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MS hasn't stopped him
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Tonight at the San Jose Bodybuilding Fitness and Figure Championships, a former national amateur champion will flex his muscles on stage for the first time in 13 years.
San Jose's Paul O'Lone probably will be the only competitor with a walking cane. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1997, O'Lone is returning to a career that began with great promise and ended with him in a wheelchair.
``There was a time when bodybuilding meant being the biggest, most defined guy,'' said O'Lone, who won the Mr. North America title in 1993. ``But now it's being healthy and being the best I can be with MS.
``And I'm there to represent people who are physically challenged. That's the main reason.''
O'Lone and his wife, Judy Luu, own and manage a gym in Santa Clara that caters to people with physical challenges. Many of their clients will be in attendance tonight at McEnery Convention Center.
O'Lone, 38, grew up in Philadelphia and was 12 when he was introduced to weightlifting. He was 15 when he entered his first competition and took third place. By the time he won the Mr. North America and Mr. Physique USA titles in 1993, O'Lone was well on his way to earning his pro card.
One day in the gym, O'Lone lost his balance and knew something was wrong. He had MS, a disease that affects 400,000 Americans and 2.5 million people worldwide, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Following the diagnosis, O'Lone lapsed into a depression. He went from being a hard-core weightlifter to living a sedentary life. That led him into a wheelchair.
``I was Mr. America one day and now I couldn't walk,'' O'Lone said. ``I was kind of embarrassed. And I stayed home. I think that's what a lot of people who get MS or some kind of spinal cord injury do. They don't want to leave their home.''
It wasn't until O'Lone met Luu in an online fitness chat room that he felt the desire to get back on his feet. Married in October 2000, they honeymooned in Carmel, where Luu pushed O'Lone in his wheelchair. She eventually pushed him to get out of the wheelchair and onto a home treadmill.
``His body was really shutting down,'' Luu said. ``When he started rehabilitating again, it really made a big difference in improving his quality of life.''
Soon after, O'Lone was back in the gym, rehabilitating his legs. It was then that he recognized most gyms weren't wheelchair accessible. In 2001, after moving from Philadelphia, he and Luu opened Accessible Fitness in Santa Clara, a gym where every piece of equipment is wheelchair accessible.
The couple works with about 50 clients, many of whom have MS, and focus the workouts on developing the core muscles: abdomen, back and hips. The couple also works on keeping clients motivated -- even on days when their disease makes it difficult to keep going. Many of the clients work out twice a week in one-on-one sessions with O'Lone or Luu.
Angelo Cortopassi, 70, a retired biology teacher at Palo Alto High, has worked out at Accessible Fitness since its opening. Cortopassi, who has lived with MS for 36 years, said a gym like Accessible Fitness is invaluable.
``It gives people in wheelchairs, and others with a cane or walkers, someplace to go,'' he said. ``It works out very nicely, someone helping you, guiding you. I move around with my walker and it works out very nicely.''
O'Lone's decision to return to the stage has also brought a new energy into the gym.
``Everyone is so inspired by Paul going back on stage because it sends out a great message: people who have disabilities don't have to sit at home and feel isolated,'' Luu said. ``You can go back and exercise and still have that quality of life.
``It's been a wonderful experience for me. I always knew he'd go back on stage.''
O'Lone has been seriously training since January for tonight's event, which he hopes will be the first of many fitness shows in his future. With 173 rock-hard pounds on a 5-foot-9 frame -- his body fat is 5 percent -- O'Lone likes his chances tonight.
``I'm not going to be the big guy on stage anymore,'' he said. ``I'm going to be going up against a lot of big boys. I feel what can carry me through, and maybe even to win this show, is I know I have good aesthetics.''
For more information on O'Lone's gym, visit accessiblefitness.com