World Champion Wheelchair Bodybuilder Serves as Role Model to SHC Patients
It isn't every day you're offered the chance to meet your hero. For six Shriners Hospitals for Children patients, however, not only were they introduced to Wheelchair Bodybuilding Champion Nick Scott, but they spent a week learning nutrition and fitness techniques from the role model. Nick, an Ottawa, Kansas native, was a patient at SHC from 1999-2003 after sustaining a T-12 spinal cord injury resulting from an automotive accident in August of 1998. Reflecting on the day he was told he was paraplegic Nick says, "A part of me died, yet another part of me was born." Having the choice to give up or remain positive, Nick graciously chose the latter.
In fall of 2005 Nick began bodybuilding, and soon became a pro in the sport entering and posing for championship competitions. Nick has since achieved prestigious titles such as USA Wheelchair Championship for Heavy Weight. Perhaps most impressive is Nick's entrepreneurship: he produced and manages the wheelchair body building website www.wheelchair-bodybuilding.com. As a Certified Fitness Consultant and Specialist in Performance Nutrition, Nick is both a fitness trainer and often a guest speaker at special events; most recently at our Chicago hospital.
November 3-7, 2008, served as Wheelchair Bodybuilding Week for spinal cord injury patients at SHC. The idea came from Spinal Cord Injury Medical Director Dr. Lawrence Vogel and Director of Spinal Cord Injury Services Sara J. Klaas.
Above, Nick (center) is pictured with the group as they complete an upper-extremity exercise during their visit.
Participating patients came from Oklahoma, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan and Illinois. Using the hospital as home base the week included daily workouts with Nick, outings to local fitness centers, massages from Advanced Physical Medicine, and nutrition training with SHC dieticians. We owe Sara our gratitude for charting a well-rounded itinerary and working with Nick to plan and run the event. A special thanks to Brad Rosell, Recreation Therapist; Mike Hannah, RN; Joel Lowrie, RN; Chris Ellis, CNA; Joe Krzak, Kinesiologist; Victoria Rosenfeld, Clinical Dietitian, and other staff who pitched in to help make the week a success.
Above, Nick Scott, Sara J. Klaas, and Brad Rosell are pictured with "the boys" as they pose in their Wheelchair Bodybuilding t-shirts.
Along with sore muscles, the patients came away from Bodybuilding Week with newfound confidence. Julio Maldonado Wilbanks, from Crown Point, IN, said, "I feel like I want to go home and do more and be more active. I picked up some great techniques this week, and watching the other guys challenge themselves encouraged me to do the same."
In addition to giving his time and talent, Nick worked with The Burn Machine, a company specializing in the asymmetrical barbell system, to donate five speed bags, three cross-trainers, and one ultimate burn machine to the hospital: equipment used for upper-body workouts. We salute Nick and our newest wheelchair bodybuilders for their examples in staying healthy, having a positive attitude, and learning to live life to the fullest.
Robert O. Kuehn
Chairman of the Board of Governors, SHC - Chicago
Shriners Hospitals for Children
December 2008
