A man who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease aged 23 started competing in disabled strongman competitions after weight training helped him cope with his condition.
Shaun Slicker, 39, from Warrington, competes in the ‘Seated Class’ for people with restricted use of their limbs, which means he is only allowed to use his upper body.
He takes part in disciplines including the rope pull and log press and dead lifting a weighted trailer.
He said: “I always say whatever you can lift in training you can lift five, maybe ten kilograms more on your event day due to the crowd and the buzz.”
Shaun was diagnosed with Parkinson’s after noticing the symptoms develop over several years.
He said: “I started getting slower, my limbs started getting more limp.
“I got a limp in my leg, and cramps in my feet.”
Parkinson’s is a condition that mainly affects older people, but about 500 people under the age of 40 in the United Kingdom are diagnosed with the condition each year.
Shaun said that after training with weights to ease the pain and spasms that can sometimes developed in his muscles, discovering disabled strongmen competitions had given him a new focus.
He added: “You see all the strongman celebrities like Mark Felix, Eddie Hall and the Stoltman brothers and you think ‘ooh they’re big’.
“Then you go into the arena, you’ve got crowds watching you… your adrenalin’s all over.”
Shaun initially struggled to find anywhere to train as a disabled strongman who uses a wheelchair.
After approaching the Titans strongman gym in Warrington, the owner, Darryl Toon, installed ramps and removed doors to make the gym more accessible.
Mr Toon said: “We’ve pushed everything to the side to create more of a gap and we took off a lot of doors to make it flow better.
“We know there’s not a lot of gyms, especially strong man gyms, that offer accessibility, so I’d love to be a hub for getting more people who’ve got limitations to come down and see if this is a sport to get into.”
Shaun is now training every day with other strongmen and strongwomen to prepare for upcoming competitions.
He said he was hopeful of enjoying some success.
He said: “Now I can put my strength and ability to use now, I can train somewhere proper.
“I’ve got the right set up in this gym and the right staff members helping me so this year is going to be one to look out for.”
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