Elite athlete, Netflix documentary star Zion Clark shares story of perseverance

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Elite athlete, author and inspirational speaker Zion Clark shared his message of determination and inclusivity on March 22 before a sold-out crowd of more than 200 people at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation’s South Allentown campus.

Born without legs and the victim of abuse and abandonment during childhood, Zion told a story of how he lost his first 200 wrestling matches — before going on to become an All-American wrestler in college and a professional mixed martial artist.

His message for how you can turn your losses into wins? Failure, he said, is OK.

It’s that relentless optimism and no-excuses mentality that Zion credits with making the impossible possible every day.

“We need to fall correctly, get up and lead. Help lead everybody in the right direction,” Zion, 25, told the crowd of patients, long-term-care residents, employees and community members. “When one falls, we all fall. When one rises, we all rise.”

Zion’s appearance is the first in an annual series of inspiring speakers.

“The theme that we selected for this talk is one of perseverance,” said Good Shepherd President and CEO Michael Spigel, PT, MHA. “So, we really look for someone who has just really great story of determination and commitment; someone who would be very authentic and genuine and someone who we felt would be easy for the audience to connect to.”

On April 11, Zion’s new book, “Work With What You Got – A Memoir,” is scheduled to be released.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this special event, as well as to guest emcee Melanie Falcon of WFMZ-TV.

And, a special thanks to Zion for an absolutely inspiring evening.