"People think it's corny, but in this community it's really not," Gray said. "Just like powerlifting, it's not for everyone. I just try to break the mold of a lot of stereotypes. You are only the strongest version of yourself. You alone have the chance to change your life whenever you want and for whatever reason. If you aren't accomplishing your goals in life it's your fault alone, no one else. My mindset is to stop complaining, crying, and making excuses for why you aren't where you need to be and make a change. Remember, if you aren't changing things, you're accepting them for what they are."

“I was admitted immediately,” Bowen said. “MRI and spinal taps were my life for the next four weeks. On bed rest I developed an affection and almost died from dehydration. After 14 hours of trying to get an IV in me they successfully got one in my foot. For the next two weeks I was in recovery.”

He was diagnosed with Pseudotumor, a rare disease with under 200,000 cases each year. At its core, Pseudotumor is a brain condition that essentially causes the same symptoms as a brain tumor – headaches, nausea, vision problems, dizziness.

Clark Fredericks was raped at age 12. 

But the grooming started years before by a man that he not only looked up to but trusted completely – a Lt. in the local Sheriff’s department, a trusted family friend and boy scout master. 

“What the abuse did was destroy my childhood, destroy my trust and destroy my faith,” Fredericks said. “My mind, in order to protect me, told me that talking about the abuse was equal to reliving it and we surely didn't want to do that. And thus, my biggest regret in life began and that was the keeping of a debilitating secret.”

“I wasn’t some working guy with a pill habit,” DJ said. “I was the epitome of what you’d think of if you heard the word ‘junkie.’ All the way out there; a daily miserable existence. One day I decided that I was tired of getting my ass handed to me and made a decision to get clean. I didn’t have the luxury of going to a treatment center. I did it myself. No detox meds. No rehab. Just guts and grit.”

In March of 2017, he was diagnosed with insulin-dependent diabetes. Over time, this type of diabetes can wreak havoc on major organs in one’s body, including the heart, blood vessels, nerves, eyes and kidneys. Eventually, these complications can be disabling or even life-threatening.

In an attempt to alleviate the physical and emotional pain, Nicholas went through a tough period of prescription drug abuse. He tried to hide his issues as he pursued a Master’s degree at Norwich and working for the United States Senate doing VA casework.