By Carolyn Schuk
Santa Clara Weekly
Published on August 11, 2004
From the moment you meet him, Paul O'Lone impresses you with his sense of
purpose. When he was 13 years old, the bodybuilder and former Mr. North America
was given a box of bodybuilding magazines. From that moment he says he knew what
he wanted to do with the rest of his life. He participated in his first bodybuilding
show at 15 and was winning titles by the time he was 18.
In 1997 the 29 year old O'Lone's life took another, equally sharp turn. Just as
he was training for bigger competitions and ready to qualify as a professional
bodybuilder, he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
Pioneering Adaptive Fitness
After his diagnosis, O'Lone soon found himself in a wheelchair and declining
rapidly. "I was sedentary, and that was one of the main reasons I ended up
in a wheelchair," he says. He decided to do something about it and get back
into the gym.
When he ventured out to the gyms again, he found out that they were not accessible
to a person in a wheelchair. O'Lone's "eureka" moment came one day as
he tried to reach dumbbells on a rack. "I realized how inaccessible they
were for a person in a wheelchair."
For O'Lone, the obvious solution was to create a wheelchair accessible gym. In
doing so, he became a pioneer in the field of adaptive fitness, opening the Bay
Area's first wheelchair accessible gym.
He began by sharing space in a Santa Clara Chiropractic facility, funding the
operation by borrowing money against his home. Active networking with organizations
like the Silicon Valley MS Society, Cerebral Palsy, and Santa Clara Valley Medical
Hospital.
By 2004, Accessible Fitness had outgrown its space and moved to a new location
on Scott Boulevard. On Saturday, August 14, O'Lone will welcome visitors to the
grand opening of Accessible Fitness' new Santa Clara location.
The event will feature information about adaptive fitness, tours of the new facility,
talks by longtime clients, and an award presentation by state assemblywoman Rebecca
Cohn.
Results Speak for Themselves
O'Lone developed a self-taught rehabilitation program that helped him regain
the full use of his legs and overall body strength. Months of work - work that
included walking a treadmill every night until he dropped into bed exhausted -
helped him literally get back on his feet. "People said, 'You're overdoing
it.' But every day I got up and I felt my legs come back, stronger and stronger."
Today he walks without a cane and spends his days helping people with a variety
of disabilities to gain and maintain physical fitness. And his vocation now is
sharing what he has learned.
He works with clients both at the gym and at home. He gives workshops on adaptive
fitness for several support groups. He keeps fees as low as possible to make the
gym available to clients on limited incomes. And most of all he emphasizes that
believing in the possibilities is key.
For O'Lone, the support and encouragement of his wife and business partner Judy
O'Lone - herself a personal trainer - played a central role. "She was by
my side every step of the way," he says. "She wasn't feeling sorry for
me, she told me to get up and do something about it." She told me you have
a friend, and helped me to believe in myself again.
Recognition of these unique achievements has not been slow in coming. Two years
ago the Multiple Sclerosis Society awarded him the 2002 MS Achievement Award.
At the August 14 event, Assemblywoman Cohn will recognize O'Lone's achievements
helping physically challenged people.
"Paul is an inspiration to me," says Cohn. "He has used his personal
experience and struggles to help others overcome physical limitations while emphasizing
the importance of exercise as a part of disability management."
Justifiably proud of his own achievements, O'Lone is nevertheless quick to spotlight
his clients' achievements. "I am inspired by them," he says.
Curtis Carrell, 43, has a spinal cord injury. He is a mentor to many spinal cord
injury clients at Accessible Fitness. This September, the electrical engineer
will compete in the Wheelchair division of the South Bay Bodybuilding Competition.
Another client Jackie Cimino received the Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year
award from the International Tennis Federation. Cimino plays competitive tennis
in a wheelchair.
Jim Dahl, who has had MS for 22 years and a cancer survivor, took second place
in the over-50 division of the Mr. Santa Cruz bodybuilding competition.
Finally, Lou Ciabattoni and Marty Corcoran, two clients with MS, were able to
complete the MS walk after training with Accessible Fitness. Lou now volunteers
his time as Marketing Director for Accessible Fitness.
Head trainer Angelo Cortopassi, who has had MS for 34 years is an inspiration
to Paul and all of his clients. " He never gives up and that's how I want
to be", says Paul.
Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow
Notwithstanding all these accomplishments, O'Lone isn't standing still. He
continues to educate himself about adaptive fitness. Currently he works with Karl
Knopf, an Ed. D. who teaches classes on adaptive fitness at Foothill College.
Three of the personal trainers who work with O'Lone are also taking Dr. Knopf's
class to become more familiar with the unique needs of their clients.
And O'Lone has his eye on a second location in the North Bay. His hope is that
someday there will be an Accessible Fitness facility in every major U.S. city.
While the future can't be predicted, one thing is certain: Paul O'Lone's imagination
and optimism will continue to give people with disabilities the guidance and encouragement
to live more active, more able lives. Or as he often says, "My job is to
help people to enhance their abilities through fitness."
It's a familiar saying - if life gives you lemons, make lemonade. And few people
have made better lemonade from life's lemons than Paul O'Lone.
Accessible Fitness is located at 2936 Scott Boulevard in Santa Clara. For more
information, call 408-986-1419 or visit www.accessiblefitness.com.