“Powerlifting has brought a common love and passion into mine and my husband’s life and I wouldn’t change it for the world,” added Stephanie. “My grandma always said, ‘God won’t throw bullshit your way for no reason, he knows you and built you to overcome that bullshit.’ And I can truly say I have never understood that more than I do now. For others going through similar struggles I urge them to embrace the agony, the pain, the sorrow but don’t let it consume you, use it in any way you can to inspire you to do things you never thought you could.”

When someone else’s happiness is your happiness; that’s love.

And if you need an unconditional example of it, take Julio Vasquez and his wife, Yesenia.

“I’m writing this for my wife, because I think she is APEMAN STRONG,” Julio said. “She is profoundly deaf and legally blind.”

“It started a few years ago,” Albie said. “My wife and I had our last child. I was 41 at the time. I remember sitting on the floor and I couldn’t put my own socks on; I was 400-pounds and my diabetes was out of control. I thought, ‘I’m going to be 60 when my son graduates high school.’ I don’t know many 400-pound 60-year-olds out there.”

Albie began hitting the gym hard and estimates he lost at least 100 pounds of fat while gaining a ridiculous amount of strength.