The Trevor Clark Story

August 20, 2012

Josh Bunch

"The gym is my daily dose of medicine."

 

Saying CrossFit is uncomfortable is like saying water is wet. Comfort doesn’t equal results, intensity does.

Trevor Clark is a 35-year-old Internal Affairs attorney for correctional facilities. Clark found CrossFit when he needed it the most. CrossFit showed up on Clark’s door in the midst of a two-year divorce. “When I started CrossFit I was in a really bad state of mind, and my body wasn’t any better,” Clark says.

Introduction to CrossFit

Many can attest their first CrossFit experience was intimidating. You are surrounded by people who are noticeably confident, have a lot of muscle, and seem to move effortlessly. Introductory experiences often end the same as well: back on the floor, face-up. “I was literally underneath of a punching bag trying not to die,” Clark says of his first day with Coach Mitch Potterf of CrossFit  614.

“I started CrossFit because I wanted that scheduled intensity,” Clark says.

CrossFit served as stress relief, coupled with a competitive outlet for Clark. Clark began his CrossFit career in June 2011. By September 2011, he competed in his first CrossFit competition, the Fit Club Summer Games, and he registered for his second, Back at the Ranch. “There was still things I couldn’t do. I still couldn’t do unassisted pull-ups, but I just had to do it,” Clark says.

A self professed, “bigger guy,” Clark never made excuses regarding his ability. “I like being that big guy who can tear off 50 double-unders no matter what's going on,” he says.

Clark’s confidence grew as his CrossFit career flourished. He continued to enter competitions, from CrossFit to Strongman, to the 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games Open. That's when Clark says, “The wheels fell off.”

Diagnosed

“I did every workout, but I knew something was wrong,” Clark says. “At first it felt like shin splints. Of course it wasn’t, but to this day that same pain will not go away.”

Clark was subjected to various diagnoses: depression, fibromyalgia, Multiple sclerosis. He was even told, “It’s all in your head.”

His diligence and stubbornness kept Clark active. He finished the Open with increasing levels of discomfort.  

“In May, I quit my first WOD ever,” Clark says. “I thought I was going to die. I took a month off to get better. Resting made everything worse.”

Exhausted and craving answers, Clark turned to a Rheumatologist. Clark was diagnosed with Shulman’s disease: an autoimmune disorder so rare, there is less than 3000 documented cases since the 70’s.

“It feels like there is wood in my muscles. It’s mostly in my legs,” Clark says. “Running and jumping are very difficult. Overhead movements are fine, but double-unders are the devil. It creates inflammation and fatigued muscles very quickly, and it’s embarrassing. It makes me appear lazy. It’s not that I don’t want to keep going, it’s that I can’t.”

Down, not out

A few days after his diagnosis, Clark competed in the third annual FC Summer Games. “After I got the news I had to,” Clark says. “Every competition is important. It might be the last one I do.”

Clark competed with numerous healthy athletes, despite the discomfort. Clark is of the mind that no symptom will diagnose his days to come.

Clark’s future is not yet written. He is awaiting the confirmation of this rare disorder and he continues to CrossFit. “The gym is my daily dose of medicine,” Clark says. “I have a six-year-old, and a four-year old, and they need me. I may have to modify, or scale things back from time to time. I may not go Rx anymore, and I may never win, but I will never quit.”