Available 2/20/26
In this episode of the Samson Strength Coach Collective, Richard McClure breaks down what truly separates high-quality strength equipment from the rest. Drawing from his experiences in elite collegiate programs like USC, UCLA, and Kansas State, Richard explains how durability is tested in real-world training environments—not just in theory. He reflects on the legacy of well-built equipment, the role it plays in shaping athlete development, and why high school programs in particular benefit from investing in long-lasting free weight solutions. This conversation highlights how thoughtful design, hands-on experimentation, and a commitment to quality directly influence training outcomes and program success.
Key Takeaways
- Understanding the technical side of equipment helps coaches make smarter investments.
- Durability is proven under real training conditions, not marketing claims.
- Elite programs prioritize equipment that withstands daily, high-volume use.
- Equipment design impacts safety, performance, and long-term athlete development.
- High school weight rooms especially benefit from dependable, long-lasting equipment.
- Experimentation and stress-testing reveal what truly holds up over time.
- The legacy of a weight room is often tied to the quality of its tools.
Quote
“We tried every which way to destroy this stuff.” — Richard McClure
Samson:
All right. Okay. And then actually, sorry, I have one more question for you. What title would you like for me to introduce you as? Obviously, Rich McClure. And then what job title would you like for me to use?
Richard McClure:
Currently, I’m the head football coach at Heritage High School. I’m also the head track and field coach and I also oversee our unified ⁓ special education program.
and anything else that they decide to throw my way.
Samson:
Other duties as assigned.
Richard McClure:
Yes, the catch-all phrase.
Samson:
⁓ Yes,
⁓ Unified Special Education Program.
Richard McClure:
Yeah, so it’s a sports program that’s affiliated with Special Olympics. And we’re tied with that organization. And we offer our kids a sporting outlet for our special education program. And it’s unified because we have gen ed kids that participate as well.
Samson:
that’s awesome. I love that. All right. We’re ready to get started if you are. Okay.
Richard McClure:
I am.
Samson:
What’s going on Sampson Strength Coach collective listeners on today’s episode, we have Rich McClure, head football and track and field coach at Heritage High School, where he also oversees the Unified Special Education Program. Rich, thank you so much for coming on.
Richard McClure:
Thank you for having me.
Samson:
Well, I’m very excited for this. You know, I was telling my wife and I told you this pre show that these are my favorite episodes I’ve done so far as the host. I’ve been the host for 20 years now. ⁓ No, that’s completely incorrect. Two years. Okay. Let’s run that back for two years now and being able to speak with coaches who kind of laid the path for strength and conditioning and then getting to talk about how awesome of a company Sampson is, is always very exciting for me. So thank you for allowing me to have another great episode.
Richard McClure:
Thank you for having us on.
Samson:
Of course. Well, can you give us a background of your career? I know it’s an extensive background, so I’m excited to hear about everything. And then can you talk to us a little bit about football at Heritage High School as well, please?
Richard McClure:
I, this is my 43rd year of coaching. Started at Emporia State University in Kansas. I was a graduate assistant and a student assistant. I got involved with strain and conditioning. ⁓ My aunt and uncle introduced me to Nebraska’s program when I was a sophomore in high school. Had the opportunity to ⁓ see Jerry and that whole group ⁓ when he was a floor manager up at Nebraska.
and watch everybody’s careers develop. And I really had a hankering to be involved with as a strength and conditioning coach. I had a great desire to be a football coach as well. And so it was a good tie for me at Emporia State for those five years because I had the opportunity to do both. And so I ran the strength program and then I also was involved as a D-line ⁓ coach. And then
I had the opportunity to finish at Emporia and the opportunity to go to Kansas State University as a student. Jerry Palmieri, was the strength conditioning coach there, hired me as the Olympics coach. I was making $12,000 a year, $1,000 a month, no benefits, no food, you know, just happy to have a job and having the opportunity to work with strength athletes. And I, I, ⁓
got the opportunity to see Bill Snyder come in. It was his first year, second semester that I was there, and worked with Lon Krueger and the basketball program. And they were the ones that got me the opportunity to go to Northern Arizona University where I was there as a head strength and conditioning coach for the 500 athletes that we served there for 11 years.
I got tired of not making any money and my wife and I moved to California and tripled our salaries and ⁓ have had an opportunity to be here for last 26 years and work in a variety of high schools and have a family and have a good experience not only with strength and conditioning but with sports as well.
Samson:
That’s incredible and I agree that’s been a common theme that I’ve heard from pretty much all the coaches on this legacy series that the money was not quite where it is ⁓ today for our strength and conditioning coaches.
Richard McClure:
No, I was lot lighter then. I didn’t have to worry about dieting and anytime there was extra food to be had, we found a way to consume it. it was great. It was a career. It wasn’t about job. We didn’t mind the fact and were hungry to get up at 5 o’clock in the morning and go work with our swimming teams and on and on.
And then finish up in the evening time with track and field and other groups that needed to have the opportunity to train. So I enjoyed every minute of it. just from that standpoint had the opportunity to come to California and make some money.
Samson:
Wow, I’m very happy for you and I’m glad to hear that’s the case. How’s the transition been going back into sport coaching and being on the football side?
Richard McClure:
It’s been a lot of fun. It’s been quite a journey. I’ve been in a couple of different schools and the place where it’s at is being a head coach because then you can kind of dictate your own schedule. You can dictate the things that within our program. And so, you know, making sure that we run the right lifting program or doing what we need to do as far as accountability in the weight room and then also obviously with the football and we’ve
We’ve had our amount of success during our period of time.
Samson:
Well, I mean, that’s got to be a nice little perk of it, right? Because as the strength and conditioning coach, usually you have no say in what’s going on in the schedule or what things look like. And now you got to get to dictate that.
Richard McClure:
Yeah, absolutely. That was one of the big problems I ran into early. It’s like, we don’t have time to lift. Well, you you don’t have time to win either because if you’re not lifting, you’re not winning. And so to have that opportunity, you know, in 2018, we went all the way to the state championship, lost by three points to ⁓ a guy named Cam ⁓ Scadaboo, who was just down the road from you a bit. And, ⁓ you know, that
That year we spent a lot of time. We didn’t have a lot of injuries because the kids, they were really sold into lifting and taking care of their bodies. Not only just on a day, that game day, but actually during the week changed a lot of their diets and did some fantastic things. And there’s a reason why we won those games. So it was an opportunity to win a sectional title in California and then a regional title and then.
Like I said, we came up three points short, but it was a heck of a game.
Samson:
Well, I’m sure it was, especially ⁓ with Cam Scadaboo on the opposite side. He’s quite a force.
Richard McClure:
Yeah, we didn’t have anybody could tackle him. We just had to wait for him to get tired. And then at the end of the game, he was tired. And so we ended up scoring like 21 points at the end of the game to come back and almost pulled it out. But great game, great stories. I just saw a bunch of former players recently and to share the stories and their insights, it’s worth the, there’s no worth that I can place on those situations because of us.
Samson:
Absolutely. Well, you one of the things with this legacy series is that I got to speak with Brian about people who are going to be guests on the show beforehand. And he said that you are by far first name basis with Sampson. When you call it is rich. It’s not, the coach from Northern Arizona is calling or anything like that. They know who you are ⁓ and very well, and they enjoy your company. Can you just tell us when you first encountered Sampson equipment and what you remember about meeting Dave and Linda for the first time?
Richard McClure:
Well, it goes way back to Emporia State. It was a time of transition. There was people throwing equipment together. It wasn’t machined very well. There were some people that were trying to undercut things from a standpoint of thin walled steel equipment that was falling apart and didn’t last very long. And even Nautilus was, at that time, the early 80s.
They were starting to transition into the old leverage system. A lot of people don’t remember that, but they came out with these Chrome product and they were trying to sell it and they were doing a good job with it. They had the right ideas because they were trying to use free weights. But you know, the whole process of when, you know, then when those people went and, and Boyd got involved with it and you saw a lot of these equipment manufacturers start to change.
philosophically and that’s when I really got to know Dave because he explained to me at a conference, you know, like the ins and outs of equipment, like what 11 millimeter steel thickness and what that means and what that brings to the table as far as longevity and just ideas of, you know, how to improve free weight equipment and then be able to do it, you know, at the high school level. Cause I think
You know, you saw programs like USC and UCLA, they had his equipment. know, I mean, he’s world renowned as far as, I mean, the president has his equipment. So, I mean, that’s, I mean, it was at the White House during that time. So, you know, so when I got in the late 80s, I got to K-State, then I got around more of his equipment and started using it. you know, we tried every which way to destroy this stuff. You had guys dropping weights and.
doing all kinds of stuff and it just made the test of time and it was fun to be a part of and see that equipment. And so when I said, hey, when I get my own weight room, this is where I want to go. so ⁓ in fact, he and I shared a bunch of ideas. He had built that push away shoulder rack that had just kind of come out. It was something that was new on the market. So those innovations and ⁓
I’m sure there’s probably reasons why he was, it’s like, Rich is on the phone, that kind of thing. So I could probably understand why on a first name basis, because I’m a young guy and I’m trying to make myself in the world and I’m looking at all this equipment and having ideas and trying to go along the same situation as a strength coach to make sure that we provide our students and student athletes with quality equipment.
know, Dave was doing that, you know, and so, you know, at that time, Linda was the receptionist. And so then that’s how I got to know her over the phone. and, you know, I was sold on the equipment. So when I went to NIU and had the opportunity to go there, that’s my only, I knew one, one group that I was going with and, and that, that stuff was awesome. I mean, they, they came in, we had, you know, we were working with some of these European
companies that were doing a lot of freestanding racks that for our athletes at the collegial level, was really nervous about using those. And so we looked at the design and Dave came up with a way to put that kind of technology into four inch steel and wrap it around a platform and made a rack to, this was before we did the half racks and did all those kinds of things ⁓ on a platform.
We, you know, that was a partnership that I, you know, it was amazing for me to be a strength coach. And I’m working with a guy that’s putting stuff in the White House and USC and all this other stuff. And he’s taking time to work with this guy at NAU. I mean, that’s, it’s a heck of a deal. And so we look forward, you know, my wife was in weightlifting and had a lot of success. And so we had the opportunity to go to…
conferences and I was a part of the NSCA and so you know we didn’t go to a lot of the clinics we just hung out with Dave and and the group when ⁓ when we were you know he was doing his presentations with his equipment at all these all these different conferences so
Samson:
Well, I appreciate all the background and there’s even some facts that I didn’t quite know about SAMHSA and their equipment was really in the White House. didn’t know that.
Richard McClure:
Yeah, there was a big article about him. ⁓ George Bush, I think it was that he created. He put one of those. It sold our basketball coach on putting a platform and rack in his in his facility ⁓ for the for the basketball team. So yeah, just incredible. And to be able to go across the lines, you know, and that’s the smartness of.
business there is that, you know, there’s only so many colleges, but there’s an endless amount of high schools. And to be able to offer this quality of equipment for high school levels, I mean, you know, fast forward to 2014 when I was at Santa Sena, we had a board member who had had kids that I’d coach with and coached and ⁓
they decided to build a 7,000 square foot weight room. And we had the opportunity to work with Brian and Scott and put, know, play came in and did the floor and we were able to put in 25, you know, with all the newer technology at that time. ⁓ And, you know, it’s just, it’s the same stuff. I mean, it’s just high quality and not just over the top expenditures on equipment that
Stand the test of time.
Samson:
Yeah, one of the common themes I’ve kind of heard is that a lot of those companies back when Samson first started were really trying to make cheap equipment. And like you said, we’re trying to undersell things and kind of made equipment that just didn’t really stand the test of time. I mean, it’s kind of the best way to say it. Was that the common theme that you saw as well? And then was that what made Samson stand out to you?
Richard McClure:
100 % I mean I don’t want to throw anybody the bus, but you know there’s some guys There’s some guys that were just trying to beat the beat the deal you know beat the the bidding war and they’re like I said there you know they’re using like Three millimeter steel. I mean the stuff is like you know you put somebody that’s got you know 200 pound bench presses and the thing folds up on you and I mean
Samson:
Yeah
Richard McClure:
the material fall apart, you know, there’s just not any backing and then, well, we can’t really service that. You know, there was a lot of companies that were like that, that were just trying to make a buck. And that’s, I mean, that’s the opposite end of what Samson equipment means to me from that standpoint. Everything that I’ve purchased, everything that we’ve worked on, everything that we’ve ⁓ implemented, I still think it’s there. ⁓
the only reason they would have got it, you know, somebody came in and didn’t want it anymore or something like that. wasn’t because of failures and you know, that’s the side of the quality of equipment. That’s one thing, but you know, just like I said, I mean, here I am, I’m a high school coach and you know, they pick up the phone and I can have a conversation with them. And that’s, that’s everything. And I, I’ve seen some of your, you know, some of the public publicized comments and
and some of those type of things. everybody says the same from that standpoint, hear the same thing as they take the time to get to know where this equipment is going and what your needs are. And that’s kind of hard to find anymore. It really is.
Samson:
Yeah, I remember before becoming really well-versed with Samson, I think it was probably my first, what, 10 episodes or something. I kind of made a comment and I just said, this is a company where if you call, the owners are picking up the phone. It is people who are highly invested and they get to know you. ⁓ And this is before I knew that that was a common theme for everybody. I thought maybe I had some special privileges as the podcast host, but it turns out that I’m just a regular guy at Samson.
Richard McClure:
Well, they let you think that. mean, from that standpoint, and it’s appreciated. you call up some of these other guys and you get some, not to be derogatory, but somebody on a switchboard and it’s like, well, I might get back to you because unless you’re spending a million dollars on a facility, then okay, well, I got other things that we need to do because we’re going after the big bucks.
Samson:
Yeah.
Richard McClure:
I’ve had smaller weight rooms where we only had four of everything or three of everything and same phone call as putting in 25 stations in Iraq and all the other stuff that goes with it.
Samson:
Yeah. know, speaking about the other companies reminds me of a story that Brian told me, which I think we’re going to try to find a way to communicate this story with everybody, but they call it the showdown. ⁓ essentially it was ⁓ the other company, you know, and we always talk about the contracting process and how people will just underbid you by a thousand just to be able to, you know, get, earn the bid. And basically this is exactly what this company did. And Dave essentially just said, you know what, let’s have a showdown. Let’s both go out.
to this school, let’s bring our equipment there and let’s see who has the better equipment. And if you can tell me that they have the exact same specs, like you’re saying, the 11 millimeters, they have everything that they claim they can do, then fine, go with them for the bid. But ultimately, if they can’t do that, then go with us. And so one of my favorite parts of the story they told us, they were, I mean, I think down to the wire about getting this equipment out there, they were building everything as quick as they could.
finally get it down there. And they painted one rack, I believe didn’t paint another. And then there was a piece of equipment that they had where they didn’t upholster the padding. And they brought it out. And when they did the showdown, they kind of immediately proved the other company to be fraudulent, right? And that’s a he didn’t even know he doesn’t know the company name because it’s definitely not around anymore. ⁓ But ⁓
Richard McClure:
Yeah.
Samson:
while doing the showdown, basically one of the people said, well, why is the equipment not upholstered? And the real reason was they didn’t have time to do it. But ⁓ Dave, I think, hopped in quickly and said, well, we wanted to show you the insides of the equipment. We wanted to show you that we have everything inside that we claim we do. So let’s take the upholstery off the other equipment too and see if they’ve got the same thing. it’s just very, ⁓ it’s a funny story to me, but I think it just goes to show the same thing that a lot of other companies will kind of make false promises and not really deliver on what they say they can versus
Richard McClure:
yeah.
Samson:
What Samson can at a high quality price point too. It’s not like we’re paying, you know, hand over fist just to give this equipment. It’s reasonably priced and it’ll last you forever.
Richard McClure:
Well, you know, to add to that is just the customer service. You know, it’s, you know, if there’s a mistake or there, you know, something got bent and shipping or, whatever it, it, you know, and that’s not exactly what happens, but, you know, in that situation, if there’s a pad that is faulty or whatever, I mean, it’s like two seconds and another one is, you know, being shipped out to you and.
Apologies and you know all that kind of stuff and so you don’t I mean it takes like six months to get you know just a phone call back from some people that you’re you know, you’re talking to and and Then you’re then you’re getting Lesser equipment on top of it and it’s just you know the the the personal service is just it’s second to none in that situation and You know on when you have a good product. You don’t have to spend a lot of time
doing that, you know, and that makes a lot of sense, you know, and then the technology, my gosh, the things that have come along in the last 10 years with Brian and Scott that they’ve promoted with all the computers, CGI stuff, you know, ⁓ my wife and I were talking about it, she remembers, we were getting, what’s that?
the little cubes, the graph paper. We had graph paper and they were sending out like little drawings of benches and squat racks and all that kind of stuff. And here we are scissors and let’s try this and, you know, put them here and, ⁓ I don’t like that. And then you turn it up and then you’re upset. You’re trying to make a copy on a laminate machine and you know, and so now it’s like, ⁓ so we put together a facility for here for the future. And I’m like,
I mean, it’s unbelievable. You’re like, look at this. Look at what you can see. And so the marketing aspect of strength and conditioning and just so that people, because most of the people that write the checks, they’re very visual. And so to have that visual image of, this is what it’s going to look like. And this is the promotion and the branding and all that kind of stuff is just, it’s just top notch from that standpoint.
Samson:
Yeah, I remember doing a mock-up of another room we’re trying to complete here. If Chris Corp is still listening, I apologize for taking your time, but we’re still trying to get this weight room done. I remember getting it done within 30 minutes and it was beautifully done. You could envision it right away and there was certainly no graph paper involved.
Richard McClure:
Yeah, that, I mean, it was funny. My wife, we were trying to be perfectionists and trying to figure it out. And hey, we got to make sure that we, you know, ⁓ hit the number of feet in between each platform and doing all that kind of stuff. was fun though. mean, that just showed you how really into, you know, strength and conditioning. And we were trying to think about all aspects of not just, hey, slap some weight on the bar, but you know,
what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, how we’re doing it, it’s really.
Samson:
Yeah, absolutely. Can you just go back to your first install with Samsung? What do you remember about that process? ⁓ What stood out to you about working with them for the first time that made you go back to them again?
Richard McClure:
let’s see. So it would have been at NAU and ⁓ having an ABF freight truck pull in the back of the sky dome and having all that equipment sitting there and it’s all bolted down onto palettes and it’s all triple covered and everything is like strapped down. I mean, it’s like, you know, showroom stuff when we took it off the truck and to have a dedicated
a dedicated ⁓ truck with all of our stuff there, which is funny because 11 years later I built another room with them at Banning High School. Same thing. I mean, here come, you know, we had seven platforms with the half racks and the platforms and the, you know, the dumbbells and, you know, all the equipment that went with it and same, same ⁓ attention to detail. was just.
the care of your stuff is, you know, very obviously very important to them. And when it came off the truck, it looked like what went on the truck. And, know, you can really appreciate the fact that, you know, the posts are not scratched up and, know, and then, then fast forward to Santa Sena when we put that facility in there. I mean, they were there for days putting on the racks. I mean, you got 7,000 square feet. It’s a, it’s a small collegiate facility.
and to see them go to work and do the install and put all that stuff together. I mean, it was amazing how the minutia of everything fitting and fitting right after all that. ⁓ Same thing, dedicated truck with all that equipment on, it was amazing.
Samson:
Yeah, I remember my first experience was at CSCCA and watching them break down a rack in 15 minutes and get it loaded into a truck was pretty dang impressive. was amazed at how quickly it could be done.
Richard McClure:
Yeah, I mean, that’s do it, do it right, do it, you know, even simplistically and, but yet do it with, you know, high amount of quality and it makes all the difference in the world. It doesn’t have to be, you know, over engineered, just, you know, put together stuff that’s going to last and that has good branding and carries the name that you want to move forward with. Absolutely.
Samson:
⁓ What was it like to work with Dave and Linda? How were they as business people and then how are they as individuals?
Richard McClure:
Yeah, I remember, let’s see, we were talking about the shoulder rack. So the rack, I think they had bought it already at K-State. And so I kind of got there and I was like, well, this is kind of interesting. And so you put your feet on it, you pick the bar up and you did shoulder presses in a seated position. And so, you know, for most of us, we grabbed a bench and threw a bar on it and you did shoulder presses behind the neck or whatever.
So to see that with the spring loaded and all that kind and the levers, you know, that was, that caught my attention because there was something that you were like, look, we, it’s problematic because, you know, let’s say you got a shoulder impingement or whatever, and now you can load up the bar. You can have it right there in front of you. And then you can move the rack out of the way. So you’re not striking the rack when you’re doing that. Well, it seems simple, but the amount of time and energy to put into something like that.
You just sit back and you go, somebody spent some time thinking that through this process. And so that really got my attention. I think back to that one piece of equipment and I was always impressed to see what was next. What are the things that they were gonna come up with that were very functional? I’m not much of a machine guy, not to throw anybody under the bus, but from that standpoint,
the racks themselves, you know, if they’re too far back or they don’t meet, you know, a standard, they don’t have variability, so on and so forth, then they become problematic in themselves. And I think they address that with like their combination benches and, you know, the glute ham machines, my favorite and stuff like that. So, you know, great pieces of equipment. There’s just, they can do no wrong in my eyes from that standpoint. They’re freaking just amazing people.
And like I said, Brian and Scott have taken what Dave and Linda did and done great things. And I’m sure that Dave was looking over their shoulders to make sure that they were getting it right. ⁓ But what a fun situation.
Samson:
Yeah, I’m always curious about this too. How was your experience working with Dave and Linda versus working with Brian and Scott? Were there any major differences?
Richard McClure:
⁓ Brian and Scott talk a lot more.
Samson:
Is that so?
Richard McClure:
Yeah, they have the gift of gab, the difference though is that because of the technology, there’s so much more involved with the layouts and all the specs and all those kinds of things than what you saw in the 80s when Dave and Linda were starting. There’s quite a bit of difference from that standpoint and a lot of things have changed.
Not to say that Dave and Linda couldn’t have done it, they would have done it from that standpoint, but it just wasn’t their environment. And I think that’s what they’ve done is I think Brian and Scott have evolved from that standpoint and been on the forefront of all the technology. And obviously they go to conferences and they’re very well versed in that area. But for a user like myself, ⁓
I need to be kept up on what’s going on. And so to be able to educate people, they’ve done a great job of that.
Samson:
Yeah, well that’s excellent. I’ll make sure to mention to them that they certainly have the gift of gab right away. ⁓ What did it mean to you to have a company that you could work with where you could collaborate? Because I think that’s something pretty unique. think about companies that I’ve ordered from where, first of all, you don’t even get to speak to equipment designers. You just, again, like you said, talk to the people who want to switch board.
I remember actually we ordered an exercise bike recently and ⁓ we ordered five of them actually. And then on the fifth one, something was threaded wrong. And I went to go put the pedal in and basically I emailed the company and I said, Hey, I think this is threaded wrong. Can you send me a new crank arm? And they said, well, this is your fault, but we’ll be kind enough to send you a new one. And I said, okay, well, relax first of all. But ⁓ I mean, it’s, again, it just goes to show that working with other companies can be difficult. You know, what was it like to be able to
have access to somebody who you can collaborate with and kind of come up with new ideas and really execute your vision.
Richard McClure:
Well, the big one was after we did all the big squat racks and did the benches and inclines and did their, you know, their lap pull down machines, the selectorized stuff that they had was second to none. Their pulleys were so smooth and so much in line. We didn’t have problem with cables being, you know, ⁓ pinched off and, you know, some of those pieces of equipment that it’s just not machined.
well from that standpoint. So, you know, it leads to some of the failures. But the one for me was when I came up with the idea of so Eleko came up with for the sport of weightlifting, they have these freestanding racks. And for people that know and understand how to squat and how to do that kind of stuff, they’re they’re absolutely perfect for that. But for a high school kid or a college kid,
who’s slamming the weight or he doesn’t get a good spot or whatever it is, that ain’t so good from that standpoint. And so I said, I need something more secure, something that will ⁓ allow us the opportunity to make a mistake and not die. And I’m not using it for doing a bench press or incline. I just want it there specifically for front squats. And so I showed him what I wanted. It was a…
It was originally an eight by eight platform, but we cut the wings out so it had a peninsula in the top. It’s kind of a four, four bearer to the, to the half racks on the platforms, but nobody was doing that by the way. But what we did was we wrapped this four, four inch steel around this peninsula. He machined it well, and then we bolted it through.
the two by sixes that we had on these platforms. And then we had these racks and we had kids that were front squatting like four or 500 pounds out of these racks and they just, they were awesome. So to go through that process, show them the idea, show them where we wanted to go, what we were trying to do. And I think they made, I think we got eight sets of those. It was absolutely ⁓ phenomenal. I mean, the kids, it added in another station.
And we had about 8,000 square feet at NAU when I got the weight room up and running. But we had these platforms where they could do their cleans or snatches, jerks, those kind of things. And then we could go right into these racks and do their front squats. Well, then other people were training in back squat, bench press, and other areas. And so it didn’t slow down the flow. And we could get a lot of kids. And in that, what I consider a smaller space, we’re training about 600 kids a day.
⁓ through that and so to add that element onto the platforms and Dave did that. Dave did all that. I showed him what I wanted. Laco set this free standing deal and I said this is my idea and he just ran with it, sends me the mechanical drawings. I’m like, hell yeah, let’s go. mean, ⁓ was a great piece of equipment and you know.
I don’t know what’s there there because I haven’t been back in a long time. they stood the test of time. I think we had it for eight, nine years and they were awesome. They were just absolutely awesome pieces of equipment to have the opportunity to kind of throw my ideas out there and then he took it and run with it.
Samson:
I can only imagine having a high school kid try to squat in a competition rack. So you can’t imagine it’d go so well.
Richard McClure:
No, you’re right.
Not good, you know, from that standpoint. And we had other racks, we were doing, you know, there were certain groups that would do certain things on a day and then we would switch and do offsets so that we could fully utilize our facility and the number of kids that we were dealing with. So, made a big difference.
Samson:
Yeah,
absolutely. Well, I think one of the things that’s so cool and one of the common themes I’ve seen is, again, you can work with Dave and you can create this equipment, but ultimately at the time it’s kind of one of a kind equipment. And then a lot of other companies start to start to make similar things because they find out that this is the equipment that strength coaches really wanted. You know, and this is something that can make a difference for the flow of facility. It can make a difference.
how you are able to coach and ultimately it makes a difference in the athletes performance levels because the equipment really kind of dictates what you can do and how much you can get done. So I think that’s a really cool aspect about it because it’s really something that pushes the envelope and a company that really invented a lot of new things that are very useful to the field.
Richard McClure:
Well, you know, we did, ⁓ so I left NIU and I went to Banning High School and we had the opportunity. I got some site money and we, you know, at the time we had about 35, $40,000 to build this little weight room. And I said, you know, I kind of wanted to do those racks like I had again. And he said, you know, I think I got something that you really like. And so that was actually the first 2000,
was the first half rack. And it wasn’t made like where you got two bars that go up. It had one cylinder and it had an add on it. And then the add on had the weight rack on it. And so you could put the plates on that one end, but it was basically one singular rack that went up and then it had a pull-up bar on it. And then you see everybody’s expanded it and has two racks and it takes up
a lot of space. We didn’t have a lot of space. It was a very small room. And so then there you go again, we adapted from that. And then fast forward to 2000, here comes a half rack. And like you said, there wasn’t anybody that was doing that, you know, from that standpoint. And so then, you know, they started to fiddle with it and then they changed it and away you go with those half racks that were part of the platform. So, you know, it’s just, ⁓
know, everybody tries stuff and that’s the one thing that I really appreciate them was to have, you know, ideas and then for them to like look at them and go, okay, this guy’s not completely crazy. Let’s try this. You know what I’m saying? And then we haggle back and forth and then, you know, make it work. that was, you know, a lot of fun.
Samson:
Yeah, and I know you mentioned earlier that there may be a groan attached to hearing your name, but I can promise you from Brian, they always said that they’re excited when Rich called. So that’s a guarantee. Do you have a favorite memory with Dave or Linda or anything that really sticks out about your time working with them?
Richard McClure:
The biggest one was going to the conferences, the NSCA conferences and going to their presentation and working out and spending like two, three, whatever hours just hanging out with them and talking about weight training, about where people were going. mean, back then, you know, was mostly about money, you know, and people not making any money. And we’re talking about strength coaches and
A lot of good strength coaches that, you know, I mean, at the time we had gone through with NSCA, you know, guys were lasting about two and a half years and then having to get out of out of the profession because they just couldn’t make a living. They couldn’t, they couldn’t survive. Even the bigger schools, you know, you know, in Arizona, Megan and Dan and those guys, you know, they’re making 40, 50,000 and they’re at a big division one.
back in school and they’re not making anything. Rick Hugley and those guys all told me they weren’t making anything either. And so these are guys and gals that really are the forefront of college training and conditioning coaches and they were making nothing. And so I think at that time there was a lot of people, can we make this better? How can we make sure that people appreciate who we are, what we’re doing? And I think-
you know, with the explosion of college football and those type of things has brought the notoriety and some of these guys making good money, which I’m happy for them. You know, finally they get the opportunity to do those kinds of things. But I think we spent more time talking about where strength and conditioning was going. And I think that’s, you know, it’s more philosophical about, you know, what was the past.
Why are we doing this? are, you know, because football is making more money, you know, all and we’re, you know, football coaches working with eight kids and we’re working with 700 and, you know, and we’re making, you know, peanuts, you know, from that standpoint. And, you know, like I said, I mean, it was, it’s more of a career than it is, you know, a job because, you know, just you love to get up.
and go and see these kids get better and improve themselves. And you want to be a part of those kind of things, the growth of that. And for me, just has worked out to have the opportunity to do it at the high school level, make a little bit more money, and do it in a variety of different genres from the standpoint of football and track and other areas as well.
Samson:
Well, as a young strength coach, I can say I certainly appreciate those conversations because now the conversation is not the max that people are making is 40,000, 50,000. It’s much more of, okay, your first job, you’re going to make 40,000 to 50,000. And then after that, you’ll be able to elevate and you’ll be able to make more money. So the field has certainly changed in that way. And I appreciate those conversations because there’s people ahead of time who laid the groundwork for us to be able to.
have it more now of a job and have a salary and be able to afford to do something that we love. So I certainly appreciate that.
Richard McClure:
Yeah, I mean, I remember early conversations with Boyd and him telling me he made 18,000. You know, he made 18,000. He’s running that, that, you know, monster of a program and there’s Mike Arthur and he’s making, you know, uh, less, you know, and they’ve got a, you know, assistant coaches and you’re like, you know, uh, the Benny’s better be good because, know, uh, what are you guys living on? I know it was Lincoln, Nebraska. I get it, but.
You know, we just don’t, have very humble beginnings. As college strength coaches is very humble, but you know, I’m happy for the younger generation. I think it’s good. There’s a lot of stuff out there that, you know, some of us that were seven exercises, ⁓ you know, type people to see everything that has, that has expanded and, and it’s grown. ⁓ You know, I’m excited for that, that opportunity for strength coaches to do those things as well.
Samson:
Yeah, well, you know, now I get to complain about having three teams instead of 30. So I appreciate you for allowing me to do that. ⁓ You know, ultimately, how do you feel like Sampson has kind of impacted the field? You know, how do you see their legacy within the strength and conditioning field?
Richard McClure:
It’s hard. It’s you know, I have a narrow focus of of Samson and I feel like I’m you know, obviously very blessed to have the opportunity to work with them ⁓ over the years, you know, and everybody that I’ve ever talked to I’m like you’re missing the boat if you’re not, know, you’re not talking to these guys because you know, customer service is number one. Obviously their equipment is you know, top notch but
it’s customer service and having the variability to be able to do all the things that you want to do in your facility and meet your philosophical goals. But just for me as a young strength and conditioning coach to have somebody like Dave, who’s like I said, putting facilities all over the country to take the time and listen to my energy right or wrong.
You know, that meant a lot. That meant a lot from that standpoint. And to say that, you know, they’ll take my phone call anytime. I guess I better give them a call. So because ⁓ I need them to donate me some stuff. anyway, no, ⁓ mean, just, just top notch people and to see that carry over ⁓ to his sons and then for them to illuminate the, the, whole company and do what they do. ⁓
pretty special. mean, any of us that have children, you know, it’s very prideful in that situation and I’m happy for them ⁓ to see them, you know, see them grow and grow the program, stay up with the times, ⁓ be competitive and take the brand forward. mean, that’s everything.
Samson:
Yeah, I mean, I think that’s just so cool. Like you say, to be able to have that legacy and to see the company continue to succeed. I know you mentioned having a phone call with Dave soon. I’m sure you still will call him. But if you could say anything to Dave and Linda right now as they celebrate 50 years of Samson equipment, what would you like to say?
Richard McClure:
Well, I didn’t know him for 50 years. I knew him for a long time. ⁓ You know, I’m finishing up my 43rd year and I’m gonna try and make it five more and we’ll see how it finishes out. you know, I just, I would just say thank you. ⁓ It meant so much, you know, whether I just stopped the whirlwind of life and really appreciate it or not to have a, you know,
major brand take time to help help somebody in my situation build facilities and take the time to provide the same kind of care, the same kind of ⁓ insight to my program as they would, you know, somebody in the White House is, you know, it means everything. You know, we just don’t have that at all anymore. From that standpoint, I just
You know, everything is fast, fast, fast. And, you know, I don’t have time for that conversation or, know, whatever. I, I know we’re on a podcast across the country right now, but, know, this is what we’ve become. We were not shaking hands anymore and, and we’re not looking at each other in the eye and having just plain conversations, you know, so that we can talk about, well, if we’re, you know, are we doing RDLs or are we doing straight like deadlifts or are we doing this? You know, those kind of.
That was what my time was all about when we went to conferences and did those kinds of things because we had the opportunity to share. And he opened up his facility. I know that it was very expensive because being a part of the NSCA and having to have all the different unions touch his equipment trying to get in a conference, he spent a heck of a lot of money just making sure that his brand was there for all of us to share.
And those kind of things, those are the things you remember. mean, as a consumer, it just means so much. And then when you put it on the personal side, anybody that’s trying to survive in that world, the world of strength and conditioning, where you’re one person at the university and that’s it, or you’re…
you’re supposed to be the expert and then you’re trying to find somebody to answer some questions, they were always there. They always had that opportunity and took that opportunity to make sure that we were taken care of. And he didn’t have to do that. He didn’t. And so, it comes back in spades from that standpoint. mean, we spent a third of a million dollars building the facility at San Jacinto and,
It’s not just because of Samson Equipment, but it’s about the quality of people that run the program. And that means everything. And that starts with those two individuals. And that’s what it means to me.
Samson:
Wow, that’s awesome. Thank you so much for sharing that. I think it just goes to show, not only does SAMHSA have great equipment, but it really is about the people at end of the day. Because you can have the best equipment in the world. If you don’t have people who are there to listen and care for you, it doesn’t really matter. Nobody’s going to want to work with you.
Richard McClure:
I 100 % agree with that. mean, I, I’ve seen that I’ve seen that several guys have built facilities recently around me and it’s junk. I mean, it’s going to be tore up and it’s going to be gone. And, and those equipment companies don’t want no longer exist. And now, you know, cause somebody was, excuse me, they were, you know, welding something up in the back of their shop and they were the Lotus lowest bidder. And now they’re, you know,
selling ice cream somewhere or something. You know what I’m saying? I mean, it’s just, they’re not there to, you know, to the test of time. And that’s, you’re talking about 50 years, you know, how many companies do that? I mean, there’s not many from that standpoint. And, you know, ⁓ I’m sure that some of his early on stuff is still functional. It’s probably been painted a few times in different situations, but who cares? I mean, from that standpoint, it’s great equipment and, ⁓
Mark the test of time for this.
Samson:
Yeah, I think it truly makes a difference. And there’s a lot of companies out there who I’ve cursed under my breath a couple of times because their racks or whatever it may be fails me within two to three years of buying it. And there’s nothing more frustrating than that. So it’s really nice to be able to work with a company that ⁓ has great equipment and then great people as well. It really makes a difference.
Richard McClure:
Well, at the high school level, you get one shot. I mean, that’s it. I mean, we’re now moving up on, you know, believe it or not, you can tell Brian and Scott, hey, it’s 10 years since they built that facility in Santa Santa. And so, you know, and my wife’s running that facility and it’s like, you know, it’s still, they’re hammering it every day over there. Their football team’s doing a great job and they’ve won a sectional title and done some other things as well.
You know, ⁓ it’s amazing that something that is just simple but been done with such high quality can test, you know, test of time from that standpoint, I guess, because, you know, like you said, some of this other stuff, you know, people fold it up, throw in the trash, and then just decided to move on, and that’s too bad.
You know, we just don’t, at the high school level, we don’t have the money to do that.
Samson:
Yeah, it’s a one and done. I mean, you’ve really got to do it right. So I’m glad to hear that that weight room still running. And there truly is nothing better than slamming down a heavy squat in a rack. Even if you’re not trying to treat it the best, it is the final exclamation point on a great set. So I’m glad that Sampson can allow them to do that as well,
Richard McClure:
Well, just to know the safety, but just to have the confidence that the equipment’s going to hold up. You know, people use something that’s lighter, lighter weight, not machined well, and so on. then next thing you know, you’ve got a bar wrapped around your neck, and it’s not good. that’s, you know, it’s not part of their genre. It’s not part of their…
their image, any part of their company. I mean, they’re doing everything as well as they can. And to see them be a part of the NSCA early on and continue to promote themselves, not necessarily at the national level, but just to strengthen conditioning coaches, people that really appreciate their equipment. I think it’s awesome.
Samson:
Yeah. Well, Rich, thank you so much for your time and I really appreciate you sharing some amazing stories and getting to speak about Samson and ⁓ hear about the old days of strain and conditioning too. That’s always my favorite time to talk about. So I appreciate it greatly. And I know Dave and Linda really appreciate it as well. So thank you so much.
Richard McClure:
Yes, say hello to everybody, please. ⁓
Samson:
I absolutely
will. I can promise you that. And now it’s your turn to give Dave a call, so you gotta go through with it.
