On Sunday 16th September, 2018, Michael Adams from Flying Kiwi Fitness hosted the first ever Special Olympics Powerlifting Competition, and we (VALHALLA Strength – South Brisbane) were asked to be involved. Please excuse my excitement but… IT WAS THE BEST DAY EVER!

Michael, or Mick as we know him, is a good friend of ours and he has been working on this project for approximately 9 months. Mick is a Personal Trainer (PT) that works with people that have special needs. He is approached by families up and down the South East Queensland coast to work with their sons and daughters, and he is VERY good at it. I am in awe of his work ethic, his ability to connect with people, and the passion he has for this very worth cause. Seriously, check out the following video to see what I mean.

This video is called “Impossible is just a mindset” and I think this sums up what Mick is all about perfectly…

At around 1min 12 secs, Mick says:

“I want to be able to show every child with some form of disability that they are just capable of so much more than what they believe they are…. So my version of success would be what are they now able to do that they weren’t able to do before that would help improve their life?”

If that doesn’t make your heart hurt from too much love, I don’t know what will!

Mick has a whole range of videos on his YouTube channel, Flying Kiwi Fitness, about working with a variety of special needs and how he programs for each and every child. Honestly, this guy is a Saint!

So, what was the Flying Kiwi Cup like? Well… as I said before, it was the BEST DAY EVER for so many members of the strength sports community because we got to be a part of something very special. Mick asked his connections in strength sports to support him in this endeavour by being “buddies” for the athletes. My husband, Drew, was asked to be a buddy to Brian – this meant that he spent the day with Brian, ensuring that he had warmed up properly, was where he needed to be when he needed to be there, and just generally had a great time. I watched Drew have so much fun talking with Brian about Transformers, Scooby Doo, The Terminator – in fact, we have it on good authority that Brian is the Terminator and that he will be back – and learning about his silver medal win in tennis at the Australian Special Olympics! I watched other members of the strength sports community be continually blown away by the joy and love of their buddies. Honestly, my heart was so full.

I looked out at the crowd when Sean, an athlete that has significant hearing loss, had finished a lift and I nearly burst into tears to see the crowd giving him the signed applause (actually, I was a bit of an emotional mess all day). Emily blew us away with her muscle poses and rockstar confidence; and Jess, the cuddliest powerlifter ever, looked completely shocked every time she lifted anything but then broke into the biggest grin. I think my favourite thing though, was seeing the faces of the parents and families when their kid got on the platform and was then congratulated by people they’d only just met but with genuine love and appreciation. (I’m getting all emotional just thinking about it again!)

Anyway, I’ll wrap this up now before I become a blubbering mess, but before I do so, there’s one final thing I want to say…

Michael Adams is the kind of person our world needs. He is selfless, and a visionary. He works tirelessly to champion those that are often forgotten and he brings hope to their families. I am so thankful to be inspired by Mick every day. Surround yourself with people like Mick, and you will always have opportunities to give back and be inspired. I cannot wait for the next Flying Kiwi Cup!