Now, following a surge in interest in strength sports globally, the partnership with Sheffield-based SBD has grown into a comprehensive multidisciplinary research and innovation programme that will have far reaching effects outside business growth, furthering athletic development, and boosting South Yorkshire’s regional economy.
SBD is a global leader and innovator in performance products for the strength sports industries, all of which are designed in conjunction with its team of sponsored elite athletes, coaches and health professionals. The company sponsors over 160 elite athletes, including world champion and record holding powerlifters, and organises high-profile events to foster participation in strength sports and strength training.
An ambitious programme of research from Sheffield Hallam’s School of Sport and Physical Activity and Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre will support SBD ambitions to put Sheffield on the map in the strength sport industries.
It includes a funded programme of research and a knowledge transfer partnership to support innovation, design and testing for SBD’s next generation of products, student-led projects that will explore business problems set by the company, a PhD project to examine elite strength performance and support training and development for SBD sponsored athletes, and an economic evaluation of SBD’s flagship - and world’s largest – powerlifting competition.
The latest research from Hallam’s Sport Industry Research Centre, found that the 2025 IPF Sheffield Powerlifting Championships generated a total economic impact of £753,000 for the city and a further £781,000 for South Yorkshire.
For the first time this year, due to spectator demand, the event will take place at the Utilita Arena Sheffield and is expected to attract approximately three times the number of visitors. The team will be evaluating its impact and growing value to Sheffield and the wider region as an international centre for the strength sports.
To further help SBD support its elite athletes, Sheffield Hallam is also working with coaches and powerlifters to examine elite strength performance and understand how athletes seem to achieve the impossible, by lifting world-record breaking weights, like Emil Krastev from Bulgaria, who set a new world record total in the 93kg class at the 2025 Championships with his final deadlift of 365 kilograms.
The research will help inform training for both athletes and coaches, providing valuable knowledge for strength sports which have witnessed a surge in popularity in recent years due to increased awareness of the health benefits muscle-strengthening activities can offer.
Matt Livingstone, the doctoral researcher at the School of Sport and Physical Activity, who will be working on the project, said: “My research is exploring what it means to be the strongest in a sport full of extraordinary individuals, while expanding the current knowledge base of what separates those at the very top from everyone else.
“The project with SBD presents a novel opportunity to further our understanding of real-world coaching practices through unique access to world-class coaches and athletes. Their commitment to helping both elite athletes and everyday lifters train better and lead healthier lives is remarkable, and I'm privileged to be a part of that."
Head Coach at 1repmethods, Joe Stanek, is the powerlifting coach to multiple world champions, including current Sheffield Powerlifting Champion and world-record holder, Austin Perkins.
He is taking part in the project and said: “Research into coaching practices in the sport of powerlifting is currently very limited. As a new coach years ago, I had no clue where to start, and many coaches today face similar challenges. Research conducted by Matt Livingstone and his team at Sheffield Hallam provides exactly what the next generation of coach’s needs: evidence-based standards from those who have trained the best in the world. More importantly, it establishes a new professional standard by supporting research to further understand how strength athletes achieve such results and the limits of human performance."
Craig Coggle, Assistant Performance Director at British Powerlifting and coach to Team GB and Team England athletes, has also signed on to help with Matt’s research.
He said: “By bringing together world-class academic expertise and one of the sport’s leading equipment brands, this partnership has the potential to drive evidence-based advancements that benefit athletes and coaches at every level.
“Seeing Sheffield Hallam University collaborate with SBD is a fantastic development for strength sports. Having had the privilege of working with Sheffield Hallam University on several projects, I have seen first-hand the quality of its research, innovation, and commitment to advancing athletic performance.”
CEO & Founder of SBD Apparel Limited, Benjamin Banks, said: "We are proud to partner with Sheffield Hallam University on this wide-ranging programme. The partnership will allow us to introduce research-backed data into our product development and business decision-making, helping us to better serve the strength and fitness community, while deepening our ties with a key stakeholder in the local community."
David Rogerson, Deputy Head of the School of Sport and Physical Activity and project co-lead said: “We are delighted to be working with SBD on this comprehensive programme of exciting work. Our work together demonstrates the power of RIKE to facilitate the creation of new knowledge and help develop an important local business and grow regional employment and economies. The programme brings together teaching and research staff across the school to collaborate on an ambitious programme that furthers understanding and has wide-ranging impact. We are particularly proud of being able to embed our students in this work and offer a transformative learning experience through high-quality employability opportunities with a high-profile industry partner.”
The full research program is supported by co-funding from Innovate UK and the South Yorkshire Innovation Programme (SYIP) as well as the company.
