VINCENT, A SERGEANT AT THE NYPD, OVERCAME NUMEROUS CHALLENGES TO BECOME A BETTER MAN AND PERSEVERE THROUGH THE DIFFICULT ASPECTS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT

APEMAN has a profound admiration and respect for the men and women in law enforcement. So when we heard there were multiple folks within the New York Police Department who were inspired by our mission, we were both honored and humbled. 

One of those individuals is Vincent, a sergeant in the NYPD. Growing up, he was the kid who was always picked last in gym and was constantly made fun of for being overweight. 

But thanks to his resolve and determination, he broke the mold.

“Last year I hit my weight-loss goal of 50lbs that took me 18 months to complete,” Vincent said. “My goal was to lose the weight but remain strong while still training. Powerlifting was always my first love since I was 14 and my uncle showed me how to lift in our homemade basement gym.”

Before his weight-loss, Vincent’s bench press 1RPM was 355, deadlift of 450 and squat of 405.

“Not bad for a 48-year-old,” Vincent laughed. 

But after losing the weight, his totals dropped dramatically.

“I partially tore my right shoulder benching on a 315 attempt then my right hip went to crap as well during deadlifts,” he said. “I was done for a few months working on my lifts and mentally it took a toll on me. In my mind I was always that fat kid that was made fun of, being picked last. I promised myself I would never go back to that.

“Which is exactly when I found APEMAN.”

Vincent was doing some band work in his gym when a buddy of his had an APEMAN shirt on. 

“It said POWERED BY RAGE and it garnered my interest,” he said. “I immediately checked out your website and I was hooked. Your motivational shirts gave me my inner beast mode back and I rehabbed my ass off.”

Every two weeks, he bought a new shirt and wore it to the gym even if he was just doing overhead presses because his shoulder kept wanting to detach. Recently, he competed in a fitness competition the Department held in order to promote wellness and fitness for cops. Vincent has always wanted to try something like that, but this year, because of APEMAN, he finally got the motivation to do it.

“I finished 1st for my age group,” Vincent said with pride. “I wore the PERSEVERE shirt that my girlfriend bought me for my birthday. It was a kickass day. I’m still trying to get back to my powerlifting but just staying within my ranges and creeping up the weight little by little. 

“My first love is making that bar bend while I push Mother Earth away with my feet,” he said. “There is nothing better than that!”