Whenever I hear about a new weightlifting program opening up, I usually make a mental note of the name of the place, but that’s about as much attention as I give it. I have a personal rule that I never take a program too seriously until it starts to produce high-quality lifters. I’ve been in this game for decades, and I don’t go gaga about anything until I see some legit results.
 
A few years ago, it became clear that Garage Strength needed to be taken seriously. When it started cranking out international team members and national champions, we all knew it was a program to be reckoned with. Somebody told me the coach was a former thrower named Dane Miller, which interested me because it was a program of elite weightlifters being coached by a guy who’s never even competed in Olympic lifting. I was a little skeptical at first, but then I started hearing a lot of rave reviews about what a good dude Dane is. His program has earned respect through results, and he’s earned respect through the way he’s handled himself in the sport.
 
As you’ll read in this interview, Garage Strength is a multi-sport program that produces champions in several other fields aside from just weightlifting. Those of us in US weightlifting know about Dane Miller because he coaches superstars like Hayley Reichardt and Jordan Wissinger. But there’s a lot more than this going on in his facility, and the Performance Menu is pleased to share it with you.
 
Tell us about your background. Where are you from, where do you currently live, what’s your occupation, family life, what kind of sports background do you have outside of lifting, etc.?
 
I grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania. I was a shot putter at Penn State, lived in Canada and trained under Dr. Anatoly Bondarchuk for 2008 Olympic Trials, and I majored in Religious Studies and History. In Pennsylvania, you grow up wrestling, which I did, and then throughout high school, I started to focus more on football and track and field.
 
I opened Garage Strength in the fall of 2008, focusing on Sports Performance. I didn’t really get into Olympic lifting until 2012. Since then, I have moved my gym into a 10,000 square foot sports performance center and have four children in my family and a beautiful, supportive wife!
 
Describe your weightlifting history. When/how did you start? Who were your coaches? What were your proudest accomplishments as either an athlete or coach?
 
I trained with the Olympic lifts, but I was never classically taught how to lift. I was a meathead shot putter, and most of my career was based around strength sports and football training. By 2013, I had my first athlete achieve a strength level to get onto the Youth World team. Since that year, I have had a world team member on the Youth, Junior or Senior World team. That is a direct result of my work with various top-notch coaches at the Olympic Training Center, my time around Charles Poliquin, my influence from Dr. Bondarchuk and years of working with and learning from Norik Vardanian.
My proudest moments of coaching were around coaching Norik at the 2016 Olympic Trials, getting my junior lifter, Hayley Reichardt onto the Senior Pan Am team and getting Jordan Wissinger onto two different Senior World teams.
 
I am also incredibly proud of helping Hayley Reichardt earn world bronze medals at Youth Worlds and Junior Worlds. This was done in the same year of having my freestyle wrestler, Nick Gwiazdowski, earn his world bronze medal and having five throwers (shot put and discus) qualify for the World Championships.
 
You’ve developed a successful coaching program. Describe the overall program, your philosophy, your daily operations, etc.
 
My program is heavily influenced by my time with Bondarchuk/Poliquin and Vardanian. I have spent the last 10 years studying my athletes, their response to various stimuli and their technical comprehension. I focus everything on technical movement while having a secondary focus on strength. Variations play a major role in my system as well.
 
Describe some of the obstacles you face, or maybe some things that frustrate you in your weightlifting life. What kinds of changes would you like to see, either personally or with the sport in general?
 
The biggest issue I currently have is around the success of my athletes. There are so many national meets and I have successful athletes on the Youth, Junior and Senior ranks. This past year, we had a lifter on every Pan Am Championship/World team from the Youth to Senior ranks. I invest a lot of time in my athletes and want to support them during competitions, which means I need to be travelling two to three times a month. This is very difficult, considering I have four children and the funding is not the best, so I must budget very well to continue running a successful sports performance center.
 
Changes? I think as coaches, it is clear that we need to focus more on business development to enable us to develop our Olympic lifters.
 
What are your plans and goals for your coaching career? How do you see your future in the sport?
 
I want to be the greatest throws coach and strength coach in the world. I dream of becoming the most influential strength coach/weightlifting coach/throws coach to walk the planet. I have had athletes at World Championships in three different sports and have been hired to consult a session with one of the best sprint cycling teams in the world. My dream is to continue developing athletes to achieve emotional experiences and learn life lessons they would have never dreamed of experiencing. I believe pushing athletes to their limits requires tremendous emotional strength and when athletes achieve their goals, that emotional response in unparalleled and can be a moment that lasts forever in their memory and that continues to inspire them to achieve greatness in all walks of life.
 
Who are some of your major influences, people you look up to, etc.? Who are the people you want to thank for your success?
 
Dr. Bondarchuk had the most impact on me as a coach. He shared so much with me, he listened to my questions and would let me into his house and just ask him thousands upon thousands of questions. My training partners with Dr. B influenced me tremendously, my one training partner, Dylan Armstrong won the 2008 Olympic bronze medal in the shot put and Jesse Roberge was a huge impact on my maturation as a business owner while Justin Rodhe influenced my technical mindset in throwing which has carried over to my Olympic weightlifting coaching.
 
My parents are also keys to my success. They believed in me and my dreams. They let me start a gym in a 400 square foot part of their garage. They didn’t make me pay rent, and they let me grow a business in a pole building without heat and without anything fancy. They always have supported me in all of my endeavors (even hitchhiking across North America). I love them so much and wish to share that support with my own children.
 
Finally, my wife is the key to my current success. She knows my emotional investment. She knows the energy and focus I have, and she believes in it. She sees the dream just as clearly as I see the dream. Without her, my family and my life would not be possible.
 
Your dream is in progress, Dane. Keep up the good work in Pennsylvania, and all of will be watching for the next big things you do!