CV Alumnus Takes On Muscular Dystrophy
This last December, Crescenta Valley alumnus, Narbé Mansourian, triumphed at the World Championship Bench Press Competition in Las Vegas, Nevada. Weighing in at one hundred and forty-four pounds, it was the three hundred and sixty-three pounds he benched that broke the record and secured the front cover of Powerlifting USA magazine. But Mansourian lifts a heavier load every time he enters a competition.
Mansourian teaches middle school at the K-8 Hollywood Schoolhouse in Hollywood, California. Three years ago he encountered an elementary school student named Anthony Castle.
“I started noticing his motor skills were not as developed as other kids,” said Mansourian. “He was a sweet kid, so I was drawn to him. But I started noticing something much more glaring.”
Soon, Anthony was taken out of school. He and his parents moved to Arizona. A year later Mansourian received a letter from the parents on behalf of Anthony. It was then that he discovered that Anthony had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), also known as pseudohypertophic, is one of nine types of muscular dystrophy, a group of genetic, degenerative diseases primarily affecting voluntary muscles. DMD affects one boy out of every three thousand. The disease becomes apparent in early childhood (about two to six years of age) and progresses into adult-life. Most people diagnosed with the disease rarely survive beyond their early thirties.
“Here I am,” said Mansourian, “trying to figure out how I can bench five or ten more pounds, and then here’s this kid fighting for his life.”
Mansourian decided to use his professional weightlifting as a platform to raise awareness about the fight against DMD.
“For every pound over three hundred pounds that I lift during a competition, I match a donation of ‘pound per dollar’ to the Parent Project.”
Through the Parent Project, Mansourian was able to set up a website where people can pledge or donate specific amounts to the cause. Mansourian often invites his fellow competitors to participate.
“What I found out, now that I do this,” said Mansourian, “is that it takes the pressure off me to get first, second or third place, because I know that no matter what, just by me being there, I’m doing something very important.”
Pressure or no, Mansourian has managed to hold onto his championship title for four years in a row. He’s glad he is able to use his talents to help kids like Anthony. But growing up, Mansourian never would have guessed he would be a world champion at anything, let alone the bench press. In fact, he graduated from Crescenta Valley in 1993 without ever having touched a weight. “I was a skinny guy,” he remembers.
It wasn’t until his last year in college, when a Rugby coach suggested Mansourian work on his upper body, that he hit the gym.
“He [the coach] told me all the exercises I needed to do,” Mansourian remembers. “And one of them was the bench press. So, I always tell everyone to try anything, try new things, because you never know where you’re going to end up. I never thought I’d end up doing this.”
Anyone interested in donating or learning more, can visit www.firstgiving.com/Mansourian.