He lived through a stroke at 17, now he’s a bodybuilder and public speaker

By Forrest Sanders

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    MT. JULIET, Tennessee (WTVF) — As a teenager, a man faced something that threatened to take away so much he loved in life. He didn’t let that happen. The story of what he did next is a powerful show of strength in more ways than one.

One thing is practically a certainty. On a weekday morning at the Jimmy Floyd Center, you will see one man working out for hours. Tyson McClanahan’s the guy gulping down the water in the bottle filled with jalapenos.

“They ask in disbelief, ‘Is that really jalapenos in there?'” Tyson smiled. “Yes, it is! It’s full of vitamins and minerals. Keeps your blood flowin’!”

It’s spicy and it gives a kick, but Tyson’s motivations to work this hard come from a far deeper place. It’s a combination of a focus he’s carried as a lifelong athlete and a story that begins 33 years ago.

Tyson was only 17 when he had a stroke. He was taken to Vanderbilt. A blood clot in his brain stem had to be removed.

“I was on life support, and I was in a coma for about three months,” Tyson said. “I remember coming up for glimpses of stuff. Just snapshots. My room at Vanderbilt, I was right next to the heliport. I remember seeing the helicopter landing one time. After the coma, I was totally paralyzed. Couldn’t blink. Everything was taken away from me. So, that was a scary part right there.”

What happened in the years that followed has been catching a whole lot of attention.

“Since I had a stroke, I thought a lot of people would see my body as weak,” Tyson said. “I knew I needed to overcome whatever challenge was put in front of me. I still had that competitive drive in me. I’ve got trophies from a lot of different competitions, medals from going around the world.”

There was the competitive bodybuilding. There was also the Hi-Tec Adventure Race, a multi-part obstacle course. To this day, Tyson is still driven.

“We see him every day, and he’s quite an inspiration to us all,” one woman at Jimmy Floyd Center told NewsChannel 5. “He was able to overcome all the odds. He didn’t quit when most of us would have just given up. It helps me to press forward.”

Tyson also has a master’s degree and has written his story into a book. He said he takes care of his mind, just like his body. That’s what brought him to the Del Webb at Lake Providence community one morning.

“Hello, my name’s Tyson McClanahan,” he told a crowded room.

Tyson shares his story at public speaking events.

“When I started entering the adventure race, everyone was saying, ‘You can’t do that. You can’t do that. There’s no way you can do that,'” Tyson told the crowd. “I was the only one who believed in myself. I knew I could do that, so I did it. So, ha ha to everybody, I say!”

Tyson’s advice to people to find motivation is this;

“Don’t become complacent, just keep going,” he said. “Take your negatives and make them into positives.”

And the jalapeno water? Well, that’s just the added kick.

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