Macethandile ‘Max’ Kulati is a powerlifting champion and is now trying to make his mark as a bodybuilder, saying all he needed was a chance to prove himself.
SA’s wheelchair bodybuilder Macethandile “Max” Kulati. Picture: @macethandilekulati/Instagram.
JOHANNESBURG – “When Mr Arnold invited me onto the stage. I was excited. I even shared a tear on stage that day. It was in front of the Mossel Bay crowd when he invited me to the World Cup, to this day, I still can’t believe it” said Macethandile “Max” Kulati.
The para-athlete was referring to the Spring Classic hosted by the International Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (IBFF) Southern Cape at the Diaz Beach Hotel and Resort in Mossel Bay back in September.
The event had been hosted by over 40 IBFF SA champion and former world champion Rochelle Smit.
This is where Kulati fondly, known as Max, had travelled with his coach all the way from Gqeberha to compete. The stage that IBFF Africa president Arnie Williams is said to have spotted his talent and potential.
And he invited the single, unemployed father of three to come compete at the upcoming IBBF World Cup, which will be held at Emerald Resort and Casino, on 17 October.
“I need financial support, I’m unemployed and as a disabled athlete, not working means missing out on opportunities that could change my life and that of my sons,” Kulati said.
“At this moment, Johannesburg seems like a far away place for me. I really need help with raising funds to go compete in Joburg and to return. If anyone could help with accommodation, transportation, I would be grateful.” he told Eyewitness News on Monday.
The wheelchair bodybuilder acquired his disability in 2014, he slipped and fell at a butchery he was working in, he thought nothing of it.
A couple of weeks later, the man from KwaLanga in the Eastern Cape experienced a numb sensation in his legs.
“I went to a doctor who gave me an injection in my back, assuring me it would solve the problem. I felt better and went home. I went to sleep and when I woke up, I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t understand it. I had no sensation in my legs and they felt cold.”
Kulati, who grew up playing soccer, rugby and dancing, was referred to Livingstone Hospital in Gqeberha where he had multiple tests.
“Doctors told me there was a growth in my spine that affected my nervous system. I underwent medical procedures, but my nervous system was damaged, and I was left paralysed from my waist down.”
Kulati is a powerlifting champion and is now trying to make his mark as a bodybuilder, saying all he needed was a chance to prove himself.
“Give me a chance to prove myself. In the future I would like to compete on a bigger stage, I would like to compete at Mr Olympia,” said the para-athlete referring to the world’s most prestigious bodybuilding competition.
Mr Olympia has catapulted the careers of legendary bodybuilders like Frank Zane, Ronnie Coleman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Kulati hopes to have his name in the history books one day.
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