KPTV News paid a virtual visit to check out our new EBA Online classes amidst the pandemic. Click here to view the video.
KPTV News Article
BEAVERTON, OR (KPTV) - Physical health often coincides with mental health but what about special needs athletes who can no longer gather in their safe places of play and connection?
“It was some of my teammates, some of my volunteers reaching out to me and saying, “hey, I miss my friends, when can I see them again? I was like, oh, really? Perfect.”
Every Body Athletics founder Brad Franklin and his team has innovated on the spot to be better for the long haul.
“By and large, it’s kind of the same format which is important in helping our athletes in having some level of normalcy,” Franklin said.
The Westview High and University of Oregon alum shifted EBA to virtual gatherings with Zoom in June keeping the physicality up along with the social and emotional strength training for 10 classes a week streaming live from his garage
“Definitely with the population that we support, isolation was already kind of a big thing prior to the pandemic and now more,” Franklin said. “So, it seems amplified so people are just looking for how can I get physical activity but also continue these social opportunities and I think that is where we come in.”
Seventy percent of Every Body Athletes have logged on to check in and work out from well beyond the walls in Beaverton.
“It doesn’t really matter where you are anymore. We have a couple of people from Florida, a couple of people from Texas, from Washington, so that has been a cool part of it,” Franklin said.
For the parents of adults with disabilities, EBA still going strong during the pandemic has been so vital to a bit of normalcy.
“Our in-person classes, you saw them, we do big group stretching and conversation starters and we partner up an athlete with a disability and a teammate without disability and then go around and do stations,” Franklin said. “The great thing about Zoom is they have these breakout room feature so we are still able to pair people up one on one and then with one click of the button everybody goes in their own room and they are with their workout partner, so we will do stations where they work on a physical exercise and a social exercise together. We obviously have to modify some things, instead of dumbbells a lot people are using canned foods or shampoo bottles.”
Keeping it clean, staying lean and Every Body Athletics is gleaning plenty of smiles.
Back with the Blazers!
For the second year in a row, Every Body Athletics ran a special EBA class at the Moda Center. 50 athletes and teammates exercised and Zumba-ed on the Blazers’ home court during the day, and then met up later that night to attend the game against the OKC Thunder. It was a great day for the EBA family!
KPTV Puts EBA on Display
KPTV News joined us at the opening of our third EBA location! Click here to view the video.
EBA and the Trail Blazers!
Every Body Athletics was invited to run an EBA class on the home court of the Portland Trail Blazers! 40 EBA athletes and teammates met at the Moda Center for an unbelievable experience. Check out some pictures from that special class:
Portrait Magazine Article
Portrait Magazine featured an article on EBA. Click on the thumbnails below to zoom in and read each page. Or view the entire magazine online here (our story is seen on pages 41 & 51).
KATU Video Showcases EBA
KATU News joined us for one of our session and featured EBA on their Everyday Hero segment. Click here to view the video.
KATU News Article
TIGARD, Ore. — Brad Franklin always had a dream, a dream so strong that he talked about it way back on his first date with the woman who's now his wife.
And unlike most dreams, Franklin's had very little to do with him, and everything to do with helping other people live better, fuller lives.
Franklin first realized the difference he could make when he worked as a special education teacher at Tigard High School.
"I just kind of noticed, once my students graduated from high school, it was just tough to match that five days a week rigor and routine that school brought," says Franklin, "So you did tend to see sometimes that physical and social regression."
So after five years at Tigard High, Franklin took a chance and started Every Body Athletics, a non-profit exercise program for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. But it's more than just exercising. The athletes partner with teammates without disabilities, to exercise their minds, too.
Athletes get to participate in the program for free, because Franklin believes there are enough valuable programs out there that cost money, and he wants to make sure cost doesn't keep anybody away.
"We obviously do a lot of physical exercises, being an exercise class, but also a lot of social exercises, too," says Franklin. That includes athletes answering a question at each station, before beginning their individualized workout.
"Before you can do your exercise, there's a question that you have to answer with your partner," says Franklin. "And that's just kind of a great way to draw out conversation, draw out some words, and just kind of build that social emotional piece."
The questions are wide-ranging, like 'what''s your favorite movie?' or 'what are you having for dinner?'.
"I come up with the questions every week," Franklin says, laughing. "I'm getting low if anyone has any ideas."
It's one role of many for the new father.
Franklin runs four sessions on Mondays, and six on Wednesdays. He just started a Tuesday night session, too.
"Our people with disabilities come from all over the community," says Franklin, "A lot of people sign up individually, but we do have a couple of day programs that use us as their community outing on a weekly basis."
One of Franklin's athletes is Jonathan Weintz, who comes to Tigard from Milwaukie twice a week to work out. He wants to get his arm strong enough to join a softball team.
"I come here to do the throwing thing with my right arm," says Weintz, fresh off a tossing session. "Every day I get improvement from that, and I get a lot better."
And Weintz has a real fondness for Franklin.
"He teaches me to do thing, he's funny, he's more relaxed, he's just an exciting person," says Weintz. "I like Brad."
Delana Lincoln is one of Franklin's 60 volunteers, most of whom are upperclassmen in high school or college students.
"It's super unique because you don't know what you're coming into because you're always working with someone different," says Lincoln, a senior at Tigard High School. "But the relationships are so easy, they're not forced and they're so genuine."
She's pretty fond of Franklin, too.
"He's literally my favorite person on the planet," Lincoln smiles, "He's definitely a mentor to me. He just brings a lot of comedy and funny little quirky things into EBA that makes it his own and he's just an all-around good guy."
Franklin's wife, Sara, wrote the letter nominating him as an Everyday Hero. She says he talked about this dream from the start.
Here is the first sentence of her letter: "On my very first date with my now husband, he told me his dream was to create a nonprofit for adults with developmental disabilities that have aged out of state services."
Franklin says Sara knows he doesn't like attention, but she sent the letter anyway. He didn't even recall talking about his dream on that date, but he says he had other things on his mind.
"Honestly, I was just trying to think of a way to get a second date with her, and so, that’s why I brought that up," he says.
If you're thinking of looking into Every Body Athletics' free program, Brad hopes you'll give it a chance.
"If you wanna register as an athlete, if you wanna come volunteer as a teammate, lot of ways to get involved," he says. "We’d love to have you!"
