Where are they now? Boulos brothers’ weight lifting hobby was inspired by older sibling
Preparing for my First Powerlifting Meet Squat attempt. I write J.E.B on my singlet to honor the memory of my older brother who introduced me to weights!
I grew up on Staten Island, NY and me and my two brothers attended the same catholic High School and played football. After my first Powerlifting competition, I was contacted by the local newspaper, The Staten Island Advance, and was interviewed by the sports reporter who covered our high school football teams. It was a great opportunity to tell some of my story and to honor the memory of my older brother, who passed away in 2019.
Where are they now? Boulos brothers’ weightlifting hobby was inspired by older sibling
Charlie De Biase Jr. | debiase@siadvance.com
January 7, 2021
Henry Boulos remembers the day like it was yesterday.
His older brother, John, was a football player at Monsignor Farrell during the late 1980s. At some point between John’s freshman and sophomore year, their father, also John, bought an extensive set of weights to keep in the family’s Dongan Hills home. It was at that point that Henry, as well as younger brother Paul, developed a passion for weightlifting.
“It was John that installed that love of weightlifting in us,’' said Henry of his brother, who was also an Advance All-Star wrestler for the Lions who sadly passed away at the age of 47 in July of 2019. “We saw John working out with the weights and we wanted to do it too.
“That’s how it all started.’'
Henry, now 45, and Paul, who’s 40, not only followed in John’s footsteps in attending Farrell, but playing football as well. They were both two-year varsity players for former long-time head coach Ben Sarullo.
Henry, a defensive tackle, helped the Lions capture the 1991 CHSFL AAA championship as a junior before earning Advance All-Star honors a year later. Paul, a two-way lineman, went onto a successful four-year football career at the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point.
The Boulos brothers were both recipients of the prestigious Michael Ricciardi Award — Henry during his Farrell days in 1993 and Paul while at Kings Point in 2002.
Needless to say, Henry and Paul spent a good deal of time in Farrell’s weight room during during the 1990s
“Without a doubt, lifting in high school enhanced our love of it and I actually entered competitions in several events during those years,’' added Henry, who currently lives in Monroe, N.Y. “But for various reasons, I didn’t do it as much after high school. I’d dabble in it on and off through the years, but once you get married, have kids and go to work, you just don’t have as much time.’'
Henry, however, never lost his love for weightlifting and, approximately 7-8 years ago, he started getting into it again. Last summer, he got the itch to enter a competition for the first time in years and decided to message his brother to see if he’d be interested as well.
“I’ve been training for a good portion of my life and just decided I wanted to put it to a test and compete (again). I called my brother to see if he’d be interested,’' said Henry of Paul, who’s an underwriter for an insurance company that currently resides in Aberdeen, N.J. “He said, ‘let’s do it.’
“I started searching for events with USA Power Lifting in New York State and wound up finding something 45 minutes North of (where I live),’' Henry added. “We signed up in August and talked about it nearly every day until the event, which was Oct. 24. It was great.’'
The Boulos brothers entered Halloween Havoc III and the event took place at Hudson Valley RAW Athletics in Highland, N.Y. They entered the men’s Masters Division (40-49-years-old).
Henry, who weighs 200 pounds, was in the 93 kilogram weight class that included nine participants. Paul, who weighed in at 215 pounds, competed in the 105 kilogram weight class that had seven contestants. Each participant got three lifts apiece doing squats, bench press and dead lift.
Henry, a partner in a technology staffing agency, made high lifts of 413 (squat), 297 1/2 (bench press) and 463 (dead lift). Paul, meanwhile, topped off at 480 (squat), 315 (bench press) and 529 (dead lift).
Amazingly, both Henry and Paul earned gold medals for placing first in their respective divisions.
“Obviously, we were pleased, but winning wasn’t really our goal. Our goal was to go, compete and just put forth our best effort‚’’ said Henry. “It was a fun environment where guys cheer each other on and you just try your best.
“It was something we really enjoyed doing. We hit the numbers we felt we could hit and it wound up being a great experience.’'
And in case you’re wondering, this hobby Henry and Paul Boulos picked up from their older brother, John, well over 30 years ago is still in their blood now that 2021 is here. There’ll likely be future competitions for the brothers Boulos.
