Armless body builder, Barbie Thomas, has inspired many fitness instructors and enthusiasts when she did a performance for a fitness division last year, which ultimately won her an Inspiration Award.
Barbie Thomas reportedly lost both her arms in a tragic accident when she was 2. She was outside her Texas apartment complex playing and climbing onto a transformer, when she suddenly grabbed on to the wires that instantaneously transmitted strong electric currents from her hands throughout her body, and her arms were burned to the bare bone.
"They were like charcoal," she wrote on Fitness Unarmed, her biography website. "They were completely dead and had to be amputated at the shoulders."
ABC News reported that no one actually thought Barbie was going to survive the accident. However at 37, Barbie has proven everyone wrong, for she is not only alive but is already an accomplished body builder and model.
"I thank God I am alive," Thomas said in an interview.
Barbie Thomas is currently living in Phoenix with her two sons, aged 13 and 17.
According to Thomas, her upbringing molded her positive outlook in life. She told ABC News that after the incident her family didn't allow her to be negative and complain about her limitations or the things she couldn't do.
"I was always taught to focus on what I can do, not what I can't do," she said. "It probably has a lot to do with my personality -- I can't imagine being a negative Nancy all the time."
Thomas dished that as a fitness competitor, she is not only expected to have a well-sculpted figure but also be able to carry out a two-minute performance featuring routine dance, cheerleading, or gymnastic flexibility.
She added that her common dance routines in competitions include: high kicks, splits, and even the ninja kip-up. Barbie ranked sixth at Jr. Nationals in June and fifth at the North American Championships in August.
According to reports, the National Physique Committee (NPC), the amateur division of the International Federation of Body Builders, was so impressed of her performance last year that they decided to give her their first-ever Inspiration Award.
Arizona Chairman of the NPC Miles Neussle said Barbie chose the most difficult division of all in that fitness division.
"We were thinking, 'How can she do that routine?' but she blew our minds," Miles said. "She was absolutely beautiful. She was on the floor jumping up and doing splits. I don't know what half the moves were called. She was rolling all over the place and shaking it -- sexy, athletic, fun and emotional. The crowd went nuts."
"You can't use the word handicapped with her or she may punch you in the face," Miles added. "Barbie is not handicapped."
Barbie Thomas, who is divorced, uses her feet in competitions and at home. She uses them to open doors, grab her bags, and even pug in her music, but she uses her mouth to fasten the Velcro snaps on her shoes.
Thomas played a lot of sports growing up including soccer and aerobic running. After she gave birth to her first child, she decided to try aerobic lifting weights and became an instructor to it since.
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