Jeff Black - Be Your Own Hero!

[Bio]

I'm sure many of you know Jeff Black (JBlack here on PM). He is a national level bodybuilder. Being a competitive bodybuilder definitely weeds out the weak! The people you see on stage have worked hard and have amazing drive. The thing that sets Jeff apart as some of you know, is that he has Osteogenesis Imperfecta...OI for short. OI is a brittle bone disease. In 2010, RX Muscle did an article on Jeff which he posted here. Here's a link to that article...It will give you a better perspective to what Jeff has gone through...Jeff Black: He Breaks, But Comes Back! Take a moment to read the article if you haven't seen it before. It will put Jeff's accomplishments into perspective. You can find other threads about Jeff by searching threads by JBlack and Bio.

Jeff has achieved something that shouldn't be possible. Lifting weights alone should be a hurdle that would cause him to constantly suffer the terrible negative side effects associated with OI...There certainly were some but over time, his new suit of armor began to protect him. That suit of armor soon turned into an incredible physique that allows him to stand on the national stage! To give you a further idea of how profound Jeff's accomplishment is, it would be like a paraplegic getting up and walking. The weight lifting and bodybuilding accomplishments of Jeff Black are to be applauded even he didn't have OI, but the fact that he does makes all of his accomplishments a thousand times harder than those that stand on stage next to him.

This past weekend, Jeff and I met in person for the first time at the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. We've been friends since 2010 when he posted the article by RX Muscle discussing his OI. I had just got back from the OI conference...My connection to OI is through my fiances brother, David. He passed at 38...He would be 51 today. I never knew him but supporting her and her mother and being a part of the foundation has been a fantastic experience. I'm glad and proud to be a part of the OI Foundation!

Jeff's mantra is "Be Your Own Hero" and he shared with with many, but really directed it to the kids with OI. Jeff was scheduled as a speaker to talk to the kids. They were in awe! I would say they have a new hero, but like I said, Jeff wants them to be their own hero!!

Please take a moment to also look at **broken link removed** This is the official website for the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation. It will help give perspective on the disease.

Also look at **broken link removed** This is Jeff's blog regarding OI and his journey. It really is a great read!

I want to share some of the photos I took at the conference. You'll be able to see the smiles on the kids faces!

 

[Darb77]

He's a good dude!

 

[Bio]

Jeff's pictures don't do him justice! He's as wide as he is tall!!

 

[Bio]

Here are some more photos!.

 

[Ehren]

Great what you and jB are doing, Bio!

Jeff's been someone I've admired since I read about his OI and determination a few years back. It's amazing and humbling what he's done!

 

[Ghetto Gunfighter]

That is truly awe-inspiring. Puts things into perspective.

To the Mods, have we ever had "handicapped member" or "member overcoming hardship" as a featured member category? Just a thought.

 

[Bio]

That is truly awe-inspiring. Puts things into perspective.

To the Mods, have we ever had "handicapped member" or "member overcoming hardship" as a featured member category? Just a thought.

Hey GG, as well meaning as that is, I can tell you right now that Jeff would say, I want to win as regular featured member or not at all.

On that note, come the next opportunity for male, competing member, I think Jeff definitely deserves consideration!

 

[Bio]

I wanted to mention some facts that I left out...

Jeff has had 97 fractures in his lifetime.

At a very young age, he was told he would never walk again. The doctors told his mother to decorate his wheel chair...It would help him accept it.

Jeff has a son that does not have OI...BUT...Not long ago, an ex-girlfriend contacted him and let him know he had a three year old son who does have OI. The son without OI is the older of the two.


Please take a look at his blog...It's a great read and very insightful...**broken link removed**

 

[richiec]

Thank you for sharing that Bio. Looking at those pictures brought tears to my eyes as I have a son and a daughter on the way. My son doesn't have anything that hinders his life and I pray constantly that my daughter will not either. Jeff is an inspiration to many people and him meeting with those kids, I can only imagine how they felt after that!

 

[Jblack]

Bio is truly to kind. I was blessed and humbled to have the opportunity to speak to the Teenagers with Osteogenesis Imperfecta at the conference. I spoke to them about my story and what got me into bodybuilding. How I was bullied in high school and could never relate to a Joe Montana or a Jose Canseco, but could relate to a bodybuilder because most of them I read about were picked on or outcasts - something I related to through and through.

To speak to parents and let them see that a disease does not define them or their children was beyond rewarding on what I could ever hope to put into words. I found myself at times, shy, because they were looking and talking to me like I was someone famous when all I did was prove doctors and a medical community wrong. I refused to give quarter and kept pushing forward even through stress fracture or whatever else my body was dealing me at any given moment.

I have found a home here on PM where I can be myself and be one of the bodybuilders. It truly is something I enjoy because I spent my whole life being normal and not wanting to be known as brittle or fragile or that guy with that rare disease. Bodybuilding gave me that life. Bodybuilding has molded me into the person I am today and given me a life that everyone said would never happen. It was surreal to give parents hope and inspiration that their kids can achieve anything and that OI does not define them at all. The physical prowess I have achieved has never been seen before in the community and the doctors.

The true hero of this whole journey is Bio, who put me in contact with the OIF and convinced me to talk about my story. He saw the impact I could have long before I ever did now it is something I am finding is my passion. I am hoping with my foundation I am starting that I can bring awareness and advocacy for a disease that is rare, has little to zero federal funding, and is very cost debilitating to families.

I am just thankful that bodybuilding can be put in a positive light rather than everything else we see or read about it. The power of it and just working out in general is far too often dismissed in the eyes of the public and even our community. To the kids I met they saw a superhero and that is something that I molded in the gym like each of us do daily. I encourage you all to help others in the gym and spread the gift of working out in a positive light - you just never know who you might make smile on the inside in the process.

 

[Stayinfit]

You're a good ambassador for the sport/lifestyle. I like your blue work hustle shirt in one of the pics. Got that one recently myself.

 

[Ghetto Gunfighter]

Hey GG, as well meaning as that is, I can tell you right now that Jeff would say, I want to win as regular featured member or not at all.



On that note, come the next opportunity for male, competing member, I think Jeff definitely deserves consideration!

I agree, and hopefully my comment was taken in the spirit I meant it.

 

[LS3 Power]

If a story like this doesn't weed out the excuse makers I don't know what will.

A "condition" or not, you look legitimately good JBlack! What an acumen for personal success!

 

[richiec]

To speak to parents and let them see that a disease does not define them or their children was beyond rewarding on what I could ever hope to put into words. I found myself at times, shy, because they were looking and talking to me like I was someone famous when all I did was prove doctors and a medical community wrong. I refused to give quarter and kept pushing forward even through stress fracture or whatever else my body was dealing me at any given moment.

I have found a home here on PM where I can be myself and be one of the bodybuilders. It truly is something I enjoy because I spent my whole life being normal and not wanting to be known as brittle or fragile or that guy with that rare disease. Bodybuilding gave me that life. Bodybuilding has molded me into the person I am today and given me a life that everyone said would never happen. It was surreal to give parents hope and inspiration that their kids can achieve anything and that OI does not define them at all. The physical prowess I have achieved has never been seen before in the community and the doctors.

Jeff, I gotta tell you man, proving doctors wrong is one of the most exhilarating feelings in the world. Proving everyone else wrong is an extremely close second
What you are doing for these kids means more than you will ever know. OI does not define them, I LOVE IT!!! I truly pray that if they only got one thing from you meeting with them, it's that! Keep doing what you're doing

 

[Bio]

Jeff, I gotta tell you man, proving doctors wrong is one of the most exhilarating feelings in the world. Proving everyone else wrong is an extremely close second
What you are doing for these kids means more than you will ever know. OI does not define them, I LOVE IT!!! I truly pray that if they only got one thing from you meeting with them, it's that! Keep doing what you're doing

You totally get it Richie!

Jeff has the most profound tag line in the world...Be Your Own Hero! That's exactly what he told those kids and the parent's of those kids.

One other thing that everyone should know about Jeff, is that he is EXTREMELY humble!

 

[Bio]

Jeff's accomplishments despite OI are a hurdle that no one else with the disease has ever accomplished. As profound as that is, I want to address other incredible hurdles that he overcame. I wouldn't address this in an open forum but in 2011, Jeff posted a thread making it known...http://www.professionalmuscle.com/forums/professional-muscle-forum/68228-reflection.html

Take a moment to read the above thread / post and then come back.

I want to keep this thread positive but since Jeff has been honest about what happened to him as a child, I wanted everyone to see the other hurdles that he has overcome in this life. What his father did to him is something that goes beyond words. This past weekend Jeff shared some of those stories with me. We were eating and he said, "There's something I'll share with you but you might want to put your cheeseburger down." He was right...I wasn't ready for what I heard...But, at that moment, it made his accomplishments even more profound. To see Jeff today...The kind of person he is along with all of his physical accomplishments, is a testament to man that is driven beyond any other that I have ever come across. Peoples live's have crashed and burned for much less than what he was faced with!

Do me a favor, don't make any comments about Jeff's dad...I don't want to ruin an amazing thread...Instead, take the time to say something positive to Jeff.

 

[suppsandpins]

Bio is truly to kind. I was blessed and humbled to have the opportunity to speak to the Teenagers with Osteogenesis Imperfecta at the conference. I spoke to them about my story and what got me into bodybuilding. How I was bullied in high school and could never relate to a Joe Montana or a Jose Canseco, but could relate to a bodybuilder because most of them I read about were picked on or outcasts - something I related to through and through.

To speak to parents and let them see that a disease does not define them or their children was beyond rewarding on what I could ever hope to put into words. I found myself at times, shy, because they were looking and talking to me like I was someone famous when all I did was prove doctors and a medical community wrong. I refused to give quarter and kept pushing forward even through stress fracture or whatever else my body was dealing me at any given moment.

I have found a home here on PM where I can be myself and be one of the bodybuilders. It truly is something I enjoy because I spent my whole life being normal and not wanting to be known as brittle or fragile or that guy with that rare disease. Bodybuilding gave me that life. Bodybuilding has molded me into the person I am today and given me a life that everyone said would never happen. It was surreal to give parents hope and inspiration that their kids can achieve anything and that OI does not define them at all. The physical prowess I have achieved has never been seen before in the community and the doctors.

The true hero of this whole journey is Bio, who put me in contact with the OIF and convinced me to talk about my story. He saw the impact I could have long before I ever did now it is something I am finding is my passion. I am hoping with my foundation I am starting that I can bring awareness and advocacy for a disease that is rare, has little to zero federal funding, and is very cost debilitating to families.

I am just thankful that bodybuilding can be put in a positive light rather than everything else we see or read about it. The power of it and just working out in general is far too often dismissed in the eyes of the public and even our community. To the kids I met they saw a superhero and that is something that I molded in the gym like each of us do daily. I encourage you all to help others in the gym and spread the gift of working out in a positive light - you just never know who you might make smile on the inside in the process.

A person always thinks he knows so much about the people who are in their life; day in, day out. Not here. I had known about Jeff's disease but did not know much about it. I had met him through PM and correspondence, he never mentioned much about it; and one day we were chatting about family issues, (what an amazing thing it is to have the ability to relate through shared or similar experiences) and we started talking about his training schedule and supplements. He asked me for a favor, I said yes. That was it. No thoughts of exploitation. Of course it’s nice to sponsor someone, that’s what I’m here to do. Yet the “cha ching” didn’t go off in my head – because I “felt I knew” who I was dealing with and what he was about. No thought of much, except maybe, let’s see if this guy can prove the things he speaks about. And BAM! That and more. Then I heard another story about how he treats his children and the lengths he goes to provide them the safety and consistency they need and deserve, and I was hooked… My kids are my life! Everything I do, I do for them and their mother! Period. When I get away from that, I am setting myself up for failure, and that usually comes in failure on a spiritual level, I think a bunch here understand the pain of which I speak. Pain is a great motivator but it needs a ton of courage, brotherly love and perseverance to take things to another level, and this guy has it!!!

After reading this, and re-realize my own life-lessons that brought me to the point of even being able to begin to practice humility! Also, the lengths one has to physically go to experience the life changing events that bring most to their knees, but not Jeff!! Every once in a while, very seldom, do you find a person that can literally define the meaning of things. Things like, sportsmanship, teamwork, sponsorship, HARD work, etc., these are the traits which successful people possess. It's not only an honor to work with him, it is a privilege!! And I mean that from the bottom of my heart. This is one guy that giving the shirt off of your own back leaves you with the feeling that his will come off when you need it, WITHOUT a doubt! To me, these days, that is a rarity. Seldom do you find people in your network that have no ulterior motives, no hidden agenda, and no screw job in the making… I know that every day, issue or no issue, personal problems or none; he is available and willing to offer his experience in such things, what worked or works for him today, and if I truly listen and apply these solutions, they will work for me as well. And passing that along is what it's all about anyway. What use is knowledge and experience if it is not shared? Helping the others that have this disease and teaching them that their disease does not define them is about the greatest humanly gift he can offer. I relate on a whole other level; nevertheless, the meaning is the same.

Bio, thank you for posting, it is a great thing to realize what’s going on right in front of you. You’re work and suggestions; suggest to me you are a visionary - you see the result/potential before it happens. That’s a great quality to have!! And you nailed this commentary, very nice!!

 

[Jonny]

Did Rogan steal that advice from him?

 

[IronManRep]

Jeff's pictures don't do him justice! He's as wide as he is tall!!

Jeff has definitely gained a lot of size over the last year. Great pics!

 

[thebrick]

Jeff, you are a true inspiration! You have risen above some very, very bad stuff. Seeing those pics lets me see that you represent a part of everything that's right in this world. And even though I have a different health battle going right now, seeing what you are doing puts a smile on my face and inspires me to push on. Thank you for that!