presence "BamBam's Corner"
• Interview with Erik Dreesen