By Dylan Deprey
Antonio Fore is ready to pump the reps, and go #amillion4amillion. (Photo courtesy ABLE 365)
“One…(breath)…two…(breath)…three…(breath)…four… (breath)..five!”
Antonio Fore racks his 225-pound bar on the bench. He rests for thirty seconds. Then he’s back at it again. He knocks out 50 reps total.
Though a little sore from benching, Fore actually raked in $50. For every rep that he does, $1 goes towards his ultimate goal of a $1 million. His mission is to give those with cognitive and physical disabilities that same feeling he gets after a hard workout.
“We wake up, anxious to start at a new gym. We walk into anywhere and get our membership and get started. Now, imagine that same anxiousness except you have Cerebral Palsy and your muscles are locked up just getting out of bed to go the gym,” Fore said.
ABLE 365 is more than a sign in the parking lot. (Photo courtesy ABLE 365)
He said he had always been athletic growing up. Family lore led to one of boxing’s greats, as his grandfather was Muhammed Ali’s sparring partner. He simply had a passion for training and exercising.
He said there was a point in his life when he wanted to really put his athletic training certification to even better use. He began researching. He wanted to give the differently and cognitively disabled more than just a space in the parking lot, and a button on the door.
“There’s so many obstacles they have to go to just to prepare to work out, but then to go to a gym that’s not accessible is just another heartbreaking experience,” Fore said.
He began working hands-on with the differently abled. From Joseph Reed, a quadruple amputee, to Eboni P., the “Cerebral Palsy Queen,” he worked to created programs for the differently abled.
ABLE 365 is aiming to provide a friendly atmosphere where the differently abled can get a hardcore work out with little to no assistance. Whether it’s a harnesses for those with Cerebral Palsy to trek the treadmill, noise-cancelling headphones for those with Autism, or even a lowering pull-up bar for those in a wheel chair, nobody is considered “disabled.”
“Exercise does the same thing for everybody. We all feel good after a workout, with our endorphins and adrenaline running, but it’s harder to access for some people like the differently abled. Some things just need a little more tending to, a little more patience, and when we understand that we can move forward with it,” Fore said.
Along with providing a comfortable space for the differently abled to work out side-by-side with their friends and family, he wants to hire people with physical and cognitive conditions. Ultimately, he wants to give people health and financial independency through Able 365.
He is over 1,000 reps deep, and he said he won’t stop until he reaches his goal. Others can also pledge sponsored reps, and get in on some of the lifting themselves. Whether it’s Giannis or the average-joe, anybody can rack it up.
“All I ask for is a dollar, but even if somebody fronts the whole million, that doesn’t mean the reps are going away. I’ve accepted this obligation and once I did the first rep, I took on the challenge. It wasn’t about me anymore, it was about those with Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Spinal Dysraphism, wheel chair users and amputees. I’m not just lifting for me anymore,” he said.
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