Aimee Anaya Everett is the main reason I’m writing for Catalyst Athletics. You probably didn’t know that, did you? Back in 2008, I was lifting at a meet in California. Aimee came up to me in the warm-up room and struck up a conversation. Then I met her boyfriend Greg. Then we lifted together. Then we went to pizza afterwards. Then Greg asked me to write an article for his magazine. Seven years later, the rest is history.

I knew who Aimee was before she approached me to chat. She and I were on the national scene together back in the 90s, although we weren’t personally acquainted. She was a top national lifter, then she took some time off, and then she came back and won the National Championship in 2007. Now she’s the best female masters lifter in the country, lifting weights in her 30s that can still beat most of the women in the US at any age. Her list of accomplishments has been considerable, and absolutely none of it has been easy. Aimee is one of those people who has had to battle through obstacles throughout her life and career. Like many great athletes, her road has had several ups and downs. Glory days, rough patches, time away from the sport, comebacks…she’s been through it all.

And she’s still here, continuing to have an impact on the sport she loves. I’ve never known anyone quite like Aimee, so it’s a pleasure to give you all a look at her life and career.

Many of our readers already know some of your background information because you and Greg are the owners of Catalyst Athletics, but please give us the basics of your weightlifting life, just in case some newbies read this who don’t know much about you. When/where did you start, what kind of sports background do you have outside of lifting, who have your coaches been, etc.?

I played sports in high school: volleyball, basketball and track. I was the best in track. I was MVP 3 years in a row and captain. I know that's hard to believe because anyone who knows me also knows that I HATE running.

After I graduated high school, I was having a midlife crisis and wasn't sure I wanted to go straight to the college I got a scholarship for. So I moved in with my aunt and started playing volleyball on a club/summer/junior college rec type of team. One of the coaches, Mike Abruzzo, saw something in me and asked me if I wanted to go meet his friend Mike Burgener, who was an Olympic Weightlifting coach who trained a lot of volleyball players. I had no idea what Olympic Weightlifting was, I had never touched a barbell or a weight of any kind, was a skinny little 105# 18 year old with zero direction in life, so I agreed.

I walked up his driveway one dark and stormy night, and saw an illuminated garage with a bunch of stinky boys throwing weights over their heads and finally realized I was home. Mike Burgener started my skinny ass from scratch and helped me become the person I am today, in every aspect of my life.

I've stopped competing about 37 times (that would take a book), and when Coach Burgener started getting busy with CrossFit, he stopped coaching as much. When I decided to lift again, I didn't want to bother him so I asked Matt Foreman to coach me. He helped me get back in to shape, and get my lifts back. He taught me so much about myself and a different way to programming. After about a year when I was ready to really get competitive again, I went to Bob Morris, who had coached me on and off over the years whenever I was at the OTC. So he took over my coaching and has been coaching me for about 5 years. But Burgener will always be home. And will always be "Coach".

Describe how your weightlifting life has changed since you and Greg opened Catalyst Athletics. What are the biggest challenges involved with it? What are the biggest rewards?

One of the biggest ways it has changed is as an athlete. I don't have the time and energy to devote to my own training. Since we opened six years ago, I've had times where I could really focus on training, and then life takes over... The gym, my clients, my athletes, being a mom, a wife, a boss... When that starts getting crazy, something has to shift to the back burner. And it is always my own training. It's the easiest thing to back off of in order to take care of everything else. To be a great athlete, you have to be selfish in that you put your training first and foremost. This includes sleep and recovery.

But when you own a gym and you’re responsible for other people, or you have athletes who are competing at the high level, you have to put them first. And that's where I have found myself the last few years... Taking time off my own competing to focus on making my business better, and being the best coach I can be.

I have a lot of regrets because I feel like I have wasted the best years of my life by not training. But then I look around at my beautiful gym and family, our amazing athletes, my life. And I think, how can I ever call this time a waste?

I may not have reached all my goals as an athlete because I essentially put my training and competing on hold for the last six years, but through the trials and tribulations of these years, I look now and see that my life is amazing. And at the end of the day, you only have so many years as an athlete, but you have the rest of your life to live. And I feel successful in that Greg and I have worked our asses off to set ourselves up for a good life. So while I cry and feel sorry for myself that I can't get those years back to train and to have reached my goals as an athlete, I feel rewarded and blessed that I reached different goals for my life. We have built, and continue to build something really wonderful. And we will help more athletes then I could have ever helped myself. And that's selfless. And it makes me proud.

How would you rank the priorities in your life right now? When you look at where you’re at in life, and you think about all the things you’ve got going on, what’s the order of importance?

This kind of falls in to what I just discussed, but my priorities are definitely:

Jade & Greg and our health and happiness
My family and friends & my athletes
The gym and business
My training

So basically I'm a mom-wife-sister-friend-coach-gym owner-athlete. I will always put everyone around me first. Their needs always take precedence over my own training.

You recently won the National Masters Championship and set some American records. Tell us a little about how you’ve been able to continue training and competing successfully into your 30s.

Hahahah, I don't know about competing successfully! But I'm proud of Master's. Not only that I broke six American records, but that I made my lifts and just had a fun meet. Bob was so proud and wrote me the greatest email that I have screen captured, because to get more than a sentence out of him via email is near impossible. He was more proud of this meet than any from when I was in my prime, because of my behavior and my composure. That made him happy.

I only trained for a couple months for Master's and felt so out of shape. It was, and continues to be, a struggle to compete as an old broad and not be able to hit my best numbers. It frustrates me daily and I cry a lot in training. I mean so much.

I want to be hitting my all-time bests and every day I ask why I can't. I feel age shouldn't stop me. And so I'm fighting every day to get those numbers back on my bar.

What are the things you’re most proud of? Who do you want to thank or recognize for your success?

I'm most proud of my daughter and my amazing husband. Of my family, my home, my humor and my ability to love, laugh, and fight through a hard life. I'm proud to feel so loved and blessed.

I'm proud of each lift I make, and every day I get to train. I'm proud that I still have fight left in me, both physically and mentally. I’m proud of every medal, every PR. I'm proud I'm a survivor. I'm proud of my friendships. I'm proud of my athletes who teach me so much every day and fight for me. I'm proud of my team. I'm proud of every lift they make, every PR they fight for, and every smile they have on the platform. I'm proud of myself. I'm proud of Catalyst Athletics. I'm proud of my amazing purse collection.

I want to thank my parents for forcing me to become a fighter and a survivor. My sisters and my family for always believing in my fierceness. Coach Burgener for this life. For the love he taught me. For this sport. For putting a barbell in my hand for the first time. Sage for being my soulmate. My everything. The huz for helping me have this amazing blessed life. For loving me and believing me and saving me. The kiddo. There are no words. Because of each of these people, I know who I am now. Wait, was this just my practice Oscar speech?

It was definitely your practice speech, Aimee. You’ll have more speeches to give in the future, because you’re going to continue doing great things in the sport. Thanks for your words.