After having his leg amputated, this tatted up former Marine won’t let anything stop him
A post shared by John Edward Heath ™️ (@carbonfiber_john_)John Edward Heath went viral last year when video showed him landing a one-legged power clean six days after having his leg amputated.
Now, he has his sights set on the 2024 Paralympic Games.Speaking to Outsports’ “The Sports Kiki” podcast this week, the openly gay veteran Marine, who had to undergo 12 surgeries after being struck by a drunk driver in 2016, says losing his leg initially sent him into a downward spiral.“I fell into a dark, dark hole of alcoholism, and I was doing recreational drugs,” he says. “But one day I woke up, and I was so violent when I was blacking out and drinking, it was like, ‘I need to turn my life around.’” A post shared by John Edward Heath ™️ (@carbonfiber_john_)Heath connected with Run Freely, a charity founded by former ESPN anchor Kenny Mayne that offers financial support to veterans with limb salvage conditions.
Through that organization, he was able to afford a prosthetic leg.From there, he connected with Merging Veterans and Players, a non-profit founded by NFL FOX reporter Jay Glazer and former NFL player and Green Beret Nate Boyer that assists combat veterans and former NFL players acclimate to life after service and sports.
A post shared by John Edward Heath ™️ (@carbonfiber_john_)Heath soon got into CrossFit, weight lifting, and track and field, where he rediscovered not only his love for himself but for health and fitness, in general, as well as educating others.“I’m the first amputee a lot of pro athletes have ever seen, let alone lifting the amount of weight that I do,” he says.
