MARIO SANTIAGO
THE MAN
My name is Mario. I come from a very small town in Toledo, but I live in Alicante. My life basically revolves around the gym, personal coaching, studying and reading, which is what I enjoy the most.
THE ATHLETE
I have always practised sports. While I was in hospital, I started playing wheelchair basketball for different teams in the area. From there, I moved on to adaptive cycling, which I combined with going to the gym, until I decided to choose one of the two and opted for bodybuilding. And that is how I got to where I am today.
THE HERO
The reason I am in this situation is a motorcycle accident. I crashed into a bridge after losing control of the motorcycle because I was riding too fast.
I spent about a year at the Hospital for Paraplegics, and from there I moved on to practising all kinds of sports until I eventually ended up here.
What I would like to convey is that, if someone like me, with an injury as high and as severe as a T4 spinal cord injury, can step onto a stage, perform these kinds of poses and do this kind of work in the gym, then you can do it too. You have no excuse.
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