Warren Ray has always been a bit of a stubborn guy, determined to prove others wrong when they told him he couldn乌鸦传媒檛 do something.
He乌鸦传媒檚 also always been athletic.
Ray乌鸦传媒檚 determination faced one of its greatest challenges in 2002 when an accident while he was in the military led to 80 per cent of his body being burned.
乌鸦传媒淚 lost multiple digits on my hands,乌鸦传媒� Ray said. Eventually his left foot was also amputated.
After the accident, Ray thought he would never be able to work out again. The nurses in Toronto who treated him, however, wouldn乌鸦传媒檛 have it.
乌鸦传媒淭hey wouldn乌鸦传媒檛 let me quit,乌鸦传媒� Ray recalled. 乌鸦传媒淭he nurses there were not in the military, but they acted like it...they were really hard on me, in a good way.乌鸦传媒�
Ray couldn乌鸦传媒檛 walk when he first got back to the gym. At the time, he didn乌鸦传媒檛 yet have a prosthetic foot, so he had to get around either by using crutches, or by crawling.
乌鸦传媒淚 went to the gym on crutches...crawled on my knees to get around because it was faster,乌鸦传媒� Ray said.
He said going to the gym takes a lot of stress away, and it helps him feel accomplished.
乌鸦传媒淚t makes me feel good...it makes me feel confident,乌鸦传媒� he said.
It certainly wasn't easy getting back into the gym, and Ray said he felt insecure. But he soon realized something about going to the gym 乌鸦传媒� everybody there is working towards a goal, meaning they aren't yet at the point they aspire to be, and in that sense, he said, everybody is starting at the same spot.
乌鸦传媒淭here aren乌鸦传媒檛 many things in life you can say that about,乌鸦传媒� Ray said,.
He said the gym is the most open place in the world, and there乌鸦传媒檚 something there for everyone.
Now, Ray said he practically lives at the gym, and through it all he met his good friend Stefan Hall who owns Rebel Fit Nutrition in Williams Lake.
Hall trains for strongman competitions, and Ray soon found himself giving it a try.
Ray can乌鸦传媒檛 do all the events in a strongman competition, but he乌鸦传媒檚 sure to have done all the events he's capable of. He competed in his second ever strongman competition in May at the Eighth annual Cariboo乌鸦传媒檚 Strongest in Williams Lake.
乌鸦传媒淲arren exceeded his limitations and deadlifted his heaviest, personal best 320 pounds,乌鸦传媒� wrote his wife, Cherie Ray, in an email to the Tribune. 乌鸦传媒淎 man with so many limitations yet he defied them all. This is inspiration at its finest.乌鸦传媒�
乌鸦传媒淚f I didn乌鸦传媒檛 become disabled, I would never have gotten into this,乌鸦传媒� Ray said about participating in strongman competitions as well as powerlifting, which he also does.
"Being physically disabled limits you...but if you乌鸦传媒檙e open-minded, it乌鸦传媒檚 limitless in other aspects."
