WCBBers_Group

Rich Knapp "TEAM WCBBG Captain"

Beating the odds can be done. Its all in the heart, the team proves this.

My name is Richard (Rich) Knapp and this is my story.

I was your average run of the mill farms boy that didn't play sports. I was small but strong. In Junior High when I set the pull up record there was a reason like “He is so light that's why” or had a massive squat for a person that never worked out in High School “He didn't go all the way down” had 2nd
fastes 880 yard time and it was in western boots it was “It is cooler today than yesterday when we ran”.
You know the type we all had them in school.

After getting out of the US NAVY
I worked as a chipper/grinder for a founder and ended up with Carpel Tunnel in both hands and never had the surgery.

Then I landed a job in a paper mill.

Time went on and in 1992 I was diagnostic with Lyme's disease. A year later I became worse and lost
the use of my right arm and my legs were always bent, I talked like a drunk when I made sense.
1993 at the age of 27, after more tests and a spinal tap they told me I didn't have Lyme's it was Multiple Scleroses.

I didn't like the shots so I started researching the disease. I found that exercise and a low Sat fat diet helped. I also found out people with M.S. Had low Creatine levels.
My work put me on a less active job so I got a home gym and started to work out and eat healthy. I put on some nice size, got use of my arm back and my legs started working right again. People at work talked me into doing bodybuilding and competing.
My first show was FORD SHERIDAN'S Midwest Natural Bodybuilding Championships in 1999 and I took 3rd place Novice and I was hooked. I went on to do another 10 shows and placed in top 3 for 9 of them.
* "2000 GREAT LAKES PRO-QUALIFIER" I  TOOK 3RD       PLACE IN THE LIGHT WEIGHT OPEN CLASS.
* "2000 NORTH EAST CHAMPIONSHIPS"  1ST IN OPEN LIGHT WEIGHT OPEN CLASS.
* "2000 MIDWEST CHAMPIONSHIPS" 1ST OPEN LIGHT WEIGHT OPEN CLASS
* "2001 GREAT LAKES PRO-QUALIFIER" 2ND OPEN LIGHT WEIGHT    OPEN  CLASS
* "2001 WIS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS" 2ND OPEN LIGHT WEIGHT OPEN CLASS
* "2002 Wisconsin State Championships" 1st place Open Light Weight Class
* "2002 Great Lakes Pro-Qualifier" 2nd place Open Class Light Weight  Class
*"2003 Great Lakes Por-Qualifier" 3rd place Open Light Weight Class
*"2004 Great Lakes Pro-Qualifier"  2nd place Open Light Weight Class 
In 2004 I was doing so good I asked to be put on a machine at work. After they oked it I was over on machine side working and making more money ( I worked in a paper mill).
Later that year I was working long hours and my left arm got pulled into a paper rewinder up to my shoulder. I was 1 in a million that was able to keep my arm. Doctors said it was due to the extra muscle mass to protect the arm, but I did end up with nerve damage in it. They also found a bone cyst in my upper right arm the size of a grape. The family doctor took me off lifting heavy weights.
This about killed me. So I left the mill work to work as a diesel tec to keep in shape. We moved to Tucson, AZ. On a job transfer because of my M.S. Thing were good BUT. We missed our 7 kids and 2 grand kids so we moved back to WI. knowing the risks.
This is were it got hard. I began to get worse and had my back checked. They found arthritis and 2 herniated disks in my low back. This got so bad along with my memory and Cognitive functions that I can no longer work. I am in a wheelchair now for almost everything, I have post-its and note pads all over the house to remind me of things, I use a computer program to log and keep track of the workouts and food, I no longer can drive because I get lost even close to the apartment, one day I forgot how to spell ”at” . Yes I have good days now and then when things are better. LOL spell check got killed writing this up.
In Oct. 2009 I found out about Wheelchair Bodybuilding. BAM my heart swelled and burned. I looked at Tammy (my wonderful, supporting wife) and said “Hun, the heck with the doctors I am going back into bodybuilding. It brought me back once maybe it will bring some things back again.”
I am now doing INBF shows with a wheelchair class. I am calling out to all you 100% natural wheelchair bodybuilders to please get involved and compete INBF don't let this class fade away.
I have made a sedition to make wheelchair bodybuilding my full time job in the INBF and hopefully one day WNBF. Tammy supports me 100% in this.
In closing I would like to make this point. People call me inspirational and motivational and I have even been called a hero of theirs.
STOP, the one you should look up to is Tammy. Her dedication to getting up, makes sure I am all set, drives me to the gym and helps me with the equipment and weights, logs my work out at the gym as we go. Then when we get home she makes sure I remember to eat at the right times. She puts up with my memory problem on what workout day it is, what exercise is next. She does all this because she loves me and knows how much I love to do it. So if anyone should be inspirational it is her and how she is helping me reach my goals, and she never asks for anything for herself.

Gene Bergeron

Hi my name is Gene Bergeron.B.K.A. Geno Van Damn.

I was born in 1970.As a child I loved wrestling,martial arts and musclemen.In high school I started lifting weights.As the years went on I got bigger and stronger.

I then followed my dream and became a Pro Wrestler.On January 18,1997 I broke my neck inside the wrestling ring.This left me as a c5/c6 incomplete.I was crushhed.

Later in November of 97 I married my wife.We had our little girl in 2007.As a family we have grown in every way.

In January of '08 I decided to be a wheelchair-bodybuilder.It gave me an outlet.I since have gotten a lot of return that I didn't have.I hope to show others that being in a chair isn't the end.You have to live liife to it's fullest.As a WCBB I look forward to competing and hopefully get others to join in on the fun.


Adelfo Cerame Jr.

My name is Adelfo Cerame Jr. In November 10, 2005, I was involved in a car accident that left me paralyzed from the waist down. I was diagnosed as a T-12 paraplegic by doctors, and my chances of walking again were slim to none. That day I made a choice to either give up and let myself go and dig myself a deeper hole or be a man and face the situation and do something about it. I accept the fact that it happen but I don't accept the fact that it's permanent. All I can do is give 110 % and try my best in making my situation better whether I walk again or not at least I can look back and say I tried till the very end...

How I got into bodybuilding...

After my injury, I wanted to find a competitive outlet for people in wheelchairs. I have always been athletic and competitive. I wanted to find a sport that could feed my competitive hunger. I was itching to feel that competitive edge again and i found it in bodybuilding. At first I started to eat healthy again and going to the gym every other day. I had some what Knowledge of the whole eating every 2-3 hours and how it makes your metabolism faster and that's about it. I think I knew more about lifting weights and running than I did the nutrition aspect. I always wondered ever since I was in high school, how come I was so strong, I can bench press and squat so much, but yet it didn't show in my physique. All I had to show for was 205 lbs of bulk and fat. Now I realize I've been missing the key ingredient to transforming my body which was good nutrition and dieting. So I basically took it slow, read and did a lot of research on dieting and nutrition and eventually I started to understand the concept of being able to manipulate your body. It was like a math formula that i finally figured out after many frustrating months of trying to understand it. I also had plenty of help from people I networked with at the gym and also a couple good friends that were experienced bodybuilders.