FITNESS, FASHION and AMPUTEES
Following on from our last feature on Sarah Butcher we met up with Jack Eyers who very kindly spared some time to talk to us. Jack aims to bring fitness, fashion and amputees to the forefront of our minds. Turning his life around, keeping strong and becoming a role model his ambition is to inspire other amputees. “Overcoming losing a limb is tough” he declares. He wants to make it clear though that “life’s going to be different, but it can open doors.”
Jack grew up with a condition called primal femoral focal deficiency (or PFFD). By the time he was 16 he made the decision to have his leg amputated. Taking this in his stride he knew this would have a massive impact on his life for the better. The condition had meant that he spent much of his time not being able to sit down comfortably. He was also often in pain from walking on his toes.
Always keen on sport and fitness becoming a firefighter seemed like a decent challenge. This is not the average challenge for an amputee. After 3 years of training, he passed all the compulsory tests. Jack was devastated to find out that there was one final hurdle standing in his way. Unable to turn his foot on a ladder 3 stories up using the correct technique meant that his dreams were quashed.
FITNESS
Incredible fitness levels, however, meant he was selected for a talent program to compete nationally in the GB Junior Basketball Team. Jack also got the chance to perform a routine dangling from high ropes at the 2012 Paralympic Ceremony. This love for competition clearly hasn’t stopped as he recently competed in trials to compete for the World Rowing Championships. Next year (2018) his aim is to compete in the Europeans and the Worlds. Working as a Personal Trainer has meant that fitness evidently plays a dominant role in his life. “By getting your fitness levels up, you can raise your confidence levels.” Unequivocally, fitness and confidence go hand in hand. One of his missions is to help amputees one day at his own fitness studio – have a look at Eyers workout here from coach mag.
FASHION
Jack speaks candidly about what he hopes to achieve by becoming a role model in his quest to become Mr England 2017.
Achieving this goal would mean he could go forward and continue to represent amputees from a larger platform. Jack makes a good point in our interview that “it’s often baddies in movies that are portrayed as deformed, an amputee or disabled in some form – when do you ever see Snow White in a wheelchair?”
Jack successfully turned his hand to modelling, donning the cover of Men’s Health back in 2015. Working alongside fashion agency Models of Diversity he has since had the chance to work world wide including Moscow and New York. He was fortunate enough to be on the judging panel of Miss Gibraltar as recently as last week. Suddenly we realize how precious his time is, Mr England is currently on the cards with the finals being today. Winning this would be an ideal opportunity for him to go into the finals of Mr World and share his story.
Fitness, fashion and obviously being an amputee are all synonymous with Jack Eyers. As somebody who is very comfortable in his own skin he has managed to create his own brand using being an amputee to his advantage. We think Jack can be an inspiration not to just amputees but also to everybody in general! For more information on Jack you can visit his website by visiting jackeyers.com or you may even be lucky enough to see him here at 180° in Bournemouth.
