Tony DeFrancisco: Powerlifter with a purpose Part 4 by Margaret Herring

This is part 4 of a article that was written way back in 1977. I wanted to share a little bit about my background, my history and why I do what I do. Here we are in 2022, I am still marketing weight loss, nutrition, wellness programs, am still a weight control consultant/wellness coach and still have much respect for Lee Causey. Even though I am working with another program.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

D was emphatic about the Slender Now program and why it works better than just dieting alone.

"The cardinal rule in weight loss is less calories." D said. "Just like a bank account. If you have more withdrawals than deposits you will have a negative bank balance. If you take in less calories or burn up more calories, you will have a negative calorie balance and lose weight."

"The real difference is the type of weight people lose. As I mentioned earlier, on typical diets and weight loss programs, the primary weight lost is lean tissue and water. Now some people will ask why is that so bad as long as I am losing weight and seeing changes on the scale. The reason why it is different is lean tissue gives your body shape on the outside. A man will look more muscular. A woman more curvy. However there is an even more important reason. Organs are made up of lean tissue. When you starve the body, it can have a bad effect on organ tissue as we are seeing with the dangerous liquid protein diets. People are actually dying from that gimmicky, fad and dangerous diet program."

"Slender Now provides 1,000 calories, 2 meal replacements and one regular meal per day. The body gets all the nutrition it needs on a daily basis. Thus people on Slender Now look toned and trim. People on conventional diets look lanky, dehydrated, starved and sick...because they are."

D has enormous respect for Lee Causey developer of Slender Now, the worlds first mass marketed diet shake of which D has helped so many people lose weight on. Causey owned a chain of health spas in the southeastern USA based out of Jacksonville, FL. He created Slender Now when spa members were not getting the weight loss results they were seeking with exercise alone. Weight loss, fitness and wellness is 80% nutrition and 20% gym.

NOTE: A lot of bad things happened to Slender Now back then. That product is no longer available. Herbalife was the successor to Slender Now, started in 1980 and has been going strong for 42 years. The most advanced meal replacement diet shake is the new ~Extreme Shake.

Extreme Shake is much like Slender Now was, High Protein/Low Carb which allows for maximum fat burning while maintaining, even increasing lean tissue. Most of the meal replacements today have moved towards a higher carb, lower protein ratio.

Extreme shake also has many other benefits.

1.18 lbs. 15 servings, Extreme Shake??with Sensoril? Ashwaganda

Keto-Friendly formula

Sensoril? Ashwagandha supports reduced belly fat

MCTs for energy and fat burn

Advanced probiotics and prebiotics for metabolism support

Reduces sugar cravings supporting healthy weight loss

Enhances metabolism of stored carbs and fat

Only 3 grams net carbs per serving

Gluten-Free, Soy-Free and GMO-Free

This is the program I am promoting and use myself now. Having been in the meal replacement shake industry for over 45 years, I feel that I am uniquely qualified to judge these products. There are other good products, some pretty bad products. Extreme Shake is the best meal replacement.

Although D sounds like a typical salesman, he is not pushy. Rather he is patient and dedicated to cause he believes in. Those 80 first places in 100 competitions show how dedicated he really is. So do the 55 records he has set in state, regional and national competition throughout 8 years of competition.

Most of his dedication comes in the form of training. Even when the going gets tough, D hates missing his four times per week workouts. And even though he doesn't like to brag about his accomplishments, his many friends and fellow lifters will.

His close friend and fellow weight lifter Ron Hugick has nothing but praises for DeFrancisco's dedication to weight training and powerlifting.

"The only time he really doesn't lift hard is when he is sick or when he is setting up a powerlifting or bodybuilding competition," said Hugick. "Tony is very intensive in his workouts also, "He'll do bench presses with 330 lbs up to 380 lbs for repetitions, then rather than take a complete rest, he will wander over and skip rope or lay down on the abdominal board do some sit ups or go to the lat pulley and do pulley rows."

D doesn't keep this spirit to himself, however. "The gym D and the guys train in is rather crude. It is an old storeroom so to give the workout a more comfortable feel, D brings in a radio or a cassette player where he plays motivational music to keep the guys going. And he is always willing to help the guys at the gym, no matter if they are a rookie or a veteran." Said Hugick. "He's not in it for himself. For example, he worked with his cousin Joe Barzanti after Joe's dad, D's Uncle George asked D to train young Joe. As a result, Joe started competing and won several competitions including the Jr. Middle Atlantic and Pennsylvania State Championships in the 123 lb class."

Furthermore, "Tony never went to a meet alone he always brought several other lifters with him to see what powerlfiting was all about and encouraged several more to compete. Besides his cousin Joe, Tony worked with and got fellow Berwickians John Hetler, Dave Peterson, Grady Gulliver and several others to compete in a open competition in Elizabeth, NJ. and to the Sr. Middle Atlantic Championships in Philadelphia. Then he started a team called the 'Weightmasters' A team that went on to win many tournaments over seasoned powerliftng teams."

D never took credit for their success however. "Cousin Joe, John Hetler and the others benefited from my experience I am sure, however, it was their God given ability and drive that took them to the levels they accomplished. I was proud to be a part of it."

Tony's first competition was in Wilkes Barre, Pa. in November, 1969, he brother Jim and Grady Gulliver competed in the "Wilkes Barre Open" D took second in the 181 lb class, Gulliver got first in the 148 lb class and Jim got second place in his weight class at 165 lbs. It was about this time that the newspapers started to pick up on the weightlifting and powerlifting activities in Berwick.

A reporter from the Berwick Enterprise happened by St. Joseph's church before the Kennedy Club was moved to the storeroom. Ted Fenstemacher was doing a story on the Christmas lights at St. Joseph's and happened by the Kennedy Club gym, ran into D and his brother Jim training. The accidental meeting turned into a full length interview and feature story in the weekend edition of the Press-Enterprise.

After that, Tom Huntington, the local sports editor carried regular articles on D and the Weightmasters Team. Even channel 28 WBRE and channel 22 WDAU gave them coverage.

The following narrative illustrates D's patience in explaining his preparation for a powerlifting competition. The day before the competition, D realizes that he is 2 lbs over the weight limit so it is off to the YMCA to use the steam and sauna to sweat off some weight and then protein shakes and supplements. Then he takes an arduious 5 hour drive with fellow lifters to Erie, Pa. for the prestigious Great Lakes Championships. Although Tony is tired from the long drive, he still must anticipate the tough competition in this historic meet. Also pressuring Tony is that he owes a superior performance to his fans back in Berwick, Pa. because earlier in the summer they raised funds to help send Tony to the Sr. National Powerlifting Championships that were held in Los Angeles, CA. He had to do well today. In LA, D had been disqualified due to a squat technicality so was unplaced in that competition where he was favored to win.

Entering the St. Vincent School auditorium, the mood is tense as competitors eye each other to see who looks best as they go through their warmups. A surprise entrant in D's weight class was Joe Spack, who had won the Sr. Nationals and was a world record holder in the deadlift. This was problemic for D not only because Spack was considered the best in the country and one of the best in the world, but also because Joe held the world record in the lift that D usually pulls a win from---The Deadlift.

The contestants go to the locker room and the officials check their weight. D comes in 1/4 lb light. The sauna, steam and protein shakes worked. The officials check the contestants equipment making sure no one is wearing anything illegal. No tight shorts or cut off jeans. Strictly loose fitting lifting suits.

D dresses in his weightlifting uniform, wearing his weightmasters shirt with a AAU Masters patched stitched on his his shirt. The Masters patch looks like a superman insignia, set right in the middle of his shirt and identifies D as a master lifter meaning he has totaled over 1460 in the 165 lb class.

Next he rubs some ointment on his joints to keep them warm, drinks a concoction of papaya juice and protein powder with water. Then wanders into the gym to size up the judges knowing that soon he will be the subject of their scrutiny. D then goes over to the trophy table. Beautiful trophies some 6 ft high,marble and gold. D is licking his chops. And then Joe Spack sneaks up behind him and begins the psych out treatment or at least tries.

"You have been in four contests in five weeks DeFrancisco. You are spent. Last week you competed in the state championships in Philly, broke two state records. That had to take everything out of you. It normally takes weeks to recover. I am glad you showed up though, it will make my win even more impressive."

D reaches over for the 2nd place trophy. Spack thinks the has D psyched out. Instead D looks at Spack and says, "Hold this a second will you?" Spack complies. Then D says, "That trophy looks good with you holding it. May as well take it now. That trophy is yours. I'm going to win. Not you."

The mind games started.

But it wasn't just about Tony----he is proud of his hometown that supported him and sent him to the nationals.

"The good people of Berwick support me financially as well as in spirit. I needed to win this competition, not just for myself but for Berwick. I owed them this and a win over Sr. National Champion Spack would be so nice. I knew I could beat this guy. In fact, I knew I had to."

And when the chalk on the powerlifting platform settled it was Tony DeFrancisco who was announced in first place, Joe Spack second. The icing on the cake was when D won the "best lifter" award beating out 3 national and one world champion in other weight classes. Most notable was Lamar Gant the 123 lb world champion who totaled over 1100 lbs on three lifts to come in a close 2nd to D for best lifter award. A special formula is used to determine the Best lifter on a pound for pound basis across all weight classes. D not only won his weight class, he was the best of the best.

To show his appreciation to the good people of Berwick, D wrote a article for the Press-Enterprise stating, "I did this for you in appreciation of what you did for me. Thank you very much."

D then had Berwick Hospital showcase his trophies on display near their cafeteria. D's fellow employees at Berwick Hospital also played a large role in sponsoring him to California for the nationals and Tony felt that Berwick Hospital was a heavy traffic area where many people around Berwick could see this and as Tony said, "I did it for Berwick."

6 months later, Tony returned to Erie, Pa. this time winning the YMCA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS in the 165 lb class. So now D had brought national recognition to Berwick as a powerlifiting champion. For his achievement Tony was nominated as a candidate for athlete of the year for the Berwick area which was notable considering Berwick's first class state champion Football Team ranked as the #1 high school footbal team in the country and other notable athletes and athletic teams in the area. Tony said he was honored to be considered.

D tries to help the lifters as much as possible. "I try to help them with their techniques. Use proper form and right training strategy. Some train too heavy, go too heavy too often. I teach them how to cycle their training, working to a peak and then starting over with say 70% of their best and take periodic layoffs."

Although a powerlifter, Tony is very active in promoting bodybuilding. In fact, Tony was recently elected to be the VP for the state of PA for AFAB-The American Federation of Amateur Bodybuilders which is the American affiliate to the IFBB-International Federation of Bodybuilding and the governing power for bodybuilding. D indicated that he was very proud of this. In August, Tony was asked to judge the AFAB-IFBB Mr. Eastern America competition held in Philly. Tony was on the judging panel with some of the who's-who of bodybuilding including Arnold Schwarzenneger and 7 other Mr. Universe winners, top bodybuilding legends like Reg Park and Leroy Colbert and top bodybuilding officials.

Interesting too is that in the events that Tony promotes, they are charitable events. Tony does the work and then donates the money to charity. Recent events had money going to the Berwick Hospital, The Berwick YMCA, Berwick Retirement Village. This is how Tony performs community service and is just another way that Tony gives back to Berwick.

But no story can end without a dream to finish it off, And Tony's dream connects directly with his conviction for good health for everybody. His is the dream of owning several health clubs in Northeast PA. "Not a fancy Health Spa or a rinky-dink gym rat place either. It will be nice. Clean. For both men and women. Powerlifters. Bodybuilders and those who just want to keep fit. Exercise is the main way to do it. When I first started, I felt we needed a gym. Fr. Mammerella gave us a gym with the Kennedy club. Now we need something better."

Tony also wants to pursue fitness through nutrition.

"Fitness is really only 20% gym and 80% nutrition. You need both. Most people need the nutrition really bad." D said.

D is convinced that most people just don't eat right, even those who think they do.

"Most foods do not contain the nutrients we need. Foods are over processed. We need supplements. Obesity is a real issue. People want to lose weight but are frustrated. So they try crazy things like liquid protein, the atkins diet, shots and pills etc. I believe there is a natural safe way to weight loss. Hence I am promoting Slender Now as well as the other supplements."

"When my friend Jamie Berlin opened his health store---Natures Garden, I pushed his store hard because I knew the products offered there were better than what people could get at a typical retail store. Now I also realize that products like Slender Now offered by direct sales companies are of a better quality than what you can get at health stores. Direct sales companies spend more money into research and development and offer better quality products. And that means better results and better health to all"

"With Slender Now, I am not just a product distributor, I am a weight control consultant, a coach if you will and just like I coached the guys on powerlifting, now I coach clients on how to lose weight, how break plateaus, and how to keep their weight off permanently."

D's atttitude is interesting as most people who market products would be happy to get the sale and move on.

"I am happy to make the sale. But even happier to make sure clients get results. Hence I call my clients the 1st day, 3rd day, 7th day, 10th day, 15th day and once a week thereafter. Most people wouldn't even start if I didn't stay with them. My goal is to create happy customers who stay with the program long term."

"I also send out a newsletter, weekly tips for reducing and other things to keep my clients motivated and getting results." D said.

"And it's the same with my business associates who get into the direct sales business. I stay with them and work with them. We have meetings three times per week. I share with them the books to read, The tapes to listen to you. It is a proven fact that direct sales people are the highest paid professionals so that requires training and support."

D also shares his success with fellow distributors. After being in the Slender Now business for only a few months, D was able to upgrade from a 1973 Ford Pinto to a brand new 1977 Lincoln Continental Mark V.

"I took several of my distributors to a seminar in Harrisburg, PA. Took them in my Mark V. Even let a few of them drive it use it when then went on on dates, approached business prospects and allowed one associate to use it to take his wife on a special anniversary celebration. This gave them some extra motivation and something to work for. I told them if I could do it, so could they. It also created a stronger bond between me and them."

D was proud of the 1977 Lincoln Mark V he was able to purchase after being in Slender Now for only 6 months.

D quickly added that cars are not really a symbol success. He uses it as a metaphor.

"That car was worth more than some people's houses. Here I was a small guy from a small town who was working for barely minimum wage at our local hospital now was generating over $7,000 a month in sales with a part time business opportunity and driving a luxury car after being stuck in a cramped up Ford Pinto for several years. It opened a lot of peoples eyes."

After examining Tony DeFrancisco, no matter how you slice him, he comes up dedication----to his father, to his sport, to his town and to people looking to be more fit, stronger, thinner and have better health. Tony makes an example of himself which he hopes others will follow. Tony is just a guy who loves health, fitness, bodybuilding and wellness and does everything he can to make others feel the same way.