Seeing Opportunities, Not Obstacles If you’ve ever said the words “I can’t,” this story is for you. Zachary Slay is the 32 year old winner of the Fall 2011 Lose Dat competition. He beat out 175 other weight loss contestants by losing more than 50 pounds in just 10 weeks and getting fit, toned and healthy doing it. But here’s the “Yes, you can!” part: He whipped his muscles into shape even though his muscles do not work as they should. before after Wardrobe: The Mix | Photography: Karen Lee Lodato 4 // Franco’s Health & Lifestyle // 985.792.0200 // myfrancos.com
Zac working with trainer Bradley Cook Slay has Cerebral Palsy, a broad term that refers to a group of non-progressive, noncontagious motor conditions that begin prenatally or during the first two years of life and cause physical disabilities. Though the condition originates in the brain, it does not always impair cognitive functioning. Cerebral Palsy is most often debilitating to the muscles and joints, and is most apparent in Slay in his gait and his speech. The gift of perspective Slay does not see himself as disabled (a word he sometimes ponders changing in the dictionary). “Some people want to name me the poster boy, the guy who volunteers to represent this group of people… And yet, I don’t really notice my disability until somebody says ‘Hey, can you help me dig this ditch?’ I’ve always pictured myself as a person with a few limitations.” Cerebral Palsy does present limitations to the flexibility and coordination of Slay’s muscles, but not to his perseverance. His limitations did not stop him from losing 50.8 pounds, 6.25 inches from his chest, 13 inches from his waist and 8 inches from his hips, and developing a sleek, cut, muscular physique. Bradley Cook, Slay’s trainer, takes a highly individualized approach that has been a vital part of his success. Cook is more than Walking the runway after being named Overall Winner of the 2011 Fall Lose Dat Program. Slay’s trainer though, he is his roommate and friend. He convinced Slay to sign up for the Lose Dat competition and was there for him every step of the way. Cook provided support and encouragement to help Slay get excited about nutrition (an area he often struggled with), and called upon his expertise in physiology to guide Slay through exercise variations that accommodated his physical limitations. You can get back up When Slay does consider his disability, he speaks of it as a gift, a tool to help and inspire others. “I’ve worked with people with cerebral palsy that are mentally impaired,” he shares, “and it’s heartwrenching. But I’ve been given a mind to think and I’m thankful. And yet my disability impairs my motor skills. And, yes, I’ve had it since I was born. Every kid is not born like me, but I’ve really learned to embrace it and see it as a challenge, but also as a gift.” With the spotlight on his recent accomplishment, Slay articulates the origin of his perseverance. “I grew up in a loving home… As a kid, I would fall. I would fall every day… As a kid, my mom would allow me to fall. And she’d say, ‘Zachary, you can get back up.’ And that taught me more about my abilities than my disabilities.” Ability Getting back up wasn’t always easy for Slay. He often didn’t fit in. He struggled with his weight throughout childhood, and his disability kept him from participating in many of the physical activities popular among his peers. In high school, he watched from the sidelines as his friends developed strength and camaraderie through sports. “My mother saw that I didn’t really fit into the activities that my friends were in, so she prayed that I would find something just for me,” Slay recalls. “And she gave me my first chinup bar at the age of 12. Then I found out about weights and it snowballed.” Slay competed four times in body building competitions as a teenager, but lost his momentum and gained back the extra weight each time that making it to the stage was no longer his goal. Now, after 10 years of weight fluctuations, his goals have changed. “I had goals and I had a number in my head [for the weight I want to lose],” Slay says of signing up for the Lose Dat competition, “but I didn’t want to miss the most critical thing, which is making this a lifestyle, making this a dayto-day journey of treating my body in a way that honors the Maker.” Losing weight; gaining ground Slay continues to honor his Maker by staying fit and healthy, and by using his many gifts to inspire others. He continues to work with individuals with disabilities and is gearing up to take his place as a captain for this spring’s Lose Dat competition. He has also taken up writing and hopes to spread the inspiration a little farther, though he jokes that, now that he’s not carrying the extra weight, the title of his future manuscript may have to change from its original Ten Feet Behind to, perhaps, Two Feet Behind. “I know how it feels to be overweight and feel no hope,” he says, “and I want to present nutrition, working out and living a life of discipline in a way that excites people to move forward; in a way that inspires people to grow physically, mentally and spiritually.” With so much to say, Slay may need to trade his place on a poster for one at a podium. myfrancos.com // 985.792.0200 // Franco’s Health & Lifestyle // 5
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