Most of us have seen fitness trainers. They are very strong and well built. Their very appearance inspires trainees to aspire to build a body like theirs. So it would be very difficult for us to imagine that a fitness trainer could be wheelchair bound. But we have not come across the extraordinary Rajesh John. The bodybuilder from Kerala is a wheelchair athlete who is a fitness trainer and a professional bodybuilder.
Rajesh John made history as the first Indian to win the Arnold Classic Professional Wheelchair bodybuilding competition last year. He went one step further when he successfully defended his title in 2025. It was a proud moment for him and for India when the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger held up his hand and proclaimed him as the champion. The photo went viral all over India.
What is the Arnold Sports Festival?
It is a series of competitions in bodybuilding and strength sports named after Arnold Schwarzenegger. The world’s top athletes take part in this event which is organised in a variety of bodybuilding and strength sports categories. To win a medal in this event is an immense honour. The fact that Rajesh John was able to do so, speaks volumes for his talent and dedication.
Wrong treatment left him paralysed
What confined him to a wheelchair was a treatment that went wrong when he was a child. After a bout of illness, he was given an injection which created a serious complication and left him paralysed from the waist down.
But from that young age, Rajesh had been attracted to sports. When he realised that he would not be able to play any game, he decided that he would become a bodybuilder since no running or jumping was required. Thereafter, he dedicated himself to bodybuilding
Last year, Rajesh also secured sixth place in the Mr.Olympia wheelchair bodybuilding competition, a part of the prestigious and world famous Mr. Olympia competitions. He is the Indian national champion in bodybuilding competitions for differently-abled athletes.
Rajesh is a trailblazer
His accomplishments have made him a trailblazer in wheelchair bodybuilding, and he has inspired athletes throughout India. He was born in Kollam district in Kerala and studied in the Holy Trinity School in Thiruvananthapuram. Later, he completed a diploma in electronics and computer networking and now has a busy life as an engineer and a fitness trainer.
Rajesh was the runner-up in the 2009 Mr. Kerala competition. In the subsequent years of 2010, 2011, and 2012, he became the champion in this competition. He has won the Mr. India title (for the differently abled category) thrice in 2009 (Ludhiana), 2011 (Nashik), and 2013 (Khammam). He won the WFF Mr. World title for differently abled in 2016 in Ireland and the WFF Eurasia Championship in 2018 in Kyiv.
With so many prestigious championships in his bag, Rajesh John has shown that no one should be distracted and lose heart due to misfortune. There is a popular saying – Where there is a will, there is a way – and Rajesh John has proved the adage completely true. When he began bodybuilding, people laughed at him for trying to lift weights despite his handicap. But now those very people are his clients. They come to him and seek his advice for building muscles and becoming fitter and stronger.
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