Newspaper Article
This Newspaper Article was in the Toronto Sun. It was very well received by those who read it.
Thu, July 17, 2003 - The Toronto Sun
From MS to Musclemania
Pumping iron was Paul's answer to his illness
By Mike Strobel
On Saturday, Paul Stock will strut 'round a stage with other muscly young men in itty-bitty trunks. He will do a "front double-bicep," the Popeye pose.
He will do a lat spread, a side triceps, a side chest, and other displays that remind you of Superman and the Hulk.
The judges, and you, may remark on how supremely symmetrical is Paul Stock's physique.
If you look very, very closely, you may see a slight drag to his feet.
But you should know there is nothing wrong with Paul Stock's heart.
I meet him at his gym, Delfs', on the main drag in Bradford.
Through a back window, you can see workers creep through a big field of onions. Tom Cochrane pumps out Life is a Highway.
Fit people and wannabes flit about.
A new mom is sweating over a rowing machine.
Owner Selena Delfs, 28, bends her statuesque frame in ways not meant for mortals.
Paul Stock, 29, is doing arm curls with 60-pound weights. He is fine-tuning for Musclemania. It goes Saturday at the Metro Convention Centre.
It is an all-natural event. So no steroids, thank you very much.
But Paul Stock will be allowed his meds.
They are for his multiple sclerosis.
AN UGLY VALENTINE'S DAY
On Valentine's Day in 1999, he and his girlfriend sat stunned as a doctor said his tests showed MS.
It explained why his feet sometimes fell asleep.
Why his left eye was blurry, like someone had just shone a flashlight in it.
Why his balance wasn't quite right. Why he was losing the sense of touch in his left hand.
All he knew of MS was that it had stricken a close friend.
In the end, at the advanced age of 18, she drove up to Parry Sound and swallowed a lot of pills.
"It got the best of her," says Stock.
"I feel so bad for her, especially now that I know how she felt: Life sucks. This is the worst."
It almost got the best of Stock, too.
For a year and a half, he moped about.
He worked. He's a tool-and-die-maker at an auto parts plant in Oshawa. But he slacked off most other things.
"I was pretty low, so blown away. Multiple sclerosis is a bad selling feature, man.
"I was gonna be a dad with a wife and a nice house and a dog. Now I was spinning. I just gave up on myself. I had no mojo left."
'Til one night he was drinking beer with his kid brother, Ryan. They have a big bungalow in Holland Landing.
BOOST FROM HIS BROTHER
"Get off your ass," Ryan, 28, told him. "You've gotta live, or you're gonna wither away. Do something."
So he did. He saw a poster for Musclemania and he hit the weights at Delfs'.
There, trainer Andrew Laird, 42, pushes him. Often it hurts. He can't run without toppling over, so he pounds the stationary bike. He uses a weight machine with safety guides. His water-skiing days are over. Laird has him on a strict diet.
Now he's "water-shedding" to tighten his skin for the show.
For that, chicken and yams. Every day. Nothing else. Okay, a little dandelion root.
If he stays at 160, on nearly six feet, he'll be in the welterweight class.
Organizer Jeff Kippel, 34, says 90 men and 45 women, all rippling, have entered Musclemania.
It's Paul Stock's first show. He says he is going there to win. I think he already has. He says he hopes his story might inspire someone. I think it already has. Gym staff have made a sign near the front door, wishing him well.
"I've given it my all," he says. "I mean, what do I have to lose?"
Ever think of what's ahead, Paul?
"Why dwell on it? If you do, it beats you.
"I know the longer term outlook is not good. I've gone to the meetings, seen some of the people.
"But nothing's carved in stone."
Except maybe those biceps.
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