Help Brooklyn Achieve her Dream!

Hello! This is Brooklyn Mazzuca!

I’m 16 years old and live in Adams-Friendship, Wisconsin. As you might know I am part of the AF high school powerlifting club. I’d like to say that I found powerlifting but in reality powerlifting found me.

Through elementary school and middle school I tried every single sport you could imagine from basketball, gymnastics, cheer, softball, soccer you name it little Brooklyn was trying it. But none of those sports really stuck out to me. Powerlifting was something that I was introduced to when I was just a little baby, before I could even walk. My stepdad, Brian Shekels, who i can also call my coach always brought my brother and I into the gym while he had practice. I remember seeing all of the “big kids” lifting all of the “heavy weights” and my little 8 year old self knew that it was gonna be me one day. While trying all of these other sports I had noticed that I had really bad ankle pain, at the age of 9. My mom had taken me to the doctor to get a check up just to see what was going on. The doctors told me that they were gonna try and put me on crutches for a few months just to see if things would get better. My little third grade self thought that would be a blast but my parents on the other hand didn’t think so. So my mom had scheduled me a MRI the following week. After the MRI we had found out that I have rheumatoid arthritis. At this point it was only in my right ankle so I thought I would be a-okay to keep playing basketball. By the end of fifth grade the arthritis had spread and was in my knees, hips and ankles so i decided to quit basketball. My step dad had proposed the idea that I could come into the gym with him and start working out. I remember the first day he brought me in I was wearing jeans and tennis shoes and he told me the big kids were gonna teach me how to deadlift. I deadlifted 95 pounds and thought I was the strongest girl ever. I kept working out and noticed that I didn’t have much pain in my joints anymore but once i stopped working out it would come back. When I got to middle school in 6th grade I joined the powerlifting team. I am now a junior in high school and am in love with the sport powerlifting and on top of that because of lifting my arthritis doesn’t hurt as much. Lifting has reduced the pain and inflammation of my joints and has shocked many of my rheumatologists.

Powerlifting has brought so much joy to my life and when I’m lifting I feel like i can be myself. It’s what i was meant to do. Powerlifting has not only taught my that it is a healthy way to improve my joints but it also helps with my mental health as well. Earlier this year I had set a goal for my self and it was to make it on an international stage for powerlifting. Well I am proud to say that I will be achieving my dream in the beginning of August. I have been selected to represent Powerlifting America and the U.S.A at the North American Championships in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. With this being a huge achievement our club is not a school affiliated sport and it will not be a cheap dream to accomplish. Between membership fees, uniform, hotels, plane tickets, food etc. it will be a pretty expensive trip. But with your help and donation, no matter how small, it will get me one step closer to reaching my goal.

It would be much appreciated to get your support and those who chose to support financially thank you so much. For those who are supporting me through their thoughts and prayers thank you so much as well!

Thank you, Brooklyn Mazzuca.