Road to Paris: Bobby Body and the Power of Positive Thinking

Persevere and think positive, and good things will happen. That’s the message Bobby Body relays whenever he’s asked to speak at high schools and other public speaking events.

This wilful optimism is more than just words—it’s the mindset that’s gotten Body through a great deal: growing up in the foster care system, serving in the military (from which he was medically retired after sustaining injuries that led to his left leg being amputated), being the first American para powerlifter to win gold at the Parapan American Games in November 2023 in Santiago, Chile. And now, he’s got his sights set on the Paralympic Games this August.

Body, born to a Korean mother and Black father, has only been competing in his sport for three years, but is already ranked number five in his weight class (up to 107 kilograms). He’ll be 50 by this summer, but as he puts it, “age is just a number and I'm getting better—even at 49.”

I recently spoke with Body about his journey into para powerlifting, what his win in Santiago meant to him, the transition of becoming an amputee, and more.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Para powerlifter Bobby Body at the Parapan American Games in 2023.

Courtesy of Bobby Body

Samantha Pak: Tell me a little bit about your early life. Were you into sports back then?
Bobby Body: My life was a little complicated. My mother left when I was 5, and my father was active-duty army, but then he went to prison when I was 10. My sister and I grew up in an orphanage. We were in foster care until graduating from high school.

While living at the orphanage, they had their own gymnasium and athletic coaches. That's where I learned how to play sports. I tried to get involved with as many sports as I possibly could, everything from tennis to figure skating. When I got to high school, I played football in the fall, and I wrestled in the wintertime, and then I ran track. I was supposed to go to college on a track scholarship, but (the college) cut the program my freshman year. But I did play rugby in college.

I went into the Marine Corps after I left college but I didn't last very long due to an injury and so I got a medical discharge. Then after 9/11 happened, I felt obligated to rejoin the military. That's when I ended up going into the army. That was in 2004, got deployed in 2005, and then got injured in February 2006.

SP: What was your injury?
BB: I got hit by a roadside bomb to the side of the Humvee that I was in. It blew the door into my left arm and my left leg. When I got medevaced home, I had surgery on my arm right away, and went through several surgeries on my leg to save my leg. It wasn't until 2013 that they decided to take the leg off.

Para powerlifter Bobby Body celebrates at the 2023 Parapan American Games.

Courtesy of Bobby Body

SP: I don't even know how to go from there. [Laughs]
BB: [Laughs]

SP: Because that's a big life change. I'm assuming that that was the end of your military career—or at least active duty?
BB: The amputation didn't come ‘til after the military, but after so many surgeries, the army said I couldn't stay. Because I couldn't run anymore, I couldn't do a whole lot. But because I fought so hard to stay in the military, instead of just getting a medical discharge, they gave me a medical retirement, which was nice.

(After the amputation in 2013), I was also seeing a PTSD therapist. He had recommended, to let out aggression, to start going to the gym more and start hitting the weights. That's how I got into powerlifting. I started lifting a lot of heavy weights, and the owners of the gym said, “Have you ever considered powerlifting?” At first I was like, “I'm an amputee. I can't do stuff like that.” And they were like, “You'll be surprised.” And so I did able-bodied powerlifting for a while and I was very successful at it.

And then the Olympic coaches contacted me in 2015 and wanted me to do para powerlifting. At first I was like, “No, I don't want to do it.” They reached out again in 2019. And I was going to do it and was actually meeting with them on a regular basis. And then COVID hit. And during COVID, I ended up having two more surgeries.

And then after I got done with rehab on the second surgery, at the gym that I started going to there just so happened to be a guy that was on Team USA. And it just so happened that day (when we met), he had a Zoom call with their high-performance manager. And so she was like, “Okay, so for a third time, would you do this?”

Bobby Body (center) at the medal ceremony after winning gold at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile.

Courtesy of Bobby Body

SP: And what year was this?
BB: This was in 2021. And I said, “Yeah, I'll do it.”

This was probably March, April 2021. They had a qualifier meet in July to make the team and I made the team. My first competition was a World Championships. But I ended up doing well, placing second in my group, ninth overall, behind all the guys that went to the Paralympic Games. So I was pretty happy.

From there, I was like, “Now I have to figure out how to get myself to that high-performance, elite level so I can get to the Paralympic Games.” I trained my behind off and kept at it. And in every competition, I've gotten better. I've been in the sport since 2021 and I'm now ranked number five. And at the Parapan American Games, I was able to come home with a gold medal.

SP: Can you explain what the Parapan and Pan American Games are?
BB: The Pan Am and Parapan Games are for North America and South America. It's the western hemisphere's Olympic and Paralympic Games. It's only held once every four years—just like the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It’s always around the year of the (Olympic and Paralympic) Games because for a lot of the sports, that's their qualifier.

(In powerlifting), for my weight class, the same guy has won the last three (Parapan American Games). I trained so hard for this one and told the coaches, “He's got to go down.”

The U.S.—men and women—for para powerlifting, we've never had a gold medalist before. So I got really emotional when we finally got to hear the national anthem. They're like, “Did you realize that you're the first gold medalist the U.S. has ever had for para powerlifting?”