The Frantz Canvas Squat Suit(s)
I am not the most qualified person to write this article, and as such, I would implore anyone who knows more about the subjects I usually cover in Equipment Features pertaining to these suits in particular to reach out to me at roman@equippedpowerlifting.club with anything I should add.
With that out of the way- I honestly don't even know where to start. You could make an argument that this was the most influential squat suit in history.
Prior to Ernie's canvas suits, squat suits were most frequently made out of polyester, or sometimes denim. As the story goes, one day Ernie Frantz went to his material supplier looking for something stronger than his usual poly. His material supplier introduced him to a canvas typically used to make sailboat sails, which Ernie purchased a roll of to play with.
From this, it is obvious what happened. He made squat suits and bench shirts, turning the powerlifting world on its head. Canvas, if you aren't familiar, does NOT stretch. Modern poly may feel stiff, but it actually will stretch when deformed in use. Canvas will not, and if it locks up, it will either stop you dead in your tracks or blow out. Thus, it is used typically in conjunction with poly briefs. This allows for the rebound of poly to compliment the support and stopping power of canvas.
You can also thank this suit for the advent of velcro straps. Due to the stiffness and overall unforgiving nature of canvas, you could not have the same straps as a stretchy poly, as it either wouldn't be tight enough or you couldn't get it on or off.
As with all developments in powerlifting, this was met with resistance. People said it was cheating, that it was getting too extreme, and questioning to what degree it was still the lifter lifting the weight. A notable example, according to Anthony Oliveira on an episode of the TWC Stay Hated Podcast, was Chuck Vogelpohl. Allegedly Chuck swore they were cheating and hated them, then to prove it got one and immediately broke an ATWR. I (obviously) was not around for this, and don't remember what specific record he broke, but I would believe it. To go from a poly suit of those days to canvas is a colossal leap.
Many a great lifter has used one of these suits. Like with the SDP and OG Leviathan, it would be a fool's errand to attempt to name every great who wore one. Honestly, name any notable lifter who competed in the 90s-early 2000s, and odds are there is a photo somewhere of them in a Frantz canvas squat suit.
Hell, it even still sees use today! While by no means a great lifter, I own and use one. While it doesn't fit me right to squat in, I love to pull in it with no briefs under.
I bought this suit from Joey Caliguari, who said he wore it at 181. I had the logo repainted by BeltFedStrength, who also made my belt. It was made before I was even born, and this thing still cranks out more pressure than my LUP despite being well used! Let me reiterate: CANVAS DOES NOT STRETCH.
Given I own this and have it with me, I took a bunch of pictures than show all the fine details of this particular suit. I do need to clarify, however, that every suit was custom made. This means different cuts, strap lengths, and even logos. Some of Ernie's suits had crotches made of TP-5000 wrap material, some had denim triangles for support on the hips (mine had an additional canvas patch), some had longer straps, etc. Below is a picture of the other logo used on these suits.
Of the other modern users, the badass Chanel Nolet Slater (pre-marital-name-change OpenPL here for the rest of her meet history) also pulls in one of these (at time of writing) and hers has the aforementioned denim triangles. Below is a picture of her pulling at the Women's Pro-Am in 2022 hosted by Laura Phelps.
Although I do not believe he pulls in it anymore, Joe Stein used one to deadlift in the 2019 WPO shown below.
The last person I want to mention is Eric Maroscher. Here is his EliteFTS author profile. He writes a lot of great articles, but specifically he wrote a colossal section in the Gear eBook starting on page 374 about Ernie Frantz, his gear, it's history, and his legacy. I would highly recommend you read this section to learn more not only about some of the finer details of these suits, but about all of Ernie and his gear. There is a ton to read and sift through, from his doeskin bench shirts to these canvas suits. It's well worth your time, and it's free!