This gold-medal story will touch all souls

Local man contributes to 'Chicken Soup' book

Rick Metzger is one tough guy. Standing over 6-feet-tall, with shoulders that are broad and strong, he is able to lift over 500 pounds. His strength and efforts earned him a gold medal as the 1995 World Cup power-lifting winner when he broke the American record by lifting 512.5 pounds.

He's also a professional speaker who spends much of his time talking to teens about overcoming obstacles, something for which he feels qualified. The Wood County native never had one day of college, yet his career as a professional speaker is earning him a respectable living and taking him to places he never imagined he'd visit, he tells audiences.

Even though he's had his share of ups and downs, it was a young teen-age boy in Pennsylvania who shook the outer toughness of this weightlifter and taught him a real-life lesson about overcoming obstacles and maintaining a positive attitude.

In fact, the story about Matthew, the teen with muscular dystrophy who wanted to earn a gold medal like the power lifter, has become Metzger's "signature story" in most of the speeches he presents these days. It also is the story he contributed to one of the latest "Chicken Soup for the Soul" editions, this one dedicated to teen-agers. The book is currently No. 3 on the trade best-sellers list.

As Metzger tells the story, he had spoken at a middle school and was asked after his presentation if he could pay a visit to a special student. "An illness had kept the boy home, but he had expressed an interest in meeting me, and the principal knew it would mean a great deal to him. I agreed," the story goes.

When he arrived at the house, he found the teen sitting with his arms and head strapped to the wheelchair to keep him secured. "He wanted to meet me because I was a gold-medal power lifter, and I knew about overcoming obstacles and going for your dreams," Metzger wrote.

"He couldn't stand; he couldn't feed himself, but he was all smiles. In one and one half hours, I never heard one negative thing. There was never a 'why me' or any talk of what he couldn't do," Metzger said during a recent interview.

The boy didn't talk about his classmates making fun of him because he was different. "Instead, his focus was on the future. He wanted nothing more than to be able to lift weights with me one day," Metzger said.

Metzger showed the teen his gold medal and let him wear it for awhile. After admiring it, Matthew took it off and promised Metzger that he would win a medal at the Olympics and one day show it to him.

A year ago, Metzger received a letter from Matthew's parents telling him the teen had died. They included a letter Matthew had written to Metzger but never sent.

In the letter, Matthew told Metzger he didn't have long to live. "I told you someday I was going to go to the Olympics and win a gold medal. I know now I will never get to do that. But I know I am a champion and God knows that too. He knows I am not a quitter, and when I get to heaven, God will give me my gold medal and when you get there I will show it to you," the letter said.

"I didn't realize this would be my signature story until after his death," Metzger said. "But then I realized it was a message they (teens) needed to hear and understand."

Though the story has become the one he always includes in his talks, the Waterville resident admitted "it took me seven months to get to the point that I could tell the story without crying."

He hadn't considered telling the story as part of the "Chicken Soup" series, even though he was familiar with the books, designed to inspire and touch the hearts of individuals who read the anecdotes.

A colleague of Kimberly Kirberger, managing editor of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" organization, heard Metzger relive the story during a presentation and "knew I had to contribute the story for the book," Metzger said. "I shared the story over the telephone, got a rough draft to her even though I had never put the story down on paper," he said. With a few revisions and some editing, the story was included in the "Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul," which was released in May.

His story joins anecdotes by such notables as Robert Fulghum, Bill Cosby and teen stars Jennie Garth and Jennifer Love Hewitt.

Metzger was thrilled to be a part of this project, not only because he knows "Chicken Soup" authors Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen through the National Speakers Association, but mostly because he believes in doing what he can to help teens.

He doesn't think that by being included in the book the story will lose it's impact. "There will be young people who will never have the opportunity to hear the message," he said. Additionally, a person can read the book over and over but to hear the story told adds all the visuals and intonations. But whether the story is read or heard, the message is always the same, Metzger said - "It is your life and you are responsible for it."