Despite all obstacles: he made it to a professional bodybuilder –...

• Edgard John-Augustin lost both legs in a car accident when he was 4 years old.

• At 20, he started going to the gym.

• The French became a bodybuilder and won the European title in a wheelchair in 2015.

• The father of three is now a professional bodybuilder.

• To be a professional is his greatest achievement, according to 35-year-old John-Augustin.

They were on their way to a wedding, he and his brothers and sisters, his mother behind the wheel. Then she lost control of the car and an accident broke out. “My older brother lost one of his legs, I lost both,” Edgard John-Augustin recalls. Fortunately, a man came to the scene of the accident, took John-Augustin and his brother into his car and drove them to the hospital. “He saved our lives,” says the 35-year-old. And he added to “SunSport”: “We probably ruined his car with our blood.”

The French, born in French Guiana, South America, is eternally grateful to the helper. And he says: “It is extremely difficult for my mother because she has been feeling guilty all her life. But it was only thanks to her that I became the man I am today. ” And by that John-Augustin means: a successful bodybuilder.

His path was by no means easy. For various operations and rehabilitation, he and his brother each had to travel to France, far from their parents. He was young, scared, and without a family. He was often in a wheelchair because of the operations, so as a teenager John-Augustin was shy, overweight, and hid his handicap as best he could. It wasn’t until he was 20 that his life began to change radically, when he first went to a gym.

So began his rise in bodybuilding, from amateur to professional. He’s spent endless hours in the gym. He won various bodybuilding events and became European wheelchair champion in 2015. He is now no longer allowed to take part in wheelchair events because he has switched to professional business. “For me it is the greatest achievement to be on stage with other incredible athletes.”

John-Augustin’s attitude is, “If I don’t do it, no one will do it for me. This is my mantra, which my mother kept telling me. ” “Bionic Body”, as John-Augustin calls himself on Instagram, trains six times a week, only taking a break on Sundays.

But without legs it is also limited. He’s got used to his handicap all his life. But “I often have injuries from my prosthesis, but that doesn’t stop me. I continue with pain, no matter what, ”says John-Augustin fiercely. He has come a long way – and we’ll hear from him in the future, the legless bodybuilder.