The Inzer Super Duper Phenom (SDP)

Getting back to the present day, the Inzer SDP (super duper phenom) is one of the greatest poly bench shirts of all time. While it is always debatable as to which shirt is best and everyone acts differently to each shirt, I think most of the sport can agree it is certainly the most disruptive bench shirt of all time. 

This is the first 1000 lb shirt. 

If I'm not wrong, it was also the shirt responsible for the first 900 lb bench. Both the 900 and 1000 lb barrier were broken by the late Gene Rychlak Jr. 

This shirt is now no secret. It's a stretchy poly with a supportive collar and there is a lot to talk about with what has been done in it, who was involved, and... the fucking colors. 

To start, I heard from the mouth of Shawn Lattimer himself at a meet that he and Ryan Kennelly personally helped John Inzer (yes, that Inzer) design this shirt. I believe this wholeheartedly because to this day nobody has set an SDP on me as good as Shawn, he knows the shirt inside and out. Shawn boasts a colossal 905 bench from the denim days- hence his nickname "The Denim Destroyer." Ryan Kennelly is better known as "The Benchmonster" as for a while he had the biggest bench ever with 1075 lbs, in an SDP might I add. While in the video the logos are unseen, this is clearly an SDP. However, at the time, I believe Kennelly was no longer sponsored by Inzer, hence the lack of logos. 

As should already be evident, the SDP is responsible for lots of big benches. Let's look over this in a bit more depth.

Here is the multi-ply bench rankings. Specifically, I want to focus on poly benches as I feel single-ply shirts have become comparable. In single-ply, there are two benches over 1000 lbs - Blaine Sumner at 1003 lbs and Jimmy Kolb at 1120 lbs; both done in Titan super-katanas. Back to the multi-ply side, there are 6 lifters in history to get over 1000 lbs in a conventional multi-ply shirt. Tiny Meeker with 1102 in an SDP, Dave Hoff with 1047 in an SDP (only 1000+lb poly bench in a full meet, by the way), we've already discussed Rychlak's 1000+ (although he had an all-time best of 1010, still in an SDP) and Kennelly's 1075 in an SDP, there is Jimmy's 1035 which was in a multi-ply super katana, and the last to mention is Scot Mendelson's 1035 which in all honesty I do not know what shirt it was in. I want to say it was an Overkill Blackline, but I can't find a video of his 1035 to verify. I did find this video of his 1008, which is in an Inzer black denim. 

So, excluding surpassed attempts, we have 8 total poly benches on the leaderboard over a grand. Kolb and Sumner account for 3, in super katanas. Mendelson has one in an unknown shirt, which leaves a majority (4) in an SDP. When including successful, smaller attempts; it's far and away the SDP. Between Meeker, Hoff, and Kennelly, it is no question. Sumner only had one 1000 lb bench, and while Jimmy is an unstoppable force, he is still only one person. In a meet, Jimmy has had 5 benches over 1000 lbs. There is a few more, as his RPS and IPA meets only submit his best attempts to OpenPL, but I can assure you it does not break the amount of 1000 lb comp benches in an SDP. 

What makes this shirt so great that drew all these great bench pressers to it? It's a few things. For one, it is very easy to touch in compared to other, stiffer poly shirts, and especially when compared to denim or canvas. When compared to older, stretchier poly shirts with similar rebound, the SDP provides more support that they lack. Hence the name, the Super Duper Phenom evolved from the Inzer Phenom, which feels like an Under Armor T-shirt compared to the SDP. 

Stock it comes two layers, although you can easily get a 3 ply chestplate from the drop down on the website. If you want 3 ply chest and sleeves, you need to order over the phone. I have also heard of some lifters getting up to 5 ply SDPs from Inzer. This is because the unfortunate consequence of being so stretchy and having so much rebound is they wear out remarkably fast. I have known some lifters who go through 4 of them per year depending on color. As far as modern poly shirts go, these also blow out far more frequently. 

Speaking of color, let's stop beating around the bush and try to describe the most frustrating concept in gear. Not only can Inzer send you 4 shirts in the same stock size and have each one be totally different, but their colors aren't just aesthetic. Each color drastically changes how the shirt behaves. Why? I have no fucking idea. Maybe something to do with how dyes react to the poly they used? Regardless, let's talk colors. 

Black

There are two blacks. The old black that Gene Rychlak, Kennelly, and Meeker were tossing up Gs in, and the new black that everyone hates and blows out all the time. 

Everyone loved the old black and it is arguably the best color out there. It was stretchy with tons of rebound. Kennelly has been quoted on an episode of the TWC Stay Hated Podcast saying that he turned to band shirts to try and find something similar to the original black SDP, as nothing else replicates its stretch. 

On the flip side, the new black is said to be stiff and unreliable. My training partner has a two ply that I'm convinced is impossible to touch in without it exploding at the collar. Tyler Roy once blew out two black SDPs in the same night. 

Navy Blue

There are also two Navy Blues. One is old, and one is new. Let's start with the old one. 

The old navy can be identified by having a blue-er color and blue side panels. I use a 3 ply all around one of these currently, and am a fan. However, I know it was not a popular color compared to some of the others. It is better than the new black but not as good as the red or new navy. 

The new navy is also known as "purple."

It's a darker blue (arguably) but can better be identified by the black side panels. This is a more controversial color. Some love it so much they compare it to red, some say it is nothing special. This was my first bench shirt, as a 2 ply, and I can say it was certainly very springy and mine had a colossal collar. 

Royal Blue

There really isn't much out there about the royal blue. 

The only visual evidence of its existence that I know of is this video of Laura Phelps benching in it. I have never seen or heard of anyone else using it. Why is that? I don't know honestly. I don't know what the color acted like or if it is worth seeking out. I feel like if it was particularly good or bad, we would have heard shit talk or praise of it like we do other colors.

Red

This is the one. This is the holiest of all SDP colors according to most. 

It is said to be very stretchy and allow for a very natural groove. It doesn't fight you, molds to you the best, and has tons of rebound. 

What's the catch? You'll be hard pressed to find one nowadays. People know how good they are and thus do not part with them and run them into the ground, to the point of being not worth selling. Given their stretch and rebound, they also wear out faster than other colors. The story goes that Inzer was making them and the supplier that sold them the red material went out of business and they could no longer get the material. However, Dave Hoff seems to have used many other red SDPs long after their production. Maybe he stockpiled them, maybe Inzer stockpiled some material just for their athletes, the world will probably never know. 

As always, if you have any additional information, corrections, or pictures to submit- email me at roman@equippedpowerlifting.club as I would love to add it to this article!