Best of 2024: Meet Kelowna's one-handed body builder

Here's another of our best video features of 2024 based on total views.

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In the weightlifting world, various tools help an athlete achieve maximum potential, whether it be weightlifting belts, and straps.

However, for Rio Manning, his gym bag holds something more crucial- his carbon fiber and fiberglass prosthetic and various handles specifically designed to help his performance in weightlifting.

Born three months premature, he faced the reality of becoming a congenital amputee, specifically missing his right hand below the elbow, which paved the way for some unique challenges, particularly getting familiar with his training prosthetic.

“Definitely a few things have taken some adapting and figuring out. Working out is really the only thing I've used prosthetics consistently for in my life,” he told Kelowna10. “You can adapt and customize stuff, but mine is made by a company TRS and they can hold up to 300 pounds.”

It’s no secret that Manning stands out in a gym, as many gymgoers aren’t accustomed to seeing people training with one fully functional hand.

While some might not like the extra looks or attention, Manning enjoys sharing how everything works and functions.

“I love it. If I meet anybody, I'm always happy to explain and show my prosthetic and how it works and how I lift,” he explained. “I can't avoid it, that's one of the coolest things about being an amputee myself, is I get to go and share how I let these things not stop me and how I find ways to navigate and adapt.”

His love for the gym took a major step in 2019, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic, and feeling the need to pursue it further, which led to the creation of his custom prosthetic he uses to this day.

“My passion for lifting grew past my martial art passion at the time, but I pursued more lifting and started to build a device that was fit for it,” he said. “In the end it was a ‘let's keep improving’, and then that's where we got to here.”

This past summer, he competed in his first World Natural Bodybuilders Federation (WNBF) show in Kelowna and finished in seventh place.

Although it wasn’t the expected results, the idea to give it a go wouldn’t have risen if Manning hadn’t been inspired by other amputee athletes.

Now, he hopes he can do the same for others.

“I wanted to do something and challenge myself. I thought, let's take to the natural bodybuilding stage. And as far as I'm aware, I was the first one-handed WNBF competitor,” he said.

“If it inspires people along the way, that's absolutely the goal. And to show them that nothing stops you. If I can do it and if I can go to the gym and work out hard and push myself like, so can anybody.”