Jay’s Story

Jay has been competing as a body builder for several years now and he wants to use his story and experience to inspire others to improve their lives through fitness, in a new fitness class held at EmpoweredFIT Gym on the Wirral. Before his accident, Jay had a very active life style.

“I worked as a mechanic. My hobbies included surfing and downhill mountain biking; and my biggest passion was motorbike racing.” 

In 2009, he was involved in a serious motor cycle incident that completely changed his life.

“I hit a telephone post at 90mph. My injuries included: fractured spine; shattered collar bone; my arm broken in three places; shattered elbow; shattered wrist; shattered right pelvis; four broken ribs, puncturing both lungs; my right leg torn off above the knee; and the nerves controlling most of my right arm were ripped out. “

After the incident, Jay was in hospital for 4½ months. Three of those months were spent in intensive care and he was in a coma for three weeks.

“I lost a lot of body weight and I had no strength. I struggled to get in and out of a wheel chair. But once I left hospital I set myself a huge goal of getting my strength back, to enable me to live a good life. I had various setbacks, as expected, but I carried on fighting.”

After several months of hard work and “fighting” Jay became strong enough to go back to his job in a garage. He had to adapt every tool so that he could do his job with one hand. In 2010 Jay was presented with an award because of the determination that he showed within his job.

“Although, realistically, this was (working in the garage) successful; it left me limited. This was because I was not able to climb the job ladder much further. Going through all of this also made me constantly think about how I wanted to help others get back to the lives they used to live.”

Jay often went to the artificial limb centre to help others recovering from serious injuries and trying to lead a normal life; just like he had been able to do. Whilst doing this volunteering, Jay was still thinking about how he could turn his passion for helping people into a career.

“I got myself into the gym to get myself stronger and more physically fit. I managed to get myself into a much better shape, and this gave me a new passion. After a year of training I put on a good bit of muscle, and it made me feel amazing.”

During this time, Jay began to realise that he could help people through fitness: “Not only disabled people, but others without disabilities”. He then started preparing to become a personal trainer, so that he could make his dream of helping others become reality. After years of hard work, Jay got a job at Chester University, Northgate Arena, whilst also delivering private personal training sessions in his spare time. Jay has now become very successful with his work in the health and fitness industry.

“I feel like I have got where I need to be in life.”

The next chapter in Jay’s story is to help people recover from their disabilities, through a new fitness class, held in the newest gym on the Wirral: the EmpoweredFIT Gym. Through his classes, Jay wants to inspire others to ditch the label of being disabled, and instead use the term “adaptive”. Chris and Thea from EmpoweredFIT Gym explained they want everyone to be able come in the gym and be a part of the community, no matter what condition(s) they have.

“Jay is an inspiration! He is the perfect example of how resilient people can be. We believe that in a comfortable environment we can all achieve our fitness goals. We all train together, and new members will be coached by an understanding personal trainer and adaptive athlete. We don’t want people to fear coming into our gym. Everyone is welcome.”

In 2013, after Jay started his work helping people through fitness, he had the idea of competing in body-building competitions. However, he felt held back because of his disability.

“I went to ‘Body Power’ (a large fitness exhibition) in 2013, where I met Mark Smith, who has been my biggest inspiration. He explained how I could still enter, and got me involved in the relevant category by introducing me to others competing through Facebook. I now have adapted straps for the machines, so that I can train at my best, along with having an Olympic running limb to do my cardio. I have had a huge amount of help through my girlfriend, who also competes. She has helped with my training and kept my motivation up when I hit barriers. “

The first competition he entered was the ‘Atlas Open Class of the Spartans’ in Milton Keynes on 7^th May 2016. He won 1^st Place! Following that he competed in the ‘London Muscle Talks PCA’ competition, where he came 2^nd and qualified for the finals in Birmingham.

“I’m planning on doing at least three competitions throughout next year. I have also had an invitation to do a quest pose with the INBA in Australia. I will be doing speeches to raise awareness of the category, where I will also promote athletes with disabilities.”

Images via jay.bionic_bodybuilder Instagram

If you have been inspired by Jay’s story and you live in the Wirral area, then you may want to try Jay’s class in the EmpoweredFIT Gym, Tarran Way East, Moreton, Wirral CH46 4TZ. You can call the gym on 07710 688006 or log on to the website: empoweredfitgym.co.uk

A Free Day Pass to EmpoweredFIT Gym can be obtained from HERE