Meet Bobby Body, the US army veteran powerlifter who battled through child abandonment, homelessness and an IED to make it to the Paralympics in Paris

Bobby Body has heard many jokes about his name. But it’s not a pun or a WWE gimmick. It’s his actual name. It just happens to be one that is very fitting for a powerlifter.

Yet, just over a year ago, powerlifting at the 2024 Paralympic Games seemed a long way off for Body. The 50-year-old was stuck. He had yet to bodypress over 500 pounds - a mark which would be crucial if he had any hope of making the podium in Paris.

But as a US veteran who has come through the hardships of abandonment at age five and homelessness, Body is no stranger to fighting and his journey to Paris has been no exception.

In five weeks time, Body will represent Team USA in the French capital, where anything less than gold, simply won’t be good enough.

‘There is no bronze. There is no silver. Gold is the goal,’ Body says at the Team USA summit in New York.

Yet the path to the podium hasn’t been an easy one. Far from it. Body was abandoned by his mother at a Texas bus stop when he was just five. His father was sent to prison, leaving him and his sister to be raised in an orphanage.

He was briefly homeless, sleeping on the streets and using a Greyhound bus station bathroom to wash his face and teeth before eventually striking a deal with a Palm Springs hotel owner. He watered the plants and cleaned the pool in exchange for a room where he could make himself presentable to launch a job hunt.

After the attacks on 9/11, Body enlisted in the US army but while deployed in Iraq his vehicle was hit by an IED forcing him to require multiple surgeries before his left leg had to be amputated above the knee in 2013.

Body says he fought so hard to stay in the army, despite his numerous surgical procedures, that the Secretary of Defense issued him with retirement, rather than a medical discharge.

And that fighting spirit appears to seep into everything Body applies himself too - especially powerlifting.

Two years after his amputation, he discovered powerlifting but it wasn’t until 2021 that, after years of the High Performance Manager for the Paralympic team continuously reaching out, that he eventually got into para powerlifting.

‘I was very frustrated with not being able to run and jump again amongst other things,’ Body explains. So the VA told me to go to the gym to run out some of that aggression.

‘I was bench pressing one day, and the owner of the gym said, “You're pretty strong for someone that's disabled.” And, they asked, “Have you ever considered powerlifting?”

‘At first, I was like, “There's no way I can do that.” Then I went to watch the competition and it was the coolest thing I've ever seen.’

The Paralympic team first reached out in 2015 but Body turned them down. He did so again in 2018 before he ultimately caved in 2019 only for the Covid-19 pandemic to scupper his plans. They reached out for a fourth and final time in 2021 and the rest is history.

A double silver medalist at the 2023 World Para Powerlifting Championships in Dubai, Body went on to claim gold at the Parapan American Games in November.

But even after his two silvers in Dubai, he felt something was missing. That’s when he reached out to the USOPC who set him up with the mental health services.

Body had already been seeing a therapist for the PTSD he suffered from the military but it was his sports therapy that has unlocked his true potential.

He revealed that within two months of being linked up with the USOPC’s mental health services, he went from lifting 217kg to 228kg. He now believes he’s on track to beat the world record of 254 kg - roughly half the weight of a grand piano.

‘It wasn't because of my training that I got that much stronger,’ he said. ‘They got me to believe that I was actually stronger than I actually was - not just physically but emotionally and mentally.’

‘Ever since I got back from Iraq, I will see the PTSD therapist about once a month just to keep me on an even keel and and make sure I'm doing okay. But they didn't know much about sport mental health. So, after Dubai, I thought, “Okay, well, I have my PTSD therapist, however, I need someone to help me with my training to try to get to Paris.” That's when I reached out to the USOPC mental health and we got connected and we meet once a week, every single week.’

But even accepting help was a battle for Body, who admits that he had to fight throughout his own pride.

‘I have to learn how to accept help,’ he said. ‘Because I can't do this on my own. I can't get to Paris on my own.’

Even as Body details the tribulations he’s faced in life, he does so with an infectious bubbly laugh and a megawatt smile fit for the silver screen.

And if Body’s Paralympic dream doesn’t go to plan, that smile could very well end up on film. If Hollywood comes calling, he won’t be hanging up the phone.

‘I would in a heartbeat,’ Body admitted when asked if he’d consider pursuing an acting career,

‘I've done commercials, and they're always like, “who's your agent, you need to do this, you need to do that.” I don't have an agent but I would love to be part of something that has to do with strength sport.

‘I went to a UFC fight, where I met The Rock - that's a big human too - people thought we were related. And I was like, “Hey, get me on one of your movies, or get me on the WWE.”

One of Body’s existing acting credits is thanks to the UFC. Body filmed a commercial for the organization, who in return offered him the gym of his dreams.

‘The UFC said, “What do you need to help you be successful to go to Paris?” And I was like, well if I had a state of the art gym, then it'd be a no brainer.

‘They said, “Okay, we're going to build an addition to your house, and we're going to build a gym. What do you need in that gym to be successful?”’

Before he knew it, a stunned Body had his own custom home gym filled with all the power racks, dumbbells and equipment he could need.

But it’s not just equipment Body has required to help power him to Paris. Some 3,500 to 4,000 calories per day are also required to fuel him. ‘Not a whole lot,’ according to him.

‘I also have to keep my weight under a certain weight for my weight class,’ he explains.’ My wife meal preps for me. She's a fantastic cook, so that helps a lot.

‘Once I made the Paralympic team, that's when my diet had to change. I was eating pizza and stuff like that because I loved it. But once I made the team, that's when she cooked rice, grilled chicken, beef and stuff like that.’

It’s a diet Body hopes will keep him firing until 2028 when the Olympics return to Los Angeles for a games on home soil.

‘I love doing this,’ he insists. ‘I'll do it until my body tells me it can't do it anymore. So I'm hoping to be that 95 year old guy on the bench.’

Body’s journey through life has been long. It’s been tough but it’s not over yet. With the resilience he’s summoned to pull himself through the darkest of times with a smile still on his face, there’s no doubt he'll be in the City of Angels if he wants to be. Then, and maybe then, he’ll consider retirement.

But before then he’s bringing his infectious positivity to Paris, where Gold is the goal.