At Foreseeable Future Foundation, we believe access to athletics can open doors far beyond the field of play. Through our scholarships and community partnerships, we have had the privilege of supporting athletes who continue to redefine what is possible, not just through competition, but through leadership, curiosity, and perseverance.
Evan is one of those athletes.
World Champion Adaptive Strongman, educator, and advocate for accessible fitness, Evan’s journey shows what can happen when opportunity meets determination. His story is one we are proud to share, especially with those who may be wondering where their own path could lead!
From Passion to Impact
One of Evan’s biggest passions is making fitness, nutrition, and wellness information accessible to the blind and visually impaired community. Through Cane and Able Fitness, his mission isn’t to turn everyone into a competitive athlete, but to help people live happier, healthier lives through movement and education.
Through more than 50 articles, remote coaching, partnerships with blind sports teams, seminars, and a strong social media presence, Evan has already impacted thousands of people worldwide. His work is grounded in accessibility, experimentation, and meeting people where they are – whether that’s in a gym, at home, or those just starting to explore movement for the first time.
His advice for others in the blind and visually impaired community is simple and honest: START. Be consistent. Don’t judge yourself based on one day. Try different activities, find what you enjoy, and make the adaptations that help you succeed.
That mindset didn’t come out of nowhere, it was shaped through years of showing up, trying new things, and learning along the way.
Beyond the Competition
While Evan is a competitive strongman, his motivation goes far beyond medals and titles. He creates fitness content for the blind community, speaks at conferences and schools for the blind, and leads seminars – all with the goal of leading by example.
He is also deeply involved in growing adaptive strongman worldwide, helping expand access and visibility for athletes with disabilities while breaking down stereotypes around blindness and physical capability.
In 2025, Evan received a scholarship from the Foreseeable Future Foundation that helped cover expenses to compete at the Adaptive Strength World Championships. Support like this plays a critical role in making opportunities accessible for athletes pursuing their goals.
Looking ahead, Evan hopes to defend his world title and expand participation in adaptive strongman. He also plans to travel abroad to perform rare historical lifts, feats he notes are even less common than climbing Mount Everest. Which is CRAZY awesome!
“It’s going to be a fun year,” he says.
But Evan’s journey didn’t begin on a competition floor, it started with a hobby and a willingness to try.
The Beginning
Evan’s path into competitive strongman did not begin with a grand plan. It started in graduate school in Chicago, where he found himself experimenting with what he described as “odd, old-timey lifts” at the gym. Strength training had always interested him, especially after reading about legendary strongman Derek Poundstone in Muscle & Fitness, but it wasn’t until a conversation with his best friend and training partner, Jared, that everything clicked.
One day, Jared asked a simple question: “Why don’t you do a strongman competition?”
That question stayed with Evan and a few months later, in 2017, he found himself entering his first competition. What stood out most wasn’t just the challenge of the events, but the way he was welcomed. The pros and fellow competitors accepted and encouraged him from the start. “It was an obsession from there,” Evan shared.
He didn’t wait until he felt “ready.” He tried something that interested him and learned as he went.
Progress doesn’t come from perfection, it comes from trying and showing up fully.
Training, Adaptation, and Showing Up
Evan’s training changes depending on what competition he is preparing for. During the off-season, he trains about five days a week. As a competition approaches, that typically shifts to fewer days to account for heavier workloads. His programming consistently includes deadlifts, squats, overhead lifts, and back work, with added focus on specific strongman events as competitions get closer.
As a visually impaired athlete, Evan has learned how to navigate gym spaces and build training programs that are simple, effective, and adaptable. No two competitions are ever the same, which means preparation goes beyond strength alone. It requires patience, creativity, and problem-solving… skills he develops long before competition day.
Evan also trains with scoliosis, which causes ongoing back pain and dysfunction. Over time, he has learned decompression and loading strategies that allow him to train hard while still taking care of his body. Learning when to push and when to relax has become just as important as the lifts themselves.
That preparation carries directly into competition.
Evan is quick to point out how accommodating the strongman community has been, even in non-adaptive competitions. He is always allowed to explore the event area beforehand, work with a handler backstage and on the competition floor, and use audible cues during events when needed. From there, the responsibility is his to practice and develop the right cues, adaptations, and tactile strategies for each event.
“It’s far more doable than people think,” Evan shared. “But it takes a lot of hard work in the gym to develop the awareness and skills for competition day.”
And for anyone assuming that not seeing the weights makes competition day less intimidating, Evan is quick to laugh. “They’re still heavy,” he says.
If Evan’s story resonated with you, there is more to explore. Through Cane and Able Fitness, he shares practical, accessible resources for the blind and visually impaired community. From fitness and movement to everyday wellness, it’s a place to learn, experiment, and figure out what works for you, whether that is in the gym, on a competition floor, or anywhere you choose to show up!
At Foreseeable Future Foundation, we are proud to support athletes like Evan and help create access to opportunities that might otherwise feel out of reach. Stories like his remind us why this work matters and why creating space for curiosity, movement, and growth will always be at the heart of what we do.